May 18, 2012 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Ethiopia: Southern Somali regions will no longer be under al Shabaab control
18 May – Source: Radio Shabelle/ Jowhar Online – 190 words
The Ethiopian force commander in Somalia’s southern regions of Bay and Bakol Jeneral John announced on Friday that they will soon clear al Shabaab from those two regions. Mr. John, told reporters in Baidoa town, situated 256 kilometers (159 mi) northwest of the capital Mogadishu that Ethiopian troops will not pull out from Somalia until al Shabaab is completely eradicated in the country.
“There are no reasons that compel us to withdraw from Somalia. Ethiopian troops re-entered the country to help TFG in fight against the al Qaeda-aligned insurgents of al Shabaab whom pose security threat to the entire east African region,” he added.
Lastly, he emphasized that Ethiopian troops are committed to take over the Somalia’s southern strategic port town of Kismayu, the nerve cell of al Shabaab’s economic resources after losing the main market of Bakaro in the capital, Mogadishu following an offensive by Somali and AU peace keeping soldiers known as AMISIOM. These comments came as Somalia’s parliament speaker is in Baidoa town for boosting the operations against al Shabaab and as well the security in the newly liberated areas in Bay and Bakol regions from the militants.
Key Headlines
- Ethiopia: Southern Somali regions will no longer be under al Shabaab control (Radio Shabelle/ Jowhar Online)
- Horn Petroleum suspends drilling at Somalia well (Reuters)
- Anti-piracy war ‘must be fought on two fronts’ (National)
- Tensions engulf southern Somalia (Shabelle)
- Diplomatic corps discuss ways to counter maritime piracy (Khaleej Times)
- ASWJ vows to pursue al Shabaab militants in Somalia (Radio Kulmiye)
- Split loyalties trip up Somaliland recognition dance (Africa Review)
- Ships need armed guards (Cyprus)
SOMALI MEDIA
Ethiopia: Southern Somali regions will no longer be under al Shabaab control
18 May – Source: Radio Shabelle/ Jowhar Online – 190 words
The Ethiopian force commander in Somalia’s southern regions of Bay and Bakol General John announced on Friday that they will soon clear al Shabaab from those two regions. Mr. John, told reporters in Baidoa town, situated 256 kilometers (159 mi) northwest of the capital Mogadishu that Ethiopian troops will not pull out from Somalia until al Shabaab is completely eradicated in the country.
“There are no reasons that compel us to withdraw from Somalia. Ethiopian troops re-entered the country to help TFG in fight against the al Qaeda-aligned insurgents of al Shabaab whom pose security threat to the entire east African region,” he added.
Lastly, he emphasized that Ethiopian troops are committed to take over the Somalia’s southern strategic port town of Kismayu, the nerve cell of al Shabaab’s economic resources after losing the main market of Bakaro in the capital, Mogadishu following an offensive by Somali and AU peace keeping soldiers known as AMISIOM.
These comments came as Somalia’s parliament speaker is in Baidoa town for boosting the operations against al Shabaab and as well the security in the newly liberated areas in Bay and Bakol regions from the militants.
Tensions engulf southern Somalia
18 May – Source: Shabelle – 172 words
Tension is high of possible military confrontation in parts of Somalia’s Lower Jubba region as both Somali and Kenya army make advances against militant strongholds. Locals in Afmadow town, 620 Km south of Mogadishu said that heavily armed Somali soldiers together with Kenyan military have moved Friday morning to rebel-held areas, including Qoqani village where is now under al Shabaab control.
The situation is tense as al Shabaab fighters begun intensifying their defensive drills around their strongholds in a bid to protect the coalition forces from capturing their base. Somali government and its allied Kenyan military believe Qoqani is an area that Islamist fighters have launched frequent attacks on towns in controlled by the coalition forces (Somali and Kenya).
Kenya has sent last year troops and tanks into the neighboring war-torn Somalia to pursue al Shabaab, whom Nairobi blames for the growing insecurity in its soil.
ASWJ vows to pursue al Shabaab militants in Somalia
18 May – Source: Radio Kulmiye – 72 words
Speaking to radio Kulmiye, the spokesman for pro-government Ahlu Sunna Waljamaa Sheikh Mohamed Husein Alqadi vowed that his group will continue attacking the Somali militants group of al Shabaab who are controlling large parts of south and central Somalia.
