European Union Training Mission

PRESS SUMMARY 13th June 2018

“In ‘Media’ stat virtus” EUTM - SOMALIA 13/06/2018

THE EUTM-S MISSION FORCE COMMANDER MET THE SOMALI MINISTER OF DEFENCE

June 12, 2018 - (RBB)-The Mission Force Commander of the Training Mission in Somalia (EUTM-S) BG Pietro Addis met with Somalia’s Minister of Defence, Hassan Ali Mohamed “Amar Damber” at Villa Gashandigha, Mogadishu on 10th Jun 2018.

The EUTM-S Mission Force Commander congratulated the new Minister of Defence for his new appointment and renovated the full commitment of EUTM-Somalia in supporting the Somalia’s SSR through training, advisory and mentor.

Moreover, both discussed the situation in Somalia, and the current security reforms undertaken by the Government. They noted that, whilst many challenges remained, some encouraging progress have been made and, under the civilian oversight, they are paving the way towards future steps.

Security is a key component needed for sustaining and carrying further the state and peace- building progress in Somalia. Therefore, since 2010, the EU Training Mission-Somalia has been training elements of the Somali National Army as contribution to rebuilding the nascent Somali military capability, focusing its efforts today on company-sized unit training as well as advisory support to the General Staff and the Ministry of Defence. http://radiobanadir.com/?p=1134

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Somali Defense Minister meets Head of EU training Mission in Mogadishu

June 12, 2018 - Somali Minister for Defense, Hassan Ali Mohamed on Tuesday held talks with the head of training for European Union (EU), Pj Petro-Addis in Mogadishu.

Several EU countries support Somali government in training Somali National Army.

The government has been struggling to revive its forces which once termed as a formidable military in the continent.

The officials discussed on wide range issues including security, training and collaborations of the sides.

Petro-Addis vowed to accelerate training of Somali Military in a bid to enhance fight against Al-Shabab.

He pledges assistance to the in the areas of training and defense and advising them in the military fields. “I congratulate you for the new post you are appointed for. We will stand by your side and accelerate training of Somali forces,” said Petro-Addis.

For his part, Mohamed commended EU for their tireless efforts to help rebuild its forces.

“We appreciate your support to rebuild our military as well as the other support to the federal government,” Mohamed lauded. The EU Capacity Building Mission in Somalia (EUCAP) conducts the vital training which it aims at helping Somalia in enhancing local forces capability in maintaining the security of the country. https://en.halbeeg.com/2018/06/12/somali-defense-minister-meets-head-of-eu-training- mission-in-mogadishu/

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EUCAP Somalia hosts meeting with EUTM and EU Delegation to Somalia

Jun 11 2018

The upcoming Somali Partnership Forum that is to take place in Brussels at the end of June, was one of the main topics under discussion at a meeting in the EUDEL Compound in Mogadishu on June 9th, which took place between the EU Delegation to Somalia (EUDEL), EU Training Mission to Somalia (EUTM), and EUCAP Somalia.

Other topics that were touched upon included current challenges, security and political matters, operational planning and upcoming events. The respective leaders of the three organisations – who were accompanied by their advisers – delivered briefings to the gathering. https://www.eucap-som.eu/eucap-somalia-hosts-meeting-with-eutm-and-eu-delegation- to-somalia/

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L'Esercito supporta l'amministrazione locale di Mogadiscio

11 Giugno 2018 - La Cooperazione Civile militare (CIMIC) dell’Italian National Support Element dona equipaggiamento individuale ai Vigili del Fuoco di Mogadiscio.

L'Esercito dona equipaggiamenti tecnico-individuali al dipartimento dei Vigili del fuoco di Mogadiscio.

Il Comandante dell'Italian National Support Element (IT-NSE), Ten.Col. Pino ROSSI, Comando a supporto della Missione Europea EUTM Somalia, accompagnato dal Capo della Cellula di Cooperazione Civile e Militare (CIMIC), ha incontrato nei giorni scorsi, il sindaco di Mogadiscio e donato equipaggiamento tecnico-individuale al dipartimento dei Vigili del fuoco e servizi di emergenza della regione del Banadir (Somalia).

L'incontro, svoltosi presso l'ufficio del Sindaco di Mogadiscio e governatore del Banadir, oltre a manifestare la volontà e l'abnegazione con cui i militari Italiani supportano l'amministrazione locale, ha avuto lo scopo di presentare al governatore Abdirahman Omar Osman "Eng. Yarysow" le attività a supporto della stabilità e della governance dell'amministrazione locale, svolte dal Contingente Italiano in Somalia. Nell'occasione è stato donato al dipartimento dei Vigili del fuoco e servizi di emergenza della regione del Banadir – Mogadiscio, l'equipaggiamento tecnico-individuale.

La donazione di tale equipaggiamento antincendio, corrispondente ai più moderni standard qualitativi, ha lo scopo di supportare il dipartimento composto da personale egregiamente addestrato, ma che, a causa di mancanza di attrezzature adeguate, interviene in soccorso della popolazione con notevoli difficoltà, come ad esempio nelle situazioni post attacchi esplosivi che sovente colpiscono la città e la popolazione civile di Mogadiscio.

Nel corso dell'incontro sono stati inoltre discussi gli esiti che hanno prodotto i 21 progetti eseguiti nel corso del 2017-2018, per un totale di 395.000 €, che hanno interessato, principalmente, i settori sanità, sicurezza, servizi di emergenza e supporto umanitario alle minoranze. Tali attività sono state realizzate grazie alla determinazione degli operatori del

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Multinational CIMIC Group, unità dell' Esercito - a valenza interforze e multinazionale - specializzata nella cooperazione civile-militare che opera in Mogadiscio sin dal 2014.

L'atteggiamento fraterno e l'empatia manifestata durante l'incontro da parte del Governatore e del suo staff mostra quanto la presenza fisica del personale italiano nelle aree interessate all'attività di cooperazione, nonostante il clima di sicurezza risulti particolarmente non permissivo, trovi un riscontro più che positivo da parte della popolazione locale

http://www.esercito.difesa.it/comunicazione/Pagine/L%27Esercito-supporta- l%27amministrazione-locale-di-Mogadiscio_180611.aspx

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Federal Government and UN unveil support programme for Somalia’s New Policing Model

11 Jun 2018 - Mogadishu – A Joint Policing Programme (JPP) that supports the two-tier policing structure and sets the next stage in the development of strong national and state-level police services has been unveiled by the Federal Government of Somalia in close cooperation with the Federal Member States, the UN and other international partners.

