October 1, 2012 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

For most Somalis, the only answer is to flee

01 Oct – Source: AFP/Times Live – 649 Words

Half of Somalia’s population wants out of the impoverished, conflict-stricken nation even as it takes the first steps to shed its reputation as the world’s most failed state, a new UN report says.

The United Nations sent a small army of surveyors across the vast East African nation – some risking their lives in militant zones now under attack from African Union troops – to get the views of its long-suffering 9.5 million people for a development survey.

Their report, released to coincide with a mini-summit on Somalia at the UN General Assembly last week, must have made sobering reading for the international leaders who welcomed the new president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and warned him he still has a lot of work to do. Seventy percent of Somalis are aged under 30 and the UN’s Somalia Human Development Report said more than two thirds of those young people want to flee.

Key Headlines

Somali President Hassan Sheikh to visit Beledweyne Garowe towns (Raxanreeb/Hiiraan Online)
24 arrested in Baidoa security swoop (Bar-kulan)
Kismayo situation returns calm after al Shabaab retreat (Shabelle/Jowhar Online)
Kenyan forces hit al Shabaab bases around final Somali bastion (Daily Nation/AFP)
Leaders hold Mogadishu conference on security matters (Radio Risaala/Somali Channel TV)
For most Somalis the only answer is to flee (AFP/Times Live)
Somali AU police to tighten Mogadishu security (Shabelle)
Kismayu power vacuum fears grow after al Shabaab exit (Africa Review/AFP/Capital FM)

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali President Hassan Sheikh to visit Beledweyne, Garowe towns

01 Oct – Source: Raxanreeb/Hiiraan Online – 247 words

The new president of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is arranging on Monday his first visit outside Mogadishu, presidential Officials told RBC Radio on Sunday evening. The officials say that the president will first land at Beledweyne town, where massive flash floods killed more than 10 people and forced hundreds of residents to flee from their homes while the president’s second tour will be towards Garowe, the capital of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland.

“President Hassan will travel to Beledweyne town of central Somalia region and the next stop will be Garowe, the provincial capital of Puntland” said a senior presidential official who spoke with RBC Radio in anonymity condition because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

24 arrested in Baidoa security swoop

01 Oct – Source; Bar-kulan – 114 words

Over 24 people were Sunday night arrested in a security swoop conducted by government troops in southwest Somali town of Baidoa, reports say. The suspects were accused of being behind a string of organised crimes in the city since the fall of the rebel rule earlier this year.

Area government security officials confirmed the arrest of 24 people, mainly youths, following the swoop and promised to continue their crackdown on criminal gangs until normalcy is restored in the city. Reports say most of the suspects are remnants of the outlawed al Shabaab militias who were dislodged from the city early this year and are believed to be responsible of assassinations and other crimes in the area.

Kismayo situation returns calm after al Shabaab retreat

01 Oct – Source: Shabelle/Jowhar Online – 114 words

Normalcy has returned to Somalia’s port city of Kismayo on Monday after al Shabaab militants announced Saturday they have abandoned the city for “military tactics”, residents said.

“Today the situation remains calm, no chaos no gun-battle. Business activities have been reopened, but everyone is fearful over the looming clan militia clash,” a resident said.

Kenyan and Somali troops who were to retake Kismayo from al Shabaab are still in the town’s outskirts, consolidating and making careful military plans to move into the city soon. Sources told Shabelle Media Network that warships shelled the city last night but several shells landed on houses, killing at least two, injuring three others seriously.

Leaders hold Mogadishu conference on security matters

01 Oct – Source: Radio Risaala/Somali Channel TV – 169 words

Somalia’s Internal Security Affairs Minister Abdu Samad Maalim Mohamed and Mogadishu Mayor Mahamud Ahmed Noor Tarsan attended a conference held to strengthen Mogadishu’s security. Speaking to the media after the conference, Mogadishu mayor Tarsan said that it was important all the security branches such as the police and military to work with the district officers in order to keep Mogadishu secure and peaceful.

