July 23, 2012 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Somalia’s al Shabaab executes three of its own for treason

23 Jul – Source: Reuters/AP/Jamaica Observer – 297 words

Somalia’s Islamist al Shabaab militants said on Sunday they had executed three of their own members for treason, two of them for guiding U.S. missiles to kill fellow militants. It was the first time al Shabaab, under pressure from African Union, Kenyan and Ethiopian troops as well as U.S. drone strikes, had admitted to killing its own fighters for betrayals.

Al Shabaab, which is affiliated with al Qaeda, said last January that a missile launched from a drone had killed Bilal el Berjawi, a Lebanese al Shabaab fighter with a British passport. Another missile killed four foreign militants south of the Somali capital Mogadishu in February, according to an intelligence officer. “We have executed two CIA spies who were behind the killing of our great brothers,” Sheikh Mohamed Abu Abdallah, al Shabaab’s governor for the Lower Shabelle region, told Reuters on Sunday. “We also executed a third fighter who was proved to be a spy for the UK.”

“Isak Omar Hassan and Yasin Osman Ahmed had fixed a device on Bilal el Berjawi’s car and then he was killed by a plane in Elasha six months ago,” Abu Abdallah said. “The investigation is still continuing. If we find others, they will follow suit. We shall deal with them the way we dealt with the three executed today.”

The Somali government says hundreds of foreign fighters have joined the Islamist insurgency from Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Gulf region as well as the United States and Britain. Some have senior positions within al Shabaab. Al Shabaab were driven out of Mogadishu late last year and are struggling to hold on to territory elsewhere in the face of attacks by Kenyan, Ethiopian and African Union forces trying to prevent Islamist militancy spreading out from Somalia.

Key Headlines

Somali forces advance to Bardhere and Kismayo (Radio Mogadishu/SONNA)
Somalia’s al Shabaab executes three of its own for treason (Reuters/AP/Jamaica Observer)
Somali govt to revive national airline after 21 years (Somaliland Press/Bariga Afrika)
Security beefed up in Galkayo after Sunday blast (Bar-kulan)
Djibouti peacekeepers arrive in central Somalia (Mareeg Online)
Two-thirds of bilateral aid to Somalia govt stolen diverted (Africa Review/East African)
Al-Shabaab said appoints new leaders for Somalia’s Puntland region (Somali Report)
Fallen soldier’s family demands compensation (Daily Monitor)
Somali troops free chained suicide bomber recruits held by al Shabaab (Hadhwanaag Times)
Ahlu Sunna to capture El-bur soon (Bar-kulan)

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali forces advance to Bardhere and Kismayo

23 Jul – Source: Radio Mogadishu/SONNA – 143 words

Somali forces in Gedo region and in lower Jubba region southern Somalia are advancing on two strategic cities; Bardhere city as well as Kismayo city aiming to remove al Qaeda linked group of al Shabaab. Jamal Hassan Saney, one of the T.F.G officials leading the forces operating in south Somalia told Radio Mogadishu that the Somali force backed by Kenyan military are aiming at the capturing the two major strongholds of the weakened al Shabaab militants.

The official stated that they are hopeful that they would wrap up the fight against al Qaeda linked group of Al-Shabab once they take control of these cities within short period.

Somali forces backed by the African union peacekeeping forces in Mogadishu, middle Shabelle, lower Shabelle, Bay, Bakol, Gedo and Hiiraan pushed al Shabaab out of their strongholds and are their final stage clearing extremist groups of the country.

Somali govt to revive national airline after 21 years

23 Jul – Source: Somaliland Press/Bariga Afrika – 116 words

The Somali government this week said it was committed to reviving the national carrier, Somali Airlines, after more than two-decades of absences from the airs. Mohammed Osman Ali “Dhagah-tur”, the General Director of Ministry of Aviation and Transport, told local media that plans to bring the white star carrier from scrap yards were already underway.

He said there was huge interest and market for the Somali Airlines to be salvaged as hundreds of thousands of Somalis are set to return back to the country from abroad after many years. The Somali government and the Somali Civil Aviation Steering Committee have recently met with various aviation governing bodies including the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal.

