May 10, 2012 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Explosion kills 3 al Shabaab militants in central Somalia
10 May – Source: Radio Shabelle/Raxanreeb Online/Somalia Report – 158 words
Witnesses said on Thursday that at least three al Shabaab fighters lost their lives when blast struck militants who were preparing explosives at an area near Somalia’s central town of El-Bur, central Somalia. “We heard large sound of blast early on Thursday morning in an area not far from El-Bur, al Shabaab militants were preparing the explosives, but it exploded on them and killed three of them,” a witness told Shabelle Media by phone from the town.
Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a forces went to the explosion site and cordoned off the area. Blood and dead bodies were seen scattered on the ground. According to the officials, three Al Shabaab agents were so far confirmed to have been killed in the blast near the town that is largely controlled by Somalia’s moderate Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a (ASWJ) fighters with the backing from the neighbouring Ethiopian troops.
Key Headlines
- Somali Gov’t al Shabaab claim victory over Bay Bakol fighting (Shabelle/Hiiraan Online)
- Explosion kills 3 al Shabaab militants in central Somalia (Radio Shabelle/Raxanreeb Online/Somalia Report)
- Briton on trial over Kenya ‘plot’ (BBC)
- EU trains Somali soldiers to counter al Shabaab militants (Xinua)
- Somali prime minister says traditional elders are required to unite the nation (Radio Risaala Universal TV)
- Nine terror suspects in court at Kapsabet Kenya (Star/Nairobi)
- Public assured of increased security despite grenade attacks (Coast Week/Xinhua)
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali Gov’t, al Shabaab claim victory over Bay, Bakol fighting
10 May – Source Shabelle/Hiiraan Online – 114 words
Officials from both Somali government and the Islmaist militants of al Shabaab have on Thursday claimed major victory over a fierce battle that took place on Wednesday in Somalia’s southern regions of Bay and Bakol.
According to Ali Aden, a Somali MP who is in the region, the allied forces (Somali and Ethiopians) have inflicted the militants of Al Shabaab heavy casualties during the attack at Awdinle and Qansah-Dhere towns in Bay region, south Somalia.
On their side, al Shabaab officials who spoke to a rebel-run local radio station rebuffed TFG’s claim, saying that they have killed at least 10 Somali and Ethiopian combatants in their ambush attack on a convoy belonging to the coalition forces. However, both claims could not be independently verified.
Explosion kills 3 al Shabaab militants in central Somalia
10 May – Source: Radio Shabelle/Raxanreeb Online/Somalia Report – 158 words
Witnesses said on Thursday that at least three al Shabaab fighters lost their lives when blast struck militants who were preparing explosives at an area near Somalia’s central town of El-Bur, central Somalia. “We heard large sound of blast early on Thursday morning in an area not far from El-Bur, al Shabaab militants were preparing the explosives, but it exploded on them and killed three of them,” a witness told Shabelle Media by phone from the town.
Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a forces went to the explosion site and cordoned off the area. Blood and dead bodies were seen scattered on the ground. According to the officials, three Al Shabaab agents were so far confirmed to have been killed in the blast near the town that is largely controlled by Somalia’s moderate Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a (ASWJ) fighters with the backing from the neighbouring Ethiopian troops.
Somali prime minister says traditional elders are required to unite the nation
09 May – Source: Radio Risaala, Universal TV – 166 words
Somalia’s Abdiweli Mahamed Ali Gaas said traditional elders are needed to bring together the Somali fraternity. The premier said the country did not have a central government for over 20 years but the country is making progress and that the traditional elders have been called in to help realize those achievements.
Prime Minister Ali said if there are intentions of realizing peace and stability in Somalia than the decisions and authority of the local leaders who have the interest of the people at heart should be followed. The premier emphasised that the Somali community believe in their traditional elders who represent them and they know they will always act to the interest of the people they represent.
These words from the Somali prime minister are coming at time when there is an ongoing conference in Mogadishu for traditional elders, although it is opposed by some traditional elders from other parts of the country.
First thematic conference on judicial reform held in Somaliland
09 May – Source: Somaliland Press – 78 words
Somaliland Minister of Justice Hon Hussein Ahmed Aidid opened the first thematic conference on Judicial Reform which was held at hotel Mansoor in Hargeisa. Minister of Justice said the establishment of work-clusters is intended to enhance reform implementation cohesion and effectiveness. Hon Hussein said members of the work –clusters will have the responsibility of leading the judicial reform initiatives within their respective government, law professional, legal education and civil society organizations-they will be essential justice change agents.