Minister Abdu Swamad Maalim Mahmud also said that the main agenda of the conference was to bring together all Somalia’s security branches plus AMISOM and the district officers so that they can work together. The military is to carry out operations in Mogadishu in the coming days in order to make sure that the capital is safe and stays that way.

16 killed as heavy fighting flares up near Kismayo

30 Sept – Source: Mareeg Online/Shabelle – 129 words

Heavy fighting flared up Sunday in Somalia’s port city of Kismayo, 500 Km south of Mogadishu, killing at least 16 combatants from both Somali soldiers and al Shabaab militants, witnesses said. Military sources who asked anonymity confirmed the casualties, revealing that a senior army official who was only identified as Ga’modhere, was among the dead.

Residents said the fighting erupted on the outskirts of Kismayo when heavily armed al Shabaab fighters ambushed government forces stationed near the town. Al Shabaab rebels pulled out of the key port city in southern Somalia on Saturday. Kenyan troops marched toward the city centre and seaside port that long served as the militants key source of funding. The town is not under anyone’s control for now.

Dozens detained in military operations in Hiliwaa

30 Sept – Source: Radio Risaala – 102 words

Somala military operation in Hiliwa district of Mogadishu on Sunday nabbed several people, some who were illegal weapons. District officer of Hiliwaa, Mr. Omar Abdullahi Omar Jaafaan described the operation as successful.He also said that among the detainees were women who were carrying pistols but refrained from pointing out the exact number of the detainees. There had been murders and grenade attacks in the district in the recent days.

Somali, AU police to tighten Mogadishu security

01 Oct – Source: Shabelle – 72 words

An official in AMISOM announced Sunday that Nigerian and Ugandan police Unit in Mogadishu prepared to help Somali police forces securing the capital. African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) deployed police unit to Somalia early this year most of them meant to train Somali police forces while some others were taken to police stations in Mogadishu for security reasons as Somali police forces have no enough experience and knowledge of keeping security.

Somali parliament pledges help for flood affected residents of Beledweyne

30 Sept – Source: Radio Dalsan – 113 words

Somali parliament pledged to send assistance to Beledweyne’s residents that are affected by the flood. Dahir Amin Jesow noted that Somali parliament will help those people affected by the flood. The MP added that the parliament has now a consultation about how they will direct on that situation. In addition, he appealed to humanitarian agencies to help those victims in the town. The affected people are sending appeals for help to stop prolonged flooding problems in Beletweyne town of Hiiran region.

Exiled Somali journalists condemn attacks against colleagues in Mogadishu

30 Sept – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 224 words

Exiled Somali journalists living in Uganda have condemned the recent attacks against media personalities in Mogadishu where at least seven of them were killed for the last two weeks in targeted attacks. The journalists, who gathered in Kampala to mourn the death of the colleagues in Mogadishu, said such attacks could not be tolerated anymore and urged relevant authorities to intervene immediately.

Speaking to Bar-kulan from Kampala, Abdinasir Hajji Mohamed Kaidye said it is unfortunate that journalists are targeted while working in hardship just to offer their services to their people. He said some were killed in suicide bombings, others beheaded while others were shot on close range in the recent weeks.

The gathering aimed at remembering those killed in Mogadishu was also attended by officials from the Somali embassy in Kampala and other dignitaries. In recent weeks over seven journalists were killed in Mogadishu in a targeted attacks, with the recent one being last Friday when gunmen opened fire on a passenger truck killing 32 year old Ahmed Abdullahi Fanah who worked for Yemeni News Agency, SABA as Mogadishu correspondent.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Kenyan forces hit al Shabaab bases around final Somali bastion

01 Oct – Source: Daily Nation/AFP – 493 words

Kenyan helicopter gunships struck al Shabaab bases outside the Somali port of Kismayo to clear the way for a takeover of the town abandoned by the al Qaeda linked Islamist fighters, the army said Sunday. Residents said Kismayo was in the grip of lawlessness and a power vacuum, with gunmen killing at least three people since al Shabaab pulled out of the city on Saturday, their last bastion to fall.

The Kenyan army said helicopter gunships were attacking al Shabaab bases outside the city ahead of a final ground assault to occupy the strategic southern city after an advance by Kenyan and Somali troops forced the Islamists out.