The programme will be introduced in five Federal Member States, the Benadir region and to the future Federal Police to support the implementation of priority police projects, as outlined in the Federal and State Police plans and the country’s National Security Architecture that was endorsed by Somalia’s political leaders in April 2017.

Spearheaded by the Federal Ministry of Internal Security, the programme is also expected to expedite the ongoing transition of security responsibilities from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to Somalia’s security forces.

“The structure demonstrates the best way to coordinate policing so that we form an effective policing system in Somalia,” said the Federal Minister of Internal Security, Mohamed Abukar Islow Duale. “This investment in the Somali Police is an excellent opportunity for rebuilding Somalia and the development of peace and security.”

Building on the dividends of the Joint Rule of Law Programme, the JPP will oversee the procurement of equipment, recruitment and in-service training; the payment of stipends for personnel and the development of a legal framework and accountability; and construction projects for federal and state-level police agencies. Key implementing partners of the JPP

EUTM - SOMALIA 6 EUTM - SOMALIA 13/06/2018 include the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

“The future role of the police in stabilisation, in the holding of and building in areas that are recovered from Al-Shabaab, cannot be overestimated,” noted Peter de Clercq, the Deputy UN Special Representative for Somalia.

The JPP will rely on support from Somalia’s international partners to implement the country’s New Policing Model and strengthen the capacities and skills of the country’s law enforcement agencies in order to perform their duties more effectively.

Adopted by Somalia’s political leadership in 2016, the New Policing Model was presented at last year’s London Conference on Somalia as a key pillar of the country’s National Security Architecture.

“It is essential to have a police that is responsible for their actions, based on the core universal principles of legality, necessity, professionalism and responsibility,” said Gen. Bashir Abdi Mohamed, the Commissioner.

The programme has already received commitments from the and the European Union to donate $42 million while Germany is promising additional pledges.

The Deputy UN Special Representative for Somalia Raisedon Zenenga stressed the importance of national ownership and leadership in the upcoming implementation of the JPP. The programme will play a critical role in strengthening the rule of law particularly the justice chain – police, justice and corrections – which is key to building a more secure and just Somalia. https://unsom.unmissions.org/federal-government-and-un-unveil-support-programme- somalia%E2%80%99s-new-policing-model

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From drought to floods in Somalia; displacement and hunger worsen, says UN

June 12, 2018

The town of Belet Weyne in the Hiraan region of Somalia as seen from the air submerged in flood waters from the Shabelle river on 30 April 2018. Belet Weyne is currently experiencing its worst flooding ever and over 150,000 people have been displaced.

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations.

After four consecutive poor rainy seasons that brought Somalia to the brink of famine, the country is now seeing near-record rainfall, and with it, flooding that has already displaced hundreds of thousands of people, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.

According to the agency, about 230,000 people, over half of whom are estimated to be children, have been displaced since April due to flooding. They join around 2.6 million people across the country who have already been affected by drought and conflict.

“The rains signal the end of the drought for some areas of the country but they also sharpen the risks faced by acutely malnourished children, and particularly those who have been displaced,” Christophe Boulierac, UNICEF spokesperson, told reporters in Geneva.

The rains spread diseases that are particularly deadly for malnourished children whose immune systems are fragile and exhausted.

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While there has not yet been a notable spike, the risk of further outbreaks is high and compounded by flooding, Mr. Boulierac said.

The flooding has also damaged water sources, sanitation facilities and other critical infrastructure, and 22 nutrition centres treating over 6,000 acutely malnourished children in areas hosting the displaced, have had to shut down.

Many of the flood-impacted areas are in the path of an ongoing measles outbreak, and a spike in acute watery diarrhoea, or cholera, is a major threat, he said.

Children displaced from their homes are most likely to be malnourished.

About half of children under 5 – more than 1.25 million – are expected to be acutely malnourished this year, including up to 232,000 children who could suffer the harshest form of malnutrition that requires specialized lifesaving care.

UNICEF is still $110.3 million short of the $154.9 million in funding needed to support relief programmes in Somalia. https://europeansting.com/2018/06/12/from-drought-to-floods-in-somalia-displacement- and-hunger-worsen-says-un/

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Somalia connects disaster risk reduction

12th June 2018

In 2017 Somalia elected its first president since the ousting of strongman in 1991, an event which plunged the country into an extended period of civil conflict from which it is only now beginning to emerge. The landmark election marked a turning point for the people of Somalia as they work to rebuild their country after more than a quarter-century of violence, worsening famine, and national disintegration.

Changing climatic conditions have been identified as a key driver of conflict and a significant factor in the overall deterioration of human well-being in Somalia. The latest statistics indicate that 2.7 million do not have secure access to food. Below-average rainfalls in 2017 have been cited as a prime driver for these disturbing numbers. With projected rainfalls also lower than average, this situation could worsen, with dire consequences for the over 300,000 children that are acutely malnourished in the country today.

The interactions between climate, conflict, development, security, policy and economic growth are highly complex, but understanding them is integral for peace building, socioeconomic development, and alleviating the chronic humanitarian crises that have affected the country in recent years. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is working in partnership with the Government of Somalia to navigate these complex interactions. Planning for climate change in a place like Somalia is like pulling together a thousand-piece puzzle without seeing the picture on the top of the box. Settled agriculture is only practical in a small portion of the country, so over countless generations the lifeways of the Somali people have evolved. Now approximately 60% of Somalis derive their livelihoods from pastoralism. In recent decades, however, rainfall patterns have shifted, and the droughts that once came roughly once per decade and were manageable are occurring more frequently. As a result, pastoralists’ seasonal migration patterns have shifted, in some cases resulting in conflicts between groups. In addition, unsustainable harvesting of timber resources for charcoal has contributed to a loss of biodiversity and an increase in land

EUTM - SOMALIA 10 EUTM - SOMALIA 13/06/2018 erosion, and increasing temperatures are making both settled agriculture and pastoralism more precarious. The interaction of these factors has contributed to instability in the country, as hundreds of thousands of Somalis have been internally displaced by conflict, drought, and other factors. In addition, these processes undermine food security, as the country currently relies on aid and imports to fulfill approximately half of its food requirements, and remains trapped in an unvirtuous cycle where disasters undermine long- term plans for peaceful and sustainable economic and social growth.