Indha Adde claims TFG Leaders agreed to remove controversial articles from Draft Constitution
09 May – Source: Hiiraan Online/Somalia Report – 72 words
Yusuf Mohamed Siad known as Indha Adde who is one of those who opposed the drafted Somali Constitution stated that some of the controversial article of the proposed Somali constitution will be totally removed from the constitutional draft. “I had meeting with top officials of TFG including the Somali president and discussed about those controversial articles, and they agreed with us,” said, Sheikh Indha Adde.
Unknown gunmen kill Islamic Relief staff in Somalia
10 May – Source: Mareeg Online/Shabelle – 173 words
Unidentified gunmen have shot dead a staff working for Islamic Relief Agency in the heart of Somalia’s south-central Baidoa town, situated 256 kilometres (159 miles) by road northwest of the capital Mogadishu, reports said on Thursday.
Fanah, the victim was shot dead on Wednesday after evening prayer by armed men as he walked near his house in Baidoa, a former al Shabaab stronghold town before Somalia and Ethiopian troops rolled in On February 22, 2012.
Witnesses said the assailants escaped from the scene after shooting. Hundreds of Somali government forces reached the site and launched search operations, but no arrests were reported so far. No group or individual has claimed the responsibility for killing so far. Islamic Relief is an international aid & development charity that has been working in Somalia for years.
Somaliland skips Somalia Conference in Turkey
10 May – Source: Somaliland Press – 120 words
The Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Mohamed Abdullahi Omar, last week revealed that Somaliland was invited to attend a planned conference on Somalia slated for next month in the Turkish capital.
The Istanbul gathering is a follow-up on the London Somali Conference which was concluded in February. According to Dr. Omar members of the international community will discuss proposed political “roadmap”; a document designed to help move Somalia from a transitional period to permanent government by August, stability and the democratization of Somalia.
He said while Hargeisa welcomes any efforts advancing the cause of peace in Somalia, his government plans to skip the Turkish conference. He argued the meeting and its aims were not the concern of Somaliland or its interests.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Nine terror suspects in court at Kapsabet, Kenya
10 May – Source: Star/Nairobi – 165 words
Nine Somali immigrants arrested at a police road block in Nandi at the week-end while on their way to Nairobi were yesterday arraigned in a Kapsabet court. The suspects appeared before Nandi principle magistrate Beatrice Mosiria on charges of illegal entry into Kenya. The suspects pleaded guilty to the charge. They asked to be treated humanly as they were escaping persecution in their war-torn country.
Public assured of increased security despite grenade attacks
09 May – Source: Coast Week/Xinhua – 834 words
Kenyan Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has reassured Kenyans and foreigners that the government will continue to be on high alert to deal with and avert any security threats posed by terrorist elements in the country.
Musyoka defended the country’s security agencies against accusations that they were doing minimal to crack down on terrorists, particularly the al Shabaab militia and their sympathizers.
“It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that every Kenyan live in peace and feel secure,” he said late Monday at the God’s House of Miracle International (G.H.OM.I) Church in Ngara Nairobi where a grenade attack was witnessed on April 29.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Briton on trial over Kenya ‘plot’
10 May – Source: BBC – 378 words
A British man accused of links to Somalia’s Islamist militants is to go on trial in Kenya for allegedly plotting a bomb attack. Jermaine Grant, 29, made his first appearance in court on Thursday, amid chaotic scenes in the coastal city of Mombasa.
He was arrested last December and denies allegations that he possessed explosive materials. The Londoner has already been jailed for being in Kenya illegally. Kenyan government lawyer Jacob Ondari says the case failed to start Wednesday because Mr Grant’s criminal file was incomplete, reports the AP news agency. The BBC’s Gabriel Gatehouse in Mombasa says Mr Grant sat expressionless in the dock.
EU trains Somali soldiers to counter al Shabaab militants
09 May – Source: Xinhua – 333 words
European Union (EU) said it is training Somali soldiers and officers to provide protection to the transitional federal government and also help counter al Shabaab attacks, an official said on Wednesday. EU Representative to Somalia George-Marc Andre said that by the end of 2012 around 3,000 Somali soldiers and officers will have been trained by the EU Training Mission in Uganda in order to help bring stability to the Horn of Africa nation.