Mohamed says Ahlu Sunna Waljamaa will continue and maintain its offensives against the militants, promising to tackle the security of the regions they are in their control.
Harardhere Fisherman Criticize EU Airstrikes
17 May – Source: Radio Mogadishu/Somalia Report/AFP- 146 words
A fishermen in Haradhere district of Mudug region, Hassan Abdi Jim’aale, blamed NATO navies of shelling the populated area in that region. He stated that a shelling took place days ago near Haradhere killed civilians and urged the Somali government to take measure against killing civilians.
“The pirates cannot be easily identified, as they mingle with the fishermen — the boats are the same and the people look alike unless they are armed,” said Mohamed Hassan, a local fisherman in the Harardhere region.
“The fishermen are also victims — some of the boats destroyed by the international forces belonged to local fishermen, and we are very much worried that fishermen will die in such operations,” he added. The European Union’s anti-piracy naval force said on Tuesday it had attacked pirate installations on the Somali coastline by air.
Angry protesters marched in streets of Hargeisa to denounce court ruling
17May – Source: Shabelle – 160 words
Hundreds of angry people, including women and children have marched through the streets of Hargeisa, the capital of Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland on Thursday to denounce a military court ruling, reports said.
Waving banners written anti-Court ruling slogans and chanting “Allahu Akbar” (God is great), the crowd burnt tyres in the main streets in Hargeisa to show their annoyance against the ruling and demand the release of the defendants.
A military court in the breakaway region has sentenced 28, 17 of them to death while 5 others in life in prison for attacking a military base over a land dispute a day earlier.
Political Tension Heating up in Galmudug state
17 May – Source: Somalia Report/Jowhar Online/Shabelle – 248 words
Political tensions are on the rise in Galmudug state of Somalia over exactly when the term of Galmudug President Mahamad Ahmed Aalin (Alin) will end, with the parliament speaker and deputy speaker at odds over the date.
Galmudug Speaker of Parliament Hassan Mahamud Heyle said the presidential term will expire in August of this year, adding that an extension will not be granted. “The president’s duration is coming to an end and it is time for an election before August,” said the speaker.
Meanwhile, the deputy speaker, Awke Haaji Abrahman, opposed the speaker’s comments saying that the term would end in 2013, and warned against any election from being held before that period.
Al Shabaab confirms assistance to al Qaeda militants in Yemen
17 May – Source: Radio Al-furqaan/ Somalia Report/ Amiirnuur – 66 words
Al Shabaab officials have declared that they will lend a hand to their Mujahideen brothers in Yemen. Al Shabaab military spokesman Sheikh Abdiaziz Abu Muscab stated that international infidels started fighting against al Qaeda in Yemen, so the Somali Mujahideen must get ready to support them. “Our brothers in Yemen want our support, we will not watch while the international infidels are united to fight against them,” he said.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Diplomatic corps discuss ways to counter maritime piracy
18 May – Source: Khaleej Times – 340 words
The maritime counter-piracy strategy must reach beyond military solutions, said speakers at the second ‘Ambassadors’ Dialogue’ hosted by Quiet Diplomacy, a UAE-based magazine about international affairs, here on Thursday.
The forum brought together members of the diplomatic community and other stakeholders to discuss the international causes and consequences of maritime piracy.
The event’s first panel featured representatives from countries and institutions directly engaged in countering piracy, including Italy, Pakistan and Thailand and the United Nations World Food Programme (UN WFP). The second panel comprised nations strongly affected by piracy such as Kenya, Tanzania, Seychelles and Somalia.
Split loyalties trip up Somaliland recognition dance
18 May – Source: Africa Review – 2022 words
On May 18, Somaliland marks the 21st anniversary of its self-declaration of independence from the rest of Somalia. Most of those years have been spent seeking international recognition. And while events over the last five months have moved its dream ever so slightly to fruition, the reality is that it will remain a long haul flight.
The historic London Conference on Somalia was on February 23 attended by 44 governments and international bodies interested in Somali issues, and also by a motley of Somali groups representing differing interests.
At a glance, the communiqué issued at the end of the conference recognised the need for the international community to support any dialogue that Somaliland and the Somalia Transitional Federal Government or its replacement may agree to hold to clarify their future relations.
Anti-piracy war ‘must be fought on two fronts’
18 May – Source: National – 231 words
The war against Somali piracy must be fought on two fronts: battling the country’s pirates, and feeding its people.bThat was the view of envoys from seven countries whose citizens have been held by Somali pirates. The diplomats from Italy, the Seychelles, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Tanzania and Thailand were in Abu Dhabi yesterday to discuss ways to end piracy. They broadly agreed the keys were military action, restoring law and order, and increasing aid.
