Sudan to help Somalia on troops strengthening

23 May – Source: Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu/Raxanreeb – 106 words

Somali Federal government has signed an agreement on strengthening its troops with Sudan government in Khartoum, Sudanese capital on Wednesday. The Chairman of the Somali Military Court, Hassan Mohamed Hussein Mungab has signed the agreement for the Somali Federal government, the agreement include the strengthening of the Somali national forces.

The agreement was facilitated by the Defense Ministry of Sudan government and Somali Defense Ministry in the presence of the Somali Defense Minister Abdihakim Hajji Mohamud Fiqi and his counterpart Abdel-Rahim Hussein.

The Sudanese government has donated $1.3 million to support Somali development and reconstruction efforts during the London conference on Somalia on May 7.

Key Headlines

• Sudan to help Somalia on troops strengthening (Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu/Raxanreeb)
• MPs term motion against Cabinet political plot (Shabelle)
• Sentences continue in Minn. Somali terror case (AP)
• Gunmen kill two in Garissa escape on foot (Standard Media)
• Humanitarian worker killed in central Somalia (Radio Kulmiye/ Somaliweyn/Madiina Online)
• It’s a new beginning in Jubaland as President gets down to business (Daily Nation)
• Refugee from war-torn Somalia has ultimate goal of being doctor (Arizona Daily Star)

SOMALI MEDIA

Sudan to help Somalia on troops strengthening

23 May – Source: Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu/Raxanreeb – 106 words

Somali Federal government has signed an agreement on strengthening its troops with Sudan government in Khartoum, Sudanese capital on Wednesday.

The Chairman of the Somali Military Court, Hassan Mohamed Hussein Mungab has signed the agreement for the Somali Federal government, the agreement include the strengthening of the Somali national forces.

The agreement was facilitated by the Defense Ministry of Sudan government and Somali Defense Ministry in the presence of the Somali Defense Minister Abdihakim Hajji Mohamud Fiqi and his counterpart Abdel-Rahim Hussein.

The Sudanese government has donated $1.3 million to support Somali development and reconstruction efforts during the London conference on Somalia on May 7.

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MPs term motion against Cabinet political plot

23 May – Source: Shabelle – 110 words

Some parliamentarians’ say that the recently proposed motion against the prime minister was a political plot. Mohamed Omar Dalha who is a member of parliament said that political bindings were attached to the motion.

He said that there was a misunderstanding between the cabinet and some Mps about some political issues which he refused to point out. Mr. Dalha said that small arguments should not result to motions against the cabinet.

He added that politicians should work on their responsibilities positively and aim for national development. Another Mp who addressed the issue is Soyan Abdi Warsame. Mr. Warsame said that the politicians who proposed the motion had a hidden agenda.

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Humanitarian worker killed in central Somalia

23 May – Source: Radio Kulmiye/ Somaliweyn/Madiina Online – 96 words

Unidentified gunmen on Wednesday killed Abdishakur Mohamud Elmi, a humanitarian activist working for one of the humanitarian agencies, near the coastal town of Hobyo in Mudug, province, central Somalia.

The reports from the area confirmed that three gunmen shot him when he was distributing food aid to the displaced Somalis in the region. According to the residents the gunmen who killed humanitarian worker fled immediately from the area.

It was not possible yet to know the circumstances of the incident and the who responsible for it specifically, but the tribal elders in the region condemned the incident.

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10 dead after Beledweyne fighting

23 May – Source: Shabelle – 93 words

Almost 10 people are reportedly killed after a heavy fighting between Alshabab and Ethiopian troops at the outskirts of Beledweyne town.

Isaq Ali Abdulle who is the top commander of federal troops in Hiran region talking to Shabelle radio said that al Shabaab militiamen opened gunfire at the residents of a small town located at the outskirts of Beledweyne town.

He informed Shabelle that the Ethiopian troops filled in quickly to stop the terror group. al Shabaab retreated back and caused more damages to property and confirmed that more lives were lost during the combat.

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Somalia: Security operations in Mogadishu still ongoing

22 May – Source: StarFM/ Horseed Media – 128 words

The Somali National Security Forces supported by the African Union Mission in Somalia have begun a massive operation around the Somali capital city of Mogadishu.