Security beefed up in Galkayo after Sunday blast

23 Jul – Source: Bar-kulan – 169 words

Security has been intensified in central Somali city of Galkayo after Puntland’s area security Chief Col. Warsame Yussuf Ahmed was injured in blast on Sunday. The explosion was said to be a landmine planted in the area probably targeting Mr. Ahmed who is also brother to the late former Somali president Abdullahi Yussuf Ahmed who recently died in a hospital in Abu Dabi.

Puntland police were reportedly deployed along the streets in the city shortly after the blast, conducting search operation to determine the perpetrators of the blast. Speaking to the press in Galkayo, Puntland’s Mududg regional Police boss Jama Mohamed Ahmed said they are conducting investigations, claiming that they are pursuing clues that may lead to the arrest of the perpetrators of the blast. No group has claimed responsibility of the attack.

Galkayo which straddles the border separating semi-autonomous Puntland from the self-proclaimed separate region of Galmudug to the south has in the recent past seen waves of violent assassinations and organised crimes.

Djibouti peacekeepers arrive in central Somalia

22 Jul – Source: Mareeg Online – 106 words

The second batch of peacekeeping forces from neighboring Djibouti serving under African Union Mission in Somalia(AMISOM) arrived in Somalia’s central town of Beledweyne on Sunday to replace Ethiopian troops.

Reliable sources said that military planes carrying Djibouti soldiers and army officers landed on an airstrip in Beledweyne, 206 miles (332 km) north of Mogadishu,to help bring stability in the troubled Hiiraan region. Military Officers have welcomed the deployment and escorted to their army bases in the town. Somali forces aided by thousands of Ethiopian troops, who are not under AMISOM, captured the central Somali town from Al-Shabab Islamist militants in December 31, 2011.

Al-Shabaab said appoints new leaders for Somalia’s Puntland region

20 Jul – Source: Somali Report – 647 words

Since February of this year when Sheikh Muhammad Atom’s Galgala militia in northern Somalia officially joined Somalia’s al Shabab insurgency in the southern and central regions of the country, little information has been available about their leadership structure and operations, based in the remote mountains of Sanaag and Bari regions of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland [northeastern Somalia]. That was until Somalia Report received exclusive information that new leaders for the region have officially been named.

Sources told Somalia Report that al Shabaab’s leader Ahmad Abdi Godane [Mukhtar Abu- Zubeyr] officially appointed Yasin Usman Khalid [Kilwe] as al Shabaab’s new leader in the Golis mountains and Salmaan [only one name given], of the Ogaadeen clan [sub clan of Darood] was named as Yasin’s deputy. Abdiqadir Mu’min remains in his position as religious leader. The men were notified by phone. Yasin Usman Kilwe hails from the Dubays clan [sub clan of Warsangali]. 60-year-old Abdiqadir Mu’min hails from Ali Saleban [sub clan of Majeerten]; both are sub clans of Darood.

Godane appointed Kilwe to be the group’s representative to Puntland territories because he believes the young man will abide by Godane’s orders and is more easily manipulated than the hard-line former Galgala militia leader Atom. In addition, Kilwe is said to be more extreme in his Islamist ideology than Atom making him an ideal choice to lead al Shabaab in Puntland.

“It is true that Godane appointed Yasin Usman Kilwe as the leader of al Shabaab fighters in northeast Somalia as well as Salmaan as his deputy. Salmaan is from Somalia’s Lower Jubba Region [southern Somalia]. Abdiqadir Mu’min remains in his position as al Shabaab’s religious consultant,” Abdiqadir Sharmake, a resident in Galgala, told Somalia Report.

Kilwe was born in Dahar District of Haylaan region in 1981 and hails from Warsangali tribe. He studied at East Africa University in Bosaso [northeastern Somalia]. In November 2003 he travelled to Hargeysa, in the breakaway region of Somaliland, but was arrested and jailed after Somaliland police accused him of stealing money from Ethiopia. The charges claimed he stole money from Tog Wajale, a border town between Somaliland and Ethiopia, but he was found not guilty. Somaliland police accused him of being engaged in terrorist activities in 2006.

