September 27, 2013 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Revealed: suspected leader of Kenya terror attack

26 Sept- Source: Channel4-300 Words

Multiple sources from within Somalia have told Channel 4 News the identity of the man who led the group behind the attack on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping centre. According to sources connected to al-Shabaab, his Jihadi fighting name is Omar or Umayr. Omar, who is believed to have been killed in this week’s siege, was a Kenyan national, born to a Christian family from Nairobi. He converted to Islam and was also a former member of Kenya’s special forces. Umayr is understood to have left Kenya for Somalia in 2005, where he joined the Kamboni militant Islamist group. Kamboni later joined with al-Shabaab. Sources say Umayr used to teach al-Shabaab fighters martial arts and boxing at a training camp in Somalia. They say he fell out with leadership because they thought he lacked ambition. A second man been named by Channel 4 News sources.Known as Khadhab, he is a Somali national who worked in an Islamic bookshop in the Nairobi suburb of Eastleigh. He was arrested and imprisoned in Somalia, and it is alleged he was tortured by the CIA while in custody there. When he was released, sources say, he crossed over into al-Shabaab territory.

Key Headlines

Geneva Somali Human Rights Conference Ends(Radio Dalsan)
President vows to bring peace and stability to the Horn of Africa (OPS)
US government joins Uganda police anti-money laundering fight (Daily Monitor)
Somaliland: Egal International Airport Meets Our Standards Say’s Kuwait Representative (Somaliland Press)
EU raises security level for Somalia team after Kenya attack (Star Online/Reuters)
Somaliland Council of Ministers Approve 2014 Annual Budget (Somaliland Sun)
Interpol issues arrest notice for ‘White Widow’ wanted by Kenya (Africa Review)
Revealed: suspected leader of Kenya terror attack (Channel4)
Somalia to world: We need weapons and cash to fight terror (World News)
No evidence of al Shabaab threat against US attorney general says (Star Online)

PRESS STATEMENT

Somali President vows to bring peace and stability to the Horn of Africa

27 Sept- Source: Office of the President of Somalia – 386 words

His Excellency President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud today gave a rallying call to the international community in which he pledged to bring peace and stability to the Horn of Africa by defeating extremists in a war fought on multiple fronts.

In a landmark speech to the UN General Assembly, the first by an internationally recognized Somali premier in two decades, the President praised the UN and African Union for their support of Somalia in lifting it out of conflict. He paid tribute to the sacrifices paid by African peacekeepers and sent his personal condolences to the people and government of Kenya after the terrorist attack in Nairobi. Al Shabaab had been defeated militarily and the job now had to be finished in the interests of international security extending far beyond Somalia.

“We will fight and defeat Al Shabaab in the deserts and in towns, on digital and social media, we will fight them on the airwaves and in the newspapers, we challenge them in schools, colleges and universities and we will overcome them. We have defeated them on the battlefield and we must now defeat their poisonous ideology with innovative strategies, cutting-edge technologies, comprehensive education and vigorous communications.”

Outlining the recent progress in Somalia, the President hailed the signing of the New Deal Compact in Brussels earlier this month and called on international partners to rise to the occasion and ensure it made a real difference.

“To succeed, the New Deal must be more than words and frameworks,” the President said. “It must deliver on the ground. There are huge expectations on the compact to revolutionize service delivery to the public. We need to transform lives of our people, reconnect with our citizens and enhance their wellbeing.”

Somalia was forging ahead powerfully, having put the 22-year civil war behind it. Great progress had been made on public finance management reform, national reconciliation, political outreach and establishing the foundations of good governance with appropriate legislation. Consultations on a new constitution would lead in turn to national elections in 2016. The President said:

“We have planted the seeds of a New Somalia. We wish to see it grow into a tree standing tall in the African bush with deep roots binding it securely to its region and offering shade and protection to its people as they rebuild their lives.”

SOMALI MEDIA

Geneva Somali Human Rights Conference Ends

26 Sept – Source: Radio Dalsan – 115 words

In Geneva Switzerland, Somali Human Rights Conference ended Thursday. The conference explored how human rights can be upheld in Somalia and it is being attended by different dignitaries. including Prime Minister, Abdi Farah Shirdon-Saaid, UN Especial Envoy for Somalia, Nicholas Kay, AU Special Envoy for Somalia, Hon. Mohamed Salah An-nadiif, human rights activists and other dignitaries. Hassan Shire Sheikh, the head of the Eastern and Central Africa Human Rights Watch who spoke to Dalsan Radio from Geneva indicated that he is hopeful that the outcome of the conference will be fruitful for the Somali Nation.

Somaliland: Egal International Airport Meets Our Standards Say’s Kuwait Representative

26 Sept – Source: Somaliland Press – 130 words

Somaliland Minister Civil Aviation and Air Transport Hon Mahmud Hashi Abdi has for the first time come out publicly to clear his name and reputation in connection with allegations of corruption and embezzlement of funds related to the newly renovated Egal International Airport, Hargeisa during the presentation of a report released by the Kuwait. Dr. Nabeel Abdurrahman the engineer of representing the Kuwaiti consultant firm NARCO and ICT who in charge for the project work and also responsible to keep the contractor’s work in line with the contract guidelines and also to approve and supervise the work by certifying the Quality of work done was the first person who took the podium to explain to the public about the multi million project during the press briefing which lasted several hours.

