June 12, 2012 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Somalia could emerge as key tourism market

11 Jun – Source: Star/Kenya – 339 words

Somalia could give its Eastern Africa neighbours a run for their money in tourism business if its internal conflict and piracy problems are contained, a UN report on regional sustainable tourism shows. The report by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa titled a study on the challenges and opportunities for tourism development says the country has the largest coastal belt in Africa, architectural heritage and beautiful pristine beaches that are great for tourism.

Key Headlines

Newly trained Somali forces arrive in Beledweyne (Shabelle)
Gunmen killed businessman in Beledweyne Hiiraan region (Radio Kulmiye/Shabelle/Risaala)
Al Shabaab reportedly behead 10 people in central Somalia (Puntland Post Online)
Fighting escalates on outskirts of Afgoye town (Radio Kulmiye/Shabelle)
Al Shabaab warns of more Kenyan deaths (Daily Monitor)
Prison administration gives a report on the conditions of prisoners (Radio Risaala)
The smiling warlord who controls Ras Kamboni (Daily Nation)
Somalia could emerge as key tourism market (The Star)
Kenya seeking US aid for attack on al Shabaab town (ABC News/AP)

SOMALI MEDIA

Newly trained Somali forces arrive in Beledweyne

12 Jun- Source: Shabelle- 153 words

Authorities in central Somalia say that newly trained troops for the TFG have arrived at Beledweyne town, the provincial capital of Hiiraan region to boost up the security.

Adawe Elmi Nur, the deputy governor of Hiiraan region for the Somali government told Shabelle Media by phone from Beledweyne that the forces that reached the town this morning have recently completed their training course provided by Somali and Ethiopian military experts in a training camp located Junta-Kundisho area, on the outskirts of Beledweyne.

Beledweyne, a strategic town in central Somalia, which lies just about 206 miles (332 km) north of Mogadishu fell to Somali and Ethiopian troops in last December after al Shabab fighters retreated, all without firing a single shot.

Gunmen killed businessman in Beledweyne, Hiiraan region

12 Jun – Source: Radio Kulmiye/Shabelle/ Risaala – 126 words

Unknown armed men with pistols stormed to the house of a reknown businessman in Baladweyne, Hiiraan region. Abdi Ibramih Idriis aka (Abdi-Goobe) was a widely recognized man and involved in businesses since the liberation of the town by the Ethiopian troops, Ahlu Sunna Waljamaa and government troops as well.

Beledweyne is a strategic town for Somalia’s provincial places locating in the center of the country. Killings in Baladweyne have become a common deem for which the residents have expressed great concerns.

Abdi’s killing is the second murder against Somali celebrity business and celebrity people in Baladweyne. It was just days before when armed gunmen shot to death a well-know Somali elder in the city but did not offer any clarifications for their killings.

Al Shabaab reportedly behead 10 people in central Somalia

12 Jun – Source: Puntland Post Online – 86 words

Al Shabaab has reportedly beheaded civilians in Galgudud Region, central Somalia in the last 24 hours. Al Shabaab forces, who have recently seized control of Ceel Buur, beheaded 10 people they suspected of being their enemies.

The beheaded people reportedly comprised men and women accused of welcoming Ethiopian and moderate Islamic group Ahlu Sunnah wal Jama’a forces to the town. The beheaded also included the muezzin of a mosque in the town. Elder Hasan Muhammad told the media that al Shabaab beheaded innocent people including members of his family.

NUSOJ condemns the alleged beating of two journalists in the central town of Dhusamareb

12 Jun – Source: SONNA/Kulmiye – 504 words

The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) has just learned of the arrest of two journalists by militias loyal to Ahlu Sunna Waljama administration in the central Somalia town of Dhusamareb Tuesday morning on June 12, 2012 around 06:30am local time.

Militias loyal to the local Sufi militias, Ahlu Suna Wal-Jama, raided the offices of the Radio Voice of Central Dhusamareb based in Dhusamareb on Tuesday morning around 6:20am local time, where they have seriously beaten and arrested Bashir Mohamed Salad Aka Bashir Sanka who contributes to both Dalsan Radio, a privately owned independent radio station based in Mogadishu and Idacada Codka Bartamaha, an independent radio station based in Dhusamareb and Abdi Jamal Moalim Ahmed, who is the correspondent of Radio Bar-Kulan.

The arrest and the beating of the journalists comes after resident of Dhusamareb left the town for safety purposes, fearing possible overnight al Shabaab attack; the journalists were among those who fled for safety. The journalists, whose arrest were reasoned for only leaving the town during the night, were arrested with the orders of Farhan Moalim Ali, the Chief of local security committee in the town of Dhusamareb.

