September 23, 2013 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Kenya mall attack: 68 killed, more hostages trapped as siege goes on

22 Sept – Source: CNN – 103 words

Twenty two hours after attackers stormed an upscale Nairobi mall, grim-faced Kenyan soldiers warily searched the five-story building, looking for hostages and assailants. The attack left 68 people dead. More than 200 others remain hospitalized. It was the deadliest terror attack in the nation since al Qaeda blew up the U.S. Embassy in 1998, killing more than two hundred people. The attack Saturday targeted a popular weekend meeting spot. Kenyans and expatriates gather at the luxurious Westgate mall on weekends to drink lattes, catch a movie or browse through the more than 80 stores.

Key Headlines

Somali legislator gunned down by unknown assailants (Raxanreeb/Radio Mogadishu)
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud sends condolences to Kenyan people (Office of the Somali President)
PM Shirdon condemns Nairobi terrorist attack (Office of the Prime Minister)
Somali Prime Minister travels to Geneva (Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu/SNTV)
President’s Working Visit to the US (Office of the Somali president)
US Government condemns terrorist attack at Nairobi shopping mall (Raxanreeb )
Somali ambassador to Kenya condemns Westgate attack (Bar-kulan)
Westgate standoff continues as casualties rise ( Radio Dalsan/BBC Somali Service)
Somali citizen among those killed in attack in Nairobi Mall (Somali Current News/SNTV)
Security agents arrest Al Amriki’s aide- says spokesman (Source: Radio Dalsan)
Somali refugees returning to home country increase (Source: Raxanreeb)
Ireland set to restore diplomatic ties with Somalia (Bar-kulan/Dalsan)
Bomb blast kills two businessmen in Somalia capital (Radio Dalsan/Shabelle)
International Day of Peace Marked in Somaliland under the Theme “Education for Peace” (Source: Somalilandpress)
Kenyan forces push to end mall standoff (Al Jazeera English)
Puntland bans local Somali tv based in UK (Mareeg Online)
Kenya’s “Little Mogadishu” fears backlash after al Shabaab attack (Reuters)
Somalia’s president praises Turkey during his US visit (AA News)
Somalia Names Abrar as Its First Female Central Bank Governor (Bloomberg)

PRESS STATEMENT

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud sends condolences to Kenyan people

21 Sept – Source: Office of the Somali President – 120 words

The president of the Federal Republic of Somalia, H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud today sent his condolences to the families of the victims of an attack against a shopping centre in Nairobi.

“We in Somalia know only too well the human costs of violence like this,” the President said. “Our prayers today are with our brothers and sisters in Kenya. We also send a strong message of solidarity with the Kenyan government, our valued partners in the campaign to bring peace to Somalia.

These heartless acts against defenceless civilians, including innocent children, are beyond the pale and cannot be tolerated. We stand shoulder to shoulder with Kenya in its time of grief for these lives lost and the many injured.”

PM Shirdon condemns Nairobi terrorist attack

22 Sept – Source: Office of the Prime Minister – 125 words

The Prime Minister of the Federal Government of Somalia Abdi Farah Shirdon has today condemned the terrorist attack in the Kenyan capital Nairobi which started on Saturday and continued until today, “I condemn strongly the terrorist attack in Westgate which killed innocent people.” the prime minister said.

The prime minister said that terrorist attacks are inhumanity and against the civilians. The prime minister of Somalia gave a phone call to the Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta and expressed his condolences to the government and the people of Kenya.

At least 59 people were killed in an attack against a big business building in Nairobi as more than 200 wounded according to local media. The standoff which continued until Sunday was immediately claimed by al Shabaab group.

President’s Working Visit to the US

21 Sept – Source; Office of the Somali president – 269 words

The president of the Federal Republic of Somalia, H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud currently in a working visit to USA met with the Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, National Security Adviser Susan Rice,and several congressmen led by Hon. Keith Ellision of Minnesota.

The meetings took place at several locations including the White House,Capitol Hill, The Pentagon, and the State Department.The President’s visit aims for a better cooperation between Somalia, and USA.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fawzia H. Yusuf Adam, Minister of Finance H.E Mohamud Hassan Suleyman, Minister of State House H.E. Farah Sh. Abdulkadir, Governor of the Central Bank Yusra Abrar, and Seniors FGoS advisers from both Presidency and Office of the Prime Minister.

President Hassan Sh. Mohamud thanked the government of the United States of America for their support to the people of Somalia who are now recovering from a long civil war. While meeting the US government official’s the President highlighted the importance of reconciliation and National cohesion in Somalia.