“Yes, we must get rid of the bases of pirates to avoid attacks but the international community cannot rely only on a military option,” said Giorgio Starace, the Italian Ambassador to the UAE. “There must be economic and social change linked to Somalia’s recovery. Aid is not only for times of emergency. We need more engagement.” Somali pirates cost governments and the shipping industry up to US$6.9 billion (Dh25.35bn) last year, the advocacy group One Earth Future Foundation says. The diplomats mapped out a range of measures to cooperate against piracy.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
American Terrorist’s Mom Wants Him Back Home
17 May – Source: ABC News – 495 words
An Alabama mother whose son joined an al Qaeda group in Africa said she can’t turn her back on her boy even though he advocates attacking America and hasn’t been in direct contact with her in years.
“If I could touch him for five minutes, I would be thrilled,” Debra Hammami of Daphne, Ala. said of her son Omar who this week published a 127-page account of his road to terrorism from a small town in the American South.
“The silence has been devastating,” she told ABC News. “I don’t agree with the ideology of any of that, but I do love my son and I do have that motherly love.”
Horn Petroleum suspends drilling at Somalia well
18 May – Source: Reuters – 281 words
Horn Petroleum Corp has suspended drilling at its Shabeel well in Somalia’s Puntland and said it will move the drilling rig away from the area before reaching the planned depth of 3800 meters. The well in the Dharoor valley hit a metamorphic basement at a depth of 3,430 meters, Horn Petroleum said in a statement on Thursday. Basement is the rock layer below which economic oil or natural gas reservoirs are unlikely to be found.
Horn Petroleum’s shares more than halved to 77 Canadian cents on Thursday on the Toronto Venture Exchange. The rig used to drill the Shabeel well will now be moved 3.5 kilometers north of the current location, the company said.
The well, whic3h earlier hit a 12 to 20 meter hydrocarbon pay, a measure of a reservoir’s thickness, could hold up to 3 meters of additional potential hydrocarbon pay at a depth of 3,246 to 3,430 meters. “They (the latest hydrocarbon pay) are not considered to warrant testing at this time…,” Horn Petroleum said.
Canada’s Africa Oil Corp owns a 51 percent stake in Horn Petroleum, which holds a 60 percent working interest in the Dharoor and Nugaal blocks in Puntland — a semi-autonomous region in the northeast of Somalia. Africa Oil began drilling an exploratory well in Puntland region in January, the first to do so in the country since civil war erupted two decades ago.
Ships need armed guards
18 May – Source: Cyprus -145 words
The house started discussing a bill to allow private armed guards onboard Cypriot-flagged ships seeking protection from pirates lurking in Somali waters as well as West Indian oceans.
The head of the Communications Committee Antonis Antoniou said that piracy had become “a very serious phenomenon” worldwide with pirates requesting “millions of euros as ransom to free hostages”.
Antoniou said that because Cyprus did not allow the hiring of private armed guards, fewer Cypriot-flagged ships were being charted. “We have lost ten ships which have removed the Cypriot flag from their masts and have been deleted from the shipping register”.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“The portrait painted by the autobiography is of a confused, arrogant but sensitive young man who struggles to find his place in US society, struggles to find a job and a wife, argues with his family and finds solace and meaning in increasingly radical forms of Islam which in turn distances him from friends and relatives.”
An American jihadi, in his own words
17 May – Source: Global Post Blog – 660 Words
Something bizarre and unexpected appeared on the internet late on Wednesday: the autobiography of Omar Hammami, a 28-year old from Alabama perhaps better known as Abu Mansour al Amriki, one of the top commanders of the Somalia Islamist group al Shabaab. The last time he was heard from publicly was a March video on YouTube in which he says his life “may be endangered” by his comrades.
And now this.
The 127-page document is just part-1 taking us through Hammami’s family history, upbringing and schooling in Alabama, his (re)discovery of Islam, growing extremism and his travel to join al Shabaab in Somalia.
“When explaining TEDxMogadishu, Liban says “surprise” is the most common response he receives. Somalia has offered the world no shortage of “surprises” over the years, yet more often then not they haven’t been pleasant ones. TEDx’s arrival in town – simply the fact that it can happen – shows that perhaps a “Rebirth” isn’t as far fetched as it may seem, and the tides may really, finally, be ebbing in Somalia’s favor.”