Fighting escalates on outskirts of Afgoye town

12 Jun – Source: Radio Kulmiye/Shabelle – 172 words

Fighting intensified on the outskirt of Afgoye after battalions of al Shabaab fighters launched an ambush raid against the Somali and AMISOM troops on the frontlines of Afgoye last night. The fighters used heavy weapons including shelling and mortars, while residents in the town said the atmosphere in the area was very tense.

The spokesman of al Shabaab says the attacks were launched in an attempt to assassinate the Somali president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed who is in the town for the second day as he slept in Afgoye last night during the fighting. AMISOM and government troops resisted against the fighters, who carried out the ambush attacks near the urban area of Lanta-Buuro.

Somali National Forces kill 10 al Shabaab fighters in Bay Region

11 Jun – Source: Radio Mogadishu/Somalia Report – 106 words

At least ten al Shabaab militias were killed after the Somali National Forces completed a military operation in Qasah-Dhere district of Bay region. TFG official in Bay region, Hassan Baydhabo, told Radio Mogadishu that the national forces attacked the area after they learned that al Shabaab were collecting bribes from the local residents. The national forces also seized one vehicle from the militias.

Wounded Somaliland judge taken off to Djibouti for treatment

12 Jun – Source: Radio Kulmiye/ Somaliland Press/ Hadhwanaag Times – 91 words

A Somaliland judge, who was seriously wounded yesterday, has been taken off to neighboring Djibouti for immediate treatment. The judge of Hargeisa court was wounded by unknown gunmen while he was leaving a mosque.

Special sources from Hargaisa said that the man is now in good health and waiting to receive an emergency treatment in Djibout hospital today. Before his health trip, the Somaliland president Ahmed Mohamud Silanyo has visited him in Hargeisa’s main hospital. No one has so far claimed the responsibility for the attack against the Somaliland official.

Somali elder shot dead in central Somalia

12 Jun – Source: Shabelle – 89 words

Unknown gunmen shot to death on Monday night a well-known Somali peacemaker in Belwedweyn town, 206 miles (332 km), north of Mogadishu, witnesses said. According to witnesses who asked not to be identified, two gunmen armed with pistols shot elder Abdi Goobe four times in the head and died on the spot. The attackers managed to escape from the shooting scene, controlled by Somali government. Locals expressed concern over the killings which have been on the rise in the past few months.

Prison administration gives a report on the conditions of prisoners

11 Jun – Source: Radio Risaala – 144 words

The administrator of Mogadishu central prison Mohamed Hussein Ahmed gave a press conference inside the prison yesterday. He said the prisoners in Mogadishu Central prison were convicted for committing different offences.

Brigadier Mohamed Hussein Ahmed said that the number of prisoners in Mogadishu ranges between 900 and 1000 inmates. The sentences of these prisoners range from death sentences, life imprisonment to short term sentences. The above figure does not include about 63 convicts awaiting trial.

The prison administrator pointed out that both the convicted inmates and those awaiting trial have been accused of different crimes such as murder, robbery and the majority are suspected of being al Shabaab members.

Somaliland financial official steps down

11 Jun – Source: Hadhwanaag Times – 74 words

ama Ahmed Mohamed, the general director of Somaliland’s finance ministry has reportedly quit his position. However, he has not publically talked about his resignation, according to Sahan Saho newspaper. Sources said that he had imparted his resignation letter to the president of Somaliland Republic Ahmed Mohamud Silanyo. It is thought that his resignation came as result of improper cooperation between him and the Finance minister.

Banadir administration gives warning to transporters

11 Jun – Source: Radio Risaala – 105 words

Banadir administration announced that it had written down strict traffic rules for Mogadishu town. In a statement, the spokesman of Banadir administration Mohamed Yusuf Ismaan said that the administration has put down strict traffic laws that bind all road users alike and made the consequences of breaking the law clear.

He further added that any vehicle which breaks the traffic rules put in place or hits another vehicle will be fined heavily, up to US $ 1000. The spokesman warned the drivers against vandalizing the recreational parks and poles and reminded them that they will be fined heavily for any damages.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Al Shabaab warns of more Kenyan deaths

12 Jun – Source: Daily Monitor – 219 words

The Uganda government yesterday promised to intensify intelligence sharing with Kenya following specific threats issued by al Shabaab to kill other Kenyan politicians who have spoken strongly against the activities of the Somalia-based terror outfit. The government’s promise came on the back of threats aimed at Kenyan politicians amidst region-wide mourning of the death of Kenyan Internal security minister George Saitoti, his deputy Joshua Orwa Ojode and four others who died in a plane crash at the weekend.