The Somali Police Force, the Somali National Army and the National Intelligence Service will work jointly with both AMISOM soldiers and police to conduct the crackdown that will involve rigorous door-to-door, stop & search and cordon & search operations.

This crackdown aims to stem insecurity caused by insurgents who – on the back foot after a string of defeats in the military front – have reverted to guerilla type attacks in Mogadishu.

These attacks have besieged the civilian population of Mogadishu and this operation aims to continue to safeguard their lives and rights, so they can continue to go about their daily lives in safety.

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DBG head gets humanitarian award

23 May – Source: Shabelle – 82 words

The Somali Sultans Assembly for Reconciliation has given a certificate of recognition to Daryeel Bulsho Guud  Director, Omar Olad Ahmed for the organization’s outstanding humanitarian activities in several Internally Displaced Peoples camps in Benadir Region. The ceremony was held at the headquarters of Somali sultans assembly..

Speaking at the ceremony, the Chairperson of the Somali Sultans Assembly, boqor Farah Abdi Gure,said this certificate was awarded to DBG after a committee from the sultans assembly toured several IDP Camps in Mogadishu.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Gunmen kill two in Garissa, escape on foot

23 May – Source: Standard Media – 312 words

Gunmen killed two people on Wednesday evening in renewed attacks on civilians in Garissa Town. The men were killed in a place popularly known as Shifta Camp near the local library by gunmen who escaped on foot at about 6.20 pm. Police said the attackers must have mistaken the two to be security agents before shooting them in the head at close range.

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It’s a new beginning in Jubaland as President gets down to business

23 May – Source: Daily Nation – 510 words

On a cool Wednesday morning last week, 500 delegates filed into a long, rectangular building with plywood sides and a shiny new iron sheet roof in the middle of Kismayo University.

They converged for Jubaland Conference for the Establishment of the Regional State, and their main task was to elect the president. They settled on Ahmed Mohammed Islam, also known as Sheikh Madobe, and who often has the title General.

President Madobe selected General Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail Fartag his Vice-President last Thursday and they were sworn in on Friday. General Madobe’s elevation to the presidency of this new State of the Federal Government of Somalia has seen him undergo a transformation.

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Jubaland elects new president

22 May – Source: KTN – 3: 44 min

As Kenya settles into her new system of governance, across the border the Somalia central government is at loggerheads with the newly formed Jubaland state of Somalia over the installation of a president.

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State on alert as polio is reported in Dadaab

22 May – Source: Star News – 241 words

The Ministry of Health on Friday confirmed an outbreak of polio at the Dadaab refuge camp. The Wild Poliovirus type one case which was reported in Dadaab camp in North Eastern came a few days after an outbreak in the nearby Somalia region.

Director of Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation Dr Shahnaaz Shariff said the patient was a 2-year-old who came into contact with an infected person. He said that a sample sent to South Africa had turned out to be positive noting that the country had ample vaccines in their immunization.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Sentences continue in Minn. Somali terror case

23 May – Source: AP – 177 words

Two men who left Minnesota to join al Shabaab in Somalia were sentenced Tuesday to three years in federal prison, while a man they characterized as a local leader in efforts to recruit them to the terrorist group was sentenced to 12 years.

They were among six men sentenced this week for their roles in the government’s long-running investigation into the travels of more than 20 young men who left Minnesota to join the al Qaeda-linked group in Somalia — a phenomenon that has been called one of the largest efforts to recruit U.S. fighters into a foreign terrorist group.

Abdifatah Yusuf Isse, 29, and Salah Osman Ahmed, 30, both left Minnesota and traveled to Somalia in 2007. They both spent about a week in an al Shabaab training camp before they said they realized what the group was all about and escaped.

The government recommended they receive less than the maximum sentence of 15 years in prison because they cooperated. Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis went even lower than prosecutors recommended, sentencing them to three years.

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Refugee from war-torn Somalia has ultimate goal of being doctor

23 May – Source: Arizona Daily Star – 218 words

When Aden Abdi first arrived in the United States at 9 years old, he and his family had hopes of a better life, education and success. Abdi’s family left war-torn Somalia for Kenya before making its way to Tucson in 2004. He enrolled in the fourth grade despite never attending school a day in his life and not speaking the language.