With conference in Mogadishu, TEDx is officially everywhere
17 May – Source: CS Monitor – 729 Words
For the past two decades, Somalia’s shredded and shell-shocked capital of Mogadishu has shown the world little more than recycled failures. Bad ideas, policies, and governments replaced by worse ones. Unmitigated piracy on its high seas, brutal civil war and tribal divisions, a governance system that has become almost synonymous with anarchy, Islamic extremists, kidnappings, and humanitarian catastrophes.
Most people would assume that one of the most dangerous places on earth, where both man and nature’s worst elements have destroyed and demoralized the population, would be a hopeless place to scour for good “ideas worth spreading.” But an independent group of Somalis see things differently.
“British government secretly offered humanitarian aid and security assistance in return for oil exploration and production agreements signed by BP, Asante Oil, and Shell Oil Co licenses and the Said Barre regime. Africa Oil and Horn Petroleum will be big losers if these interests are achieved with their licenses being canceled and contracts rendered invalid since the British companies mentioned have licenses for the same blocks these companies are exploring.al Shabaab threats and local militia also pose significant threat to these companies guaranteeing violence.”
Africa Oil and Horn, Worries of Violence In Somalia Manifest with British Effort
18 May – Source: Intelligence Briefs – 413 Words
Somalia is on the cusp of becoming an oil producing state as more reports of oil pay discovery are announced by Horn Petroleum and Africa Oil, the leading oil explorers in the semi-autonomous Puntland region of Somalia.
However, the worry of violence is manifesting with explorers seeking security analysts to identify threats and provide insight on the way forward. Strategic Intelligence has followed events in Somalia, watching from the sidelines and in the thick of it. Our focus has been on the Al-Shabaab and the British government interest in the oil sector.
British intervention in Somalia has not gone down well with several players including al Shabaab, Kenya, and sections of Somali leadership and political class.
Puntland State Of Somalia Leading A Failed Nation By Unprecedented Example
17 May – Source: Somalia Online – 225 Words
The establishment of this unique State in 1998 shall become the hallmark of the returned of a heavyweight nation on the international stage like never before. An answer to a physically, mentally, and politically broken Somalia. While some sough anarcy, warlordism & division as an answer to our fail state, Puntland chartered a bottom up approach of state building, unity and a new Somalia based on federalism.
The state past two leaders have set the foundation for the future of the entire country. From AUN his excellency President Abduallhi Yusuf bravery and intelligence to go after those holding the country hostage, bringing back Governance to the Nation’s capital and challenging the status quo in measures so unique and powerful. A leader who made the TFG we have today even possible at times even funded the expanses of the federal government with the limited resources of Puntland state and it’s people.
And working his own ambiguous drive was mudane Adde Musse another visionary the former President of Puntland state who has made the Oil Era even possible. While some looked for a political or military solution out of the Somali mess, he looked beyond that and found an economical uplifting. Today all Somali hope are on the Oil & Federalism, and inshallah Puntland state it’s leadership and people will continue to push forward for better days.
When did the war against al Shabaab in Somalia end?
16 May – Source: Standard (Point Blank) – 796 Words
Since the Kenyan troops joined the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in March, news about their struggles in the dangerous country has become very scarce. Before then, the public was frequently updated by journalists who were embedded with the Kenyan forces and through weekly media briefings by military and government officials.
However, after joining AMISOM, the military warned that the weekly briefings would cease. And with the briefings over, the local media as well stopped reporting about the war. If it were not for the cases of grenade attacks and threats of terror attacks, one would be forgiven for thinking that the war in Somalia was over.
Top tweets
@WFP Our colleague @challiss used her phone to take these pictures of women shopping for camel meat in northern #Somalia. http://on.
@robincornet Have a look on http://tedxmogadishu.com, you can watch the recording of the first TEDx conference in #Somalia (May 17)
@mary_harper #Somali journo Jamal Osman says most Somali journos born in civil war so only know violence. This & lack of education affects journalism.
@KTF_press @sportinkenya
@baxraawi Happy independence day! #18May. Every corner of #Hargeisa city is being festooned with the flag of #Somaliland.
Image of the day
British-based Somalilanders wave the flag of Somaliland which today marks the 21st anniversary of its self-declaration of independence from the rest of Somalia. Photo: AFP.