Uganda’s State Minister for Internal affairs, Mr James Baba, last evening described al-Shabaab’s threats and the terror group’s reported jubilation at the fatal crash as “sad and evil”. “We are working with our Kenyan brothers to make sure that such threats by such groups are defeated,” he said.

Although the al-Qaeda-associated group did not claim direct responsibility for killing the Kenyan ministers, they threatened to “eliminate” all Kenyan leaders. “Kenyan leaders will perish through the actions of our courageous militants,” the group said in a statement released to the public.

Through a message circulated via social medium, Twitter, al-Shabaab, the radical Islamist group fervently opposed to that country’s fragile Transitional Federal Government, announced its intentions following the death of the Kenyan officials on Sunday. “Their deeds affected Muslim people in this country,” the Twitter piece stated in respect to the ministers.

The smiling warlord who controls Ras Kamboni

12 Jun – Source: Daily Nation – 175 words

On May 22, as the sun was setting, a luxuriantly-bearded figure appeared at the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) camp in the Somali town of Belles Qocani guarded by a squad of civilian fighters. Instead of being alarmed by the gunmen in solid green fatigues armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers, the Kenyan soldiers were happy.

The bearded man, Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam, popularly referred to as Sheikh Ahmed Madobe, is the leader of the Ras Kamboni Brigade, a paramilitary group that is the predecessor of the Ras Kamboni Movement.

“Ours is a political party,” he said when we asked him whether he considered himself a warlord. The Ras Kamboni Movement is named after the coastal Somali town on the Kenyan border, and the members of the Ogaden clan, which is the most populous in southern Somalia, form the bulk of the Ras Kamboni Brigade. “I got the nickname Madobe from our family because I am the blackest” he said. Sheikh Madobe has risen from nothing to become a key player in the war against the Al-Shabaab.

Somalia could emerge as key tourism market

11 Jun – Source: Star/Kenya – 339 words

The report which was compiled last year but released officially last week however notes that war, perceptions of poor governance and islamic fundamentalism and piracy have hampered the development of Somalia as a tourism destination. “Somalia tourism also includes the landmark of Shanghai old city. Presently controlled by the warlords and the wealthy businessmen, the city is known for its scenic beauty and the old architectural heritage,” states the report in part. “Another most sought after sightseeing spot in Somalia tourism is the Sinbusi beach, which is situated about five kilometres away from the city of Merca.”

The report lists some of the key untapped tourism business opportunities like eco-tourism, culture and cruise; expansion of air and water transportation; fairly modern and affordable ICT infrastructure. Relative stability in Somaliland and Puntland have also been listed as major entry areas in the exploitation of Somalia’s tourism business.

By virtue of offering similar tourist attractions, the report recommends a unified approach to Eastern Africa’s tourism development under the umbrella of a regional integration. It further suggests the development of of an Eastern Africa tourism master plan.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Kenya targets capturing of Kismayo port by August, Odinga says

12 Jun – Source: Bloomberg – 233 words

Kenyan forces want to seize one of al Shabaab’s last major strongholds, the southern port of Kismayo by August, Prime Minister Raila Odinga said. Kenya’s military entered southern Somalia in October to drive out al Shabaab, the al-Qaeda-linked militant group that has waged a five-year insurgency against the country’s United Nations-backed transitional government.

“Our aim is to get to Kismayo by August,” Odinga told reporters today in the capital, Nairobi. “Kismayo is the real major source of supply by al Shabaab. Without controlling Kismayo it’s very difficult to completely neutralize al Shabaab.”

Income from Somali ports, including Marka and Barawe, earns al Shabaab as much as $50 million a year from trade in sugar, charcoal and contraband, the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia said in a July report.

Kenya seeking US aid for attack on al Shabaab town

12 Jun – Source: ABC News/ AP – 114 words

Kenya wants America and Europe to help it attack a militant port town in southern Somalia. Prime Minister Raila Odinga said Tuesday that Kenyan forces are preparing for a “final onslaught” on the Somali port town of Kismayo by August, when the U.N. mandate of Somalia’s transitional government expires. Kismayo is controlled by al-Shabab militants who get funds by levying “taxes” on the port.

Kenyan forces moved into Somalia in October and have been moving toward Kismayo. Odinga said Kenya has asked the U.S. for financial assistance in the operation. He said the U.S. previously “resisted” providing funds until Kenyan forces joined the African Union force known as AMISOM. That happened earlier this month.

