Shabelle Media: Three killed as Somali soldiers fire at IDPs collecting aid
Some Somali government soldiers on Monday opened fire at internally displaced people collecting aid in Mogadishu, killing at least three people and wounding three others, witnesses said.
The fire came as the government soldiers were looting aid food from Turkish government destined to help Somalia’s famine affected people.
The IDPs are said to have fled from the scene not taking their food donations, according to eyewitnesses.
The witnesses said some government soldiers took all food aid brought at the IDPs camp to feed the famine displaced Somalis.
A report at Somalia Report puts the death toll at five.
Daily Mail Online: The firing squad who botched the job: Somalia executes two former government soldiers accused of murder to prove to West it is clamping down on lawlessness
Strapped to wooden posts in scrubland in Mogadishu, these are the last moments of two ex-government soldiers who have been executed to prove a point.
Crowds of local people had gathered in the Somalian capital to watch their final moments, excruciatingly drawn out as their former colleagues missed repeatedly and bullets landed all around them in the sand.
It took more than ten rounds of fire to kill the men with one having to be finished off at point-blank range with a bullet in the heart.
The Western-backed regime in charge of Somalia is desperate to prove it has a grip on law and order in the famine-hit state.
But the brutal images will win the country few friends in its efforts to present a credible alternative to the Islamic militants who provide such a threat to security.
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Judge Hassan Muungaab told Reuters: 'We caught these two soldiers red-handed. One killed a civilian and the other a soldier, so we have decided to execute them in accordance with the laws of Islam and our military court.
'They will serve a good example to all government forces, which should ensure reliable peace. This is to avoid killings and to safeguard our Somali people.
'Any soldier who kills a person or loots property or food at the market or in refugee camps will be executed likewise.'
Dozens of people watched as 15 soldiers open fire on the two soldiers, identified as Abdisankus and Abdullahi Jirow, who had been blindfolded and tied to two poles. The soldiers' bodies were then buried in a field.
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Some witnesses said they were distressed...
Liban Issa, who lives in Mogadishu, said: 'After more than 10 bullets hit each... a soldier went closer to finish one man who did not die immediately and shot several bullets into his heart.
'It was a bit shocking, some of us could not watch directly, we were looking down. Punishing criminals is fair but the beheading, limb cutting and execution by al Shabaab and the government is not something pleasant for our minds.'
In contrast, w/ masks on the executioners rather than the victims
Shabelle Media: Al shabaab executes three people in Mogadishu for spying
The movement of Al shabaab on Tuesday executed three Somali young people in Mogadishu for allegedly spying to the transitional federal government and Kenya.-- -- --
The Al shabaab’s court in Benadir region said the men were sentenced to death as the execution took place at a square in the district of Daynile just north of Mogadishu, according to local residents.
Abdi Burkan Moallim, 25 and Hussein Mohamed Abdullahi, 16, were accused of working and spying for the transitional federal government of Somalia, the Al shabaab court said.
Al shabaab noted that Ibrahim Mohamed Abdi, 31, was arrested in Sakow district of Lower Jubba region and was found guilty of working with the Kenyan intelligence.
The Al shabaab judge of Benadir region Al Qadi Sheikh the executed men were spies to what he called the enemy of Islam, adding that they admitted their crimes.
A woman, who witnesses the incident, told Shabelle that the young boys were shot and killed by a firing whose faces masked as the security was tightened.
Because we can...
Shabelle Media: Unlawful money imposed on aid planes landing at Mogadishu airport
Planes carrying aid to famine hit Somalia have been imposed illegal money to pay when landing at Mogadishu’s Aden International Airport, an official said on Wednesday.
Mogadishu airport authorities started to take a lot of illegal money from the airplanes carrying aid food and medicine to the starving people in the refugee camps in the capital, said an official at the Mogadishu airport who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
He said it is not still known where those money directly goes, adding that the aid planes landing at the airport were ordered to pay $ 2,000 for any flight to the capital.
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The move of taking a lot of illegal money from aid planes landing at Mogadishu airport is a new as Somalia’s government leaders said aid planes shouldn’t be taxed.
Shabelle Media: Shabelle Journalists blocked for reporting aid flights Mogadishu airport
The authorities of Mogadishu’s Aden Ade International Airport on Wednesday blocked journalists from Shabelle Media Network from entering Mogadishu airport to cover aid flights.-- -- --
Abdirazaq Adam Qoslaye, Zakariye Ahmed Muse, Mu’awiye Ahmed Mudey and Ahmed Osman from Shabelle were denied access to the airport by the police of the airport.
The deputy health minister for the transitional government Moallim Ali Adam, accompanied by Shabelle reporter Qoslaye and his cameraman Osman, was informed that Shabelle representatives are not allowed to get in the airport.
Efforts by the minister to help reporters enter to the airport ended in vain, according to Qoslaye.
The airport police also hindered reporter Zakariye Ahmed Muse and his cameraman Mu’awiye Ahmed Mudey to cover reports at aid flights at the airport which is destined for helping famine stricken Somalia.