KDF secures key area of Kismayo

30 Sept – Source: Citizen TV – 3:05 min

The Kenya Defence Forces and their allies from the Somali National Army have stepped up operations to take full control of the crucial port city of Kismayo, a day after the al Shabaab insurgents announced they had withdrawn from the city after years of occupation.

Kenyan warships shelled suspected al Shabaab positions as aerial cover allowed KDF and Somali government troops to advance and consolidate ground in the northern part of the city. The al Shabaab are reported to have moved their men and equipment to the forest between Kismayo and Afmadow but KDF spokesman Colonel Cyrus Oguna told Citizen TV the Kismayo operation was proceeding smoothly with no casualties reported so far.

Troops search for missing men

30 Sept – Source: Daily Nation – 344 words

African Union forces which captured Somalia’s port city of Kismayo on Friday are looking for two Kenyans kidnapped in Wajir by al Shabaab militants early this year.The two, district officer Edward Yesse Mule, 30, and registration clerk with the Registrar of Persons Fredrick Irungu Wainaina, 56, have not been traced since January.

On Sunday, the officer in charge of information at Kenya Defence Forces, Col Cyrus Oguna said efforts were being made to trace the whereabouts of Mr Mule and Mr Wainaina and three other Kenyans working for an NGO abducted in Puntland. “Now that we are here (Kismayo), that is part of what we are working on. They are Kenyans and they have not been forgotten,” Col Oguna said.

Hamdan bin Rashid receives General Consuls of Italy, Somalia

30 Sept – Source: Emirates News Agency – 118 words

Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, deputy ruler of Dubai and UAE minister of finance received received Somali Consul General in Dubai Omer Abdul Aziz Noor, who paid a courtesy call to mark the commencement of his new job in the country. He welcomed both Consuls, wishing them success in their new jobs to serve joint interests of the UAE with both Italy and Somalia. The meeting was attended by Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani, Director General of the Dubai Ruler’s Court and a number of officials.

Kismayu power vacuum fears grow after al Shabaab exit

30 Sept – Source: Africa Review/AFP/Capital FM – 567 words

Lawlessness is reigning in the Somali port city of Kismayo, where gunmen have killed at least three people since the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab abandoned their last bastion there, residents said Sunday. After Kenyan and Somali troops’ advances towards the strategic port forced the Islamists to abandon it Saturday, the Kenyan army said helicopter gunships were attacking al Shabaab bases outside the city to clear the way for a final ground assault to occupy the city.

However, the power vacuum created by what the Islamists called their “tactical retreat” left Kismayo exposed to chaos Sunday as residents waited for the Kenyan and Somali forces to arrive.

Since the retreat of the Islamists, who ruled Kismayo with an iron fist, unidentified gunmen have killed at least three civilians, including a traditional leader, according to residents interviewed by phone from Mogadishu.

How KDF used spy planes to seize Kismayo

30 Sept – Source: Daily Nation – 511 words

Sophisticated intelligence gathering tactics that included using unmanned spy planes and infiltration of al Shabaab terrorist group resulted in the amphibious attack on the port city of Kismayo on Friday.

Military officials conversant with how the capture of Kismayo was planned and executed yesterday told the Nation that covert intelligence gathering tactics and infiltration of the port city by special forces provided the best opportunity to attack the remaining al Shabaab stronghold in southern Somalia.

Drones are unmanned aircraft either controlled by ‘pilots’ from the ground or programmed to fly over certain areas. They are mainly used for reconnaissance and surveillance purposes, taking photographs and transmitting the images to a command centre. Some drones can also be used to bomb targets on the ground.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

For most Somalis, the only answer is to flee

01 Oct – Source: AFP/Times Live – 649 Words

Two Kenyan police officers shot dead near Somalia border

30 Sept – Source: Reuters – 72 words

Two Kenyan police officers were shot dead and their rifles stolen on Sunday in the northern town of Garissa near the border with Somalia, police said. The killings came hours after a nine-year-old boy was killed in the capital Nairobi by a grenade attack on a church by suspected sympathisers of Somali al Shabaab rebels and days after Kenyan troops led an offensive against the insurgents in their last stronghold in Somalia.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“It’s taken Kenya’s army less than a year to cross the few hundred kilometres separating their border from the Somali port town of Kismayo, which until Saturday was the headquarters of al Shabaab. But al Shabaab isn’t finished yet. Like with the Taliban in Afghanistan, a guerilla war will really determine Somalia’s future.”