Top Kenya security minister killed in crash, al Shabaab rejoices

11 Jun – Source: AFP – 315 words

Kenya’s internal security minister George Saitoti, a key figure in his country’s fight against Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab insurgents in neighbouring Somalia, was killed in a helicopter crash Sunday. His death was hailed by his foes in the Shabaab but they stopped short of making a claim of responsibility for the crash, whose cause has not yet been determined.

“(Shabaab) welcomes the death of the evil minister upon whose authorisation thousands of Muslims suffered both in Somalia and in Kenya,” the group said a message on its Twitter account. Saitoti, 66, and five other people were killed when a police helicopter went down in the Ngong hills outside the capital shortly after take-off from Nairobi’s Wilson airport. The other victims were Joshua Orwa Ojode, the assistant minister for internal security, the two pilots — including a woman — and two bodyguards.

President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga paid tribute to Saitoti, who played a prominent role in the campaign against Somali insurgents, blamed for a series of terror attacks and kidnappings on Kenyan soil. “The government will ensure a thorough probe” into the cause of the crash, Odinga told journalists at the crash site.

Saitoti, who was planning to run for president next year to succeed Kibaki, was on his way to attend a religious ceremony in western Kenya when the Eurocopter came down in the Kibuku forest around 8:30 am (0530 GMT). An AFP journalist saw six bodies charred beyond recognition being removed from the wreckage, while wads of bank notes lay scattered at the scene.

Investigators from the police, the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority sealed off the area to try to establish the cause of the accident. “Most probably it was caused by bad weather, it was foggy at the time it went down,” a police officer involved in the investigation told AFP.

Information sought on top Somali militants

11 Jun – Source: VOA – 431 words

In a further sign of the United States’ determination to help the nations of Africa combat terrorism, millions of dollars in rewards are being offered for information on seven top leaders of the al Qaeda-linked, Somalia-based terrorist organization, Harakat Shabaab al Mujahidin, or al Shabaab.

The group, listed as a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 2008, has control of large areas of southern and central Somalia, and is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Somali civilians, peace activists, international aid workers, journalists, and civilians, as well as African Union peacekeepers who are helping to restore stability and prosperity to the region.

Tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes amid the fighting. Since 2006, al-Shabaab has engaged in a campaign of violence, including bombings and suicide attacks, which has killed thousands. In July 2010, it planned and executed a bomb attack in Kampala, Uganda, that killed more than 70 people, including an American citizen.

French prosecutor seeks jail for six Somalis in piracy trial

12 Jun – Source: AFP – 269 words

The prosecutor in the Paris trial of six Somalis charged with holding crew of a luxury sailing ship hostage in the Gulf ofAdenin 2008 on Monday called for sentences of up to 15 years. “These six men you are going to judge … seriously endangered French lives,” prosecutor Bruno Sturlese told the court.

“They were ready to sacrifice them to get money,” he added. Somali pirates seized 30 crew members of the luxury yacht Le Ponant in the pirate-infested waters in April 2008 and held them for ransom. French Special Forces arrested the six men, aged 25 to 50, in an airborne operation after a ransom had been paid.

Only one of them admits to being a pirate. Two admit to having been aboard the elegant 88-metre (290-foot) three-master but only to sell goats, cigarettes and the mild narcotic khat. The other three deny ever having set foot on the boat.

Sturlese called for a 15-year sentence against Ismael Ali Samatar, 31, the only one to have admitted his role in the crime. The prosecutor said he had played a greater role in the hostage-taking operation than the others. But he said the others were also implicated, having been arrested aboard an off-road vehicle that had $181,000 in it. The verdict in the case, which opened on May 22, is expected late Thursday.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“UN Peace Operations get an especially bad rap in the United States. In the U.S., a person’s view of the UN is a kind of political litmus test: Positive means you’re liberal, negative means conservative. This is ironic because political expediency often prompts American politicians on both the left and right to be intentionally dishonest about the organization’s scope of responsibilities. After the “Black Hawk Down” debacle in Mogadishu, Bill Clinton, knowing full well that the UN doesn’t come up with its own mandates, but rather enforces those handed down by the Security Council, commented that, “the UN has to learn to say no.”

Clearing the Bad Rap: In Defense of UN Peacekeeping Operations

11 Jun – Source: World Policy Blog – 1173 Words

The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) got off to a rocky start. The fledgling AU Peace Operation has been in existence since January 2007. Still, as late as last year, al-Shaabab (Somalia’s al-Qaida linked militants) held much of the capital Mogadishu, the port city of Kismayo (the militants’ lifeline), and large swaths of the southern and central portions of the country.

Finally, it now seems that AMISOM is turning the tide. AMISOM troops have held Mogadishu relatively firmly since last fall and are wresting al Shaabab’s south-central strongholds from its grasp, most recently even shaking the militants’ grip on Kismayo.

