European Union Training Mission Somalia PRESS SUMMARY 24th September 2018 “In ‘Media’ stat virtus” EUTM - SOMALIA 24/09/2018 SUMMARY TITLE PAGE Somalia Defence Chief Gen Dahir Adan Elmi Inspects EU Military 2 Training Mission in Mogadishu US forces in Somalia attacked for second time in a month 3 Two car bombs explode in Somali capital, one dies 4 US Airstrike Kills 18 Al-Shabab After US Forces Attacked in Somalia 5 Six Al Shabaab militants killed in fighting in Somalia 6 Two people killed, 6 injured in blast, gun attacks in Bakara market 7 Female spy agent killed in Mogadishu 8 Puntland says its army killed Al Shabaab militants during operation 9 Somalia sealed its debt relieve opportunity 10 Thanks but no thanks, Galmudug’s Haaf tells Farmaajo ahead of 12 crucial talks Somali PM meets with Djibouti Ambassador in Mogadishu 14 Somali president cancels planned US trip 15 Political crisis dismantling Somalia -Unusual silence of UN, US, EU, 17 and AU Puntland Minister Resigns, Cites High-level Corruption 19 Puntland President Warns Of Impending Al-Shabaab Attacks 20 When Farmajo and the states fight, Somalis are trampled 21 Why The Government Has Failed Securing Mogadishu 23 Somalia remains ‘a terrorist safe haven,’ State notes 26 EUTM - SOMALIA 1 EUTM - SOMALIA 24/09/2018 Somalia Defence Chief Gen Dahir Adan Elmi Inspects EU Military Training Mission in Mogadishu 09/22/2018 - Somalia Defence Chief Gen Dahir Adan Elmi Visits EU Military Training Mission in Mogadishu Somalilandsun-The new Somali Chief ofDefense Forces (CDF) General Dahir Adan Elmi, visited the European Union Training Mission Somalia (EUTM-S) for the first time. The most senior officer in the Somali Armed Forces began with a visit to General Dhagabadan Training Centre (GDTC) in Mogadishu, where the European Union Training Mission trains Somali National Army companies and Somali instructors. At GDTC he was welcomed by the EUTM-S Mission Force Commander Brigadier General Matteo Spreafico and the EUTM-S Head of Training Colonel Guerrero The CDF, took the opportunity to inspect the upgrade of the new main gate of GDTC, a EUTM-S funded project, before moving to observe the training facilities at GDTC. Afterwards, Gen.Dahir Adan Elmi visited the EUTM-S HQ, in Mogadishu, where he received a briefing and signed the mission’s “Book of Honor”. At the end of the visit the CDF gave his thanks and appreciation to the EUTM-S Mission Force Commander and to all EUTM-S personnel for thesupport they provide the Somali Armed Forces. http://www.somalilandsun.com/somalia-defence-chief-gen-dahir-adan-elmi-inspects-eu- military-training-mission-in-mogadishu/ EUTM - SOMALIA 2 EUTM - SOMALIA 24/09/2018 US forces in Somalia attacked for second time in a month September 22, 2018 - U.S. troops in Somalia came under attack for a second time in two weeks on Friday and carried out an airstrike against al-Shabaab about 50 kilometers (31 miles) northwest of Kismayo in Lower Juba Province, U.S. Africa Command said. “The U.S. airstrike was conducted against militants after U.S. and partner forces came under attack. We currently assess eighteen (18) terrorists were killed in the strike,” Africom said in a Saturday, September 22 press release. “Two (2) other terrorists were killed by Somali forces with small arms fire during the engagement.” The airstrike was conducted after Shabaab militants “were observed maneuvering on a combined patrol of Somali National Security Forces and U.S. forces,” Nate Herring, a spokesperson for U.S. Africa Command, told The Defense Post. “In self-defense, the U.S. conducted an airstrike and used indirect fire. No partner force members or U.S. service members were injured or killed during this engagement.” Somali forces killed two additional militants, Herring said. The incident is the second time in 10 days that American forces in Somalia have been attacked by the al-Qaeda affiliated Shabaab militants. On September 11, Africom caried out an airstrike near Mogadishu after a Somali soldier was killed and two others injured in a Shabaab attack targeting U.S. and partner troops. No U.S. personnel were killed or injured in that incident. Al-Shabaab is fighting to overthrow the internationally backed government in Mogadishu, but has also carried out attacks in neighboring Kenya, which has deployed troops as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia. Africom works with AMISOM on both advise-and-assist missions as well as air support missions to target al-Shabaab’s forces, but has drawn controversy from strikes that have killed civilians. https://thedefensepost.com/2018/09/22/us-forces-somalia-shabaab-attack-second/ EUTM - SOMALIA 3 EUTM - SOMALIA 24/09/2018 Two car bombs explode in Somali capital, one dies MOGADISHU September 22, 2018- One person died and another was injured in two car bombs that exploded in the heart of the Somali capital on Saturday and the Islamist group al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attacks. The bombs detonated in two different cars near a main road in