Somaliland Council of Ministers Approve 2014 Annual Budget

26 Sept – Source: Somaliland Sun – 105 words

The annual 2014 annual national budget is to be submitted to parliament for debate and subsequent approval or rejection. The forthcoming budget said to be the heftiest in the country’s history was approved by the council of ministers during a session chaired by the head of state president Ahmed Mahmud Silanyo on Thursday. According to sources the cabinet of President Ahmed Mahmud Silanyo approved the budget worth $220m which is the largest in the history of Somaliland thus facilitating the finance ministry to present it to the House of Representatives, the country’s lower chamber of parliament for either approval or rejection as per the constitution.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Interpol issues arrest notice for ‘White Widow’ wanted by Kenya

26 Sept – Source: Africa Review – 128 words

Interpol has issued an international arrest notice for British national Samantha Lewthwaite, dubbed the ‘White Widow’, at Kenya’s request. A statement said the 29-year-old was “wanted by Kenya on charges of being in possession of explosives and conspiracy to commit a felony dating back to December 2011”. The Interpol alert, known as a red notice, requires member countries to detain the suspect pending extradition procedures. Lewthwaite is the widow of Germaine Lindsay, one of the four bombers involved in the terror attacks in London in July 2005, in which 52 people were killed and hundreds more injured. There has been widespread media speculation over her possible role in Nairobi’s deadly mall siege this week after Kenya’s Foreign minister said a British woman was among the al Shabaab attackers.

US government joins Uganda police anti-money laundering fight

26 Sept – Source: Daily Monitor – 140 words

The United States government has opened an office in the Uganda Police Force Directorate of Criminal Investigations and Intelligence to track money laundering and fraud, especially in travel documents, to curb terrorism. A police source said security officials from both the Uganda and US will jointly scrutinise documents issued by locals acquiring documents to travel in foreign countries. “We are going to authenticate all travel documents that have been submitted to us. In the long run we shall also look at counterfeit and other economic crimes like bank and corporate fraud,” a source said. The establishment of the office come at the time when suspected terrorists are threatening the stability of East African countries. On Saturday terrorists attacked Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, and killed more than 60 people. Somalia al-Shabaab militants have claimed responsibility for the mall attack.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Revealed: suspected leader of Kenya terror attack

26 Sept- Source: Channel4-300 Words

EU raises security level for Somalia team after Kenya attack

26 Sept – Source: Star Online/Reuters – 151 words

The European Union has increased security precautions for its military advisers in Somalia after the deadly attack by Somali Islamists on a Kenyan shopping mall, it said on Thursday. The EU has 120 military experts, split between the Somali capital Mogadishu and Uganda, training and advising Somali security forces battling the al Shabaab group which claimed responsibility for the Nairobi attack. The EU’s top military officer, French General Patrick de Rousiers, said it was routine to raise the alert level. “Of course we do this. Everybody does this, every embassy does this. Everyone is concerned,” he told a news conference. The EU has had no word of any planned attack on its team and no EU member state had asked to pull its staff out of Somalia, de Rousiers said, but he noted that al Shabaab struck the main U.N. compound in Mogadishu in June when 22 people were killed.

Somalia to world: We need weapons and cash to fight terror

26 Sept – Source: World News – 114 words

Somalia’s Defense Minister made an international plea to aid its struggling government, saying it cannot fight the terrorist group behind Kenya’s mall massacre without more funding and weapons from the global community. “We are not looking at jet fighters. It’s small arms,” Abdulhakim Haji Faqi told NBC News. “We need the funding and resources.” He warned that the attack on the Westgate mall should be a wake-up call illustrating that Somalia-based terror organization al Shabaab was now a “global problem.” “We need to defeat them ideologically and militarily,” Faqi said. “If we had more weapons, they would be less of a problem by now. … The way to help is to fund the Somali government.”

No evidence of al Shabaab threat against US, attorney general says

26 Sept – Source: Star Online – 79 words

The United States has no specific, credible evidence of a threat against it from al Shabaab, the Somali militant group that raised security concerns with its attack on a Nairobi mall, US. Attorney General Eric Holder said on Thursday. Holder said at a news conference at the Justice Department that he was concerned about al Shabaab and other offshoots of al Qaeda but not sure whether it has the ability to commit an attack in the United States.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“If the international community and leadership in the region go back to business as usual then the victims of al Shabaab’s terror will endure a second death.”

The Nairobi massacre and the genealogy of the tragedy

26 Sept- Source: Al Jazeera English-1245 Words

All people of goodwill and of all faiths must condemn al Shabaab for its gruesome deed at Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. No one serious enough about their creator can butcher innocent people as was done in Westgate earlier this week. These culprits are indeed faithless and must be brought to justice. As traumatic as the Westgate tragedy is, it must teach thoughtful Kenyans and others that the largest number of victims of al Shabaab are not Kenyans, Ugandans, or others, but Somalis in Somalia. Al Shabaab has imposed an incredible tyranny on the population and has disabled them from rebuilding their war-torn country. The international community, including Africans, have been not only oblivious to the plight of the Somali people, but have turned them into a disposable political football since the collapse of their state in 1991.