In the process, the AU’s Burundian, Ugandan, Djiboutian and Kenyan troops have learned a lesson the UN already knew: Multi-national Peace Operations are difficult. Few would disagree with this statement, but hardly anyone appreciates just how well UN does it.

“Since August last year when the Turkish Prime Minister made a surprise visit to Mogadishu with his family, Turkish Government officials, relief workers, volunteers, engineers, doctors, nurses and NGOs have been living in Somalia, rebuilding schools, hospitals and other essential infrastructure. Unlike other donors, they have not set up offices in Nairobi from where they run their projects remotely.”

Somalia ready to do business with Turkey – and the rest of the world

11 Jun – Source: Africa Review – 212 words

What is Turkey doing differently in Somalia that other donors are not doing?

And what is it about Turkey’s foreign policy towards Somalia that is so different from that of other members of the international community? These are some of the questions that came up frequently at the conference on Somalia held in Istanbul last week.

One answer is that Turkish nationals, unlike nationals of other donor countries, are physically present in Somalia, particularly in the capital Mogadishu. And their contribution is not just visible but is achieving tangible results.

“Starting in April, with just a few clicks, VOA pollsters could call and survey Somalis for their thoughts on a new constitution, asking questions such as: Should there be a strong central government? Should Sharia law be the basis of the constitution? And should there be a requirement that women be included as elected officials? Over three rounds of polling, VOA used the internal site to collect the survey results. The last round concluded last week, and VOA published the aggregate results on its public Somali site, as well as broadcast them across the country on its new radio program, “Constitution Square.””

Google Ideas develops citizen engagement pilot project for Somalia

11 Jun – Source: Google Open Source Blog – 268 Words

When a country is unable to hold regular elections, how do people make their voices heard? That’s the challenge today in Somalia, which hasn’t had a permanent government since 1991. Somalia is in the middle of drafting a new provisional constitution which will be ratified later this summer, and with this process has come new opportunities to increase citizen engagement.

As the draft constitution has undergone revisions in recent months, Google Ideas developed a pilot project with the Somali service, Africa Division of Voice of America (VOA) to help Somalis register their opinions. Using Google App Engine, Google Voice, and Google Docs, we built an internal site for VOA to conduct public opinion polling:

“Mogadishu Then and Now is a photographic exhibition currently on display in Nairobi, Kenya which documents neighbouring Somalia’s capital city before and during the on-going civil war. Conceived by photojournalist and writer Rasna Warah, the exhibition intends to allow present and future generations of Somalis to learn about their rich heritage.”

Mogadishu Then and Now

11 Jun – Source: Boat Magazine – 1094 Words

The exhibition is co-curated by Ismail Osman and Mohamud Dirie, the former curator of Mogadishu Museum, whose personal collection provided most of the pre-civil war images for Then and Now. As highlighted in the opening statement of a short essay by Osman, “Mogadishu literally means ‘The Seat of the Shah’ (from the Arabic Maq’adul Shah)” a testament to the beautiful and cosmopolitan city that now seems something of a distant memory.

The city’s history dates back to the 10th century when Persian and Arab traders settled there, making Mogadishu a centre for Islam, described by legendary explorer Vasco de Gama as, “a large city with big palaces and many mosques” when he passed through in the 15th century. From the early part of the 20th century until the late 1980s, Mogadishu or Xamar (pronounced Hamar) as the locals call it, was considered one of Africa’s most alluring cities, a billing that has been practically reversed as a result of the civil war that began in 1991.

Top tweets

@nathancollett Today 6pm at Goethe #Nairobi ; talk and book launch new book on #Somalia; Peace & Milk http://bit.ly/LFFaAC @PeaceAndMilk.

‏@jeromestarkey @odinga_raila says Kenyan troops preparing for final onslaught on Kismayo, by air land & sea, by August#Somalia.

‏@Sojeede #Somalia could give its neighbours a run for their money in tourism industry if its internal problems are contained,http://bit.ly/LvTYQa.

@HindaAli19 Rebuilding, Rebuilding, Rebuilding this city#Mogadishu is top priority for many #SomaliDiaspora from all over the world.

@IbnSiqilli IN PICTURES: Wanted Poster for Barack Obama & Hillary Clinton, Wanted Dead or Alive by Al-Shabaab in Somalia:http://bit.ly/KwKGC7 (#Shabaab).

Follow the conversation →

Image of the day

Image of the day Somali president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and military officials walk across the Afgoye Bridge. The president spent the night in the town that was recently liberated. Photo: Radio Mogadishu.