15 Aug 2011 – Daily Monitoring Report
Key Headlines:
- Somali Government refute Human Rights Watch allegations
- Somali president Sheikh Sharif travels to Burundi
- Somali president warns against bothering IDPs in Mogadishu
- Fighting kills 10 injuries others in central Somalia
- Somaliland Ethiopia and China to sign trilateral deals
- Galmudug marks its fifth anniversary
- Al Shabaab declares it began hit and run attacks
- Kenya’s row with agencies over Somalia crisis
- Somali businesses warily return to war-hit market
PRESS STATEMENT
Somali Government refute Human Rights Watch allegations
15 Aug – Source: TFG – 455 words
Regarding Human Rights Watch report, entitled “You Don’t Know Who To Blame” issued today which makes accusations that the TFG has largely failed to provide basic security and human rights protections and have committed serious rights violations.
Government Spokesperson, Abdirahman Omar Osman (Eng. Yarisow), said: “It is with great regret that we receive these allegations from Human Rights Watch especially without given us the opportunity to respond before the publication.
“We refute these allegations and the government is willing to meet with Human Rights Watch officials to discuss their concerns.” Human Rights Watch stated in their report “Reliable figures are hard to come by in Somalia,” which clearly shows that the information they have lacks credibility. They are out of touch to the reality on the ground and they do not have offices inside Somalia.
“I would stress, however, that the TFG takes its responsibilities to the protection of its civilians and we take extreme cautions under extreme difficult circumstances when combating operations to bring peace and stability where we believe there are civilians. On the other hand, Al-Shabaab is responsible for most of human rights violations that happen in Somalia. Our soldiers undertake exceptional work under extremely dangerous and difficult conditions.
We are very proud of them and the high standards they endeavor to maintain. The Somali people, especially those in Mogadishu, know that their soldiers work hard for them and never knowingly place them in danger. Somalis overwhelmingly support and gave confidence to the Government of Somalia and most of Internally Displaced People have moved to government controlled areas.”
All TFG security forces have had trainings and they fully comply with international humanitarian and human rights law. We take very seriously to all allegations of human rights and humanitarian law violations. We investigate and all perpetrators will be held accountable for their actions.
We encourage Human rights activists to carry out their work and to report credible findings. We work very closely with all aid agencies and we help them to carry-out their duties by providing security escorts. Our Prime Minister has announced the creation of a special force to protect convoys delivering aid to people affected by drought and famine in order to secure the convoys, to protect food aid, and to protect the camps when food is distributed.
Somalia has successfully fulfilled its international obligation by submitting a National Report on the situation of the human rights situation in the country to the 11th session of the Working Group of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) on 3rd May 2011. The Government has frequently reiterated its commitment to make human rights the foundation of the transition to a new Somalia and reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to the international humanitarian law.
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali president, Sheikh Sharif travels to Burundi
15 Aug – Source: Radio Mogadishu, Bar-Kulan, Kulmiye and Shabelle – 87 words
A large delegation headed by Somali president Sheikh Sharif Sh. Ahmed has traveled to Burundi to have talks with heads of that country, state media said. President Sharif and other large delegates took off from Mogadishu airport heading to Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi. He is accompanied by Ministers of foreign, Trade, Mps and Mogadishu mayor, reports said. Mr. Sharif would talks with heads of Burundian state as Burundi is part of the two African countries provided soldiers to the AU mission in Somalia.
Elders welcome president’s declaration of state of emergency
15 Aug – Source: Radio Mogadishu – 133 words
Somali traditional elders residing in the capital Mogadishu have openly welcomed the president’s declaration of a state of emergency in areas freed from al Shabaab extremists and also in the IDP camps in Mogadishu. The elders Spokesman Ahmed Diiriye Ali also called on the remaining al Shabaab militias to put the guns down and come out openly so that they benefit from the government pardon, join the normal people and better their lives.
Somali president warns against bothering IDPs in Mogadishu
15 Aug – Source: Radio Mogadishu, Shabelle, and Kulmiye – 154 words
The president of the TFG on Sunday warned against bothering famine-displaced people in Mogadishu. Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said anyone seen killing, robbing or raping the Somalia’s vulnerable IDPs will be harshly punished, probably to be sentenced to death by the military court. In the past few days, some armed men dressed in Somali government military uniforms were accused of looting aid food, killing drought-affected people and raping displaced women. Speaking at a news conference held in Mogadishu, he noted many people whose livelihood is harshly affected by the drought reached the capital in search of food and water and urged rich Somalis to act quickly to assist their starving brothers and sisters in the famine-hit horn of Africa nation.