Racing toward a solution

The Federal Government of Somalia and its constituent states have recognized that the stability of their country depends on developing comprehensive solutions to these problems, which combine climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, socio- economic development, and conflict resolution. To help address these issues, UNDP is supporting Somalia in the formulation of its first National Adaptation Plan (NAP) for climate change adaptation. The NAP will provide a blueprint to guide Somalia in implementing a comprehensive approach to climate change adaption. To make it simple, it’s the picture on the top of box for the thousand-piece puzzle. One major thrust of this blueprint is to incorporate climate change considerations into emerging institutions and structures of governance and planning. This presents unique opportunities not only for innovative approaches to mainstreaming climate change into governance, but also for designing a national framework for climate change adaptation that outlines clear roles for the national, state, and district authorities in a way that reinforces the new federal system and contributes to national reconciliation. In addition to guiding the mainstreaming and acceleration of this improved climate governance, the NAP will also help build capacities and put in place the enabling conditions so that government, non-government, and private- sector stakeholders can effectively work together to identify priority adaptation actions to address the most urgent vulnerabilities, and formulate innovative blends of financing to support these projects. Taken from a 50,000-foot perspective, this policy support will provide the backbone for the country to make good on its Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris Agreement, fuel low-carbon, climate-resilient development, and solidify the bedrocks of peace and prosperity for generations to come. https://mareeg.com/somalia-connects-disaster-risk-reduction/

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Reliving a Deadly Day at a U.N. Compound in Mogadishu

African Union Mission to Somalia soldiers take cover after Shabab insurgents shot and blasted their way into the United Nations compound in Mogadishu in June 2013.

By Dewaine Farria -June 12, 2018 - The blast wave thundered through the compound, ripping the expletive on my lips in two and cramming half of it back down my throat. The radio-room supervisor, Hassan Osman, and I stumbled to the balcony. In that cathedral-quiet moment between the detonation of the car bomb and the staccato barrage of gunfire, we knew they were coming. Shabab militants were storming the compound, squeezing off bursts from the Kalashnikovs at their hips, leaping the gate’s smoking wreckage. It was June 19, 2013.

“Dewaine. Dewaine.” Hassan’s voice was steady, his hand on my shoulder. “Do the public announcement.”

Over the P.A., I instructed the several dozen United Nations staff members to duck and cover and then tried to figure out what to do next. With every rifle crack, my world flashed in a monochrome of stark, tactical decisions, like life and death reduced to their lowest common denominators. Even in the moment, the irony of stumbling into my first firefight more than a decade after leaving the Marine Corps was not lost on me. Since leaving the military, I’d grown used to my buddies shaking their virtual heads, via social media, at the fundamental insanity of inserting yourself into war without having the good sense to engage in combat.

Mogadishu was a study in violent coexistence, a brutal ecosystem where new conflicts sprouted up without ever quelling the old. The Somali capital’s recent history included warlords, the Islamic Courts Union, the Ethiopian military, the Shabab and a shaky Western- backed government. This attack on the United Nations Common Compound — 10,000

EUTM - SOMALIA 12 EUTM - SOMALIA 13/06/2018 square meters split between offices and living quarters, just off Mogadishu’s airport road — felt like the city’s fiercest predator had finally decided to take our measure.

After the initial blast, our Somali guards immediately returned fire, dropping the first two Shabab gunmen who came through the breach. Between clipped radio transmissions from the African Union Mission and the Somali government, four more militants unhesitatingly charged over the bodies of their companions. The guards’ gunfire funneled the attackers onto the accommodation side of the compound.

Somali government soldiers after insurgents attacked a United Nations compound in Mogadishu.

Under cover of suppressive fire from the towers, several of the guards and I leapfrogged the buildings on the accommodation side to herd staff members to the safe rooms on the opposite end of the compound. Pulling back the bolt on the office Kalashnikov to reveal brass bolstered my courage before our mad dash through the compound, but it was the valor and tenacity of our Somali allies that actually saved lives.

Mogadishu left a permanent scratch on my heart, but talking about the attack remains difficult. I’ve never wanted to risk implying that I’d done more than I did, or to say what I really feared: that I hadn’t done enough. The Shabab murdered 15 civilians, aid workers and contractors at the compound that day, including four of our Somali guards.

In Mogadishu, I led a United Nations Department of Safety and Security office consisting of three other international field security coordination officers — a Russian, a Ugandan and a Bulgarian — and about 20 local advisers, drivers and radio operators. Save for an unauthorized Chinese-made Kalashnikov, purchased by one of my predecessors and handed down to every senior field security coordination officer since, we were armed with nothing more than our wits.

For armed security, we depended on a Somali-owned private security company and the host government, with whom we carried out United Nations program delivery — agriculture and

EUTM - SOMALIA 13 EUTM - SOMALIA 13/06/2018 sanitation projects, polio monitoring, shelter programs — in and around the city. Armed security arrangements with private companies tend to unnerve humanitarians, who rightly worry about violating the principles of their profession. But my four postings with the United Nations taught me that in areas of conflict you could have a clean humanitarian conscience or deliver aid, but rarely both. Despite the inherent tension between United Nations agencies and the armed entities they relied on, our security system in Mogadishu worked. My team got aid personnel to some of the toughest locations in and around the capital.

I fell right in with my Somali security counterparts. I chewed bitter khat, a leaf with effects similar to amphetamine, with these guys, screeched through Mogadishu’s 17 districts behind their escort vehicles, and kicked up red dust while waiting for them during prayer stops on the roads to towns so recently vacated by the Shabab that you might still find the militants’ dirty dishes in the sink. Colonized but never broken, the Somalis were a wiry, arrogant and daring people for whom friendship ran deep. For all of Somalia’s trouble, I met fewer dispirited men in Mogadishu than I did in Manhattan.

After the attack, the personnel based at the compound, including me and the other foreign staff members on my team, relocated to the United Nations’ main compound in Somalia on the sprawling grounds of Mogadishu international airport. Protected by Ugandan and Burundian troops, displaced internationals could now join the mission staff, hacks, military officers and contractors who converged at the United Nations Mine Action Service’s “Little Kruger Bar” — foreigners with faces crimsoned by alcohol and the sun, many of whom could spend the weeks in country without ever leaving the airport or speaking to a Somali.

The author, fourth from the right in front row, with U.N. guards, local security assistants, and drivers just outside the U.N. Common Compound in 2013.