“Strategic partnership and alliance between our two countries is natural and essential.” Said President Hassan.While talking about his Six Pillar Policy the President declared, “Change and hope is arising in Somalia, and little support will create big impact especially in the are of security and development.” Restoring back Somalia’s diplomatic relations with the rest of the World is part of the President Six Pillar Plan.

President also made a historic speech at the Woodrow Wilson center where he highlighted the achievements made so far and the vision 2016 whereby;Somalia must hold election.

Statement of the President of Somalia at Woodrow Wilson Centre

20 Sept – Source: Office of the Somali President – 1989 words

Honourable Keith Ellison, Congressman, Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District

Jane Harman, Director, President and CEO, Woodrow Wilson Center

Distinguished participants, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to present my appreciation to the Wilson Center for this invitation to discuss “Somalia one year on”. After all, it was Woodrow Wilson who once famously said: “it is just as hard to do your duty when men are sneering at you as when they are shooting at you.” Therefore, it is important to note that leading a country of Somalia’s nature is not an adventure or conventional in which one leader replaces another just by virtue of inheriting a functional office, state apparatus, systems, instruments and institutions amassed with relevant memory. Instead it is about inheriting a fragmented country where everything has to be started from the scratch, and firefighting in all fronts remains order of the day. On a positive note, although challenges are varied and more than expected, we have inherited a skeleton to build-on and new pages demonstrating a shift from the past, albeit empty. Every area or agenda reflected deserved an immediate attention and priorities with a sense of urgency to address. and I believe that after one year on the job, we are making slow but steady progress. And it is that progress that I am here to speak to you about today.

After one year in office, we have made some modest progress. We have achieved a level of normalcy; we have established a degree of governmental authority, created hope for governance in the population, My government had presented to the world a set of priorities and plans that is not only budgeted but illustrates the financial architecture that regulates the cash flow and provides mechanism for disbursement which levels the highest standards of transparency and accountability. I can say, Today’s Somalia has a plan for those who want to assist.

Greater achievements still lie ahead, but so too do greater challenges: the security situation is still fragile, the government is still heavily dependent on aid from the international community and many of our citizens are still unconvinced about the plans we have for the future. The latter is to be expected: after decades of civil war, dozens of external interventions and numerous transitions, the Somali people have earned the right to be sceptical.

It is the duty of my government to prove the sceptics wrong: to lay the foundations for a Federal Republic of Somalia that will be strong, stable and united, and in which the principles and practices of democracy are realised at all levels of government. We must build not only the Federal Member States, but also the connective tissue that binds them together in a peaceful, prosperous and vigorous union.

To achieve this, we must come to terms with three main challenges: we complete our Constitution in a way that reflects a national consensus on how we wish to govern ourselves. We must complete the establishment of our federal system, and we must advance the process of democratization through development of a multiparty electoral system that will serve to unite us, rather than to divide us.

1) The Constitution

The process of reviewing the Provisional Constitution has already begun. On 3 July 2013, Parliament passed legislation establishing an independent Constitutional Review and Implementation Commission and we must now move quickly to appoint the Commissioners who will lead this effort. But the challenge of constitution-making cannot be left to a small, popularly unelected body, no matter how competent. It will require months of consultation, negotiation and compromise to ensure that the new Constitution reflects the vision and aspirations of all parts of Somali society. And it must then be approved by Parliament and submitted to a nationwide referendum.

2) The Federal System

Our second major challenge is to develop, in concrete terms, a federal system of government. To this end, we must move urgently to establish the Boundaries and Federation Commission that will propose the demarcation of Federal Member States on the basis of political, economic and social considerations.

Meanwhile, my government has taken important steps to lay the political foundations for the federal system. In March this year, we signed an agreement with the authorities in Puntland, framing our shared commitment to implement a federal system of governance. We must now translate this agreement into reality, integrating our security forces, establishing modalities for resource and revenue sharing, and coordinating our policies and programmes.

In August, we signed an accord that establishes an interim Jubba Administration, which aspires to become a Federal Member State in line with the Constitution. Under the terms of the Jubba agreement, critical national assets will be restored to Federal Government control, our forces will be integrated, and we will work together to develop an inclusive, representative and permanent authority for the people of that region.