According to sources who requested anonymity, Kilwe has a previous and close relationship with Godane, and particularly bonded after Somaliland accused both men of stealing money. Ahmad Salah, a relative of Yasin Kilwe, told Somalia Report that, “Yasin was taken to a US Navy base in Djibouti for questioning, but they returned him to Somaliland after they didn’t find him guilty of anything.”

Fighting between the Galgala militia and Puntland forces has escalated over the last year with both sides gaining and losing ground. Although many fighters have surrendered to Puntland, the group still enjoys a power base in the hard-to-reach mountains. And, according to the local sources, al Shabaab’s fighters in Galgala are rapidly gaining power and popularity in the area.

Somali troops free chained suicide bomber recruits held by al Shabaab

22 Jul – Source: Hadhwanaag Times – 147 words

Force loyal to the transitional federal government and AU forces have freed chained young suicide bombers in a center belonging to al Shabaab in what is said was a Quran school. The government military said the teacher of those young children was a member of al Shabaab militant group.

A military official noted that the center locates in Wahar Adde neighborhood north of Mogadishu. He spelled out that the chained children were taught to conduct suicide attacks against the government forces and AMISOM in order to get in Allah’s paradise. When Somali and AMISOM forces stormed the center, they saw children whose legs were chained.

The children ages were below 10 years, according to AU and TGF forces. The military officials asked the teacher why the children were chained in the legs. In response, the teacher said the children were hockey students or dropout ones.

Ahlu Sunna to capture El-bur soon

23 Jul – Source: Bar-kulan – 143 words

Ahlu Sunna administration in central Somalia regions has promised to retake El-bur town from al Shabaab militants, saying that their forces are now heading towards the rebel held town. The group’s security chief Farah Mo’alim Ali who spoke to Bar-kulan on Monday said they will soon attack El-bur town, the only rebel held town in Galgadud region, in order to retake it from the militant group.

Ali said the militant group is terrorizing locals in the district and ought to be ousted immediately to liberate the town, hinting that they will soon attack it.
Al Shabaab militants returned to the town few months ago after Ahlu Sunna group and its allied Ethiopian forces deserted the town without defending it. ASWJ has been vowing to oust the militant rule in the entire region, but El-bur town has seen subsequent change of hands for last few weeks.

Allied forces fight off al Shabaab in southern Somali towns

22 Jul – Source: Mareeg Online – 139 words

Deadly fighting between Somali soldiers alongside those of African Union troops, primarily Kenyan military reportedly took place Sunday in Lower Jubbe region, south of the country, Witnesses and Officials said Sunday.

According to the local residents, the skirmish erupted in the early hours on Sunday, after heavily armed al Shabab militants tied with al Qaeda attacked several Somali-Kenyan military bases in Qoqani and Kulbiyow towns, causing unknown losses on both warring sides.

“The militants targeted Somali and Kenyan troops in the remote Qoqani and Kulbiyow towns, with both sides exchanging heavy and slight weapons during the attack on Sunday,” a local resident, who asked not to be named, said.

Killer pirate arrested in Hobyo, Mudug region

23 Jul – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 138 words

Galmudug Security officers have reportedly nabbed a pirate who has allegedly killed his colleague in Hobyo, a notorious pirate hub in Somalia’s Mudug region. Reports say the officers arrested the fleeing man who killed his colleague after they picked quarrel over ransom money they received from hijacked vessels and families of people they took hostages.

Hobyo Police boss Abdiweli Hassan Hirsi told Bar-kulan that they are undertaking tough security measures to fight piracy in the region, adding that they will soon embark on security operations aimed at clearing pirates out of the area.

The incident comes a week after three pirates were killed and several others injured when pirates in Hobyo town fought over ransom money. Hobyo is known for its piracy activities, as it serves as a location for pirates to anchor hijacked ships while awaiting ransoms.

IDPs demonstrate in Mogadishu

22 Jul – Source: Radio Risaala/Somaliweyn – 120 words

Internally displaced persons camping in Hiliwaa district on Sunday held a demonstration to protest the hardships they face on daily basis. Hundreds of IDPs took part in demo in which they expressed grievances and displeasure on their living conditions.