the center of the city. Al Shabaab frequently carries out bombings in Mogadishu and other parts of the Horn of Africa country. “Two people were injured in the two car bombs. One of them died of the wounds,” said Major Mohamed Hussein, a police officer. Fire fighters attempt to extinguish a burning car after an explosion in Mogadishu, Somalia September 22, 2018. REUTERS/Feisal Omar Al Shabaab told Reuters they had planted the car bombs and that they were targeting a police official but that he had escaped. Another police officer, Ahmed Nur, said one of the cars was parked and had nobody in it, while the second was moving and the two people inside it had been injured. One of the injured is the one who later died. On Friday, at least three people were killed in separate attacks in Mogadishu, including a female university student shot dead in her class by two men armed with pistols. Al Shabaab is fighting to topple Somalia’s Western-backed central government and establish its own rule based on its own strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law. The group also wants to drive African Union (AU)-mandated AMISOM peacekeepers out of the country. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-somalia-security/two-car-bombs-explode-in-somali- capital-one-dies- idUSKCN1M20PR?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm _medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+ News%29&&rpc=401 EUTM - SOMALIA 4 EUTM - SOMALIA 24/09/2018 US Airstrike Kills 18 Al-Shabab After US Forces Attacked in Somalia September 22, 2018 The U.S. military says it has carried out an airstrike that killed 18 al-Shabab extremists after U.S. and local forces came under attack in southern Somalia. The U.S. Africa Command says in a statement the airstrike was carried out in self-defense on Friday about 50 kilometers (31 miles) northwest of the port city of Kismayo. The statement says two other al-Shabab extremists were killed by Somali forces "with small arms fire during the engagement." An AFRICOM spokesman says no U.S. or partner forces were injured. The spokesman says the airstrike was carried out after extremists were “observed maneuvering on a combined patrol” of U.S. and Somali forces. The U.S. has carried out more than 20 such airstrikes this year against the al-Qaida-linked al- Shabab, the deadliest Islamic extremist group in sub-Saharan Africa. https://www.voanews.com/a/us-airstrike-al-shabab-somalia/4582886.html EUTM - SOMALIA 5 EUTM - SOMALIA 24/09/2018 Six Al Shabaab militants killed in fighting in Somalia 23rd September 2018 MOGADISHU At least six militants have been killed in deadly fighting broke out in southwest of Somalia. The fighting took place outside Burhakaba town, after Somali forces attacked villages held by Al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab group. Mohamed Ibrahim Nour, Burhakaba district commissioner, said six militants from Al Shabaab had been killed in the fighting. Nour said several other militants escaped with injuries. He declined to comments on how many soldiers were killed or injured in the clash. There was no immediate word from Al Shabaab over the claims. The group has been fighting for more than ten years. Al Shabaab, which once controlled much of Somali capital Mogadishu in 2011, wants to topple the weak-western backed government of Somalia. https://mareeg.com/six-al-shabaab-militants-killed-in-fighting-in-somalia/ EUTM - SOMALIA 6 EUTM - SOMALIA 24/09/2018 Two people killed, 6 injured in blast, gun attacks in Bakara market September 23, 2018 Two people have been killed and two others among them police officers injured in multiple attacks in the same location at Mogadishu’s largest market, Bakaro. A wheelbarrow packed at a road junction in the market blew up killing one person and injuring two others at around 2pm local time. Witnesses told Goobjoog News the wheelbarrow had been left unattended at the junction which is a picking point for public transport vehicles. The junction is also busy with traders who sell their wares. An hour before the blast, two armed men shot at a bus conductor in the same point killing him. The armed men who are thought to have stayed within the vicinity hurled a hand grenade at police officers who responded to the shooting incident. Three officers and a civilian were injured. The attacks follows a spate of targeted killings in various parts of the city which has seen at least two reported killings each day in the recent weeks. http://goobjoog.com/english/two-people-killed-6-injured-in-blast-gun-attacks-in-bakara- market/ EUTM - SOMALIA 7 EUTM - SOMALIA 24/09/2018 https://www.garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/somalia-female-spy-agent-killed-in- mogadishu-source EUTM - SOMALIA 8 EUTM - SOMALIA 24/09/2018 Puntland says its army killed Al Shabaab militants during operation September 23, 2018 Puntland state of Somalia said its forces have killed 12 Al-Shabaab fighters and several others were injured in security operation in Galgala mountains of Puntland state.