As we speak, leaders of the Federal Government including the Speaker and the elders from Bay and Bakool regions are meeting in Baidoa to promote reconciliation, discuss plans for a merger that would potentially lead to another regional administration. We welcome these local initiatives, and we urge those leaders to approach this initiative in a spirit of reconciliation, compromise and respect both for one another, and for the communities of neighbouring regions who may be affected by their actions and are watching their deliberations closely. As the Federal Government, we have a duty to ensure that such state-building efforts progress through dialogue, and do not undermine our parallel efforts to restore peace and security.

We have begun similar processes elsewhere in Somalia, establishing interim administrations in Lower Shabelle, Middle Shabelle, Hiiraan and Galgaduud regions. We have engaged the authorities in Galmudug and Himan iyo Heeb, as well as Ahlu Sunna wal Jama’a, to solicit their views and commitment as we expand the process of peace building and state building across southern Somalia. In these regions, where the contours of potential Federal Member States have yet to emerge, we must proceed with great sensitivity. The process of federation can only succeed if it reflects and respects the will of the local people, not if it is imposed from the capital.

And lastly, thanks in large part to the good offices of the Government of Turkey, we have continued our dialogue with the authorities in Somaliland, underscoring our determination to preserve the unity of both the Somali state and the Somali nation, not by force and coercion, but through negotiation, mutual respect and understanding. Somali unity must be more than a rhetorical device: it must preserve and promote the dignity, equality and legitimate aspirations of all Somali citizens. By adhering to such principles, we are confident that our dialogue with Somaliland will not only continue, but will eventually bear fruit.

Democratisation

The third major challenge we face is democratisation. In the near term, this will involve the establishment of an Independent National Electoral Commission, and the design of a multiparty electoral system that should unite the Somali people – not divide us further.
This is not simply a mechanical process, to be measured against benchmarks and timelines. In order for these institutions to play their intended roles, the appointment of experienced, qualified Commissioners who represent the full diversity of views in our country will be just the first step in building public confidence. Equally important will be a process of genuine consultation, in which Government, Parliament and the Commissions complement one another’s efforts to ensure that all voices are heard. We have undertaken consultations in some parts of the country in support of the New Deal initiative. But in future we must work even harder to ensure that our national dialogue is even more open and inclusive.

Vision 2016

To ensure that we do not lose sight of these challenges, and that our core state-building and peace-building objectives are realised by the conclusion of my term of office in September 2016, I am launching a Presidential Initiative known as ‘Vision 2016’. Vision 2016 signals my government’s commitment to complete the Constitution, establish the federal system and prepare the ground for elections, and to ensure that we dedicate the leadership, determination, discipline and resources required for success.

I need not tell you that such things are more easily said than done – especially for a fragile state, ruined by the experience of civil war and statelessness. And as we roll out the targets and timelines for realisation of Vision 2016, we will be looking to our partners for support. We will need not only technical and financial assistance, but also political and moral support. We are a young nation, and an even younger federation, and so we will be looking to other nations of the world – especially the United States – to share with us your long and successful experience of federalism and constitutional government.

Service Delivery: we want to revolutionize the governments connection with our citizen, we need to transform the lives and enhance their well being, in the meantime, we have started a campaign for education, health and water. Our initiative, ONE Million Go Back to School Initiative, we are planning to open 72 schools, in 72 districts, hired 1,000 teachers across the country and planning to send 100,000 students to the schools at this year and ultimately the one million will be our destination.

Remittances

Before I conclude my speech, I feel obliged to raise the imminent closure of foreign bank accounts upon which Somalia’s remittance lifeline depends. Estimates place remittance flows to Somalia at over US1.3 billion per year – far more than humanitarian or development aid – and sustaining millions of people. Somali immigrants work very hard to earn legitimate income, which they save and send to their poorer, war-affected relatives throughout Somalia and East Africa – including hundreds of thousands who abide the squalor of vast refugee camps. This money finances consumption, trade and education in Somalia.

In the absence of a formal banking system, the movement of these funds is dependent upon Somali money transfer organisations. The scheduled closure, at the end of this month of UK-based accounts held with Barclays Bank, threatens to disrupt, if not destroy, this vital economic link.
We recognise that Barclays and other banks have legitimate concerns about money laundering and terrorist financing. We share those concerns and we recognise that we must urgently strengthen the regulatory framework for our finance and banking sectors, but we must do so in a way that does not punish those most in need. We urge Barclays to give this plan time to work, and to join our efforts to make remittance flows safe, transparent, and compliant.

Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my hope that policymakers in the United States will be sympathetic to our vision and help us achieve it. And here I am not just talking about aid: the sooner we can stand on our own feet the better. But I am talking about enhanced trade and cooperation. We want American companies to invest in Somalia and discover the talents of our people. We want our universities to collaborate with American Universities in teaching and research. We want investors to partner with us in making our land, our resources and our labour market more productive.
And as war and terrorism steadily become things of the past, we hope to open our doors to tourism: Somalia’s future looks as bright as its beaches and all of you are invited. We are under no illusion about the challenges implied by that invitation. Today, the country is over-militarized and under-policed and Al-Shabaab remains a menace. Together, we need to reverse it and I assure you that the situation is improving all the time, and that my government will leave Somalia in much better shape than we found it. So I challenge those of you in this room to pack some bags and come visit us in Somalia. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali Speaker sends his condolences to Kenya

22 Sept – Source: Somali Current News – 79 words

Somali Parliament Speaker Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari has sent his condolences to Kenyan government and its people, after deadly attack in Nairobi’s Westgate Shopping Mall on Saturday. More than 60 people confirmed dead and over 150 others injured in attack by gunmen at the busy mall, where tourists, UN and Diplomats based in Nairobi go for shopping. Al Shabaab claimed the responsibility of the deadly attacks, which is the worst since 1998 terror attack at the former US embassy in Nairobi.

Somali Prime Minister travels to Geneva

22 Sept – Source: Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu/SNTV – 79 words

A high delegation led by the Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon has on Sunday travelled to Geneva, capital of Swaziland ahead of Humanitarian conference in Geneva. Addressing the media in Mogadishu airport shortly before departing, Prime Minister’s spokesman Ridwan Hajji Abdiwali stated that the Prime Minister will also pay a visit to Turkey. The Prime Minister was accompanied by some of his cabinet Ministers including Interior and Internal Security Abdikarin Hussein Gulled and Justice Minister Abdillahi Nur Abyan.

US Government condemns terrorist attack at Nairobi shopping mall

22 Sept – Source: Raxanreeb – 115 words

The US government strongly condemned the terrorist attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya while offering its condolences to Kenyans over the death of 39 people in the incident. In a statement, the White House said, the US condemned the attack at an upscale shopping mall in Nairobi.
“The United States condemns in the strongest terms the despicable terrorist attack on innocent civilians today at the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya,” White House National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement. “The perpetrators of this heinous act must be brought to justice, and we have offered our full support to the Kenyan Government to do so,” said Hayden.

Somali ambassador to Kenya condemns Westgate attack

22 Sept – Source: Bar-kulan – 100 words

Somali ambassador to Kenya Mohamed Ali Nur has condemned in the strongest term the attack on Westgate Shopping Mall on Saturday morning which has claimed the lives of at least 68 people, wounding 175. Among the wounded and injured are several foreigners and family members of Kenya’s president. Al Qaeda-affiliated al Shabaab militant group claimed responsible for the attack. Speaking to National Television NTV in Kenya, the ambassador has sent condolence to the families and friends of the victims.

Somali legislator gunned down by unknown assailants

22 Sept – Source: Raxanreeb/Radio Mogadishu – 102 words

Unidentified assailants have shot and killed Member of the Federal Parliament of Somalia shortly after he left a local university in the capital, RBC Radio reports. According to local sources, Hussien Abdisalam Mohamed was shot and killed by the gunmen who blocked his car while he was heading home near the Buulo Xubey market of Mogadishu’s Wadajir neighborhood. “The gunmen were driving a TOYOTA Surf vehicle and they drove straight to the car which the MP was driving and soon they start shooting at the MP,” afellow legislator Cadil Shegow said.

Westgate standoff continues as casualties rise

22 Sept – Source: Radio Dalsan – 106 words

The Kenyan security forces and attackers who stormed the Westgate Mall still continues in Nairobi, Kenyan capital. Local media reported at least 68 people were killed more than 170 others wounded. The among the dead were children. A Somali man, two Canadian, Two Indians, Two Americans, a famous journalist and Ghanaian poet are among those killed in the tragedy. Unknown number of civilians were still trapped in the shopping mall where the assailants still hold hostage. Al Shabaab spokesman Saturday night claimed the responsibility of the attack saying that it was a response for the Kenyan “military carnage” against civilians in Somalia.

