08 Jul 2011 – Daily Monitoring Report
Key Headlines:
- Speech by the Minster of State for Somalia at the meeting on International Humanitarian Law
- TFG delivers donations to IDPs
- Former Hizbul-Islam leader appeals for assistance to aid drought victims
- Ahmed Godane affirms the waning of al Shabaab’s strength
- Ugandan Police issue fresh terror alert
- Somalia’s refugee situation expected to worsen this year: USAID
- Horn of Africa crisis overwhelms aid efforts on Ethiopia-Somalia border
PRESS STATEMENT
Speech by the Minister of State for Somalia at the meeting on International Humanitarian Law
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me take this opportunity to thank the People and the Government of Rwanda for hosting this important conference on International Humanitarian Law and the warm welcome accorded to me and my delegation here in Kigali. I will also want to thank African Union (AU) and in particular Ambassador Diarra, the SRCC and his office for organizing this important conference.
The round table, which brings together international experts, human rights organizations, media and other stakeholders, clearly demonstrates your commitment to International Humanitarian law and desire to protect the people of Somalia., and, in particular civilians. We in Somalia are glad to have the opportunity to discuss the issue of civilian casualties in a transparent way. I am sure, we are all here to learn from each other with a view to generating common understanding to the way forward and how we can all better protect civilians under extreme and difficult circumstances. AMISOM and TFG are fighting to bringing peace and stability to Somalia while facing ruthless extremists who have no regards to civilians or international laws.
Let me take this opportunity by offering my heartfelt gratitude and sincere appreciation for the ongoing support of the United Nations, the African Union (AU) and the International community to Somalia. In particular, we are exceptionally grateful to the young men and women from Uganda and Burundi who makes up the African Union troops and who offer the ultimate sacrifice for the safety and security of the Somali people. We salute and mourn those soldiers who died in Somalia. We offer our condolences to their friends, families and assure them that their loss will not be in vain. Our nation will be eternally grateful.
Our Government and AMISOM on a daily basis face threats in the form of violent attacks, suicide bombings, and roadside bombings. The extremists hide behind civilians and fire at our forces from residential neighborhoods. However, TFG and AMISOM are fully aware of what is expected of them and share a commitment to minimizing the danger to civilians. It is difficult to bring peace and stability when the enemy is using suicide bombings and all sorts of tactics against you.
http://www.jowhar.com/news.php?readmore=1873
Horn of Africa crisis overwhelms aid efforts on Ethiopia-Somalia border
08 Jul – Source: UNHCR – 685 words
With dust devils blowing across the desert amid one of the worst droughts in living memory, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ant�³nio Guterres on Thursday led a small mission to this parched and remote area of south-eastern Ethiopia where a deepening struggle is under way to help thousands of newly arriving Somali refugees, many of them severely malnourished.
Over several hours Guterres and his team toured separate reception and transit areas near Dollo Ado, speaking to refugees and humanitarian workers. They then headed some 60 kilometers westwards along rock-strewn roads to a new refugee camp at Kobe, which was opened just weeks ago but is already nearing its full 20,000-person capacity under the weight of new arrivals.
“2011 has been the year of all crises, but I think that in Somalia we can find the worst humanitarian disaster of this year,” Guterres told accompanying journalists. “Our heart is broken when we see mothers telling us that after having walked for days to reach safety, they have lost their children along the way [and] to see children dying and then doctors not being able to help because it is too late.”
What Guterres saw during the visit, was telling both about the impact that Somalia’s latest crisis is having on its own displaced – now amounting to a quarter of the country’s entire population – and about the difficulties that humanitarian organizations are facing in their response. For the refugees, the stress and exhaustion is plain to see on the faces of new arrivals, who wait in lines to be registered and receive ration cards and other help. Most are from the Bay region to the west of Mogadishu, and some say they have walked for up to 30 days to reach here. “My father is critically ill, but I had to take my six children and leave because of the insecurity,” said one woman. “We can’t live there.” Others spoke of children having died along the way.
For Somalia, already in a state of breakdown from its decades-long conflict, the drought has led to a dramatic new rise in displacement. Food output has fallen, food aid is in short supply, and food prices have consequently increased sharply. Compounding these difficulties has been an offensive by pro-government forces against al-Shabaab insurgents in towns near the Kenya and Ethiopia borders that started in February. Since then the number of refugees arriving here in Dollo Ado has risen with every passing month: Some 54,000 arrivals so far this year, and an average of nearly 1,700 every day for the last few weeks. In short, people have to become refugees to get aid.