Somali Gov’t urged by Rights Group to end violence against Civillians
15 Aug – Source: Hiiraan Online, Bloomberg – 214 words
Donor countries and the United Nations should consider cutting military aid to Somalia’s TFG unless it, and allied militias, stop violence against civilians, Human Rights Watch said. Somali residents face arbitrary arrest, restricted freedom of expression and indiscriminate attacks by forces loyal to the government of President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the New York-based advocacy group said in a report today.
Al Shabaab, an Islamic insurgency that pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda, has been battling for four years to topple the Western-back government in Somalia and impose Sharia law. The militant group pulled back its fighters from the capital, Mogadishu, on Aug. 6 following a series of military defeats. Government troops in the city are supported by a 9,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force of mainly Ugandans and Burundian soldiers. Somalia hasn’t had a functioning government since 1991 when ruler Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted.
The UN, European Union and the U.S. must go beyond condemning crimes and should cut assistance if authorities fail to improve their human rights record, Human Rights Watch said. They should “condition future financial and military support to the TFG on clear benchmarks for the respect of international humanitarian and human rights law and accountability for serious abuses,” it said. “Support and policies that fail to achieve these basic objectives should be reconsidered.”
http://www.hiiraan.com/news2/
Fighting kills 10, injuries others in central Somalia
15 Aug – Source: Mareeg Online – 104 words
At least 10 people were killed and a number of others wounded after fighting between al Shabaab and forces of Doha Shabelle region took place around the strategic city of Beledweyne in Hiiraan region, reports said. The battle occurred in Kalabeyr 20 KM North East of Beledweyn town between al Shabaab and forces of the Doha Shabelle Administration reports said. Minister of Information for Doha Shabelle Administration, Mohamed Nor Agajof claimed victory over that war saying that 20 al Shabaab fighters had been killed. There is no word from al Shabaab officials about the war in Hiiraan, central regions of Somali.
http://www.mareeg.com/fidsan.
Saudi Arabia medics provide free medical service in Mogadishu
14 Aug – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 111 words
Doctor from Saudi Arabia on Sunday provided free medical service to the needy people in Mogadishu. Dr. Abdalla Al-Amri, who is among the Saudi doctors offering the free service in Banadir’s Mother and Child department, said they are sacrificing their time to help the needy people with their services. The Saudi doctors are said to be responding to the current drought in Somalia, where tens of thousands are facing starvation. Meanwhile the Head of Banadir Hospital’s Pediatric Department Lul Mohamed Ahmed said diarrhea is becoming life threatening in Mogadishu, saying that over a hundred patients with diarrhea came to seek treatment in the hospital in the last few days.
Somaliland, Ethiopia and China to sign trilateral deals
15 Aug – Source: Somaliland Press – 107 words
Somaliland President Ahmed Mohamud Silanyo arrived in the Chinese capital on Friday for bilateral talks likely to yield dozens of deals, statement said. According to a Presidential press state, the Somaliland delegation met with Chinese investors and Government representatives on Saturday. The statement said a number of topics including economic and trade cooperation as well as mutual activity were discussed. It added Somaliland, Ethiopia and China are expected to sign trilateral agreements on gas, oil and logistic deals in the days ahead. Just last month, Hong Kong-based PetroTrans Company Ltd signed a deal with the Ethiopian Government to purchase gas and oil over a 25 year period.
http://somalilandpress.com/
Galmudug marks its fifth anniversary
14 Aug – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 133 words
Galkayo town is today a bee hive of activities as members of the public and their local administration in the region marks their fifth anniversary since the region was curved from the war-torn Somalia. Galmudug president Mohamed Ahmed Alin is expected to lead the semiautonomous state in marking its fifth anniversary, a significant day in the history of Galmudug. Hundreds of people thronged into Abdullahi Isse ground in Dalsan neighborhood, Galkayo town, to mark this important day in the history of the region. Several leaders are expected to address the general public that turned up for the event in large numbers. Security has been beefed up in the area as local police force in the region marched past the streets in Galkayo town. Galmudug state was officially announced August 14, 2006 as a semiautonomous region in Somalia.
