September 22, 2015 | Morning Headlines
At Least 9 Killed In Blast Near Somali Presidential Palace
21 September – Source: Xinhua News – 193 Words
At least nine people were killed and 14 others injured on Monday evening after a car bomb exploded at the gate of Somalia’s presidential palace in the capital of Mogadishu, police have said. Mogadishu police officer Ahmed Shire told Xinhua that the explosion was huge and 9 people, including two Somali soldiers,four civilians and three foreigners, were killed: “The blast was powerful and happened near presidential palace. The people who were getting out of the nearby hotel also died. Three foreigners were also killed in the attack,” he said.
The presidential palace, or Villa Somalia, is the seat of government. Several senior government officials, including the President, live and work there. Sources told Xinhua that the explosion happened after a conference debating the nature of the Horn of Africa nation’s election in 2016 had just ended in the compound. However, most delegates are thought to have left the place and a few who remained could be the casualties. Sources told Xinhua that the terror group Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility of the latest attack.
Key Headlines
- At Least 9 Killed In Blast Near Somali Presidential Palace (Xinhua News)
- National Consultative Forum To Oversee 2016 Process Conference Resolves (Goobjoog News)
- Massive Blaze Destroys 22 Farms In Bari Puntland (Garowe Online)
- AU Special Representative Rallies Support For Peace Initiatives As The World Marks International Day Of Peace (Radio Bar-Kulan)
- Somali Man Issues Legal Challenge Against US Germany Over Father’s Drone Killing (RT News)
- Safety For Refugees In Spain – But At A Cost (Al Jazeera English)
- News Insight: Tracing Somalia’s Illegal Fishing ( IHS Maritime)
- Every Refugee Crisis Is Different But Lessons From Syria And Somalia Can Be Shared (ITV News)
NATIONAL MEDIA
National Consultative Forum To Oversee 2016 Process, Conference Resolves
21 September – Source: Goobjoog News – 525 Words
The three day consultative conference in Mogadishu has today concluded with an agreement to establish a National Consultative Forum on the electoral process for 2016. The conference, which brought together the country’s leadership and international partners, agreed to establish the forum which will consist of representatives from the Federal Government, Regional States, Civil Society and international partners, who will largely play an observer role.
In a communiqué after the meeting, the conference said the formation of the National Consultative Forum is in line with the provisions of the 2016 roadmap otherwise known as Vision 2016 and the policy guidelines agreed upon during the High Level Partnership Forum in July. The agreement is also in line with the call by the United Nations Security Council not to extend the term of the current administration after August 2016: “Resolution 2232 (2015) from the United Nations is categorical that there will be no extension or delay of the 2016 elections. We also attach importance to the implementation of the decision of the government in the peace process towards the 2016 election,” read the communiqué in part.
The National Consultative Forum will be made up of 78 members comprising the following: the President, Prime Minister and the four presidents of the regional states; Jubbaland, South West, Puntland and Galmudug. Middle Shabelle and Hiiraan will contribute four members, while Banadir has been allocated three slots. Others include 20 federal lawmakers, 10 federal Ministers, 20 regional ministers, 12 representatives of civil society groups in the region and 5 from national civil society groups. The international partners, notably UN, USA, UK, EU, AU, IGAD, Sweden and Italy will play an observer role but will also be instrumental in mediating the process.
The Forum will convene on October 14 to work on an elections formula followed by a series of regional public consultations. The next meeting will be in January next year when the Forum will finally decide on the election process for members of Parliament. UN Special envoy to Somalia Nicholas Kay has lauded the agreement as a major milestone in achieving the goals and aspirations of the vision 2016: “I welcome the agreement today to establish the National Consultative Forum on the electoral process for 2016,” said SRSG Kay. “The Forum will be critically important to Somalia’s peacebuilding and statebuilding efforts, and will lead to a political transition when the mandates of the Somali executive and legislature end next year,” Kay added.