The new mission in Somalia was officially established only two weeks before the attack and had barely started moving into the compound on the grounds of the Mogadishu airport. The United Nations’ only unified radio room in Mogadishu — which maintained contact with its humanitarian and development convoys throughout the area — remained at our now- abandoned compound. I knew I couldn’t ask Hassan and his fellow radio operators to return

EUTM - SOMALIA 14 EUTM - SOMALIA 13/06/2018 to work at the hollowed-out buildings of an organization that the Shabab claimed were thwarting “Allah’s Law on earth & must therefore be dislodged.” But when I conducted my morning radio check from within the airport grounds the next day, it was Hassan’s voice that responded.

“Sierra 1, this is Mike Sierra Base, you’re five by five.”

In “War Games: The Story of Aid and War in Modern Times,” the journalist Linda Polman says that “the job of humanitarian aid worker is No. 5 on the Top 10 list of dangerous occupations, after lumberjack, pilot, fisherman and structural iron- or steelworker. It’s the only job on the list where most of the fatalities are caused by intentional violence.” From Chechnya to Dadaab refugee camp to Mogadishu to Gaza, I consistently found that most of this risk is borne by local staff — the polio-vaccination monitors, the convoy drivers, the project officers, the guards and the radio operators — who make up the backbone of international aid organizations.

Yes, the average international aid worker in Somalia is there to do good, but also (whether admittedly or not) for the buzz of life in a conflict zone. We decided to leave our own countries to be in Mog, were paid good money to be there and had our careers enhanced as a result. The risk for someone like Hassan — paid a fraction of our salaries in the town where all his family lived and the entire community knew he worked for the United Nations — differed on a galactic scale. Born and raised in Mogadishu, Hassan drew from the same wellsprings of hope and despair as the militants who rushed into certain death at the compound. But there are no Gettysburgs or Omaha Beaches for people like him — no heroic charge with his comrades by his side — nor even a decisive Alamo-style defeat. Nevertheless, men like Hassan resolve to endure.

As weeks turned into months, Hassan never mentioned that he reported to work every day in the place the foreign staff had evacuated. Or how the United Nations field operations that couldn’t discontinue without people dying would cease if not for his crew’s tracking our convoys and keeping our communications running. They knew the risk of working in the highly exposed compound of an organization that the Shabab referred to as “a merchant of death & a satanic force of evil.” Hassan and his crew exhibited grace under the most

EUTM - SOMALIA 15 EUTM - SOMALIA 13/06/2018 dangerous of circumstances and never felt the need to bring it up. I guess danger ceases to be an interesting topic after you’ve committed to facing it.

Occasionally, something — unexpected fireworks or the pressure wave from subwoofers at a concert — thrusts me back into that day, five years gone. When it happens, I crowd out the image of Shabab fighters storming our compound with those of Hassan and the other Somalis I worked with in Mogadishu, women and men who exemplified Plato’s definition of courage, “endurance of the soul.”

Courage is more than the charge.

Dewaine Farria is a former Marine and present M.F.A. candidate at the Vermont College of Fine Arts who served as a United Nations field security officer in East Jerusalem, Somalia, Kenya and the Russian North Caucasus. He received the United Nations Department of Safety and Security’s Bravery Award for his actions during the attack in Mogadishu. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/magazine/mogadishu-united-nations-attack.html

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https://www.garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/somalia-farmajo-receives- credentials-from-new-belgian-ambassador

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The newly appointed administrion for Sool region will not end the disputes

June 12, 2018 - Abdirahman Samatar one of the peace keepers of Garowe in Nugaal region commented about the new adminitration appointed for the sool region by the president of .

Samatar told Goobjoog News “that it’s impossible for the new appointed administration from puntland for sool region to work there, while the region is currently under the administration of .”

The appointed administration for the sool region will not solve the high tension of the region in the past weeks between puntland and Somaliland in Tukaraq town.

Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Gaas has yesterday appointed a new governor of Sool region to work under the putland administrion.

Somaliland claims Sool and Sanag because the regions fall geographically within the borders of pre-independence British Somaliland. Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991, but is not internationally recognized. http://goobjoog.com/english/the-newly-appointed-administrion-for-sool-region-will- not-end-the-disputes/

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The Council Chairman of Ahlu Sunna Criticised President

June 12, 2018 - Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a Council chairman Omar Sheikh Abdirahman has accused the president of Galmudug state Ahmed Ducaalle Gellehaf of rejecting out the Galmudug agreement.

Sheikh Omar pointed out that “ its time for the unity of Galmudug people and we don’t need the people of galmudug to be divided and harmed because of politics”.

Sheikh Omar also added that the agreement with Ahl-sunnah and the Galmudug state was unprecedented, because the structure of the agreement was not a way of correcting the disputes in Galmudug.

Above all, Galmudug leaders have not still resolved their disputes of the ruling the state in Dhusamareb and Adado which are two different towns in the region.

Several sultans have call on to Galmudug leaders to solve their disputes in negotiation which will lead into a peaceful administration to rule the people in the region. http://goobjoog.com/english/the-council-chairman-of-ahlu-sunna-criticised-galmudug- president/

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Somaliland Civil Society Forum on Aid Effectiveness and Humanitarian Meeting Communique

June 11, 2018

Communique

Somaliland civil society/NSA has made tremendous efforts over the past twenty seven years to contribute peace- building, state- building, implementation the rule of law, good governance, democratization and elections. In the meantime, Somaliland CSOs and non state actors have participated a critical period for Somaliland’s reconstruction and development strides and this CSOs policy engagement has encouraged the spirit and strategic partnership between Somaliland CSOs, government institutions and international partners to widen the outreach of the local beneficiaries.

Somaliland development process has recently constrained enormous challenges as recurrent droughts and natural catastrophes as “Cyclone Sagar” where the rural communities and farmers suffered a lot and lost their livestock and agricultural sites. Therefore, Somaliland civil society is recommending the government of Somaliland, donors and international development partners to review the humanitarian assistance provided to Somaliland and take some genuine and coordinated steps on humanitarian and development assistance in short, medium and long term recovery plans.

This Somaliland Civil Society Forum on Aid Effectiveness and Humanitarian is appealing from the donor countries and all international partners to increase their development and humanitarian assistances and consolidate their efforts towards the prevention and remedial steps over the humanitarian crisis left by the “Cyclone Sagar” disasters and continuing droughts which severely affected the rural and agricultural communities.

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This tragedy of “Cyclone Sagar” which resulted the death of many people and livestock in the coastal area in Somaliland and has also affected a number of households and destroyed many homes, schools, health facilities, water, roads and other social services.

In this regard, civil society has observed the low humanitarian respond from bilateral and multilateral international partners whereas thousands of people live in Somaliland are in critical situation and there are many Internally Displaced People (IDPs) who are not cared and lack very basic needs such as shelter, food, water, education, sanitation, and health services.