Tanzania and Somaliland to hold high level meetings later this month
15 Aug – Source: Somaliland Press – 193 words
Bernard Membe, Tanzanian Foreign Affairs Minister announced on Saturday that Somaliland and Tanzania are due to have high-level talks before the end of this month. The Minister made the statement shortly after meeting with his South African counterpart in Pretoria, Mrs Maite Nkoana-Mashabane. In the past South Africa has been one of the few African countries to have open relations with Somaliland but after this meeting with Tanzania the two Ministers released a statement proclaiming their desire for a united Somalia. Mrs. Nkoana stated that “Somaliland at the moment in our memory is part of Somalia. We do not want to encourage the disintegration of countries. For now in line with the AU we are not in the business of not disbanding, dismantling and dismembering countries”.
http://somalilandpress.com/
Somalis in Zambia conduct funds-drive to aid drought victims in Somalia
15 Aug – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 110 words
Somali community in Zambia is conducting a funds drive in efforts to aid drought and famine-hit people in Somalia. Community chairman Hassan Matan told Bar-kulan that other Muslim Zambians are also taking part in the funds drive, aimed at soliciting funds to provide humanitarian aid to needy people in Somalia. Matan said they have well-wishers who have already contributed over $70,000 in a campaign that kicked off a week ago. The contribution campaign is to be concluded later this week. Somalis in the Diaspora around the globe have been conducting fund-drives to support millions of Somalis who have been hit by the ravaging drought and famine in the Horn of Africa.
Kuwait team issues aid to IDP’s in Hodan and Digfer
14 Aug – Source: Radio Mogadishu – 110 words
IDP’s based in Hodan district of Mogadishu yesterday received food aid that was issued by the people and the Republic of Kuwait. The food items comprised of flour, Rice, Sugar, Oil and dates are all meant to ease the suffering of the Somali people who have been affected by the worst drought in six decades. Kuwait aid group donors in Hodan district spoke to the local media and affirmed that Kuwait community will offer their generous contribution to the suffering IDP’s in Somalia. Elsewhere a health team also arrived alongside the Kuwait delegation and is set to provide health care for the thousands of children affected by malnutrition.
Al Shabaab declares it began hit and run attacks
15 Aug – Source: Radio Al Furqan – 101 words
The al Shabaab fighters in Somalia have changed their battles against the TFG and AMISOM forces into hit and run attacks, the group said in a statement on Sunday. The movement launched several attacks on Somali forces and AU peacekeepers in Mogadishu for the last few days, the statement noted. According to the al Qaeda linked group, during the hit and run attacks, al Shabaab has inflicted more fatal casualties on their adversaries. The group has vowed they will continue launching such attacks against AU forces and Somali soldiers, saying they will use any tactical move in killing them.
Gunmen shoot prominent elder in northern eastern Somalia
15 Aug – Source: Radio Shabelle – 113 words
Unknown gunmen on Sunday night gunned a prominent elder at center of Puntland’s commercial town of Bosaso, about 1500 kilometers northeastern Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. Reports from the semi-autonomous Somali state of Puntland indicate that Abwahab Mohamed Alale was shot and killed while walking inside Bosaso port town. A large number of Puntland security forces have reached at the crime scene immediately after the incident and started search operations thought it is not unknown. Some of deceased elder’s relatives said that had not been involved any political activities in the past. It is not still known who and why he was killed. But, he was working at Telecommunications Company in Puntland.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Kenya’s row with agencies over Somalia crisis
14 Aug – Source: Africa Review – 214 words
A row has erupted between the Kenyan government, international aid agencies and the United Nations over the opening of an extension camp for Somalia refugees. The Kenyan government is increasingly adamant that the flow of Somalia refugees – at around 1,500 per day – is unsustainable and wants the international community to address the humanitarian crisis within Somalia boundaries. (Read: US lauds Kenya move to host Somali refugees.
This is believed to be the reason as to why the new extension camp for Somalia refugees – known as Ifo 2 – has remained closed despite mixed reactions from the government over its accessibility. Aid agencies say that the humanitarian situation in Somalia is ridiculous as that the existing facilities cannot cope with the overwhelming demand.
However, the Kenyan government is under pressure from a number of MPs, particularly those representing northern constituencies to disallow the development of the new permanent structure. They are also concerned that the amenities available at Ifo 2, including schools, clinics and housing schemes are well equipped compared to those occupied by local residents.
However, the UNHCR states that Ifo 2 “is open,” and aid agencies have been asked to “move in.” The problem facing the government is that the international community appears unwilling to act on the humanitarian crisis within the Somalia borders.
Somalia to set up aid protection force
14 Aug – Source: Africa Review – 272 words
Somalia’s Prime Minister, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali has announced the creation of a special force to protect convoys delivering aid to people affected by drought and famine. Mr. Ali said the force would comprise 300 trained personnel, helped by AU peacekeepers that are currently providing security in the capital Mogadishu. He was speaking after talks with UN emergency relief coordinator, Valerie Amos, in the capital on Saturday.
Mr. Ali said the force would have two main jobs: “Number one is to secure the convoys and to protect food aid, and also to protect the camps when food is distributed,” he said. “Second is to stabilize the city and to fight banditry and looting and any sort of untidiness.” Ms Amos expressed concerns on the state of famine in the Horn of Africa.
