11 Nov 2011 – Daily Monitoring Report
Key Headlines:
- Somali defense minister: We have adopted new strategies against the terrorist group Shabaab’ (Source: Radio Mogadishu Mareeg Online and Shabelle)
- Rape cases soar in Galkayo camps (Source: IRIN News)
- Arrested al Shabaab leader to face justice in military court (Source: Bar-kulan Radio Mogadishu)
- Kenyan Police free fishermen arrested on suspicion of being pirates (Source: Coast week Xinhua)
- Pirates threaten to kill all hostages (Source: Radio Bar-kulan)
- Somali pirates demand $8 million ransom to release 4 Ghanaian 20 other captives (Source: My joy online – Ghana)
- UN refugee agency provides succor for Somali IDPs (Source: Shabelle PANA)
- Kuwait funds UNICEF for drought affected areas in Somalia (Source: UNICEF)
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali defence minister: We have adopted new strategies against the terrorist group, Shabaab’
11 Nov – Source: Radio Mogadishu, Mareeg Online and Shabelle – 110 words
Hussein Arab Isse, the Defence Minister of the Somali Transitional Federal Government has announced that the government has adopted a new strategy to fight the rebel group of Shabaab and that they will soon be removed from the southern parts of the country, reports said.
Speaking to one of the local FM stations in Mogadishu this morning, the defence minister asserted that the government has adopted new strategies to fight al Shabaab. “They pretend and hide amongst civilians, we are carrying out tactics to root them out soon and not only in Mogadishu but also the southern parts of the country, Arab said.
Al Shabaab leader denies Eritrea arms delivery in Bay region
10 Nov – Source: Radio Kulmiye, Somalia Report – 58 words
The Shabaab chairman in Bay region, Sheikh Mohamed Omar, has denied allegations that a plane carrying weapons from Eritrea landed in Baidoa.
The chairman said that Kenya wants to find excuses for air strikes in Bay and Bakol regions. Sheikh Omar vowed that they would defend the country from Kenya and Ethiopia.
Arrested al Shabaab leader to face justice in military court
11 Nov – Source: Bar-kulan, Radio Mogadishu – 175 words
Al Shabaab’s Towfiq area commander, Abdi Hafid who was recently captured in Mogadishu’s Yaqshid district by government troops during a security operation in the area is likely to be tried in a military court in Mogadishu.
The area district commissioner, Muhyadin Hassan Jurus, told Bar-kulan that their security officers seized the rebel leader in an operation aimed at bolstering security in the district. He further said that they handed over the captured militant leader to the Somali military court for possible trial.
The DC stated that security officers got a tip-off from the locals in the area. He praised the locals for volunteering such credible information.
UN refugee agency provides succour for Somali IDPs
11 Nov – Source: Shabelle, PANA – 339 words
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), on Friday said it provided emergency assistance to thousands of displaced Somalis, who were affected by heavy rains in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia. According to the UNHCR, the rains have affected some 2,800 people in the Sigale camp in Mogadishu, disrupted the transport system and slowed the pace of movement in the impoverished country.
UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic said in a statement from Geneva that the agency had distributed 4,500 assistance kits so far, which included plastic sheets, plastic buckets and soap.
He said: “we are still seeing some movement. In the last week, more than 2,200 people have moved from Afgoye and Daynile, north of Mogadishu, to areas south of the capital in Banadir district”.
http://shabelle.net/article.
Pirates threaten to kill all hostages
11 Nov – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 194 words
Somali pirates holding the Dubai cargo ship MV Iceberg 1 have threatened to kill all hostages if the $8 million ransom money they previously demanded are not paid immediately, reports say. MV Iceberg 1 was hijacked by Somali pirates on March 29th 2010 while sailing in the Gulf of Aden en route for the Jebel Ali Port carrying mechanical instruments.
The ship carried a crew including people from several countries. Two Pakistanis and six Indians were among the hostages. Pirates later demanded 8 million dollars in exchange for the release of the ship along with crew.
The chief engineer of the ship had committed a suicide after it was hijacked by the Somali pirates. Francis Koomson, who is one of four Ghanaians being held on the MV Iceberg 1 off the Somali coast, appealed to his government to come to his aid and secure his release.
Ghanaian foreign minister Alhajji Mohamuud Mumuni said his government will try all means to secure the release of its compatriots but ruled out paying any ransom. Just recently, the UN Security Council called on its member states to make piracy a crime as the problem surges in Somalia.