Kay also expressed his confidence on the country’s leaders for coming together for national interests: “I am especially delighted the progress has been achieved on International Peace Day. I salute the efforts of the Federal Government, Federal Parliament and the leaders of Puntland, Jubbaland, Galmudug and the South West Administration,” said Kay. The fate of the conference hang in the balance on the second day after Puntland pulled out over insistence that it could not recognise Galmudug as a state and that sharing the same platform as equal partners was not in order. However, sources told Goobjoog News mediation and pressure from international actors prevailed upon Puntland president Abdiweli Ali Gas to shelve his interests and attend the conference.
Massive Blaze Destroys 22 Farms In Bari, Puntland
21 September – Source: Garowe Online – 102 Words
Massive blaze has destroyed 22 farms in a town popular with date palms according to Iskushuban District Commissioner Mohamud Ismael Isse, Garowe Online reports. Speaking on Puntland-based independent station, Radio Garowe, Isse said that the fire gutted the farms, and left more than 300 households destitute: “Nearly 6600 trees planted in the large tracts of agricultural land have been destroyed and we arrested a farmer in connection with the damaging blaze,” noted Iskushuban District Commissioner. Puntland government and international agencies have been notified of the adverse effect of palm-fire. Residents are dependent on agricultural products, mainly fruits of date palms.
AU Special Representative Rallies Support For Peace Initiatives, As The World Marks International Day Of Peace
21 September – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 190 Words
The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia and Head of AMISOM Ambassador Maman Sidikou has appealed for concerted efforts in peace-building initiatives in Somalia. As the world marked the International Day of Peace, the AU Special Representative said dividends brought about by peace were already evident, as the country rebuilds, following decades of war.“We cannot underestimate the power of those who have made deliberate efforts to shun violence and embrace peace. A bright future for Somalia depends on collaborative efforts that will enhance that peace. I appeal to all Somalis to share the dream of a stable Somalia by committing to lasting peace,” said Ambassador Sidikou.
The AU Special Representative noted that the Federal Government of Somalia with support from AMISOM and other key partners are spearheading efforts to restore complete peace in the country and allow socio-economic and political growth. The International Peace Day was established in 1981 through a United Nations General Assembly resolution and is observed around the world every year on 21st September. The theme of this year’s commemoration is “Partnerships for Peace, Dignity for All”.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Man Issues Legal Challenge Against US, Germany Over Father’s Drone Killing
22 September – Source: RT News – 369 Words
A Somali man has filed a criminal complaint against the United States and Germany for their roles in the alleged drone killing of his father, whom he claims was an innocent man caught up in an attack on a suspected member of Islamist group Al-Shabaab. “CD,” as the man is called in court documents, said his father, a camel herder called “AB,” died in a drone bombing in southern Somalia in February 2012, according to the Guardian, amid the hunt for Mohamed Sakr, a former British citizen and suspected member of the Somalia-based militant group Al-Shabaab. Sakr, whose British citizenship was stripped in 2010 when he allegedly joined the group, was believed to have been killed in the strike.
The legal action brought by attorneys with the Open Society Justice Initiative claimed that in addition to US culpability for the death of CD’s father, Germany “plays an indispensable role in secret drone killings in Somalia” given it hosts military bases that are involved in US drone operations that end in “unlawful covert killing” and exceed the international definition of a war zone. While drone operations targeting suspects in Somalia are conducted by pilots in the US operating unmanned aircraft launched in nearby Djibouti, the data sent back and forth between the pilot and the drone goes through Ramstein air base in Germany, according to the court filing. CD’s lawyers cited in court documents evidence first published by news outlets that obtained secret US documents supplied by whistleblower Edward Snowden that explained Ramstein’s role in covert US drone strikes.