“The training is being conducted in close cooperation and coordination with the United Nations, African Union Mission in Somali (AMISOM), the U.S. as well as Uganda,” Andre told journalists in Nairobi. The EU Commissioner for Development Andris Pielbalgs said in Nairobi last month that the European economic bloc is spending additional 100 million euros to support the payment of salaries for the AMISOM.
He also announced that the new money is in addition to the 300 million euros the organization has given to AMISOM for the payment of salaries. In February, the UN Security Council raised pan African peacekeeping force authorized strength to 17,731 troops.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Not all of the navies patrolling for pirates use gentle methods, of course. In November 2008, the Indian Navy sank a pirate ship in the Gulf of Aden. Russian Navy sailors apparently captured a Somali pirate ship earlier this year, and blew it up afterward. The video of this action went viral, alleging that the Russian sailors blew up the ship with the pirates on board, but there is no proof of that. And on March 25, 2011, private security guards aboard a commercial freighter called the Avocet opened fire on an apparent Somali pirate crew aboard a skiff. The pirates never made it aboard the ship, but the video stirred controversy about the use of force in commercial shipping. Does militarizing the seas actually deter piracy? The data don’t provide easy answers.”
Does a military solution for Somali piracy work?
09 May – Source: CS Monitor – 912 Words
To some, the solution to Somali piracy is blindingly obvious. Patrol the seas. Capture the pirates. Send them to the briny deep. If it worked on the Barbary Coast, it should work in Somalia.
But with Somali pirates going further out to sea, such a solution is more difficult than it sounds. Patrolling the narrow waters of the Gulf of Aden – as the European Naval Force and some other countries such as China, India, Japan, Russia, and Taiwan are doing – is relatively simple. Patrolling the much broader Indian Ocean, where Somali pirates have moved, is more difficult.
“By portraying Somalia as the ultimate ‘African apocalypse’, journalists can sell their stories, aid workers can attract donations, and politicians can be seen as saviours of the world as they promise to ‘do something’ about Somalia. But this is not the whole story of Somalia; portraying it in this light has led in some instances to bad policy, which has at times made things worse , not better, on the ground.”
Getting Somalia Wrong
09 May – Source: E-International Relation – 1098 Words
‘The world’s most dangerous place’… ‘The world’s worst humanitarian crisis’… ‘The world’s most corrupt nation’… ‘The world’s most comprehensively failed state’… ‘The most dangerous capital city on earth’… These are just some of the labels that have been applied to Somalia by journalists, academics, aid workers and politicians.
Somalia is in many ways the perfect media story. It can be reported in such a way that it conforms to misleading stereotypes about Africa, giving the audience what it expects to hear, read and see about the continent. It has become for many a land of pirates, starving babies, corrupt politicians and Al Qaeda operatives.
Helping Somalia
10 May – Source: Gulf News Opinion/Letters – 351 Words
I read with interest Nima Skhorrami Assl’s column of April 30 on Somalia and wanted to take the opportunity to clarify some points with regard to the UK’s position (‘Oil can be a boon for Somalia,’ Gulf News, April 30). Assl asserts that the UK’s primary interest in Somalia is due to its oil resources. This is simply not true.
British ministers have not held any discussions with the transitional federal government of Somalia on oil deals, and neither was there any discussion at the London Conference on Somalia chaired by the UK prime minister on February 23, 2012.
Somalia is a country in crisis. Its problems, famine, the rise of Islamist extremism, lawlessness, kidnapping and piracy, are the result of one issue — the breakdown of the state. That is why the UK’s primary objective in Somalia is to seek a lasting political solution that will bring peace and security to the country and the region, and also reduce threats to the UK. The UK has been working hard to resolve Somalia’s underlying problems, and which is why the UK convened a major international conference on Somalia.
Top tweets
@Hamza_Africa : Democracy in #Somalia means hand picking a selected few & asking them to hand pick 1 amongst the selected few to lead another interim gov’t!
@Refugees: Video: In #Puntland, a skills-training project, provided by UNHCR, gives young displaced Somalis hope http://rfg.ee/aNk4F.
@thecri : A report about the current state of child indoctrination, recruitment, and abduction within Somalia’s Al-#Shabaab… http://fb.me/
@MajorEChirchir: #AMISOM
@Sojeede : European economic bloc is spending additional 100 million euros to support the payment of salaries for the #AMISOM. http://bit.ly/
@abdallahoc The New Constitution, Shariah Law and #Somalia.. With all the ongoing debates! I see All this as a positive addition to the table.
Image of the day
Flash floods wreak havoc in parts of Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland after the region received heavy down pour. Photo: Radio Mogadishu.