Al Shabaab, Raskamboni claim victory over fighting in southern Somalia
11 Nov – Source: Radio Shabelle – 157 words
The Islamist fighters of al Shabaab and Raskamboni group have separately claimed victory over fighting that took place at Tabta and Dhobley town in Lower Jubba region in southern Somalia, witnesses said on Friday. Sheik Abdiasis Abu Mus’ab, the spokesman of al Shabaab reported that they had destroyed 6 battlewagons belonging to Kenyan military forces.
Abdinasir Serar, the spokesman of Raskamboni has rebuffed the claim by al Shabaab. According to Abdinasir, al Shabaab has suffered heavy losses in the ongoing fighting.
Both statements from al Shabaab and Raskamboni comes hours after heavy fighting between the Kenyan military forces, Raskamboni and al Shabaab in Tabta and Dhobley in Lower Jubba region in southern Somalia.
REGIONAL MEDIA
War on al Shabaab: the road to Kismayu
10 Nov – Source: NTV – 3:58 min
Inside Somalia, bad weather continues to hinder the advance of Kenyan forces towards the port city of Kismayu. The troops are currently in the town of Burgavo, which only a few weeks ago, was a major trade route for al Shabaab. NTV’s Yassin Juma reports on hopes and aspirations of the residents of the charcoal town.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Somalis seek US help
11 Nov – Source: the Standard – 1042 words
Somalis living in America have appealed to the US to help stabilise their country, as concerns continue to mount over insecurity in the capital Mogadishu, and the inability of the government to exert its authority.
Troops from the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the Transitional Federal Government have secured control of 98 per cent of the capital for the first time in four years.
This is a significant development, coming on the back of an operation by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) in the south and central of the country. The US is not directly involved in the operation, and has expressed reservations over a call by Kenya for a blockade of Kismayu port.
The State Department said the blockade must be supported by the African Union and UN Security Council, and should avoid making the humanitarian situation in the Horn of Africa nation worse.
Representatives of the Somali community resident in Columbus, Ohio, expressed their wish for direct involvement of the US in helping restore order in their country when they met Mr James C Swan, the new US special representative for Somalia.
However, the support they sought is more political and humanitarian, to ensure aid flows to those in need and that the TFG is strengthened.
The head of the Somali Community Action Network in Columbus, Jibril Mohamed, said the US cannot dictate the type of government Somalia should get; it can do much to help find a political solution for the war-torn country.
Addressing a later meeting at Ohio State University’s Mershon Centre for International Security Studies, Swan said Somalis should embrace plans for election of a new president in August, next year, when the mandate of the TFG expires.
Swan, who was appointed in August and is based in Nairobi, also met former Somalia Prime Minister, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who lives in Buffalo, New York.
AMISOM and the TFG soldiers have been stretched and cannot prevent al Shabaab militants from melting into the population and carrying out revenge attacks.
http://www.standardmedia.co.
Kenyan troops gear up for fresh Shabaab raids
10 Nov – Source: Daily Nation – 374 words
Aerial attacks on al Shabaab positions will continue but Somali towns will not be deliberately targeted, the Kenya military said on Thursday.
Air Force jets and helicopter gunships will only target al Shabaab bases and not civilians as they mount the search for weapons suspected to have been flown in from Eritrea.
“We will continue engaging Al-Shabaab camps from the air, but we will not bomb towns,” Kenya Defence Forces spokesman Major Emmanuel Chirchir said.
The new approach follows recent talks between Kenya and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Nairobi over the ongoing military operation in the war torn nation.
TFG’s Minister for Defence Hussein Arab Issa said the Nairobi talks had resolved that Kenya’s Defence Forces would not carry out air strikes in southern Somalia in order to flush out the rebels.
“We discussed with the Kenyan government and agreed that they will not raid Somali towns from the air,” a local broadcaster quoted Mr Issa telling the press in Mogadishu on Thursday.
Last week, Kenyan troops fighting al Shabaab inside Somalia placed 10 towns under surveillance after the militants apparently brought in a consignment of arms for retaliatory attacks.
The military advised residents of the 10 towns — Baidoa, Badhere, Baidoa, Dinsur, Afgoye, Bu’ale, Barawe, Jilib, Kismayu and Afmadow — to avoid any contact with the militants so that they are not endangered in case of attacks.
Kenyan Police free fishermen arrested on suspicion of being pirates
11 Nov – Source: Coast week, Xinhua – 173 words
Kenyan authorities released six fishermen who escaped Kenya military attack last week for being suspected to be pirates in Ras Kiamboni in southern Somalia.
The police said the six who narrated the tribulations on how they managed to survive from almost five hours fierce bullets attack by the Kenya Navy were released on Wednesday.