The war against Al Shabaab: Round two begins now

01 Oct – Source: Daily Marverick – 696 Words
Finally, after a long, hard slog through the sand and mud and forests of Somalia, Kenyan soldiers are in Kismayo. This time they come not as captives or corpses being dragged through the streets by al Shabaab militants, but as liberating heroes to free the lucrative port from al Shabaab’s hitherto iron grip.

The oft-threatened last stand never came. Despite the bluster, most of the Islamist fighters melted away as the Kenyan army made its amphibious beach landings, leaving their last major stronghold – and main source of income and equipment – behind. The port city had become their de facto capital, and they will struggle to recover from its loss.

“This is a game changer for the people of Somalia, it is a defining moment,” said Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki in a speech a little too reminiscent of George W Bush’s pre-emptive speech declaring “mission accomplished” in Iraq. “A people long used to being subject of forces of terrorism that sought to engage in a siege mentality of extremism now have a good chance of restoring peace in their country, and engaging in productive economic and social opportunities.”

“Some Somali analysts believe that the prospect of a stable and economically powerful State is threatening to neighbouring countries because it may foster ambitions for a Greater Somalia and lead to secession movements in North-Eastern Kenya and the Ogaden in Ethiopia. One of Mohamud’s tasks, therefore, will be to manage Somalia’s neighbours in a way that does not ignite old fears or reinvigorate Somalia’s territorial ambitions.”

New Somali president must guard against beneficiaries of lawlessness

30 Sept – Source: Daily Nation – 678 Words

No one said it was going to be easy. Barely two days after he was elected president of the new post-transition Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud survived an assassination attempt, had to deal with al Shabaab and ponder over the his country’s battered economy.

The activist and academic, who is considered a political outsider, has taken charge of a country that is war-torn, fragmented and in the clutches of an economy that was, until recently, controlled by warlords and terrorists.

President Mohamud’s task has been made even more arduous by the many vested interests that would like Somalia to remain unstable so that they can profit from the chaos.

“To overcome these anarchic barriers, the newly fragile “Somali Federal government” must provide basic services such as effective development programs, education, health care, and rebuilt socio-economy infrastructure. An inability to do so creates a capacity-gap, which can lead to a loss of public confidence, and consequently lead to political violence. To foster its legitimacy, the government needs to protect the basic rights and freedoms of its people, enforce the rule of law and return looted properties, and allow broad-based participation in the political process to enhance democracy. “

A comprehensive strategy: The newly elected Federal Government of Somalia’s political dispensation

28 Sept – Source: Hiiraan Online – 1122 Words

Post-conflict reconstruction has become the foreign policy menu in the international community. Recently, the international community’s endeavor in Somalia has demonstrated that planning, financing, coordination, and execution of their programs for rebuilding war-torn countries are extremely inadequate. In early 90’s after US (restore hope) and UN mission failed its interventions in Somalia, the country disintegrated into anarchic battleground of competing warlords, sectarian groups and also foreign and local militants used as a staging ground for attacks and escape route for their operations.

The crisis in governance, especially poverty stricken states poses a serious threat to its neighboring security. Terrorism, power struggle, and regional instability are on the rise on some African and Asian countries and the consequence will not only be felt locally but will have a domino effect and spread globally. Somalia’s failure inevitably harmed regional security and the economy that provided neighboring countries prosperity, peace and security.

An effective sustainable strategy is to focus on crisis prevention, rapid response, centralized and coordinated decision-making to prevent internal threats. The best assessment is to recognize the root cause of state failure, and seek for long-term solution by concurrently undertaking development programs (especially in public services) with practical reconciliation process while at the same time cementing stable and accountable strong institutions.

