September 21, 2018 | Morning Headlines

Intelligence officers in Somalia have resolved to strengthen collaboration on information gathering and sharing to counter threats posed by terrorist group, Al-Shabaab. The resolution was made at the end of a three-day intelligence information sharing conference organized by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the UK Mission Support Team (UK MST).

The conference, attended by senior intelligence officers from AMISOM and Somali national security agencies, sought to forge closer working ties among security agencies in the country. Intelligence officers gather critical information that informs security decisions taken by AMISOM and the Somali government. Speaking at the end of the workshop, Col. Naboth Mwesigwa, the AMISOM Chief Military Intelligence Officer (CMIO), urged intelligence agencies in the country to work together by sharing critical information. “Let us aim at working together in terms of sharing information, collaborating, and coordination so that we help our commanders to carry out operations,” Col. Mwesigwa stated.

The participants were told that though Somalia faces numerous challenges, the collective effort by security agencies can help to transform the country and restore lasting peace and security. Col. Mwesigwa cited terrorism as one of the threats to global security, which intelligence officers must fight against. Participants were told that the lethality of the Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) has been on a decline due better intelligence gathering and training on bomb handling.

Other topics discussed included the provision of regular security updates in AMISOMs area of responsibility and how to overcome challenges faced in intelligence gathering. Also present at the conference was the Director of Military Intelligence in the Somali National Army (SNA), Brig. General Abdullwahab Omar.

Key Headlines

• Intelligence Officers In Somalia Agree To Strengthen Collaboration In The Fight Against Al-Shabaab (AMISOM)
• Radio: Somalia’ Minister Of Education Meets With Donor Agencies In Nairobi (Radio Muqdisho)
• President Gaas Holds Cabinet Meeting In Contested Sanaag, Somaliland Reacts (goobjoog.com)
• Ten Jubbaland Soldiers Killed In Landmine Attack Near Kismayu (halbeeg.com)
• Deqa Dahir Shot Dead In Mogadishu: Somali Troops Detained (bbc.com)
• Dadaab Refugee Camp Offers More Than Safety From War – Kenya (reliefweb.int)

NATIONAL NEWS

Radio: Somalia’ Minister Of Education Meets With Donor Agencies In Nairobi

20 September 14:37:43 – Source : Radio Muqdisho – 213 Words

The Somali Minister of Education, Culture, and Higher Education Abdullahi Godah Bare held various meetings with donor agencies in Nairobi. The Minister earlier met with Mr. Kevin Smith, Ms. Rina Dhalal and Dr. Nor Iman from USAID and discussed ways to strengthen collaboration and implement educational projects.

“I met with USAID Officials and we discussed ways to strengthen cooperation as well as make contribution to educational projects. We spoke privately about the nomadic education program and rural education projects for Gedo, Bay, and Bakool funded by USAID and implemented by UNICEF. We are planning to implement a pilot project to all regions,” said Mr. Bare.

The minister stated that a conference scheduled to be held in October in Mogadishu aims to discuss benefits and the implementation of the pilot projects for pastoral and rural education in all regions of the country. The Somali education minister also met with members from World Bank led by Mr. John Randa, the World Bank’s Acting coordinator for Somalia and Head of Projects Mr. Geoff Handley and discussed the implementation of education programs.

 

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President Gaas Holds Cabinet Meeting In Contested Sanaag, Somaliland Reacts

20 September – Source : goobjoog.com – 134 Words

Puntland President Abdiweli Ali Gaas today held his first cabinet meeting in Badhan district in Sanaag, which is under dispute with Somaliland sparking immediate reaction from Somaliland. During the meeting, the regional cabinet approved the trade Bill. Gaas also visited government institutions in the town. Somaliland government said in a statement the move by Gaas amounted to an ‘act of aggression from Somalia’.

“It is clear that President Mohamed Farmaajo’s government is launching a continuous fight against Somaliland,” the break-away region said. Both Somaliland and Puntland have had long running disputes over Sool and Sanag regions. Deadly clashes in Tukaraq village in Sool region broke out last year and early this year claiming dozens of lives and displacing scores of families.

 

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Ten Jubbaland Soldiers Killed In Landmine Attack Near Kismayu

20 September – Source : halbeeg.com – 172 Words

At least 10 soldiers have been killed and 5 others injured in a suspected Al-Shabaab attack in Southern Somalia. The soldiers died after their vehicle ran over an explosive device near Kismayu on Wednesday. According to sources, the attack happened at around 3 pm at Abdale-Birole villages, 45km west of Kismayu town. Al-Shabaab militants, who have since claimed responsibility through their Radio Andulas saying their fighters killed 11 government soldiers and burned the military vehicle.

