COMMENTARY ON ISLAMIC WEBSITES
Somali Memo - The pro-al-Shabaab website defended it's support of the Al-Qaeda linked al-Shabaab group as part of its 'Freedom of Speech' and accused certain US media groups and the US government of being against Freedom of Speech. "Somalimidnimo.com has the right to express its journalistic endeavor and coverage of Somalia."
POLITICS
Associated Press - Kenya is seeking U.S. and European assistance to aid in its planned attack on a militant port town in southern Somalia, Kenya’s prime minister said Tuesday. Raila Odinga said that Kenyan forces are preparing for a "final onslaught" on the Somali port town of Kismayo by August, when the U.N. mandate of Somalia’s transitional government expires. Kismayo is controlled by al-Shabaab militants who get a significant portion of their operating expenses by levying “taxes” on the port. Odinga said Kenya has asked the U.S. for financial assistance in the operation. He said the U.S. has previously "resisted" providing funds until Kenyan forces formally joined the African Union force known as AMISOM. The formal transfer of Kenyan forces to AMISOM command happened earlier this month.
Garowe Online - The Speaker of the Somali parliament Sharif Hassan has denied corruption accusations leveled against the transitional government of Somalia. The parliament speaker denied the misuse of $130 million and he stated that, "We believe that there is no $130 million received by the Somali government and if so that amount would have been noticed by everyone." Somali Language
Somaliland Press - In the beginning of 14th through to the 19th Century, the Sultans of the Ottoman Dynasty ruled large parts of Somalia stretching from Harar, Berbera, Zeyla, Borama, to Southern coastal areas like RasAsair to RasGamboni including Mogadishu, Brave, Merka, and Kismayo. The Ottoman Sultanate did not establish any self-governance for the Somali people. Their only goal was to rule and collect taxes. "The People Party of Somalia is against the renewed involvement of Arab and Islamic countries in the process of establishing a permanent government in Somalia. We are supportive of the efforts of the UN, AU, and AMISOM, led by Ugandan peacekeepers. Otherwise Somalia will slide further into a situation from which it will be even more difficult to recover," said by Dr. Said Issa Mohamud, Chair of the People Party of Somalia.
SECURITY/AL-SHABAAB
Mareeg - The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) has just learned the arrest of two journalists by militias loyal to Ahlu Sunna Waljama' (ASWJ) administration in the central Somalia town of Dhusamareb on early hours on Tuesday morning on June 12, 2012 around 06:30am local time. Militias loyal to the local Sufi militias, ASWJ raided the offices of the Radio Voice of Central Dhusamareb (Idaacadda Codka Bartamaha Dhusamareb) based in Dhusamareb on Tuesday morning around 6:20am local time, where they have seriously beaten and arrested Bashir Mohamed Salad Aka Bashir Sanka who contributes both Dalsan Radio, a privately owned independent radio station based in Mogadishu and Idacada Codka Bartamaha, an independent radio station based Dhusamareb and Abdi Jamal Moalim Ahmed, who is the correspondent of Radio Bar-Kulan, a UN Funded radio.
Wall Street Journal - Kenya's prime minister said his country's forces are planning a "final onslaught" against the Somali port city of Kismayo, al-Shabaab's main supply center and funding source, before Somalia's planned Aug. 20 presidential elections. "Without controlling Kismayo, it's very difficult to completely neutralize al-Shabab," said Prime Minister Raila Odinga at a news briefing in Nairobi Tuesday. The militant Islamist group supports itself by skimming profits from Somalia's second-busiest port.
OLYMPICS/TERRORISM
Reuters - Training in a bullet-riddled stadium where the remains of a rocket propelled grenade lies discarded on the track's edge counts as progress for Somali Olympic hopeful Mohamed Hassan Mohamed. A year ago, Mogadishu's Konis stadium was a base for Islamist militants and a work out meant at times running through the streets, dodging gun-fire and mortar shells in one of the world's most dangerous cities. "It's easier for us to train now," said Mohamed. It is a staggering understatement from the 22-year-old, one of four Somali athletes vying for the two slots guaranteed for Somalia at the London games. For 20 years the capital's rutted roads were the frontline in running battles between feuding warlords and later Islamist insurgents fighting to overthrow a government propped up by foreign forces and cash.
