September 6, 2018 | Morning Headlines
Somalia, Eritrea And Ethiopia To Hold Trilateral Talks On Economic Integration
05 September – Source: Africa Newsroom – 220 Words
The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo is leading efforts to consolidate gains made at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation by facilitating the prospect of a tripartite agreement on economic Integration between the countries of the Horn.
President Farmaajo, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki are scheduled to meet in Asmara on 6th and 7th September to hold discussions on strengthening the economic and security stability of the region. President Farmaajo’s vision is to promote free trade flow, and a mutual economic cooperation between all the countries of the Horn of Africa The leaders will also discuss measures to end all political and social conflicts between the countries of the horn to promote harmony and a happy coexistence between neighbors of the horn.
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Somalia seeks to play a key role in economic and social integration of the Horn of Africa to foster trade and investment, and to improve connectivity between the people and businesses of the Horn. In Beijing, Somalia signed the Belt and Road Initiative that enhances connectivity and promotes economic development, and an agreement on improving Economic and Technical Cooperation between China and Somalia. Somalia’s ambition to take the lead in facilitating a robust Horn of Africa trade bloc would foster stronger economic stability and development for the Horn nations.
Key Headlines
- Somalia Eritrea And Ethiopia To Hold Trilateral Talks On Economic Integration (Africa Newsroom)
- We Are Working On Plans To Improve Somali Police Performance Says Dualle (Shabelle Media)
- Gunmen Attack A Police Station In Garowe town (Garowe Online)
- Two Suspected Al-Shabaab Accomplices Arrested In Garissa (The Star)
- Norway Looks To Strip 1600 Migrants Of Refugee Status Send Them Back To Somalia (Breibart News)
- Lost Warrior: Leaving Al-Shabaab (Aljazeera)
NATIONAL MEDIA
We Are Working On Plans To Improve Somali Police Performance, Says Dualle
04 September – Source: Shabelle Media – 109 Words
Somali Security minister, Mohamed Abukar Islow Du’ale, has said the government is working plans to enhance the performance and capacity of the police force. Mr Duale said the plans will be coordinated by European Union (EU) officials, who will provide training to the police force as the country prepares to take over security responsibilities from African Union (AU) troops.
He underlined the government’s commitment in enhancing knowledge and skills of the Somali National Army and the law enforcement. The minister added that the plan is part of the efforts geared at securing Mogadishu, the Somali capital, in order to prevent attacks by the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab militants.
Gunmen Attack A Police Station In Garowe town
05 September – Source: Goobjoog News – 106 Words
Armed gunmen early today attacked a police station in Garowe, the capital of Nugaal region and the administrative headquarter of Puntland state in northeastern Somalia. Government officials in Garowe town confirmed the attack, which caused slight injuries to some officers and loss of properties. The militias, who attacked the police station, were confirmed to have previously served as government soldiers before resigning after involvement in various malpractices.
Omar Abdullahi Faroweyne the police commander, said: “the gunmen attack destroyed the police station building leading to various injuries of our on-duty police officers, however no deaths were reported”. He urged the security forces to be on the alert.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Two Suspected Al-Shabaab Accomplices Arrested In Garissa
05 September – Source: The Star – 251 Words
Security agencies in Garissa have arrested two suspected al-Shabaab accomplices in Ijara and Liboi towns. North Eastern commissioner Mohamed Birik said the two are a Kenyan from Gatundu, Kiambu County and a foreigner of European origin. The European was arrested in Ijara town while inquiring on where to board public vehicles to the border town of Hulugho, some 100 Kilometers away. “The public became suspicious and called in the police who picked him up for further interrogations. We have handed both of them to a multi-agency investigating team,” he said.
Birik said police recovered foreign currency valued at over 34,000 US dollars, night visual cameras, GPS gadgets and other assorted high tech-communication equipment from the European suspect. According to the suspect’s passport, he had been to Iran, Somalia and several European countries. On the Kenyan suspect, Birik said that he was in possession of a Qoran and claimed he was travelling to Kismayu on a business trip.
His passport indicated that he was widely travelled and has been to Uganda between 2005 and 2006. He also travelled to Qatar in 2004. He speaks fluent Kiswahili, Kikuyu and English. The suspect left Kiambu on Thursday last week and spent the night at his cousin’s place in Kahawa West, Githurai. He then travelled to Garissa the following day and where he spent two days at paradise hotel in Garissa before proceeding to the border town of Liboi.
“We are suspicious of his movement because his information is not adding up,” he said.
Norway Looks To Strip 1,600 Migrants Of Refugee Status, Send Them Back To Somalia
05 September – Source: Breibart News – 227 Words
The Norwegian government has come under fire from pro-migrant groups after announcing it would be removing refugee status from some 1,600 Somalians and sending them back to Somalia, noting the situation in the country had improved.
The Norwegian government has said that Somalia now has a more stable government and the refugees no longer need the protection of the Norwegian state, Nettavisen reports. Several pro-asylum seeker groups have spoken out against the move accusing the government of breaking international asylum rules, such as the Norwegian Organization for Asylum Seekers (NOAS) which argued that the conditions in Somali have not changed enough to justify stripping the migrants of refugee status. “The Somali state can not offer effective protection,” said senior advisor to NOAS André Møkkelgjerd. The organisation is also challenging the decision to remove the refugee status of one Somali in court.
Norwegian State Secretary Torkil Åmland commented on the opposition to the move saying, “The fact that some organisations disagree with the strict asylum and immigration policy that this government is leading is not the same as breaking the rules.” “The whole basis of the refugee convention is that there are only people with real protection needs that are entitled to stay. Neither the Constitution nor our international obligations mean that a foreign national is entitled to a particular type of permit in Norway,” Åmland added.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Mohammed says he never carried a gun or killed anyone, but when he saw civilians dying in bomb attacks, his view of al-Shabab changed. “That’s when I stopped being al-Shabab,” he says.”That’s when I realised I was a fool.”
Lost Warrior: Leaving Al-Shabaab
05 September – Source: Aljazeera – Video: 47:03 Minutes
When he was just three years old, Mohammed’s parents sent him away from Somalia, which was in the midst of a civil war. He was eight years old when he eventually arrived in England. “I was just like any other kid from the UK,” he reflects.”I had friends, I played football, I hung around in the streets. But I grew up without my parents.”
Then, as a teenager, he got into trouble with the police and was sentenced to two years in prison. “In those two years, I began to change. I became religious. I was looking for a sense of belonging,” Mohammed explains.
Having never received British citizenship, Mohammed was deported upon his release from prison. He was 19 when he landed back in Somalia – and into the arms of Al-Shabaab. “At first, I thought al-Shabab were the good guys,” he says.”They befriended me. They gave me a way to re-establish my life in Africa.”
Mohammed says he never carried a gun or killed anyone, but when he saw civilians dying in bomb attacks, his view of al-Shabab changed. “That’s when I stopped being al-Shabab,” he says.”That’s when I realised I was a fool.” Mohammed left the group, but being an Al-Shabaab defector came with its own dangers. He feared that if they found him, they would kill him.
He tried to hide from them in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, which is where he met Fathi, who was born in London but was sent to Somalia to be “re-educated”. The two get married, and when 17-year-old Fathi returned to London, she was pregnant.
But, despite it being the city where he grew up, Mohammed could not legally join his wife and child there. So he found himself adrift in a country and culture he didn’t fully understand, desperate to be reunited with his wife and child. Lost Warrior follows the young couple as they navigate global politics and personal relationships in a bid to build a better future for their son.