It is worthy mentioning that other journalists from local and international newsoutlets were permitted in.
From a VOA interview w/ MSF's programs manager Duncan McLean
Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF, is one of the many humanitarian groups caring for the Somalis.-- -- --
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MSF also has medical teams north of Mogadishu in areas controlled by al Shabab. Many war wounded and road accident victims are being treated.
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While the withdrawal of al Shabab has allowed greater access to parts of the city, the Somali capital cannot be called safe.
“In Mogadishu we have access in the sense that we have Somali and international teams on the ground that are working in the various camps, displaced camps around the city,” he said. Those teams carry out vaccination and therapeutic feeding programs, along with basic medical consultations to check for cholera and acute water diarrhea.
While he describes the access as good, he remains cautious since it’s only been a few weeks since al Shabab left north Mogadishu. The militia is battling the U.N. and AU backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG).
McLean said, “It has left a security vacuum of sorts. And so, even, say, during the height of the conflict in Mogadishu, as dangerous as that city was, there was a clear front line even if there might be various targeted killings and bombings within TFG areas.”
Now pro-government forces have a much wider area to control without any additional troops. That allows other armed groups to act more freely.
“There are also private militias related to different clans and so on. And working in those circumstances I actually find almost as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than when there was a front line running through the city. Nonetheless, we do have access with extreme caution,” he said.
Shabelle Media: Al shabaab displays battle wagons confiscated from TFG
The Al shabaab group on Wednesday put on show at least six military wagons they said had confiscated from the transitional federal government in the district of Bardhere in Gedo region of southern Somalia.
Reports emanating from the region of Gedo say that four of the seized military vehicles loaded with military supplies for the Somali government forces in the region.
Officials of Al shabaab said the captured the vehicles after fierce battles with Somalia forces backed by the moderate of Ahlu Sunna Waljama (ASWJ) that took place in the village of Busar just outside of Elwak town.
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Press TV: Two US drones go down in Somalia
Two unmanned aerial vehicles operated by the US military have reportedly crashed in Somalia's drought-stricken capital of Mogadishu.-- -- --
The first drone went down in close proximity to Mogadishu's Aden-Adde International Airport on Wednesday evening. The remains of the aircraft were retrieved by Somali government and African Union forces, a Press TV correspondent reported.
Later in the day, another American remote-controlled drone crashed onto the Florenza Street, which connects the Presidential Palace, or Villa Somalia, with district of Hararyale.
Shabelle Media: SKA denies illegal charges imposed on aid planes landing at Mogadishu
The SKA Air and Logistics Company on Sunday denied it had imposed unlawful charges on planes carrying food aid and landing at Mogadishu international airport.-- -- --
Yusuf Sheikh, an official from SKA, said in an interview with Shabelle Media Network that the company doesn’t charge any plane carrying to famine stricken Somalis in Mogadishu.
The official admitted the leaders of Somali transitional federal government take the tax fees from the aid planes landing or taking off the airport.
AP: Instructors struggle to rebuild Somalia's army
The instructor's whistle tweets, and around 50 Somalis drawing paychecks from the U.S. government punch the air in front of them with varying degrees of coordination and enthusiasm.-- -- --
The men, destined to be part of the Somali government's VIP protection team, are practicing karate at a newly built parade ground in the capital. Instructors say the lessons are less about self-defense and more about trying to mold a collection of ragtag militias into a national army — a problem advisers have also faced in Afghanistan.
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In recent weeks Somali forces have shot civilians, each other, and looted food aid meant for famine-hit families. Yet these are the forces many aid agencies must rely on to protect vast amounts of food pouring into Somalia. They are also supposed to help the 9,000-strong African Union force secure the country's capital after Islamist rebels withdrew from bases there this month.
But many now fear that with the Islamists gone, Somalia's armed forces — still organized largely along clan lines — may simply fight each other and try to extort money from the civilians they are meant to protect.
"A real danger exists that the warlords and their militia groups will move forward to fill the vacuum created by al-Shabab's departure," said Augustine Mahiga, the U.N.'s special envoy to Somalia, after al-Shabab pulled out.
Still, Somalia's armed forces — 10,000 soldiers, 5,000 police and assorted allied militias — have seen some improvements over the past year. Since December, the soldiers have been receiving a regular $100 paycheck every month from the Italian and American governments. The police receive the same amount through the U.N.
International accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the AU force administer the army payments, handing each man his cash in person to prevent theft by commanders.
The soldiers have also received new uniforms. Al-Jazira has been transformed from a wasteland dotted with a few ragged tents and no fence to a fortified camp with guard towers, razor wire, classrooms and a school. Vast white tents can house over a thousand trainees at a time. Before, they often slept under trees and those who weren't paid sometimes sold their weapons and bullets to feed their families.
Last year the European Union began training 2,000 Somali soldiers for six months at a time in Uganda. The U.S. helped by funding transportation for trainees to and from Somalia, paying for equipment and salaries for the soldiers, and supporting the Ugandan army.