OP-ED
Daily Nation - The author, Nyambega Gisesa depicts Ras Kamboni leader Ahmed Madobe as an asset more than any other Somalia militia leaders. "He is a key asset in the war against Al-Shabaab as we seek to protect Kenya’s sovereignty and ensure that our citizens are not threatened by this terror organisation," Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Nyaga, a KDF commander whose men captured Afmadow and is expected to lead the final assault on Kismayu, told DN2.
RADIO ROUNDUP
Radio Mogadishu - A pro-government radio station
Somalia President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed visited Afgoye district of Lower Shabelle region on Monday, leading a delegation of ministers and military officials. The delegation held meetings on Tuesday with local officials as well as tribal and religious leaders in Afgoye and discussed how to strengthen security and ensure the safety of civilians. The president held a town hall session with local residents and discussed ways to fight extremism and how to best set up a government administration in the town.
The Somali Interior and Internal Security Minister Abdisamad Mo’alim Mohamud vowed that the Somali government will complete the military operations against al-Shabaab as soon as possible. The minister stated that the government has a military plan and he pledged that all the Somali people will be free over the next months.
Radio Andalus - A pro-al-Shabaab radio station
Dozens of pro-infidels militias including five top officers were killed as the Mujahideens attacked their military bases in Qoqani and Afmadow districts of Lower Juba region on Monday night. The heaviest fighting took place in Qoqani district, where three military officers were killed. Local residents told Radio Andalus that the Mujahideens entered and briefly controlled the infidels' military bases.
Hundreds of al-Shabaab Mujahideen fighters recaptured Wabho district of Galgadud region on Tuesday morning after the Ethiopian Christian and their slaves fled the district on Monday afternoon. Thousands of local residents welcomed the Mujahideen. Al-Shabaab officials who spoke to the people vowed to capture the entire region and asked the residents to continue their support of the Mujahideen as they did already.
Radio Shabelle - An independent radio station
Al-Shabaab militants on Tuesday detained at least four people in Somalia’s central town of El-Bur, after accusing them of having links with ASWJ and Ethiopian forces, who deserted the town before the militants rolled in Sunday, according to the local residents “Al-Shabaab arrested today Mohammed Wehliye, father of an al-Shabaab official for Zakaat, and three others, two of them women, and took them to an undisclosed location in the town,” El Bur residents told Radio Shabelle. Local people expressed shock and fear over the arbitrary arrests and killings against locals by al-Shabaab fighters who poured into El-Bur town on Monday, shortly after the allied troops from ASWJ and Ethiopia vacated the city.
Unknown gunmen shot and killed a well-known Somali peace maker in Belwedweyne town of Hiiraan region. According to witnesses who asked not to be identified, the two gunmen armed with pistols shot Abdi Goobe four times in the head and he died on the spot. The attackers managed to escape from the scene, an area controlled by Somali government. Locals expressed concern over the killings which have been on the rise in the past few months.
Radio Bar-Kulan - An independent radio station
Over 500 Somali soldiers completed military training at a camp located on the outskirts of Beledweyne town near the Ethiopian border. The graduation ceremony was attended by the Somali provincial administrators and Ethiopian officials in the area. The trainees are expected to join the Somalia Transitional Federal Government forces, according to the provincial Deputy Security Chief, Ahmed Abdalle Osman. The soldiers have undergone a month-long special military training and they will be part of the forces battling the al-Shabaab militant group.
Radio Kulmiye - An independent radio station
Fighting intensified on the outskirts of Afgoye after battalions of al-Shabab fighters launched ambush raids against the TFG and AMISOM troops on the frontlines Monday night. The fighters used heavy weapons including shelling and mortars. Residents in the town said the atmosphere of the area was tense. AMISOM and TFG troops resisted the fighters, especially near the urban area of Lanta-Buuro.