Nine years later, the Pueblo Magnet High School senior is well-spoken and will graduate today with A’s and B’s. Through participation in the Pima County JTED program, he will be a certified nursing assistant.

Abdi’s life is everything he thought it would be. “Knowing that I was coming here, I expected that my life would change,” Abdi said. “My parents always wanted to educate their children. They wanted a good environment and freedom. This was the right place for us.”

Kenyan-born Abdi, 18, recalls it being hard to find food and water there. What he did find was a passion helping others. “I would see sick people and I just wanted to help them so they could get better.” Though much has changed over the years, Abdi’s interest in medicine has not. After finishing classes at Pueblo, he takes a four-hour class in the certified nursing assistant program at JTED, followed by homework late into the night.

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Somalia, beyond the famine

22 May – Source: IRIN News – 1747 words

Over one million people in Somalia are currently food insecure, according to a May report by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET). This number is a significant drop from the 3.7 million considered food insecure in mid-2011.

The improvement has been attributed to good ongoing ‘gu’, the March-to-June rains, and the 2012 October-November ‘deyr’ rains. Successive droughts and poor rains had culminated in a famine in Somalia in 2011.

The famine led to an estimated 258,000 excess deaths, meaning deaths above normal mortality numbers, according to a 2 May study commissioned by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) and FEWSNET.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“Although only limited evidence exists at present for such a prospect, the piracy issue must be viewed as more than an economic problem”.

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Somalia: A Terrorist-Piracy Nexus?

22 May – Source: Huffington Post – 1296 words

Piracy, like terrorism has been a scourge of mankind for centuries and, though its practitioners, real (Blackbeard, Anne Bonny and Henry Morgan) and mythical (Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribean movie stories) have achieved heroic stature in popular culture, its contemporary manifestations represent a major threat to the global economy and to national security.

Significant strides have been made in recent years towards combating piracy, especially off the coast of Somalia, but a robust international grand strategy is urgently needed in order to forestall an ever more dangerous global threat as pirates develop ever more sophisticated organizational structures, many of which are already linked to criminal gangs and even, in some cases to terrorist groups.

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“It’s really important when a large international organization enters into a sensitive conflict environment and tries to partner with a local organization, that it’s an equal partnership as opposed to a partnership that may prove to be dangerous for the group that’s going to stay.”

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Local Aid Works Better in Somalia

23 May – Source: ISN Blog – 2811

Somalia could fall into the same trap as Afghanistan and Iraq where massive influxes of aid create a short-term boom in the economy but don’t necessarily lay the groundwork for sustainable growth, said Aisha Ahmad, assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto and chief operation officer of the Dr. Hawa Abdi Foundation, an internationally renowned organization in Somalia that has provided emergency relief to people throughout the civil war.

Ms. Ahmad said Mogadishu’s current stability is mostly due to the “green zone” established by the international community, and because aid sometimes doesn’t reach rural areas, desperate people are now drawn to the capital, “creating a number of new humanitarian and security concerns that we haven’t seen thus far.”

“Once you leave the green zone, the situation changes dramatically, and you’ll see a lot of the old militia coming out of the bush the minute you leave the capital city going into Afgooye corridor,” she said.

Top tweets

@ethicalcomment  What lessons can be learnt from the peace process in #Somalia for #Syria. Last month’s London Conference on Somalia a sign of hope.

@darshnasoni  Interesting, #Newsnight reporting #Woolwichattacker may have been stopped last year en route to#Somalia to join al Shabaab.

@UNICCairo  Progress in #Somalia: 500,000+ children in previously inaccessible areas reached w polio vaccines.@OCHASom report http://buzz.mw/-Hdb_y.

@TheRealAxmed  Without the deliberate inclusion of women leadership in Gov’t institutions, meaningful progress cannot be achieved. #Somalia #women #Africa.

i ‏@AnalystSomalia  Our visit at #Somalia‘s central bank included sneek peek of bank’s well gaurded vaults …@Aynte @HIPSINSTITUTE pic.twitter.com/QwitYn00Je.

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Image of the day

Men sit blindfolded after being rounded up by the Somali Police Force, to be screened during an operation aimed at improving security in Mogadishu May 21, 2013. Photo: Reuters.