Among these recent arrivals in Dollo Ado, malnutrition and mortality rates are alarmingly high. At least 50 per cent of children are either moderately or severely malnourished. Similar rates are being recorded in Kenya. Meanwhile humanitarian workers and their government counterparts are fast becoming overwhelmed. The sheer numbers of arrivals are outpacing registration capacity; systems for meeting the food and health needs are close to buckling; and electricity for pumping water to camps is in short supply because overcast and dust-laden skies mean solar panels can’t cope.
http://www.unhcr.org/4e16ce876.html
SOMALI MEDIA
Ahmed Godane affirms the waning of al Shabaab’s strength
08 Jul – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 149 words
Ahmed Godane, a high ranking al Shabaab official has for the first time affirmed the weakening of al Shabaab in Somalia. Many of our senior leaders and fighters have been killed in recent fighting, he said. He added that some senior leaders are spies for foreign intelligence agencies, which also contributed to their defeat. Ahmed said investigations meant flush out spies working for foreign intelligence are ongoing. Many prominent foreign fighters and Somalis from al Shabaab and Al-Qaeda have been killed in well-planned foreign drone attacks, which have demoralized the members of al Shabaab in their bid to continue fighting.
Former Hizbul-Islam leader appeals for assistance to aid drought victims
08 Jul – Source: Radio Shabelle, Kulmiye – 160 words
The former leader of Hizbul-Islam, Sheikh Hasan Dahir Aweys, who is now an official of al Shabaab, said that Arab nations have ignored Somali people who are suffering due to the on going drought. Aweys made an appeal for drought assistance after touring areas controlled by al Shabaab in Mogadishu where people displaced by drought from other regions have sought refugee. He said Arab nations have ignored the Somali people who are facing the worst humanitarian crisis. The reason for this is the small differences between al Shabaab and the Arab nations. Sheikh Aweys said al Shabaab would welcome anyone willing to assist those suffering in the country.
TFG delivers donations to IDPs
08 Jul – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan -133 words
The Transitional Federal Government of Somalia has delivered food aid and money to IDPs in Hamar weyn, Waberi and Hodan districts in Mogadishu. The Minister for Health, Dr. Mohamud Sheikh visited centers where 500 families have converged and distributed aid to those who have been displaced by the ongoing drought. One sack of rice and another of wheat flour in addition to three jerry cans of oil was proportioned for two families. Each family was also given a hundred thousand Somali shillings.
MPs, Mogadishu elders welcome Shabelle’s campaign to help needy Somalis
08 Jul – Source: Shabelle – 163 words
MPs and Mogadishu elders on Friday warmly welcomed a campaign initiated by Shabelle’s radio and television to help those affected by the drought. Asha Ahmed Abdalla, a lawmaker, commended and acclaimed Shabelle for its role in delivering aid food and money to the starving people in Mogadishu. For his part, Mohamed Hassan Had, the chairman of the Hawiye traditional elders said that Somalis are thankful for the campaign initiated by Shabelle Media Network.
http://www.shabelle.net/article.php?id=8482
Puntland wants forthcoming consultation meeting to be held in Garowe
07 Jul – Source: Raxanreeb, Shabelle – 239 words
The Authorities of Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland says they are ready to host the forthcoming Consultation meeting on Somalia. “Puntland made clear its willingness to host the consultation meeting”. Puntland Interior Minister Abdulahi Ahmed Jama said while addressing in a meeting in Garowe on Thursday.
http://www.raxanreeb.com/?p=102806
REGIONAL MEDIA
Ugandan Police issue fresh terror alert
07 Jul – Source: New Vision – 324 words
The police yesterday issued a terror alert; say it had intelligence indicating that terrorists were planning anniversary bombings in both Uganda and Kenya to coincide with July 11. The Police said they would conduct impromptu security checks in public places to ensure that appropriate security measures have been put in place. The anniversary bombings, Police said, would either be carried out before, or immediately after July 11. On July 11, 2010, 79 people were killed in twin bomb attacks as they watched the World Cup finals between the Netherlands and Spain. Al Shabaab militants in Somalia claimed responsibility for the attack.
