COMMENTARY ON ISLAMIC WEBSITES
Amiir Nuur - The pro-al-Shabaab website posted a brief commentary and an almost a dozen of photos of al-Shabaab Spokesman Sheikh Ali Dhere receiving the support of several elders representing the Hubeyr clan of Bay and Bakool regions. The elders of Hubeyr clan pledged to provide both financial and military support to the Al-Qaeda linked militants of al-Shabaab.Somali Language
POLITICS
Somaliland Press - Leaders from Somalia and Somaliland are due to start the first ever formal discussions on the future of the self-proclaimed Somaliland republic. The talks are to be held over Wednesday and Thursday in a secret location near London. Britain, Norway and the European Union have said they want the two sides to negotiate a settlement.
Voice Of Africa - A new VOA survey offers a rare look at the political views of people in war-torn Somalia. More than 3,000 people throughout Somalia responded to an unprecedented survey about the country's proposed constitution. More than three-quarters of the respondents supported the draft constitution. The vast majority backed a provision calling for Islamic law, or Sharia. They were divided on the inclusion of women in politics and largely supported the protection of press freedoms. The majority also backed a strong central government in the fractured country, which has endured two decades of internal conflict and lawlessness.
Somaliland Press - We ask that the international community now accept the reality that Somaliland is independent, and that promoting a dialogue between two sovereign entities in Hargeisa and Mogadishu will only aid our shared objective of securing a peaceful, stable Horn of Africa. "I would be most grateful to you if you would bring this letter to the attention of His Excellency the Secretary General of the United Nations, as well as to the other Members of the UN Security Council," Wrote Somaliland Foreign Minister.
SECURITY/AL-SHABAAB
Horseed Media - The acting Prime Minister of Somalia and Minister of Defense, Mohamed Arab Isse received a French delegation led by Secretary of African Affairs Mrs. Elizabeth Barbier in Mogadishu today. The parts discussed about the security situation of Somalia and how the Somali and French governments could cooperate in the stabilization of Somalia and the fight against terrorism in the Horn of Africa. Somali Language
UPI - The Islamist militants of al-Shabaab, like their al-Qaida allies in nearby Yemen, are being driven out of towns they've held for years by Western-backed regional forces who are closing on the southern port city of Kismayu, al-Shabaab's last big stronghold and its financial hub. But, if the tactics the Islamists have used in the past when they've been cornered is anything to go by, it's more likely al-Shabaab fighters, who are linked to al-Qaida, will avoid a set-piece battle and disperse into the countryside and the jungle to fight again another day. They could also escalate attacks outside Somalia, particularly against neighboring Kenya, which sent troops to root out al-Shabaab last summer, and Uganda, where 79 people were killed in bombings in Kampala during the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament.
Somaliland Press - A British-trained force on Sunday raided a house in the neighborhood Jigjiga-Yar in Hargeisa leaving the family to clean up the mess. The Resistant Reaction Unit (RRU) at pre-dawn, approximately 2:30-AM on Sunday night, stormed and ransacked the house of Hassan Aw-Libah, a former resident and a dual British citizen. Terrified neighbours said the raid was an illegal form of intimidation, harassment and unlawfully searching, and questioning by the RRU’s motives. "They came from all corners. Some of them climbed over the fence and they were shouting "caar-dhaqaaqa" (do not move) in Somali. They broke the front door of the house with their guns drawn and were ready to shoot, when we inquired what was going on; they tackled us to the floor," Mr. Aw libah said.
AlertNet - For the first time, Somalis are fleeing their homes because of fear of abuse at military checkpoints, the United Nations says. This is a new trend in displacement, which is primarily caused due to insecurity in the anarchic Horn of Africa nation, it added. There has been an increase in checkpoints where African Union forces and their allies have secured territory from al Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab insurgents. "Many people fear being caught up and mistaken as an infiltrator," said Bruno Geddo, head of the U.N. refugee agency in Somalia.
RADIO ROUNDUP
Radio Mogadishu - A pro-government radio station
Reports from Jannaalle village of Lower Shabelle region indicated tensions between al-Shabaab militias and local residents are very high. Al-Shabaab militias ordered the residents to accommodate defeated militias members into their houses. "We will not allow them to reside our houses. Al-Qaedaa leaders want to chase us from our houses, but we have a weapons and we can fight," said one of the residents.
Somali government security forces on Wednesday seized explosive devices and al-Shabaab suspects in Beledweyne town of Hiiraan region. The Deputy Governor of Hiiraan region, Ahmed Osman Inji, told Radio Mogadishu that they captured the explosive devices after informants told on them. He said police are questioning the suspect.
Radio Andalus - A pro-al-Shabaab radio station
Reports from Guri’el district of Galgadud region indicated that the Ethiopian Christian troops are in their last preparations to pull out from the district, while the pro-infidels group (ASWJ) is preparing to flee. Locals told Radio Andalus that more than 37 Ethiopian vehicles and tanks have gathered in the outskirts of Guri’el preparing to head to the border towns and villages. Military sources say that the Mujahideen are very close to the district and planning attack.
Two of the largest clans in Somalia vowed to send hundreds of fighters to the regions attacked by the infidels and their supporters. The elders of Murusade and Duduble clans stated that they are ready to defend all the regions, since they succeeded to chase Ethiopian infidels from El-Bur and Guri’el districts.
Heavy fighting betweel al-Shabaab Mujahideen fighters and the pro-infidels militias took place between Mogadishu and Afgooye on Wednesday. The fighting erupted as the Mujahideens ambushed two military vehicles carrying food to the enemy’s military bases in Afgooye district of Lower Shabelle. The two vehicles were burned in the attacks.
Radio Bar-Kulan - An independent radio station
Beledweyne’s Ugas Khalif Airport is now ready to accommodate both civil and military airlines operations, Hiiraan regional authorities say. Speaking at a ceremony in Beledweyne where the airport was officially reopened, Hiiraan Deputy Regional Security Chief Ahmed Osman Abdulle stated that all commercial and private as well as military aircrafts can use the airport. He said the move is aimed at improving the region’s developments and boosting the public services in the district. Initially, the airport was home to Somali and AU troops in the city and only aircrafts serving aid agencies and military were able to use it.
Radio Kulmiye - An independent radio station
Deadly armed clashes between al-Shabaab and local farmers occurred on Wednesday at villages near Qoryoley district of Lower Shabelle, a rebel-held town which lies just 120 kilometers south of Mogadishu. Mohammed Nur Gabow, a local resident, confirmed to Shabelle Radio that at least one person was killed and two others were injured after al-Shabaab fighters attacked farmers near the district under unknown circumstances. "Locals are fed up with al-Shabaab fighters who have become familiar with committing acts against locals, including robbing and killings. I call on the Somali government to take strict actions to halt such from continuing," he said.