Safety For Refugees In Spain – But At A Cost
21 September – Source: Al Jazeera News – 1,066 Words
For much of his adult life, the Somali man has only known struggle. From the moment he left his war-torn homeland to his eventual arrival in Spain, he has had to fight for his very existence, seldom finding peace in a long and tortuous journey that began back in 2002. Sitting under the warm sun of Puerta del Sol in central Madrid, he looks a older than his 33 years, his steady gaze revealing nothing of the deep mental scars that lie within after leaving his home in southern Somalia 13 years ago to flee from Al-Shabab fighters.
The Spanish capital has been his home since 2012, but while it provides sanctuary from a violent past, Madrid has become a city where dreams of success have turned to despair.”I’m living in one of Europe’s countries, but I don’t have a job, and I have very little help,” said the Somali, who asked to remain anonymous, fearing publicity would negatively affect opportunities in Spain. “You can feel the pressure of living and what you want in life – your dreams, your ambitions – here in Spain, is so very hard [to achieve].” The Somali man told Al Jazeera that on his long route to Europe, he first arrived in Kenya, then in South Africa, and then in Libya.
News Insight: Tracing Somalia’s Illegal Fishing
21 September – Source: IHS Maritime – 1,376
Sustainable fishing initiative Secure Fisheries claims that illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing “is the biggest cause for concern” with regard to Somalia’s fishing industry – and if not stopped will prompt a revival of piracy. The US-based NGO’s Securing Somali Fisheries report, released last week, says it offers the “first comprehensive review and measurement of foreign fishing in Somali waters”. Illegal fishing, and its links to piracy, is not new, but the report’s lead author, Dr Sarah Glaser, believes that a raft of initiatives launched last year by the Somali government to protect and develop Somali fisheries suggests this is an important time for the industry.
Speaking to IHS Maritime, Glaser said, “These initiatives, as well as the decline in piracy, all make it a key moment for capturing international attention around this issue.” Glaser added that “all foreign fishing in Somali waters is either illegal, unregulated, or unreported [IUU]” and that if it is not “immediately limited, regulated, reported, and licensed”, the local fishing industry will be disastrously undermined.
The report estimates the level of IUU fishing and the catch attributable to it was “over 132,000 tonnes of marine life … nearly three times the amount caught by Somali artisanal and subsistence fishers” in 2013 (the latest year with available data). The “value of the foreign catch” is estimated at USD306 million, compared with the Somali catch, valued at USD58 million.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“We also need to think further into the future about what happens to these huge refugee populations if in one or two decades Syria does not stabilise, which is a very real possibility. Here, Somalia unfortunately provides a useful case study. The country has been in turmoil for over 20 years and Dadaab camp has been in existence for the same amount of time.”
Every Refugee Crisis Is Different But Lessons From Syria And Somalia Can Be Shared
21 September – Source: ITV News 741 Words
While the refugee debate in Europe mounts, the vast outflow of people from countries affected by conflict and disaster continues. In the last five years an estimated 7.5m have fled their home countries. During this time, Syria has been the biggest refugee producing country and Somalia the second. In both countries the interrelated factors of conflict and drought made survival at home impossible for many. Every crisis is different but there are many useful lessons that can be shared between the two, both of which will unfortunately be ongoing for years to come.
Earlier this month, ITV journalist Martin Geissler visited Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya to follow up on his 2011 story of a family that fled famine and conflict in Somalia. Martin’s story focused on Minhaj, the youngest child in the family, who had just arrived at a camp hospital run by the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Minhaj was literally starving to death. Dr. Kiogora, IRC’s head of medical services in the camp, said that had the child not been brought in that morning he likely would have died before the end of the day.
Aid agencies were severely overstretched trying to deal with both the sheer numbers arriving and the terrible health condition of people entering the camp after days walking through the desert. Hundreds died on the journey and hundreds more families arrived with children as malnourished as Minhaj. He is now a healthy and happy five-year-old. Kenya and other countries in the region must be applauded for continuing to receive huge refugee populations from Somalia and South Sudan, despite mounting internal pressure to close the camps. Without the political will to keep the camps open, Minhaj and many thousands of others like him would not survive.