District commissioner of Hiliwaa, Omar Abdulle Omar Ja’fan told Risaala Radio that the IDPs in his district are faced with dire situations and have no food to sustain them.

He urged the aid agencies to provide quick and comprehensive humanitarian assistance to his people. It is worth mentioning that this demo is coinciding when Muslims across the globe are observing the month of Ramadan and these internally displaced persons are in dire need of humanitarian aid.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Fallen soldier’s family demands compensation

23 Jul – Source: Daily Monitor – 208 words

Memories race through her mind as tears roll down her cheeks, to the chin before wetting her grey gomesi. It is a mother’s pain as she remembers her only son who was killed by Somali Islamist al Shabaab militants last year.Neither has her so n’s body been returned nor has government compensated the fallen soldier’s family. Basaliza, a 70-year-old widow and resident of Isaka in Hoima Town, still mourns her son, Pte Godfrey Barongo, a Grade III teacher.

She says Barongo’s death marked the beginning of her misery. “We have nothing to eat or drink. We cannot afford good health services. If government does not intervene, I will die soon. I suffer from high blood pressure,” she says. The woman insists government should bring his son dead or alive. “If my son died, why didn’t they (the government) bring his body for burial? If he is alive let them bring him to me,” she says. UPDF sources at Bombo army headquarters say Barongo went missing on October 25 last year in Somalia.

“He had given me an account number where I would withdraw money to help the family but I found no money for two months before we knew of his death,” says Ms Tophas Nambi, sister of Barongo.

Two-thirds of bilateral aid to Somalia govt stolen, diverted

22 Jul – Source: Africa Review/East African – 362 words

Successive Somali governments have not accounted for nearly $238 million, the bulk of which constituted bilateral assistance, according to an audit report made available exclusively to The East African.

The report shows that over the period 2000-2011, the first Somali Transitional National Government and the subsequent Transitional Federal Government received bilateral aid totalling $308 million, that was given mainly by Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Libya, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

(This figure does not include funds that came through the Arab League. It also does not cover multilateral assistance to Somalia, which is managed entirely by the United Nations Development Programme.) Only $53 million was raised domestically during this period, mainly through the Mogadishu port and airport.

Inside Story – Where are Somalia’s missing millions?

21 Jul – Source: Al Jazeera – 25:28 min

Leaks from a UN report say progress in Somalia is being blocked by massive corruption at the highest levels, with 70 per cent of money earmarked for development and reconstruction gone missing. As Somalia marks 52 years of independence this month, who should be responsible for the state of corruption in the government? Guests: Peter de Clercq, Abdurahman Abdullahi Baadiyow.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somalia’s al Shabaab executes three of its own for treason

23 Jul – Source: Reuters/AP/Jamaica Observer – 297 words

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“Obviously, there is no shortage of presidential aspirant with big CVs but I believe three candidates stand heads and shoulders above the rest. My take is that President Sharif Sheik Ahmed, Prime Minister Abdiwali Mohamed Ali Gaas and Hiil-Qaran flag-bearer Professor Ahmed Ismail Samatar are the men to watch.”

Who is likely to be the next President of Somalia?

23 Jul – Source: Raxanreeb – 1807 Words

My little bird is back with optimism full of joyful jubilees. A glimmer of hope is breaking through the dark. I can now see a light of hope at the end of the tunnel. After two decades of painful and prolonged pandemonium, Somalia has come long to cross the Rubicon – the point of return.

The proposed new constitution carries inspiring rays of hope. It presents to the current generation and generation to come with the rare opportunity of turning the page of the past and writing history in a new chapter.

If approved and implemented to the spirit and the letter of the document, our twin enemies – ignorance and tribalism – will be a thing is the past. Illiterate leaders, warlord as well as characters with questionable background will have no place in our politics.

“I believe Somalia’s road to recovery lies in the hands of a nationalist citizenry taking up lobbying efforts both inside the country and in the Diaspora. The only way we can protect our energy resources is through public information campaigns, lobby groups, and educating Somalis on the facts. Everyone has a part to play.”

Who Will Protect Somalia’s Energy Resources?