“The military analysts are right to suggest that it will be incredibly tough for al Shabaab to fight on without a safe and secure base to operate from. And it is hard to see how they could ever regain the power, the influence and the territory they once held. But after al Shabaab sent three suicide bombers to try to kill Somalia’s new president Hassan Sheikh within days of his election, he admitted that the fighters are likely to remain a dangerous force for months and perhaps years to come.”

Is this the end of al Shabaab?

30 Sept – Source: Aljazeera English – 874 Words

In an interview with Al Jazeera, al Shabaab’s military commander Abu Omar was blunt. “(Our war) is not based on territory lost or gained,” he said. “This is ideological warfare. We’re fighting for an ideology that transcends geographical or territorial boundaries. We will continue to fight this war until we establish the laws of Allah on Earth.”

To the African Union troops who have just succeeded in pushing al Shabaab out of their last remaining stronghold in southern Somalia, that sounds like hubris. The AU forces – predominantly Kenyans – along with their Somali allies have been advancing on Kismayo since late 2011, slowly squeezing al Shabaab out of the region they’ve dominated for five years.

Ultra-conservative fighters who once looked more than capable of driving the Somali government into the sea, now controls little more than a handful of isolated towns across southern and central regions of the country.

“…Jubbaland appears to be a marriage of convenience between Ogaden and Marehan clan representatives that traditionally are bitter rivals in the region–adding to speculation that this is an unwieldy alliance… So, while the international community and news outlets continue blowing balloons in preparation for the celebration in the streets of Kismayo, few seemed prepared to deal with its aftermath and the ensuing challenges that the region and country is facing.”

Al Shabaab, Jubbaland, and the Future of Kismayo

28 Sept – Source: Somalia News Room – 1131 Words

A flurry of reports are filling news outlets on the ongoing advance of Somali government troops and international forces toward the port of Kismayo, as they move to oust the Islamic militant group al Shabaab from its most lucrative source of internal revenue.

However, a myriad of obstacles continue to complicate what many analysts see as an eventual military victory in Kismayo. (Note: As of this writing, government-allied forces have captured “parts” of Kismayo on the outskirts, but al Shabaab largely remains in control.)

“KDF must also fight Al-Shabaab not only outside the country but within it, a development which raises the question of the war being a long drawn out one.”

Post-Kismayu Kenya is one that must be more vigilant

01 Oct – Source: Standard Media (Kenya) – 706 Words

Another Sunday, another grenade attack, another life of an innocent person taken. Sunday’s attack in Eastleigh targeted at children was a stark cold reminder that the fight against extremism is not yet won. In fact, the journey seems to have just started.

Days after the Kenya Defence Forces landed in Kismayu, Kenyans now need to be extra vigilant. Al Shabaab remnants may take the opportunity to strike the country hard, if even as a last revenge before they are finally quashed. While security personnel have done a good job in warding off attacks, more still needs to be done.

Top tweets

‏@BBCAfrica #Somali defense minister #HassanIsse tells #BBCAfrica they are taking control of more parts of #Kismayo and residents warming up to them.

@UNDP Video: Given right opportunities & support,#Somali youth can be major driver for peace & stability: http://on.undp.org/e4yf s #SomaliaHDR.

@HibaqG You can view the Poetic Scholar Maxamed Hashi Dhamac Gaarriye’s translated English(Somali) work here: http://bit.ly/SXFcC a #Poetr y #Somalia.

@HOA_News Massive flash floods in #Somalia‘s central town of #Beledweyne : #AMISOM distrubtes aid to hundreds of flood victims. http://on.fb.me/W6rz7U.

@GibranAshraf #Fail of the day! #Reuters video of African union troops taking back #Somali town on #CNN shows ‘troops’ without weapons landing on beach!

@VOA_New s #UN Envoy #Mahiga has high hopes for #Somalia, says backbone of al-Shabab broken http://bit.ly/R02cS 5 #UNPOS.

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Image of the day

Image of the day A handout photograph released by Kenya’s Ministry of Defence on September 29, 2012, shows Kenyan troops preparing for assault on Somali port city of Kismayo. Photo: Reuters/Kenya Ministry for Defense.