“I have seen so many weakened adults and malnourished children so we discussed ways of improving the security of the humanitarian services,” she said. Several international agencies have visited Somalia in the past weeks in response to the devastating famine. Meanwhile, Mr. Ali visited the port of Mogadishu on Saturday to receive a consignment of 3,300 tons of food from the Government of Kuwait and the country’s Red Crescent Society meant to assist the needy through the National Disaster Management Agency.
UAE intensifies efforts to check Somalia epidemics
14 Aug – Source: Khaleej Times – 273 words
As an outbreak of cholera threatened tens of thousands of people fleeing the famine hit areas of Somalia to pack into the crowded camps in the country’s capital, Mogadishu, the UAE fortified its medical efforts to contain the spread of the epidemic.
UAE’s mobile hospital continued to provide its ambulatory and medical services to the patients in the makeshift camps in and around the capital. The Emirate Mobile hospital has been welcomed as a great humanitarian service by the people in the region and is a worthy addition to the achievements in the vital initiatives of this kind.
The single hospital in Mogadishu is virtually helpless to cope up with the increasing number of patients being brought into it. According to the U.N. World Health Organization, several people have died from suspected cholera cases in the hospital in Mogadishu, and there have been many other confirmed cholera outbreaks across the country.
Since the Mobile Hospital was inaugurated last week, it has visited the refugee camp in the suburbs of Mogadishu to give treatment to more than 820 patients suspected to be suffering from Cholera.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia famine: PM Ali sets up aid protection forces
13 Aug – Source: BBC – 303 words
Somalia’s prime minister has announced the creation of a special force to protect convoys delivering aid to people affected by drought and famine. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali said the force would comprise 300 trained men, helped by AU peacekeepers that are currently providing security in Mogadishu. He was speaking after talks with UN emergency relief coordinator, Valerie Amos, in the Somali capital.
Some 12 million people are affected by drought in the region, the UN says. Mr. Ali said the force would have two main jobs: “Number one is to secure the convoys and to protect food aid, and also to protect the camps when food is distributed,” he said.
“Second is to stabilize the city and to fight banditry and looting and any sort of untidiness.” Mr. Mohamed Ali’s use of the word “untidiness” was something of an understatement: Mogadishu was until a few days ago divided in two, with the Islamist insurgent group, al Shabaab, occupying several districts. It has now withdrawn from most parts of the city, but has vowed to keep on fighting the transitional government.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
Somalia: Rights group says all sides guilty of crime
15 Aug – Source: BBC, VOA – 433 words
Human Rights Watch has said all sides in Somalia’s conflict are guilty of serious breaches of international law. The campaign group says civilians are bearing the brunt not just of a famine but also a failure by any side to protect them.
It says Islamist group al-Shabaab is guilty of unrelenting brutality, while government troops carry out arbitrary arrests and detentions. HRW also criticizes the West for not exerting pressure to stop the abuses. A spokesman for the TFG denied the accusations, and said the body was committed to human rights.
The HRW report, You Don’t Know Who to Blame, says all sides in the conflict should end abuses against civilians and ensure Somalis have access to aid. The report’s author, Ben Rawlence, told the BBC that al Shabaab carries out unrelenting daily repression and brutality in areas under its control, taxing the population for access to water, forcefully recruiting men so they cannot grow crops and restricting access to aid agencies.
“Al Shabaab must carry the burden of that responsibility for the way in which the demands of the fighting has led to human rights violations which have contributed to famine,” he said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
Somali Islamists thrive as children die in the dust
14 Aug – Source: the Telegraph – 1196 words
For the thousands of people fleeing famine to squat here in rag-and-stick shelters pitched on a sloping plain bleached of color, this village is known as Beladul Amiin, or “the safe place”. To an outsider, it appears far from that. Gunmen – in uniform and not – saunter past skinny cows lying listlessly under a dull sky. Giant storks pick at rubbish pinned by the hot wind to leafless thorn bushes. In the distance, the mosque is scarred by mortars from battles last month between government forces and Islamist militia.
But to the 18,000 people who have fled here from deep in rural Somalia, plagued by a spreading famine and the rapacious extortions of murderous fundamentalist fighters, this truly is a sanctuary. Here, there is water. There are increasing food deliveries from aid workers cautiously crossing the border from Kenya for the first time. There is a hospital, over the border, to treat children who would otherwise starve to death.
The villages these people left behind are now deserted, emptied as al Shabaab, Somalia’s Islamist insurgents, stole food and livestock, executed dissenters and forcibly abducted young men to fight.