Last week, military spokesman Emmanuel Chirchir said the Kenyan Navy while on patrol duties last Friday sank a boat in the area of Ras Kiamboni in southern Somalia. Chirchir said the boat was challenged to stop for identification but continued to approach the Kenya Navy at high speed, consequently they were fired at.
“We wish to reiterate that the Kenya-Somalia border is still closed and that any maritime operations in these areas are banned, ” Chirchir said. Kenya’s officials had earlier said that Kenya’s Navy shot and killed seven fishermen at sea, though three survived the attack.
Fishermen’s relatives said the boat was full of innocent people, though officials said they were treating the surviving men as possible insurgents.
http://www.coastweek.com/3445_
Somalia’s al Shabaab steps up war propaganda
11 Nov- Source: Afrique Jet – 417 words
Somalia’s al Shabaab fighters have been shooting in the air and enacting battle scenes, which it uses for propaganda purposes, including falsified claims of capture of the Kenyan troops, a military spokesman warned Thursday. Kenyan Defence Forces Spokesman Major Emmanuel Chirchir said the troops were unlikely to be demoralized by the war propaganda coming from the Al Shabaab, which has claimed the capture of the Kenyan soldiers and military equipment.
The military recently shifted strategy from advancing further into the Al Shabaab territories, to pacification patrols, to ease the movement of humanitarian aid.
The troops, while patrolling areas, including Tabda in Southern Somalia, said they heard gun shots in the area of Husingo, South of Tabda, and continued to comb the area, when they discovered the gun shots came from Al Shabaab fighters. “This was not combat engagement between KDF, the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Al Shabaab,” said Chirchir. The battle to control Southern Somalia has largely been fought without any direct fighting between the Kenyan troops and the Al Shabaab.
Kenya’s Chief of General Staff, Gen. Julius Karangi, said recently the number of Al Shabaab fighters killed in aerial bombings were in the hundreds. “Al Shabaab is not a conventional army,” Karangi said.
http://www.afriquejet.com/
Kenyan troops change strategy to focus on pacification
11 Nov – Source: Coast week, Xinhua – 1202
Kenya’s military intensified its operations to subdue Al-Shabaab militia in southern Somalia and are now focusing on patrols and pacification in liberated areas in a move aimed at eliminating sympathizers in the lawless nation.
Military spokesman Emmanuel Chirchir said the Kenya Navy has also been conducting patrols in the Indian Ocean to keep out the militants and have so far sunk two enemy boats, killing over 10 members of the Al-Shabaab members in the process.
“The Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) forces at the battlefront were involved in patrols and pacification in the liberated areas and Al- Shabaab pockets,” said Major Chirchir late Tuesday.
“This pacification patrols reinforce the operation objectives and facilitate access by international aid organizations in the liberated areas,” he added.
Kenya launched Operation Linda Nchi (Kiswahili for “Protect the Nation”) on Oct. 16 and has since deployed ground troops and air assets between its common border and the Somali port town of Kismayo.
Government officials have said its forces were targeting militants who threaten Kenya’s heavily tourism-dependent economy and its national security.
In recent weeks, there have been kidnappings of tourists and aid workers in Kenya, which officials blamed on Al-Shabaab, a charge the group has denied.
http://www.coastweek.com/3445_
Somali pirates demand $8 million ransom to release 4 Ghanaians, 20 other captives
11 Nov – Source: My joy online – (Ghana) – 387 words
The lives of four Ghanaians hang in the balance if an $8 million ransom being demanded by Somali pirates is not paid by Thursday, November 10, 2011. The four are part of 24 other nationals who have been captured by the Somali Pirates on an MV IcebergI Vessel.
A son of one of the four Ghanaians, Francis Koomson Jnr claimed he has information his father and all the captives will be killed on Thursday if the ransom is not paid. “He [his father] called us yesterday telling us that the pirate commander will be coming on board today and if nobody comes to their aid they will be executed today.”
He said the pirates are demanding $8 million from the ship owners or risk losing the lives of captives who have been in the custody of the pirates for several months. According to him, his father is becoming weaker by the day due to inhuman treatments being meted out to them by the pirates.
Koomson Jnr. appealed to government to pay the ransom amount in order for his dad and the other captives to be freed.
His appeal did not go unnoticed as Member of Parliament for Weija Shirley Ayorkor Botchway asked an urgent question on the floor of Parliament demanding to know what government is doing to secure the release of the captives.
But Foreign Affairs Minister Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni in an answer said government is doing all it can to secure the release of the captives. He stated however that the government of Ghana is not prepared to pay any ransom to secure the release of the captured persons.