“We have credible information of their plans and that they are targeting hotels and other public places,” Police spokesperson Judith Nabakooba said yesterday. “We are, therefore, urging the public to be vigilant. The information we have indicates that they want to have twin bombings in Kenya and Uganda,” she said.
The Police and other security agencies, Nabakooba said, had stepped up surveillance, both covert and overt to avert any threat and urged the public not to panic. Kampala Police chief Grace Turyagumanawe reechoed the need for the public to remain vigilant. The terror alert in Uganda comes as security agencies in Kenya were placed on high alert following reports that a top al-Shabaab commander might have sneaked into Kenya for treatment after being wounded in a US attack. Bilal el Berjawi, a close aide of slain al Shabaab commander Fazul Abdullah, suffered head injuries in a US air strike on Sunday.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/759675
Airports on high alert over terror
07 Jul – Source: Daily Nation – 401 words
Kenya has stepped up security at its airports following a fresh alert on terrorists targeting airlines. At Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, more security officers and snuffer dogs have been sent to screen passengers.
According to leaked US intelligence reports published in a British newspaper, The Daily Mail, the terrorists were planning to use bombs, surgically implanted in their bodies to blow up aero planes. The terror alert coincided with a military operation along the Kenya/Somalia border. Passenger traffic at JKIA has increased because of the many people using it as a transit point to Juba to attend South Sudan’s independence celebrations on Saturday.
Kenyan security agencies have been ordered to heighten border surveillance because of continued attacks by US forces on al Shabaab bases. They are to ensure al Shabaab elements fleeing the attacks, or those wounded do not enter Kenya for treatment.
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Airports+on+high+alert+over+terror+/-/1056/1196598/-/q0xqrbz/-
Saudi oil tanker on fire after clash with Somali pirates
08 Jul- Source: Coastweek, Xinhua – 154 words
A Saudi oil supertanker was set on fire and its captain went missing after armed clashes between the Yemeni Coast Guards and Somali pirates who attempted to seize the tanker off the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, a local official told Xinhua. Armed clashes took place between the Yemeni Coast Guards and Somali pirates who tried to hijack the “Brlenti Velots”, the Saudi oil tanker, off the Gulf of Aden, the official said, who asked to remain anonymous, adding that the oil tanker then burst into a blaze and its captain went missing.
The naval forces were seeking to put off the fire, which was continuing to grew up after the armed clashes, according to the official. Meanwhile, an official of Aden province told Xinhua that the Yemeni naval forces announced on Wednesday the state of emergency and deployed a number of vessels along the maritime shipping line adjacent to the Gulf of Aden.
http://www.coastweek.com/3427_piracy.htm
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Many ‘dying en route’ while fleeing Somalia drought
08 Jul – Source: AFP – 255 words
Many people, including children, are dying while fleeing serious drought in Somalia, the UN refugee agency said Friday, warning that aid efforts are at risk of being overwhelmed by the large numbers of refugees arriving in camps. “Many people are dying en route from what we hear,” said Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. She could not give details on the death toll, but said there were “harrowing” accounts from mothers who had lost children on the way and others who were forced to leave sick family members behind.
About 1,700 Somalis are arriving daily at the Dollo Ado area in south-east Ethiopia in search of food and water, while in neighboring Kenya, about 1,400 are arriving daily in the overcrowded Dadaab refugee camp, said the UNHCR.
“Today we are warning that humanitarian efforts to help newly arriving Somali refugees in southeast Ethiopia are at risk of being overwhelmed without a more rapid and robust international response to the drought and displacement crisis in the Horn of Africa,” said Fleming. Underlining the high number of people arriving in Dollo Ado, Fleming said that systems to meet the food and health needs are “close to buckling.”
Somalia’s refugee situation expected to worsen this year: USAID
07 Jul – Source: Xinhua – 544 words
The plight of Somali refugees fleeing the anarchic country is expected to worsen this year as they face possible famine and shortages in clean drinking water, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said Thursday. “We do expect that the situation in Somalia will continue to decline and famine conditions are possible,” said Nancy E. Lindborg, assistant administrator at the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance of the USAID.
“With food stocks and supplies continuing to decrease, the number of households that can no longer meet their food needs will only increase in the weeks and months to come,” she said. UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres said earlier this week that more than 50 percent of Somali refugee children spilling into neighboring Ethiopia are suffering from serious malnutrition. For those entering Kenya, the number ranges between 30 percent and 40 percent, which amounts to levels unheard of in decades.