Somali citizen among those killed in attack in Nairobi Mall

21 Sept – Source: Somali Current News/SNTV – 129 words

A Somali citizen was among people killed in a terror attack at Westgate Shopping Centre in Nairobi’s Westland District, according to the Somali Embassy in Kenya. Somalia’s Ambassador to Kenya, Mohamed Ali Nur confirmed that Yasin Hersi was among the people who died during the attack. Late Yasin was working with Iida, women’s development organization based in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud sent his condolences to the families of the victims of the attack in Nairobi. “We in Somalia know only too well the human costs of violence like this, our prayers today are with our brothers and sisters in Kenya. We also send a strong message of solidarity with the Kenyan government, our valued partners in the campaign to bring peace to Somalia,” President Mohamud Said.

Security agents arrest Al Amriki’s aide- says spokesman

20 Sept – Source: Radio Dalsan/BBC Somali Service – 108 words

Somali government spokesman Ridwan Haji Abdiweli said the security forces have arrested senior aide for deceased Al Shabab foreign fighter Abu Mansur Al Amriki (Omar Hamami). In an interview with Radio Dalsan, Haji Abdiweli said the security agents got intelligence information which led to the arrest of Abdikadir Abikar Osman before he travelled to Yemen last week. “The man was identified and arrested while he was trying to travel to Yemen and he is in police custody,” the spokesman said. The American-born al Shabaab fighter Omar Shafik Hamami was killed in a gun battle against al Shabaab militia loyal to the group’s top leader Ahmed Godane two weeks ago.

Somali refugees returning to home country increase

21 Sept – Source: Raxanreeb – 102 words

The number of Somali refugees returning from Kenya and reaching their home regions in Somalia increased in the last six months, Somali ambassador said. Mohamed Ali Nur, Somali ambassador to Kenya said that since the start of this year, the number of the people returning to the country has increased unprecedentedly high as thousands return to Mogadishu each week. “Due to our latest statistics the number of returnees have boosted up.” the Ambassador said, “All the people who have returned and those who are now arranging to move from Kenya to Somalia are those who voluntarily decided to do so,” he added.

Ireland set to restore diplomatic ties with Somalia

20 Sept – Source: Bar-kulan/Dalsan – 102 words

Ireland has announced on Thursday it is restoring diplomatic relations with Somalia, more than two decades after severing ties with the strife-torn African nation. Eng Abdirahman Omar Osman Yirisow, senior advisor & spokesperson to the Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met with Ireland‘s state minister for foreign affairs Joe Costello in Dublin on Thursday. Joe Costello stated that his government is ready to restore its diplomatic ties with Somali Federal government after two decades of conflict in the horn of African nation. The two officials’ meeting was also attended by Ireland’s director for Africa affairs Don Sexton and Karen Miller from Irish Aid.

International Day of Peace Marked in Somaliland under the Theme “Education for Peace”

20 Sept – Source: Somaliland Press – 126 words

Peace on Saturday, 21 September 2013, with the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies together with Human Concern International (HCI) co-hosting the event held at the Imperial Hotel, as Somaliland joined with the rest of the world institutions to celebrate the International Day of Peace. The ceremony event which was held in Imperial Hotel first to take the podium was the director of IPCS Mr. Adam H. Ali Ahmed who took the opportunity to addressing participants on the risk posed by uncontrolled illegal immigrants stated that time has come for Somaliland authorities to act in a bid to deter the risks posed by illegal immigrants take jobs from Somalilanders and a threat to national security and may even change the nation’s culture by refusing to assimilate.

Bomb blast kills two businessmen in Somalia capital

21 Sept – Source: Radio Dalsan/Shabelle – 76 words

A grenade attack in Bakara market, the busy and largest marketplace in Somalia capital, Mogadishu killed businessmen from Somalia and Yemen who were visiting the market for business purposes, witnesses and officials said. At least two Somali businessmen were killed in the attack. Six others including two Yemeni businessmen and Somali citizens were wounded. Somali government forces reached the area and started investigations even though the perpetrators immediately run from the area.

Puntland bans local Somali tv based in UK

21 Sept – Source: Mareeg Online – 146 words

Authorities in semi-autonomous region of Puntland banned a private local TV based in UK from operating in the area on Saturday, blaming them of not airing the speech of regional administration’s President, during the New Deal for Somalia meeting in Brussels. Abdurahman Mohamed Farole was among regional leader invited to participate the conference on 16 September, but his speech at the meeting was not aired by all the Somali owned televisions because of not having accreditation to do so.The Information Ministry of Puntland said in a statement that the TV did not air the speech for a reason of ‘hatred and hostility’.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Kenyan forces push to end mall standoff

22 Sept- Source: Al Jazeera English-01:51mins

There’s been increased military activity at the shopping centre in Kenya, where attackers claiming to be from the Somalian group al Shabaab have been hiding with dozens of hostages.Since the attack began on Saturday, dozens of people have been killed.Al Jazeera’s Caterine Soi reports from Nairobi.