To rationalize this effort and safe many people affected these on-going natural disasters, the aid and humanitarian assistance need not to be either politicized or conditioned the new accord between Somaliland and Somalia and this can undermine the will and fundamental rights of the people of Somaliland.

Somaliland CSOs are calling clans who fought in Ceel- Afweyn District to stop hostility and support the efforts and peaceful dialogue which the government of Somaliland and traditional elders are committed to facilitate in order to cease this recurrent conflict. This Ceel-Afweyn conflict has humanitarian aspects since many people internally displaced and need humanitarian assistances.

Somaliland CSOs are supporting the efforts led by the international community towards Tuka-raq conflict and CSOs are encouraging peaceful dialogue and it is commendable that the President of the Republic of Somaliland in many occasions declared that Somaliland is ready for dialogue and peaceful negotiations with its neighboring of Somalia. CSOs are monitoring the humanitarian situation in the Tuka-raq district where many displaced people need urgent humanitarian assistance.

This Somaliland Civil Society Forum on Aid Effectiveness and Humanitarian stands for Somaliland civil society to accelerate their development and humanitarian interventions with more coordinated and coherent manner and to help international partners to cooperate the national civil society organizations in terms of services delivery interventions and policy settings. This meeting which took place on June 9th 2018 at Mansoor Hotel was

EUTM - SOMALIA 21 EUTM - SOMALIA 13/06/2018 intended to encourage to strengthen the partnership between CSOs, government and international partners for the benefit of the Somaliland citizens.

It is commendable that Somaliland Development Fund (SDF) has demonstrated some characteristics of aid effectiveness principles and SDF was a kind of paradigm shift from traditional aid modality to untraditional and the CSOs have acknowledged that SDF is worthy to resume and scale up for the following years and civil society is grateful for the countries who supported the SDF as United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway and Netherlands.

CSOs believe that Somaliland Special Arrangement (SSA) has contributed the country development framework and workable strategic partnership with donors and international community at large, from this standpoint, Somaliland civil society is encouraging donors and international partners to support and assist Somaliland again to in place this partnership framework of SSA with conformity of the National Development Plan.

Somaliland CSOs are welcoming to the donor countries, bilateral and multilateral international partners who are committed to support Somaliland development and political aspirations, CSOs are also grateful the international partners who are promoting civic engagement, rule of law, gender development and favoring with civil society participation on domestic and international policy dialogue. Somaliland CSOs are also congratulating the President of Somaliland H.E. Muse Bihi Abdi in his approval for 20% women quota and additional seats of the minority groups for upcoming parliament and local council elections. http://www.horndiplomat.com/2018/06/11/somaliland-civil-society-forum-on-aid- effectiveness-and-humanitarian-meeting-communique/

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Djibouti President and Michael Keating Discuss Talks with Tukaraq

June 12, 2018 - United Nations Representative to Somalia Michael Keating and ’s President Ismail Omar Gelle discussed the Tukaraq conflict in Somaliland and Puntland.

Keating, who is in Djibouti, met with the president of the country and first he explained the president of Somalia’s situation and what’s happening now.

Keating presided over President Gelle’s role as a key player in the overthrow of Sool, especially Tukaraq, as a result of many efforts failed.

President Gelle told Keating that his efforts would be to end the conflict, and that he will not tolerate the bloody warlord for the Somali people anymore.

Michael Keating has previously failed to resolve the conflict in Puntland and Somaliland, after meetings with leaders of both sides.

“US Mission in Somalia encourages immediate ceasefire around Tukaraq; urges Somaliland, Puntland dialogue and partnership with local communities to end conflict” http://goobjoog.com/english/djibouti-president-and-michael-keating-discuss-talks- with-tukaraq/

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The latest operations in Hiran region killed 80 Al-Shabaab fighters

June 12, 2018 - The National army commanders of Hiraan Region updated that the latest operations in Hiran region killed 80 Al-Shabaab fighters

Gen. Mohamed Ahmed, the commander of division 52 forces, said “ that the operations in the past four months done all over the Hiiran Region have killed at least 80 Al-Shabaab, and we are proud of our successful operations and we will still continue eliminating the terrorist in the region.

“The operation is going very well following commands from the top leaders of national provide, the attack of November in Moqokori the terrorist have succeeded causing heavy loss on our base.

Tareedishe also added that the national armed forces will continue setting foot on every Al- Shabaab base in the whole region.

Al-Shabaab has not commented on any of their casualties in the last four months following the heavy operations done by the national army forces of Hiran region.

The clashes between the government forces and Al-Shabaab have occurred in several places of Hiran region, resulting many casualties. http://goobjoog.com/english/the-latest-operations-in-hiran-region-killed-80-al- shabaab-fighters/

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Heavy Police operations in Nugal Region

June 12, 2018 - Police Commander of Nugal region Farah Warsame commented on the regional operation are ongoing currently at the Nugal region he said that the operations are to tighten the security on the coming days of the eid festival.

Farah Warsame, the commander of the regional police said the security forces in the region were carrying out security operations in the area, as he continued

“Since it’s the end of Ramadan and the people in the region are all preparing for the happiness of the eid festival, we want people to enjoys the happiness of the eid daysm so its our responsibilities to make the security of the region is safe”. the commander added that the operation conducted by the security forces in the coming days to deal with the young people who engage theft and rape cases in the region.

“While we have been working, there are a lot of young people who have been arrested for insecurity activities like theft of taking phones on day lights, kidnapping the small children and sometimes rape cases.

The statement of the commander comes as the eid festivals days are coming and it’s great to enhance security in the region before any insecurity activities happen in the region. http://goobjoog.com/english/heavy-police-operations-in-nugal-region/

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Somalia: imbarcazione si capovolge nel Basso Scebeli, almeno sette morti

Mogadiscio, 12 giu 13:29 - (Agenzia Nova) - Sette persone sono morte a causa del rovesciamento di un’imbarcazione in un corso d’acqua nella regione meridionale del Basso Scebeli, nel sud della Somalia. Lo riferiscono fonti locali citate dai media somali, secondo cui l'incidente è avvenuto mentre la barca trasportava 20 persone dalla città di Afgoi a quella di Awdhigley. https://www.agenzianova.com/a/5b1fb1bd7165c7.73228256/1958860/2018-06- 12/somalia-imbarcazione-si-capovolge-nel-basso-scebeli-almeno-sette-morti

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Ethiopia government confirms 46 nationals drowned in Indian Ocean

ADDIS ABABA, June 12 (Xinhua) -- The Federal Government Communication Affairs Office of (GCAO) confirmed on Tuesday the drowning of 46 of its nationals in the Indian ocean earlier this month.