The latest killings come as the Somali army backed by the African Union peacekeeping force have mounted a joint offensive against the militant group in the southern region. On Tuesday, combined forces of Somali military and Jubbaland forces killed 11 eleven Al-Shabaab fighters near Beled-Hawo town after the forces raided Al-Shabaab new base. The fight also claimed lives of five soldiers and injured seven others. The army officials said the operation will continue until all regions still under Al-Shabaab control are liberated. Al-Shabaab has in the past launched attacks in the region targeting military bases and convoys.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Deqa Dahir Shot Dead In Mogadishu: Somali Troops Detained

20 September – Source : bbc.com – 311 Words

Deqa Dahir died and another girl was wounded when bullets hit their school bus while it was stuck in a traffic jam, Amnesty International said. Soldiers opened fire in an apparent attempt to clear the road for their vehicle, the rights group added. Somalia’s president met Dahir’s family as public anger over the shooting grew.

The nine-year-old was buried on Thursday, two days after she was killed. She was a first-year school pupil, and was returning home happily, eating ice cream, when she was killed by what appeared to be a stray bullet, reports the BBC’s Ahmed Adan from Mogadishu. She was shot in the head and died instantly.

Her mother, Safiya Mohamed Hooshow, demanded justice from the government of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed. “I demand from the government to bring the murderer in front of me,” she told BBC Somali. Her father Dahir Moalim Ali Farah told Amnesty: “It was shocking to see the dead body of my daughter.” “My 11-year old son, who was also in the bus with Deqa, came home crying and shouting and told us that she had been shot dead. I ran to the scene of the incident, where I was told the body of my daughter was taken to Masaarida hospital,” he said.

In another incident, the driver of an auto-rickshaw taxi was hit by a stray bullet fired by a soldier on Monday. Militant Islamists often detonate explosives in Mogadishu, targeting people caught in traffic, Ahmed Adan adds. It is therefore common to see soldiers shooting near civilians as they try to keep traffic moving. Police chief Bashir Abdi Mohamed has promised to prosecute anyone who shoots randomly. “We won’t allow civilians to be killed by a gun which is supposed to defend them.

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OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE

“”Many of our teachers are not qualified,” Mr Sigale says. Ironically, many of the refugee teachers who qualify often opt to leave the camp, meaning that the schools will always have a shortage of qualified staff. This is a problem that Mr Idris Budhul Shurie, the Dadaab Sub-County Director of Education, is well aware of. “Sixty percent of the teachers are untrained. And the number of teachers is inadequate compared to learners,” he says.””

Dadaab Refugee Camp Offers More Than Safety From War – Kenya

20 September – Source : reliefweb.int – 391 Words

The 80-km stretch of road between the Liboi border point and the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Garissa County is as dusty and bumpy as it is fraught with the risk of attacks by Al-Shabaab terrorists. However, for the refugees fleeing the violence that has rocked Somalia since the ouster of President Siad Barre in 1991, this road makes the difference between hell and heaven.

Since the early 1990s, hundreds of thousands of Somalis have used this road to escape the fighting and find refuge in Dadaab, which today hosts 209,606 refugees. Of these, a vast majority — 201,496— are Somalis. Interestingly, slightly more than half of the total population are children of schoolgoing age. One of them is Hussein Abdi Ahmed. Ahmed is much more than just a number. He packs a penetrating gaze. His angular face is set with determination. His pink shirt is clean and well-pressed. And although his English vocabulary is severely limited, he is neither afraid nor embarrassed to initiate a conversation.

Before he came to Kenya in 2008, Ahmed, now 16, used to herd camels in Mogadishu but violence forced him and his family to flee to safety in Kenya. He had never been to school. This changed when he got to the Dadaab Refugee Camp, where he enrolled in a class taught by what is known in Dadaab as ‘incentive teachers’. These are refugees who have some form of training or an interest in teaching. Usually, they are Form Four leavers who are given a short induction course and then sent to class in the hope that they can help to impart knowledge to their charges. Next month, Ahmed will sit for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination.

Although he is fluent in the Somali language, he cannot speak Kiswahili at all. This notwithstanding, he will be sitting a Kiswahili paper in the national examination, competing against candidates who have spoken the national language most of their lives. “If I was taught (and examined) in Somali language, I would pass the exam because I could understand better,” he says through a translator. REPATRIATION Given the challenges he faces, it is not surprising that his ambition is to become a teacher. Dadaab has 22 primary and six secondary schools, 22 early childhood education centres and nine alternative basic education centres.

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