State House: Rescue operation underway at Westgate Shopping Mall, Nairobi

22 Sept – Source: Standard Media – 134 words

Kenya State House Spokesman Manoah Esipisu has said rescue operation is underway with a few hostages rescued. Reports from the scene say more bodies are being retrieved from mall and ferried away in a pick up as death toll rises to 20. Police officers have now surrounded the building in an attempt to evacuate remaining shoppers. Esipisu pointed out that it was too early to tell if the incident was a terrorist attack adding that no foreign agencies have been involved in the rescue operation. The military marksmen have also joined the police in the rescue operation. The members of the media have been barred from filming inside mall to enhance security. According to Red Cross, most nearby hospitals are now full and causalities are being taken to Nairobi Hospital and Kenyatta National Hospital.

Somalia’s al Shabaab remain in Nairobi mall after deadly attack

21 Sept – Source: Al Arabiya/AFP – 129words

Somali al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group al Shabaab remain in Nairobi mall after claiming responsibility for an attack that killed 68 people and wounded 170 more on Saturday. Fierce gunfire could be heard coming from Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall Sunday. Kenyan security forces have been battling to end the siege in the upmarket mall for more than 20 hours since the attack started on Saturday. Two Kenyan soldiers were wounded on Sunday and evacuated from the complex, taken away by ambulance. Somali al Qaeda-affiliated militant group al Shabaab said on Twitter that the attack was in retaliation for Kenya’s military intervention in Somalia. “The Mujahideen entered. Westgate Mall today at around noon and are still inside the mall, fighting the Kenyan Kuffar (infidels) inside their own turf,” al Shabaab said on Twitter, according to AFP.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Kenya’s “Little Mogadishu” fears backlash after al Shabaab attack

22 Sept – Source: Reuters – 715 Words

In the shabby “Little Mogadishu” quarter of Kenya’s capital, Somalis feared the militant attack on a Nairobi shopping mall could trigger a violent backlash against them. Islamist group al Shabaab said it carried out the raid on the Westgate centre, that killed at least 59 people, in revenge for Kenya’s military campaign against its fighters in Somalia. In the congested Eastleigh neighbourhood, memories were still fresh of the mobs who targeted homes and shops in November after a suspected al Shabaab attack on a minibus killed nine. “A mob of youths can … attack us like last time,” said Mohamed Warsame, sitting next to a stall selling “khat” leaves, which are chewed as a stimulant across the Horn of Africa. The elderly man said he expected the police would at least mount more raids to round up illegal immigrants and suspected militants. Groups of Somali men talked in hushed tones and at one electronics shop, the owner changed channel to switch from the live coverage of the mall assault drama to a tennis match.

Exclusive: Al Shabaab – ‘foreigners are not safe in Kenya’

22 Sept- Source: Channel 4-696 Words
Armed militants from al Shabaab, the Somali-based, al Qaeda-linked group, are still inside the Westgate shopping centre in Kenya’s capital Nairobi. Reporter Jamal Osman interviewed a spokesman for the group to find out the reasons for the attack, and what message they have for the West.
Jamal Osman: “Why did you do the attack?”

Al Shabaab spokesman: “The reason we attacked is to defend our people our country, because Kenya attacked us, they are still controlling parts of our land. “We have been peaceful neighbours, but they are the ones who attacked us and we are defending ourselves. Whether you are Muslim or Christian, the law says you have to defend yourself from those who attack you.

JO: “You have killed lots of different nationalities, including Britons; don’t you fear powerful countries will come after you?”

AS: “We have told the Kenyans and those who come to Kenya that we will not tolerate what Kenya is doing to us. We told them we would defend ourselves and we warned them about travelling to Kenya. “Kenyans have blood on their hands. Anyone who is prepared to come to Kenya must be prepared to face the reality, and we don’t fear Europeans and Americans because we are not weak. “And we are saying to the Europeans and the Americans who have been supporting those who have been attacking us, you should tell the Kenyans to stop their aggression if you want to be safe.”