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AU officers also say they are working more closely with the Somali army than they used to. AU front-line units were seen sharing equipment and sleeping quarters with Somali soldiers, something unthinkable only a year ago when there was deep distrust between the forces.
Of course it's a deflection tactic, but does it signal any pending military campaign?
VOA:
Ethiopia's prime minister says East African countries are ready to help provide security for humanitarian aid deliveries to famine-stricken parts of Somalia controlled by Islamist insurgents. The remarks from Meles Zenawi came Thursday at an African Union pledging conference that netted more than $350 million in cash contributions to help those facing starvation in the Horn of Africa.
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Speaking to a hall filled with African and international dignitaries, the Ethiopian leader laid blame for the famine squarely on the al-Qaida-linked extremist group al-Shabab. He said it is no accident that the famine zone is limited mostly to areas of Somalia under al-Shabab's control, where aid groups have limited access.
"The lack of peace and security in many parts of the country and consequently the absence of governmental institutions has impeded effective response to the drought," Meles said. "The callous disregard for lives of the al-Shabab terrorists and their calculated sabotage of all efforts to help the needy has forced people to travel for weeks to get aid or die in their homes and on their way to refugee camps."
Meles said the six-nation East African regional group Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has developed a plan to provide security for Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) as it expands aid deliveries into rural areas no longer under al-Shabab control.
"We should be able to provide aid in Somalia, not only in Mogadishu but also other areas that are not under the control of al-Shabab terrorists," added Meles. "The IGAD region is ready to contribute to such cross-border operation by assisting the TFG and other forces of peace to ensure the necessary environment for such an operation. Our foreign ministers and chiefs of staff have already made the necessary decisions in this regard."
Meanwhile,
Shabelle Media: Famine displaced people complain of robbing, looting by govt soldiers
Some of famine displaced people in the Somali capital Mogadishu are complaining about transitional federal government soldiers who always rob and loot aid food intended to feed them.
Drought affected families at internally displaced people (IDPs) camps in Mogadishu’s Dharkenley district told Shabelle radio that aid food was often looted before reaching to needy people.
They say that some aid from Turkish government has come under raid and then looted while hundreds of drought and famine hit families waiting for it.
Shabelle Media: IDPs at Mogadishu’s Badbado refugee camp start fleeing
Some of famine displaced people started fleeing from Badbado, a government established refugee camp in Mogadishu.-- -- --
Badbado, which means safety, locates in Dharkenley district and was established to accommodate the people, who fled drought zones, and arrived at Mogadishu.
The fleeing people say the bad security was the main factor forced them to run away from the refugee camp.
They say they have moved to Tarabunk refugee camps in Mogadishu’s Hodan district to get a better life and security situation there.
New Vision: Ugandans leading al-Shabaab
SOME commanders of the al-Shabaab militants fighting to overthrow the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Somalia are Ugandans, the UPDF spokesperson, Lt Col. Felix Kulayigye, has said.-- -- --
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Kulayigye told heads of diplomatic missions and religious leaders from Africa that the militants commanding al-Shabaab were not Somalis, but Ugandans, Pakistanis and others from Arab countries.
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Kulayigye was speaking during a conference organised by a united religions initiative at Hotel Africana in Kampala on Tuesday.
Shabelle Media: Somali PM, Puntland leader meet in Garowe town
In two days visit to Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland, Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, the prime minister of Somali interim government held key talks with Puntland leaders including Abdurrahman Sheikh Mohamoud Farole, the president of regional administration.
The prime minister and Puntland president Farole discussed the bilateral relations of the semi-autonomous state with the interim federal government.
To end the disagreements between the administrations and to cooperation assuring peace were also among the issues mooted in the discussions.
Shabelle Media: Somali president, Mahiga visit Puntland’s capital Garowe
A delegation led by Somalia’s president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and separately the United Nations special envoy to Somalia reached in Garowe town, the capital of Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland.
Somali president was warmly welcomed by Puntland leaders at the town of Garowe as his trip to the region is the first since he was elected as a president three years ago.
Previously, his Prime Minister Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali visited there to pave the way for the tour of president to defuse tensions between the transitional federal government and Puntlnad administration.
Shabelle Media: Somalia, Puntland leaders agree Mogadishu to host consultative meeting
The president of Somali transitional federal government and the leader of Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland on Sunday agreed Mogadishu, the capital of strife torn Somalia, to be hosting the UN backed Somalia consultative meeting.
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Speaking jointly to the journalists in Garowe, the capital of Puntland state, the presidents of Somalia Mr. Ahmed said he and Farole agreed the first phase of Somalia’s consultative meeting to be held in Mogadishu, the second in Garowe town.
For his part, the Puntland leader noted that he was pleased with the visit by the president of Somalia to Garowe, adding that the consultative meeting will take plane in the Somali capital.
He also spelled out they concurred disagreements between the two administrations to be brought to an end and repair the strained ties between them.
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