A severe drought in the Horn of Africa, coupled with continuous conflict in the war torn country, are behind this latest exodus from Somalia. The United States is closely eyeing developments in the embattled African country, as it is home to al Shabaab, which Washington has designated as a terrorist organization. Testifying before the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing Thursday, Lindborg said there is a concerted international effort to provide food and clean drinking water to Somalis, but there is a funding gap of around 200 million U.S. dollars, in spite of the 349 million dollars provided primarily by the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom and Norway, she said.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-07/08/c_13973431.htm
UN refugee chief to review Somali refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya
07 Jul- Source: UN- 200 words
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Ant�³nio Guterres, today began a four-day visit to Ethiopia and Kenya to check on the care provided to refugees fleeing Somalia. Mr. Guterres will “review the emergency humanitarian response to the massive displacement crisis caused by conflict, drought and lack of food inside Somalia,” a spokesperson for the UN refugee agency, known as UNHCR, said.
Relentless violence compounded by devastating drought has forced more than 135,000 Somalis to flee so far this year, UNHCR said. In June alone, 54,000 people fled into Ethiopia and Kenya. UNHCR estimates that a quarter of Somalia’s population of 7.5 million people is now either internally displaced or living outside the country as refugees. “Malnutrition rates among Somali refugee children arriving in Ethiopia and Kenya are alarmingly high and on a scale not seen in decades,” UNHCR said.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=38970&Cr=somali&Cr1=
Japan extends anti-piracy mission off Somalia
08 Jul – Source: the Voice of Rusia, Japan focus – 78 words
Japan’s military command has extended its anti-piracy mission off Somalia for one more year. Japanese military say that there is a need to guarantee safe passage of ships through the Gulf of Aden. A total of 20,000 cargo vessels, 10 percent of them Japanese, pass through the Gulf of Aden annually.
According to the Japanese Defense Ministry, safe navigation through the Gulf of Aden and stability in the region is Japan’s primary concern and meets its national interests.
http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/07/08/52939886.html
Thai navy returns to Somalia for 2nd anti-piracy tour
08 Jul – Source: Pattaya Mail – 380 words
Royal Thai Navy ships will return to the Gulf of Aden for their second mission against Somali pirates. The HTMS Similan, which patrolled the waters off Somalia last winter, will be joined by the HTMS Narathiwat for the 140-day mission. Capt. Paradon Puangkaew, director of the Royal Thai Fleet, will be the mission commander while Capt. Tanin Likitwong, the Royal Thai Fleet’s deputy director-general, will head the unit.
The task force of 368 men, which includes a navy SEAL team and Bell helicopter group, will depart from Sattahip Naval Base July 12 and is expected to return Nov. 28. The HTMS Pattani and HTMS Similan made a much-touted 137-day mission to the Gulf of Aden from September until January, but returned to a muted welcome due to the Thai task force’s mixed results in combating piracy as part of an international task force.
During the nearly fourth months, the vessels helped protect 1,703 cargo ships, participated in 12 convoys to guard 61 ships – five of them Thai – provided escort to a Sudan-based armaments vessel and provided emergency medical treatment to vessels in distress.
Africa drought refugees ‘barely alive’ after
07 Jul – Source: BBC – 01.58min
Aid agencies are launching a joint appeal to help millions of people affected by the drought in East Africa. The drought has devastated parts of Somalia, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia. The Disasters Emergency Committee says money is needed now to stop the crisis worsening. It is thought as many as ten million people may have been affected.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14061748
Official: Somali terrorist suspect was in contact with Anwar al-Awlaki
08 Jul – Source: CNN – 431 words
Accused Somali terrorist suspect Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame had been in direct contact with the radical American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, and they may have been in the same place for a period of time, a U.S. official said Thursday. That information came two days after an indictment unsealed in New York provided further evidence of links between al Qaeda affiliates in Somalia and Yemen, a growing concern to counter-terrorism officials.
The indictment charged Warsame, who was captured by U.S. forces in April, with providing material support to the extremist group Al-Shabaab in Somalia and to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Yemen. He is also charged with conspiring to teach and demonstrate the making of explosives. If convicted, he faces a mandatory life sentence.