On June 6, a boat carrying 100 Ethiopians disembarked from the port of in Somalia hoping to reach the Yemeni coast.

However, the boat capsized in the Indian ocean before it could reach the Yemeni coast leaving 46 dead. Fifteen others are still missing. The remaining 39 Ethiopians were rescued by Yemeni locals.

GCAO said it had confirmed the boat was carrying people beyond its capacity and is working with the International Organization for Migration to give emergency health treatment to the survivors of the boat wreck which is currently sheltered in .

GCAO further said it's working with regional and international organizations to bring to justice human traffickers who are responsible for such kind of tragedies.

It is estimated that every year thousands of Ethiopians looking for better economic opportunities abroad are trafficked through Somalia, Djibouti, the and Indian Ocean to reach the Arabian Peninsula.

Ethiopian migrants in Yemen reportedly face constant abuses by smugglers and other criminals, including arbitrary detention, physical violence, sexual assaults and forced labor. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-06/12/c_137249274.htm

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Amnesty calls Ethiopia to disband special police unit in Somali region

ESAT News (June 12, 2018) - Amnesty International issued a fresh call for the government of Ethiopia to immediately disband the Liyu Police unit in the Somali region of the country. The call by Amnesty came in response to what it said “may amount to extrajudicial executions” of at least 14 people over the weekend by the Liyu police. “The Liyu police unit must not be allowed to continue operating above the law, carrying out unlawful killings and destroying lives with impunity. This appalling loss of life must be investigated immediately and the killings brought to an end,” said Joan Nyanyuki, Amnesty International’s Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes. The rights watchdog said on 8 June the police unit attacked three localities in the Oromo region – Qobbo Bikka, Ulanula and Walensu – in Chinaksen district, Oromia, killing three people and wounding three others. The statement from the watchdog says Liyu police officers returned the next day and continued their attack on the three localities and then attacked two more – Darbiga and Gololcha – killing seven people and wounding 17. Amnesty said on 10 June the police attacked five more localities in the same district – Geellaa, Hosale, Usweyne, Tiiro and Marar – killing four people and wounding another four. “Ethiopian authorities must immediately stop these unlawful killings by the Liyu police by disbanding the unit and taking urgent steps to ensure justice for the victims,” Joan Nyanyuki added. In May the Liyu police attacked Chinaksen District, killing five farmers and burning down about 50 homes. Attack by the Liyu police last year against the Oromos resulted in the death of hundreds and the displacement of over one million people. https://ethsat.com/2018/06/amnesty-calls-ethiopia-to-disband-special-police-unit-in- somali-region/

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Ethiopia-Eritrea reconciliation project meets resistance from border communities

Tuesday June 12, 2018 - The decision by Ethiopia’s ruling coalition to resolver a border dispute with Eritrea has met stiff resistance from members of Badme town which was the epicenter of the war that killed tens of thousands on both sides.

The 36 member executive committee of Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) announced on Tuesday that it would accept the December 2000 Algiers Agreement that was signed to restore peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

But for many of Badme’s 15,000 residents, most of whom are veterans of the 1998-2000 conflict, the decision by premier Ahmed Abiy and the ruling coalition to cede the town to their bitter enemy, Eritrea is an insult to the living and the dead.

“Why did we fight for it then to just give it away? All this sacrifice for nothing? For this?” said Dubale Getu, a wounded veteran who has lived in Badme since his deployment during the war.

The local anger is in stark contrast to the international plaudits Abiy has won for appearing keen to defuse one of the most intractable diplomatic disputes in the .

The locals also argue that they were not consulted by the government before a decision that would ultimately affect their status was taken.

They sat they first heard that Badme was to be ceded to Ethiopia’s bitter foe via state radio and television, and are threatening to resist implementation of such a move.

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“They should not expect peace here if they force us to leave,” said unemployed 35-year-old Habtom Shiferaw, whose family members fought in the war. “There will be violence.”

More trouble in Tigray

But the Badme residents are not the only people that Abiy will have to contend with as he pursues radical reforms on the issue of Ethiopia. Some Tigrayans in the northeastern region, who have long been the leading ethnic group in the EPRDF coalition which has run the nation of 100 million for more than two decades, are concerned their interests will be hurt if Badme is surrendered. Last week, protests were held in the Irob district in Tigray, as the people said the decision which was reached without their input risks separating communities into different countries and threatens the survival of the Irob people. The Irob who number about 30,000, mainly engage in agriculture and cattle rearing. While they speak Saho, a Cushitic language like Somali, Oromo and Afar, they also speak the semitic Tigrigna, and are culturally and socially close to Tigrayans. The protests in Tigray could pose the first real challenge to the new administration of 41 year old Abiy, a member of the Oromo ethnic group, Ethiopia’s largest. Abiy was appointed after three years of unrelated unrest in the Oromo area but he needs the support of all members of the ruling coalition to push through sweeping changes including partial privatisation of the national airline and telecoms firm. After his Badme bombshell, the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front, a regional political party that had dominated the EPRDF until Abiy took office in April, came out swinging against any concessions to Asmara. “The Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front will not take part in any process that harms the interests of the people of Tigray,” it said in a statement, demanding that any withdrawal be linked to additional concessions from Eritrea.

Eritrea’s government has not responded publicly to ’s offer nearly a week ago.

Eritrea has long said it wants Ethiopia to pull its troops out from Badme before normalising ties, citing a decision by a boundary commission at The Hague which awarded the town to Eritrea in 2002.

There are no signs yet in Badme of withdrawal of the Ethiopian forces stationed there. https://www.hiiraan.com/news4/2018/Jun/158565/ethiopia_eritrea_reconciliation_projec t_meets_resistance_from_border_communities.aspx

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Chinese envoy tours health facility for Somali children

MOGADISHU, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Somalia Qin Jian on Tuesday visited -funded health facility in Mogadishu's Wadjir district where about 15,000 Somali children are receiving medical care.

The Mother to Child Care project run by the UN children's fund (UNCIEF) benefited from 2 million U.S. dollar donation from the Chinese government.

Speaking during the tour, Qin reiterated his government's support to Somali people, adding that Beijing has also given donations worth 1.5 million dollars to people whose lives were affected by floods in the country in May.

The Chinese envoy commended UNICEF officials in the country for effectively utilizing the money.