He explained such payment would only set a bad precedent which would make Ghanaian crew members aboard any ship prone to attacks by Somali or any other pirates across the world.
http://edition.myjoyonline.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Rape cases soar in Galkayo camps
11 Nov – Source: IRIN News – 889 words
Deteriorating security, a culture of impunity and an increase in attacks on internally displaced people (IDPs) in the central Somali town of Galkayo, Mudug region, have resulted in a sharp increase in rape cases, gender activists told IRIN.
“Attacks on women have gone up dramatically in the last two months and the severity of the attacks has become worse,” said Silje Heitmann, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) gender-based violence (GBV) specialist for south-central Somalia.
Many of the rape survivors live in IDP camps in the town, in flimsy shelters that often do not have doors or other structures that would deter an attacker. Gender activists also attributed the increase in rape to a deterioration of security, with armed gangs of young men roaming about the town, often high on khat (a natural stimulant), and frequently able to get away with raping women who have no clan support.
Sado Mohamud Isse, an activist, told IRIN clashes between Puntland forces and a clan militia in early September in Galkayo contributed to the increase in rape.
“The clashes forced many families to flee the town, creating conditions that gangs of young men exploited,” Isse said, adding that impunity was another factor. “Almost all the rapists get away with it and know they can get away with it. So they commit these crimes without any fear of repercussions.”
She said the fact that Galkayo town was divided between the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland and the self-declared autonomous region of Galmudug had also contributed to the current wave of rapes. “A criminal who commits rape in the north [Puntland] and thinks someone will come after him will simply cross to the south [Galmudug] and remain there until he feels safe to return.”
Many rape survivors are referred to the Galkayo Education Centre for Peace and Development (GECPD), a group that advocates for women’s and IDP issues, for counselling and medical attention.
http://www.irinnews.org/
Somalia’s search for a lucky break
09 Nov – Source: BBC – 548 words
As you flick on your television to watch England take on Spain on Saturday, you may like to thank your lucky stars for being able to follow the game so easily.
It’s second nature – a ritual almost without thought – as is playing football for most of the world’s enthusiasts. But would you risk your life to carry out either pastime?
I only ask because they do in Somalia, which is why you might like to root for their embattled footballers on Saturday – especially if you have Britain’s traditional fondness for the underdog.
Because there can be few teams with the odds more stacked against them than the collection of individuals who face a daily fight just to play the game – often having to disguise their intentions to do so.
Saturday marks the beginning of Somalia’s 2014 World Cup adventure, although just making it to the start line for their preliminary qualifier against Ethiopia is creditworthy enough.
The Somalis’ ‘home leg’ will actually be played in Djibouti though because Somalia – widely described as a failed state and without an effective government in two decades – is considered too dangerous to host matches.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/
Kuwait funds UNICEF for drought affected areas in Somalia
10 Nov – Source: UNICEF – 353 words
The State of Kuwait has contributed 250 thousand US dollars to UNICEF in Somalia for humanitarian response to the continuing food crisis. The support was announced by His Excellency Mr. Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi, Permanent Representative of Kuwait to the United Nations.
Somalia sits at the centre of a region suffering from a deadly combination of the worst drought in six decades, soaring food prices and now escalating conflict in southern Somalia. Thousands have already died and more than 13 million people still need humanitarian assistance across the region.
UNICEF and its partners over the past several months have saved the lives of thousands of children in the Horn of Africa; Some 110,000 severely malnourished children were treated at UNICEF-supported centres across the Horn. So far, UNICEF has vaccinated 1.2 million children against measles, including 1 million in South and Central Somalia. More than 2.6 million people were provided with access to safe water across the Horn and over 1.5 million were reached with hygiene awareness and supplies.
Since the beginning of July, UNICEF has transported more than 24,000 metric tons of life-saving supplies to Somalia, with 140 chartered flights, on 106 vessels and 90 trucks – ready to use therapeutic foods for 350,000 children and supplementary food for 350,000 families.
UNICEF is one of just a few organizations still operating in South and Central Somalia, working with more than 120 partners to reach hundreds of thousands of children and their families. Between July and the end of October, a total of 85,300 families, or 512,000 people, received blanket supplementary feeding in southern Somalia. Another 236,000 people including 47,000 children received prepared meals in Somalia between July and October.
However, despite increased humanitarian operations and some relief following the start of the seasonal rains, the child survival crisis in the Horn of Africa is far from over. Much more needs to be done in order to help the many thousands of children who are in need of urgent nutritional and medical help. More than 320,000 children are so severely malnourished that they may perish as well in the coming weeks and months without further assistance.