Warsame, a Somali national, was captured by U.S. forces on April 19 in what the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York describes only as “the Gulf region.” He was interrogated overseas for “intelligence purposes” for two months before being transferred to FBI custody and taken to the United States on Tuesday when he made an appearance in federal court. During that appearance, he pleaded not guilty, according to Ellen Davis, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Warsame was held on a U.S. Navy ship in the Gulf region after his capture until being brought to New York for Tuesday’s court appearance, according to the attorney’s office.
Neither the indictment nor the accompanying news release disclosed where the interrogation took place, but there is a substantial U.S. naval presence in the Arabian Sea. According to the indictment, Warsame, said to be in his mid-20s, provided material support for al Shabaab, which controls large areas of central and southern Somalia. He also provided the group with explosives, weapons and communications equipment. He also spent time in Yemen in 2010 and this year, allegedly receiving explosives and other training from AQAP, which has emerged during the past two years as one of the most active parts of the organization.
Unconfirmed local reports in Somalia have spoken of al Shabaab boats leaving Kismayo for southern Yemen as Islamist groups there — including al Qaeda — have taken advantage of a growing political vacuum. Warsame is also alleged to have tried to broker a weapons deal with AQAP on behalf of al Shabaab. Both groups are designated as terrorist organizations by the United States.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/07/07/somali.terror.suspect/index.html?
CULTURE/BLOGS/EDITORIAL
By land and sea, Somalia needs a helping hand
07 Jul – Source: the National (UAE) – 411 words
The time has come for the world to try again in Somalia. The worst drought in six decades has accomplished the unlikely feat of making life even worse – and shorter, on average – for that woebegone country’s 7.5 million people. A United Nations agency says a quarter of them have now left their homes in search of food or safety or both. More than a third of those reaching Kenya or Ethiopia are malnourished. Even hardened UN relief workers say the level of distress is unprecedented.
The world has largely turned its back on Somalia, leaving it as a weak, (not to say failed) state known mainly for civil war and piracy. The fearsome al Shabaab militia controls much of the country, leaving only part of the capital, Mogadishu, to the grandly-named Transitional Federal Government (TFG) which has lukewarm international support. Because the US, with good reason, deems al Shabaab a terrorist group, US food aid has been slashed. Even UN organizations have only a timid presence.
But now there are sound reasons for a new international push into this forbidding morass. For one, any serious analysis of piracy off Somalia’s coast quickly arrives at the same conclusion: desperation on land is driving the crisis at sea. The more immediate concern, though, is the humanitarian one, which raises questions about donors’ ability to get food aid to those who need it. But there is a strategic opportunity here: the crisis has exposed al Shabaab’s ruthless disregard for the people it rules. A determined push now could discredit the movement, even dislodge it.
Indeed, al Shabaab has startled observers by saying it will now accept food aid from non-Muslim donors, provided they work through al Shabaab. This sign of desperation comes a month after Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, al Qa’eda’s leader in Somalia, was killed at a government checkpoint. UN-approved African Union peacekeepers and local militias have recently helped TFG soldiers push out of their enclaves.
http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/editorial/by-land-and-sea-somalia-needs-ahelping- hand
The road to Dadaab refugee camp
07 Jul- Source: AlJazeera – 696 words
It takes a while to weave your way through the dusty streets of Nairobi and surface from the coagulated gunk that is the city’s air. In one moment it takes me home, further south the African coast, to Durban. And in the next moment it startles me with an air of Delhi. The orchestrated chaos of informal traders unwrapping their bright, fresh vegetables onto wooden tray tables beside oversized football shirts and mobile phone batteries would pass easily for a scene from Durban’s central business district where messy informality and sneaky formality contest each other for the remaining vestiges of crucial business space.
But then, the area around Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta monument, opulently wide, with an affectation of stateliness, together with the perennial haze that hangs over the city skyline like a soiled sheet, takes me back to the Indian capital. It’s funny what malaria tablets can do to you. Or the British for that matter.When you do eventually make your way out of Nairobi, the road furrows indolently, but the skies open with dramatic generosity.
The great expanse of the never-ending African sky is no myth. It really does feel like the earth’s reflection turns the sky into a never ending search for itself; as though the horizon itself need not make an appearance. For the most part the road from Nairobi to Garissa, capital of the North Eastern province that lies just a couple of hours from Dadaab, the biggest refugee camp in the world, is nothing more than a litany of monotonous bumps.