"We are supporting Somali development projects, humanitarian assistance, peace and also giving out scholarships," Qin said during the tour of the facility.

UNICEF Deputy Representative to Somalia Jesper Moller thanked the Chinese government for the donation towards the construction of the health facility. Moller noted that the project has benefited 1,500 children who were initially suffering from malnutrition since inception. "We are very happy and proud of our relationship with the Chinese government that will go a long way in helping save lives of children in the country," he said and appreciated the good working relationship with the Chinese government. According to Mohamed Ahmed, a Medical Coordinator at the health facility, the newly refurbished center treated 35,356 children last year.

"We screened a total of 34,784 children, 1,422 children were treated with severe malnutrition and 74 were hospitalized last year," Ahmed said. http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-06/13/c_137249724.htm

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Two agencies launch project to provide incomes for youth, refugees in Kenya

Tuesday June 12, 2018 - Two international agencies on Monday launched a new project to create income generation opportunities for refugees and Kenyan youth in the Dadaab camp in northeast Kenya.

The Refugee Employment and Skills Initiative (RESI) launched by the International Trade Center (ITC) and Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) uses market-based incentives to foster sustainable livelihoods for refugees and members of the host community, said agencies in a joint statement issued in .

The agencies said RESI allows the refugees and host community to gain commercially viable skills while enhancing youth employment and entrepreneurship.

"The RESI project will enable the NRC to work more closely with all development partners, including the Garissa County Government and to have a holistic approach in our business and livelihood sector interventions," said Andrea Bianchi, NRC Head of Program-Kenya.

Bianchi said the aim of improving the livelihoods of both refugees and members of the host community is a crucial component of the project and creates wider value in Dadaab.

Dadaab, currently home to about 250,000 Somali refugees, was opened in 1991 as a temporary shelter for people fleeing civil war in neighboring Somalia.

Through RESI, ITC, which is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the UN, will work with a diverse range of partners to develop trade-led, market-based solutions to create work opportunities for young people in Dadaab in the online freelancing and home decor sectors.

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"What is exciting about RESI is that it combines the strengths and resources of humanitarian and development partners, namely NRC and ITC to promote long-lasting solutions in protracted refugee situations, such as Dadaab," said ITC Project Manager Vivian Marcelino.

According to officials, by enhancing the ability of refugees and host community members to connect to domestic and international value chains, RESI will provide sustainable income- generating opportunities for youth and women in Dadaab and improve their abilities to be self-reliant.

Siyad Samatar, NRC's area manager for north-eastern Kenya, said the project strengthens the harmonious coexistence of the two communities.

The study which included a site visit to Dadaab, interviews and focus groups that was launched ahead of the project launch identified a significant demand for digital services, including online freelancing in work such as basic computer services, data entry, transcription. https://www.hiiraan.com/news4/2018/Jun/158564/two_agencies_launch_project_to_pro vide_incomes_for_youth_refugees_in_kenya.aspx

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Refugee waste warriors by Nita Bhalla and Cormac O'Brien

DADAAB, Kenya, June 5 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Somali refugee Adow Sheikh Aden, 32, was mocked when he started gathering empty plastic water bottles, broken buckets and old jerry cans around one of the world's largest refugee camps.

"Everyone used to laugh and say I am mad because I am collecting rubbish. Here it is not normal to do such things," said Aden at the Dadaab refugee camp in eastern Kenya's Garissa County, near the Somali border.

"But then I explained I am helping to keep our environment clean and our community healthy, and also I am selling the plastic to earn money so that I can manage my life and my family better," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Having fled war in Somalia, Aden is part of a small band of refugees who have taken up the fight against the plastic waste generated in Dadaab - and also earns an income from it.

Dadaab's waste recycling project, set up by the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) just over a year ago, has only eight refugee staff. But initial results are promising, and the plan is to grow, aid workers say.

In a cement-and-iron building equipped with a plastic shredder and compressor, the refugees have recycled about six tonnes of plastic waste so far, generating some 160,000 Kenyan shillings ($1,580) in revenue.

Nelly Saiti, KRCS project officer, said plastic recycling has huge potential as a sustainable business for refugees, and could be a model for other large camps such as Bidi Bidi in Uganda, Kakuma in Kenya and Nyarugusu in Tanzania.

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"We are collecting just a fraction of the plastic waste that is recyclable in Dadaab, and so a lot more revenue can be made from this," she said.

The next step is to train refugees in entrepreneurship so they can take control of the project, reducing their dependence on aid, she added.

PLASTIC-PACKAGED AID

One million plastic drinks bottles are purchased every minute globally, while some 500 billion disposable plastic bags are used worldwide every year, says the United Nations.

It is running a campaign for World Environment Day on June 5 to raise awareness of the urgent need to beat the plastic pollution.

Nearly a third of plastic packaging escapes waste collection systems, and at least 8 million tonnes of plastic leak into the oceans each year, smothering reefs and threatening marine life.

Plastic also enters water supplies and the food chain, where it could harm humans in the long term, the United Nations says.

Action is gearing up around the world - from countries banning plastic bags to companies vowing to cut their usage of plastic - yet still more efforts are needed to both reduce and recycle plastic, say environmentalists.

The sprawling refugee camp at Dadaab is no different.

Situated 475 km (300 miles) east of Kenya's capital Nairobi, Dadaab is home to more than 200,000 refugees, largely from Somalia, who depend on aid - much of it packed in plastic.

As Somalia descended into civil war, Dadaab was established by the United Nations in 1991, and has since mushroomed, with more refugees streaming in, uprooted by drought and famine as well as ongoing insecurity. Many have lived here for years.

The settlement - spread over 30 square km (7,415 acres) of semi-arid desert land - has schools, hospitals, markets, police stations, graveyards and a bus station.

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Residents have few ways to earn a living other than rearing goats, manual labour and running kiosks sewing clothes, selling camel meat, or charging cell phones from solar panels.

Kenyan government restrictions mean refugees cannot leave the camp to seek work.

As a result, people are poor. They live in tarpaulin tents or shacks made of corrugated iron and branches, and rely on rations of cooking oil, milk powder, rice and sugar - much of it sent by foreign donors in plastic packaging.

There is no accurate data on the amount of plastic waste produced in Dadaab, but aid workers estimate hundreds of thousands of tonnes are generated annually. A 2015 Red Cross study said 270,000 jerry cans were discarded each year.

Plastic water bottles and other trash add to the waste, often burned at informal dumps scattered throughout the camp.