SA, Tanzania don’t recognize Somaliland
13 Aug – Source: Times live – 256 words
South Africa and Tanzania are not yet ready to recognize Somaliland and believe it should not be split off from Somalia according to the foreign ministers of Tanzania and South Africa.
This emerged following bilateral talks between Tanzanian foreign affairs minister Bernard Membe and South Africa’s international relations and co-operation minister Maite Nkoana- Mashabane in Pretoria on Saturday.
Membe said that he would be meeting a delegation from Somaliland within the next two weeks, but would not comment on the details of the talks until they had happened. Both Membe and Nkoana-Mashabane said they would prefer to see Somalia remain as a single country.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/
Somali businesses warily return to war-hit market
15 Aug – Source: AFP – 673 words
The car-sized shell hole in the Hotel Fardoow’s second floor may deter some guests, but business is now returning warily to Mogadishu’s commercial heart after months of bloody battles. “Things were bad here, and the fighting was too heavy,” said Abdi Ali Nur, a store owner next to the hotel in Bakara, the sprawling network of narrow streets that make up the war-torn Somali capital’s largest and most important market.
“Everything had to close,” added Nur, who returned last week for the first time in six months to survey the damage to his store, after fleeing an offensive by African Union-backed Somali government troops against Islamist rebels.
Bakara was for many months the epicenter of violence in one of the world’s most dangerous capitals, forcing people to flee and to shut or relocate their business. A ripped corrugated iron roofing sheet from his store gently creaks in the warm breeze from off the Indian Ocean, glittering deep blue in the distance.
“God willing, the businesses will be soon able to return,” Nur said, adding that his store selling soft drinks had not been ransacked by rebels while he was away. Effective control of a resurgent Bakara would be a major achievement for the weak Westernbacked transitional government, which is slowly trying to impose its control over the faminestruck city.
Bakara was, until a surprise pullout earlier this month, a key stronghold of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated al Shabaab rebels, netting the insurgents up to $60 million a year, according to a recent UN report.
Business people are scouting out the chances of opening up again, but almost all shops — including stores selling electronic goods to restaurants and money exchange bureaus — remain boarded up.
“Bakara was the market where the al Shabaab were making money from, that sustained their operations for all these years,” said Paddy Ankunda, a spokesman for the African Union mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
CULTURE, BLOGS AND EDITORIALS
Reports of Somali famine exaggerated? How we wish that were true…
14 Aug – Source: Eastern Africa, by Mohamed Ali Nur, ambassador of Somalia in Kenya – 1001 words
In recent weeks, some have started to question the scale of the tragedy unfolding in the Horn of Africa. In the UK, an essay in the Spectator claims that “Somalis are not starving. The victims are mainly the… minority clans.” An article published in last week’s edition of The East African suggests that aid agencies have been overstating the scale of the famine, citing a Nairobi based agricultural economist who “believes that it is very likely that many parts of Somalia that have been declared as suffering from drought, such as the fertile Lower Shabelle region — which experienced a bumper harvest last year — may actually be food secure.”
The implication that the situation in Somalia is not as serious as has been reported, and that only a small proportion of the population is actually starving in areas where the United Nations has declared a famine, is not only untrue but unfortunately echoes statements by Al Qaeda-linked extremist insurgents that the crisis, which is mostly affecting areas under their control, is nothing but a figment of the “infidel” imagination. The emergency is real and has been years in the making. The Transitional Federal Government and UN agencies were appealing for help long before refugees began to crowd into feeding centers in Mogadishu and in neighboring countries.
Here are the facts. Somalia has two rain seasons. The long rains, known as Gu, start in March/April and last till June. The harvest is gathered from August at the tail end of a short dry spell, Xagaa. Deyr, the minor wet season, extends from October to November/December, with crops being harvested in February. The long dry season, Jiilaal, which starts in January, continues until the onset of the Gu.
While it is true that the 2010 Gu harvest was exceptional, it is important to note that Deyr harvests account for up to a third of total annual cereal production. Following the almost complete failure of the short rains last year, Deyr cereal production in southern Somalia plummeted to the lowest level since 1995, amounting to only 20 per cent of the Post-War Average (PWA). Therefore, though the bumper Gu harvest was 137 per cent of the PWA, the total production for the year was actually less than average.
Further, this year’s Gu was late and poorly distributed. In some parts of Shabelle, it hadn’t rained by early May. This led to hoarding of grain, causing a shortage in the market and driving up prices. In short, though cereal stocks from the 2010 Gu were still available in March, the Deyr harvest failure coupled with speculation had driven the price of food beyond the means of ordinary people.