Kenya mall attack: 68 killed, more hostages trapped as siege goes on

22 Sept – Source: CNN – 103 words

Nairobi shopping mall attacks: Al Shabaab Twitter account suspended

22 Sept – Source: Telegraph – 127 words

The Twitter account of Somalia’s al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab rebels has been suspended after they used the site to claim responsibility for an attack on a Nairobi shopping mall that left 39 dead and 150 wounded. A message from Twitter on the English-language @HSM-Press account read that the account was suspended, the third time this year that the group has been expelled from the site. According to Twitter users are blocked “for any unlawful purposes or in furtherance of illegal activities”. Al Shabaab’s previous account, @HSMPress, was suspended in January after the group posted photographs of a French commando they killed and threatened to execute Kenyan hostages. They opened another account, @HSMPress1, but were again suspended earlier this month after threatening Somalia’s internationally-backed president.

Somalia’s president praises Turkey during his US visit

21 Sept – Source: AA News – 127 words

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia has expressed deep appreciation to Turkey on its role to find a peaceful way to end long-running disputes between Somalia and Somaliland. President Mohamud attended a conference on the sidelines of his visit to the US capital, Washington, D.C. on Friday. Speaking at the conference, Mohamud talked about security challenges and Somalia’s economy as well as his country’s relations with its neighbours. He also touched on the long-running disputes between his country and Somaliland. Praising Turkey’s determination to revive a process of dialogue among Somalia and Somaliland to end their dispute, he said “I thank for their large and good offices of Turkish government on solving issues with Somaliland. We have been continuing our dialogue with the authorities of Somaliland.”

Kenya mall attack: Somalia’s al Shabaab group claims responsibility

21 Sept – Source: The Guardian – 111 words

Somalia’s militant group al Shabaab is claiming responsibility for the attack on a Nairobi mall on Saturday that has killed at least 30 people, saying it was retribution for Kenyan forces’ 2011 push into Somalia. The group threatened more attacks. As night fell in the Kenyan city, hostages remained inside the mall, but officials didn’t or couldn’t say how many. Two groups of army special forces troops had moved inside as the stand-off stretched into its ninth hour. Police and military surrounded the huge complex as helicopters buzzed overhead. A reporter said he saw a wounded Kenyan soldier put into an ambulance at nightfall, an indication, perhaps, of a final shoot-out inside.

Nairobi Westgate Mall Siege: Islamic Militant Fears as White Europeans and Wealthy Kenyans Targeted

21 Sept – Source: IB Times – 127 words

Gunmen firing machine guns and throwing grenades have laid siege to the most upscale shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, witnesses and police said. At least five attackers invaded the Westgate shopping mall. A Reuters photographer clamed to have seen five dead. Police arrived on foot about half an hour after the attacks began, witnesses said. Five dozen people were seen rushing out of the mall amid AK-47 gunfire and grenade bursts. The volleys of gunfire also moved outside the mall more than 20 minutes after the attacks began. Rob Vandijk, who works at the Dutch embassy, said he was eating at a restaurant inside the mall when attackers threw hand grenades inside the building. He said gunfire then started and people screamed and dropped to the ground.

Somalia Names Abrar as Its First Female Central Bank Governor

20 Sept – Source: Bloomberg – 159 words

Somalia named Yussur Abrar as the country’s first female central bank governor, replacing Abdusalam Omer, who resigned after a United Nations monitoring group accused him of mismanaging the government’s money. Abrar has spent the past 30 years working for international banks and insurance companies, Shador Hajji, a press officer in the presidency in the capital, Mogadishu, said by phone today. She will formally assume the role after a handover, the date of which has yet to be confirmed, he said. Omer, who held the job for seven months, said he presented his letter of resignation “after the president told me that he was going to reshuffle all the government institutions, so before that I decided to quit,” he said in a phone interview. Somalia’s government said on Sept. 6 that an investigation into a UN monitoring group report published in July showed its “condemnation of the Somali Central Bank Governor Abdusalam Omer’s stewardship of the bank was entirely unwarranted.”

Canadian teen brothers jailed in Somaliland

20 Sept – Source: Toronto News – 109 words

Two Mississauga teens have been jailed in Africa for more than a month, their father says, since taking a summer trip to visit their grandmother. Mohamed Noor sent sons Liiban, 18, and Jamal, 15, to Somaliland in June. The Canadian-born brothers had never been to the tiny East African territory, an autonomous region within the borders of Somalia that considers itself independent. The vacation was interrupted on July 24, Noor says, when police officers stormed into their grandmother’s home. “They came to the house with special forces. They terrorized the house,” Noor alleges. He says the boys were accused of raping a young woman, the cousin of a politician.