"Humanitarian organisations have a role to play," said Kathrine Vad, sustainability advisor with the International Committee of the Red Cross, which supports the Dadaab project.

The agency is working to cut the volume of plastic, especially packaging, used in its operations and to extend the life of plastic products by improving their quality, she added.

CHANGING MINDS

At the recycling plant in the KRCS compound near Dadaab, workers wearing overalls, face masks and ear protectors push pieces of plastic buckets and chairs into a funnel atop the shredder.

The machine's blades slice the plastic noisily into hundreds of thousands of shards, which pour out in a heap. It is loaded into sacks and sold to two firms, Premier Industries Ltd and Polytech Plastics Industries Ltd, which transport it to Nairobi.

With his monthly wage of 8,000 shillings, worker Abtidon Ali Mahat, 45, a resident of Dadaab since 2011, has been able to get married, build his own makeshift home and buy three goats.

In the past year, he has saved 12,000 shillings.

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"My wife is now pregnant and I will use this money for her and the baby, and also to buy some more goats," he said.

The refugees want to expand the business, but say they need extra staff and a vehicle to cover more of the camp.

They face other challenges too.

Collecting waste can carry a stigma in these communities, which see it as a "low job". And many refugees have yet to grasp the health risks of burning plastic and releasing toxic fumes.

Views are changing gradually but greater awareness is needed to tackle misconceptions and deepen understanding of the benefits of recycling, Red Cross workers said.

Besides challenging views on waste inside Dadaab, the project could also help shatter stereotypes about refugees outside the camp, said Saiti of the KRCS.

"It shows that refugees are not a burden as some people think, but that they can be contributors in our societies - not only in terms of income-generation, but also in environmental protection," she said.

($1 = 101.2500 Kenyan shillings)

(Reporting by Nita Bhalla @nitabhalla, Editing by Megan Rowling. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit http://news.trust.org) http://news.trust.org/item/20180605100249-nht45

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AfriLabs Admits 40 New Hubs Across Africa

AfriLabs, a network of technology and innovation hubs across Africa has admitted 40 new hubs; its largest hub admission to date into its network making it a total of 100 hubs across 30 African countries. This also extends the reach to 6 new countries; Morocco, Algeria, Somali Land, Cote D’Ivoire, Angola and Mali.

The new members of the AfriLabs network across the 5 regions are:

Central Africa

Altoufikh International Chad, NexGen Technology Center Cameroon, Kivu Hub Congo- Kinshasa.

West Africa iCODE Ghana, Founders Hub Nigeria, Innovation Growth Hub Nigeria, Passion Incubator Nigeria, Civic Foundation for Innovation Nigeria, Honode Hub Ghana, Aiivon Innovation Hub Nigeria, Uplift Hub Nigeria, Roothub Accelerator Systems Nigeria, Tentmaker Ghana, CoLab Nigeria, Tribe Nigeria, Digital Development Hub Nigeria, Olotu Square Nigeria, Diaspo Hub Mali, Impact Hub Bamako Mali, DoniLab Mali, ALFTech Hub Nigeria, BabyLab Cote d’Ivoire.

East Africa

Innovate Ventures Somalia, Mashinani Hub Kenya, Wired Startups Morocco, Eldo Hub Innovation Centre Kenya,, Sahara Accelerator Tanzania,, Nairobi Garage Kenya, Iris Hub Rwanda, Swahilipot Hub Kenya.

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North Africa

Incubme Algeria, Cairo Hackerspace Egypt, Sylabs Algeria.

Southern Africa

Softstart Business and Technology Incubator South Africa, Green Innovation Hub (GiHUB) Zimbabwe, Y-BECA Youth Entrepreneurship Foundation South Africa, Injini South Africa, Shinga Entrepreneurship and Learning Hub Zimbabwe, iZone Hub Zimbabwe.

For 7 years, AfriLabs has dedicated itself to building a community of tech hubs that share knowledge, collaborate, build capacity and network – to raise successful entrepreneurs that create jobs and develop innovative solutions to African problems.

“We are pleased to report AfriLabs continued success in expanding its network. We started with 5 hubs in 2011 and we are now celebrating 100 members in 2018. The journey to 100 hubs has been an interesting one. We are thrilled with the overwhelming positive response from our network members and the tech and entrepreneurial community at large. Here’s to 100 more,” said Anna Ekeledo, Executive Director, AfriLabs. https://howafrica.com/afrilabs-admits-40-new-hubs-across-africa/

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Counter Daesh Insight Bulletin 4 – 10 June

June 12, 2018

This summary includes notable items of Daesh propaganda from the previous week, including a focus on Afghanistan. It is intended as a quick overview for those who do not have time to follow monitoring services on a daily basis and is not a comprehensive listing of every piece of Daesh propaganda released. Daesh often make fictitious claims which should not be taken as fact.

Overview

Daesh claimed attacks in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria. There was very little output from core Daesh channels, beyond the usual Al-Naba newspaper, which featured an article about the holy month of Ramadan in West Africa and another announcing the death of one of its contributors. Amaq released a 10 second video of the murder of a Somali policeman.

Output from unofficial Daesh brands included the report of the death of an Australian fighter. Supporters spread posters on Telegram predicting attacks during the World Cup in Russia and of the US president as a prisoner. In one President Trump was portrayed as having been beheaded. A pro-Daesh group promotes One Card, iTunes and Google Play cards as a way to fund the group’s fighters.

A pro-Daesh magazine named an-Anfal included an editorial demanding action from Muslims all over the world, with advice on giving financial support to Daesh, attacking with poison and online security. A new media group calling itself Atlas News Agency and claiming to be independent, published Daesh news in and French on social media, avoiding jihadist language, likely in an attempt to avoid being taken down.

Daesh activities in Afghanistan

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In the last two months, Daesh’s branch in Afghanistan, which it calls ‘Khorasan Province’ has claimed an increasing number of attacks, including at the home of an Afghan parliamentarian and on a polling centre. Elections are to be held in October. Daesh has threatened more attacks on Afghan officials via their local radio channel ‘Voice of the Caliphate’.

It claimed the bombing of a gathering of academics in Kabul. It has also threatened girls’ schools in Nangahar, stating that all schools are a target for attacks. It has claimed that the threat is a response to US airstrikes in the region. A Daesh commentator, Sultan Aziz Ezam, said that the threat against the school aims to ‘eliminate’ secular education and that Daesh is not against women’s education as long as it is line with Sharia and taught by women. http://theglobalcoalition.org/en/counter-daesh-insight-bulletin-4-10-june/

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