22 Jul – Source: Somali Talk/Hiiraan/Harowo – 1298 Words

This is probably the first question that came into the minds of sensible Somalis around the world as soon as we heard oil drilling would begin in the country. We asked questions of the suspicious nature, like who are these companies? what are their motives? and who signed the deals on Somalia’s behalf? Frankly, we have every right to be suspicious. With the lawlessness and corruption in Somalia, it is the perfect recipe for oil companies to take advantage of the situation.

It’s no secret the Somali crisis is a protracted and propagated one. With the lethal combination of internal civil strife, lack of a nationalist government and neighbours determined to take advantage of our resources, I’d say we are in quite a predicament. As a nationalist, I am worried about our eroding patriotism and rising regionalism. Somalia’s ever evolving horror story is indeed troubling to its citizens but even more so to its neighbours.

“Today when a nation is on the verge of all-out war, it is often referred to as, “the next Somalia.” And in 1991 the media didn’t have a similar expression to describe Somalia’s coming predicament. As a result, Somalis have developed a very sober and thoughtful approach to disasters like Syria.”

Why Somalia Fully Supports Syria’s Bashar Al-Assad

22 Jul – Source: Dissident Nation – 889 Words

From Europe to North America, in Africa, and across the Arab world everyone is cheering for the downfall of Syria’s president, Bashar Al-Assad. Every party except Somalia, a nation that understands what lies ahead for Syria. In cafes across the world, people are buzzing with the freedoms that Syria may experience, and how life will become easier for Syrians after the fall of their leader. But in Somali social circles, the tone is entirely different.

Why do the opinions of Somalis differ from other revolution-drunk social circles? It has little to do with political partisanship, and everything to do with experience.

When asked why Somalis didn’t better prepare for the fallout of their civil war, a Somali man once answered, “Because we didn’t expect it. Before Somalia, there was no other country on record to go through the experiences we would later face.” He had a point.

“In May, I won the One World media award for a collection of films for Channel 4 News. One of them was a report about the so-called “Road of Death” in Mogadishu, where Somali runners train for the Olympics. Making this film brought back all the reasons why I had to leave the country of my birth.”

First Person: Jamal Osman

20 Jul – Source: FT Magazine – 756 Words

I grew up as one of six children in the city of Kismayo, Somalia. I know I’m in my mid-thirties – I was born in the late 1970s – but I don’t know my actual date of birth because my parents were illiterate. My dad did not have a stable job and we survived with help from relatives. But we often had no food at all. When the civil war started in 1991, we kept fleeing from violence and moving from one place to another. By 1999, I was desperate.

You don’t think: “I want to be in London.” It’s more like: “Get me out of here.” My family scraped the money to pay human smugglers to get me to Kenya. There, they put you on the plane and tell you what to do at Heathrow to get in. In Southall, I contacted a member of my clan and he took me to the Home Office to seek asylum. My English wasn’t good enough to communicate, but I knew a few words. “How are you?” “Good.” “OK.”

Top tweets

@Global_Bearings [PIC] Life in Mogadishu #Somalia as close to ‘normal’ as its been in 20 yrs of war. Kids play soccer on beach – http://twitpic.com/aaptq1.

‏@gcmcSomalia #Somalia Somalia: Looking Back on Famine and A Smarter Response in the Horn http://bit.ly/Pzmaoa #crisismanagement.

@BeenThereSawIt US giving drones to Kenya, to use against Shabaab in #Somalia. Good thing they aren’t armed. Civilians caught in crossfire too much already.

@farhanjimale #alshabaab in #Somalia says it launched “an extensive counter-intelligence campaign” as they executed 3 men accused of spying for the west.

@finbarroreilly #Somalia #refugee tells his story of becoming a #journalist in London and of Somalia’s #Olympic hopefuls. #Inspiring http://on.ft.com/NKxLAe.

‏@Sarkiifan Will #UN-backed mechanisms ensure a level playing for #Somalia‘s presidential candidates? On @AJInsideStory | http://aje.me/O5lkyg“.

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Image of the day

Image of the day Puntland President Abdirahman Mohammed â€˜Farole’ consoles Somali singer Saado Ali who is recuperating in Garowe after surviving a tragic road accident on Friday. Photo. Garowe Online.