Court document references al Qaeda-linked chemical weapons program in Somalia

19 Sept – Source: CBS News – 134 words

A new document filed in a still-developing terrorism case in New York seems to confirm the long-held fear that al Qaeda is working to develop chemical weapons. On Wednesday, CBS News obtained a document filed by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York indicating that three men charged with being members of the al Shabaab terrorist group in Somalia had “substantial knowledge regarding an al Shabaab research and development department that was developing chemical weapons.” CBS News senior correspondent John Miller told “CBS This Morning” the lead defendant in the case, Mahdi Hashi, and two others were arrested in August, 2012, by African authorities while allegedly on their way to Yemen. They are charged with participating in a weapons and training program with al Shabaab over a four-year period beginning in 2008.

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“The Westgate attack is the latest sign of the group’s weakness. It was a desperate, high-risk gamble by al Shabaab to reverse its prospects. If the deadly attack succeeds in prompting vigilante violence by Kenyan citizens or heavy-handed government reactions against Somali residents, al Shabaab stands a chance of recasting itself as the vanguard militia protecting Somalis against external enemies. It desperately needs to reframe the conflict in Somalia as Somalis versus the foreigners, not as Somalis who seek peace and a return to normalcy versus a toxic jihadi movement.”

What The Deadly Attack On A Kenya Mall Was Really About

22 Sept – Source: Think Progress – 957 Words

The bloody al Shabaab attack on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall on September 21 was an act of desperation by a jihadi group beset by internal power struggles and plummeting support. It is intended to provoke a violent backlash against ethnic Somalis by the Kenyan government and Kenyan citizens. Angry and frustrated Kenyans must resist the urge to play into al Shabaab’s hands. Ever since al Shabaab’s ascent to power in 2007, security and country experts have worried about the possibility that al Shabaab – which has long had a network in Kenya – would attack one of Kenya’s many soft targets. Nairobi’s busy shopping malls have always been a top concern. In addition to the loss of life, such a terrorist attack would have enormous ripple effects, costing Kenya hundreds of millions of dollars in lost tourist and business dollars. Yet for six years, the jihadi group opted only for a series of relatively small-scale attacks in Kenya, most of which appear to have been free-lance actions inspired by, rather than directly launched by, al Shabaab. What was constraining al Shabaab, even at the height of its power and popularity in Somalia in 2007-08, from taking the war to Kenya?

“Somalia can bounce back only when domestic revenues and international aid monies used to provide direct services; when local contractors and service providers with good standing are empowered, and when leadership accepts that genuine reconciliation is the missing link. So long as Somalis remain divided, they (in their fiefdoms) would keep attracting the most ferocious predators.”

New Deal and the Curse of ‘Community Self-Governance’

21 Sept – Source: Foreign Policy Blog – 1006 Words

On July 21, I tweeted the following reflection: “A society can govern itself with custom instead of modern law, tribal system instead of government; (however) it cannot ride both horses at the same time.” Reacting to that old tweet, a few days ago, I received a one-liner e-mail that read “We must be doing well riding both horses!” and an attachment of a beautiful picture from Brussels which captured the magnificent event recently organized by EU called the New Deal. I hope I am wrong. I hope that latest conference and the pledged $2.4 would solve all of Somalia’s problems. I hope it would help pull together our nation’s disconnected pieces and convince its many exploiters that people can no longer be fooled to think that Balkanized clan-driven fiefdoms constitute community self-governance. And as I have argued before, uniformly, beneath the democratic and pluralistic veneer, each of these self-governing political entities is a clan-based power concentration and selectively enjoy all the privileges that come with it. Can the New Deal Avoid the Failed Model?

“About a week before he died, he … put out one last tweet on his public “” account, in which he just commented that he was still a terrorist, despite breaking with al Shabaab.”

The Last Tweets From An American Jihadist In Somalia

22 Sept – Source: NPR Blog – 1261 Words

Omar Hammami grew up in the small of town of Daphne, Ala., but ended up in southern Somalia on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist list. Last week, Hammami was reportedly killed by members of al Shabaab, the al Qaeda-linked militant group, after a falling out with its leadership. He was known for rapping in an al-Shabab and was the subject of an in The New York Times Magazine. He also went by the name of Abu Mansoor Al Amriki, or “the American.” The story of how a young, charismatic kid from Alabama became a self-described terrorist has fascinated many people, including counterterrorism expert J.M. Berger, author of Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam. Berger struck up a relationship with Hammami on Twitter, and wrote about it for in a piece called “Omar and Me: My Strange, Frustrating Relationship with An American Terrorist.” Weekend Edition Sunday’s Rachel Martin talked to Berger about Hammami’s death and their “strange kind of camaraderie.”