October 25, 2012 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

UPDF overruns al Shabaab hideout

25 Oct – Source: New Vision – 360 words

The Uganda contingent of the African Union forces in Somalia has raided an al Shabaab hideout in the thickets of Albao, 20km north-west of Mogadishu, seizing several military hardware and items used for terrorism attacks.

AMISOM forces did not incur any loss or injury in the operation, said Brig. Michael Ondoga, the Ugandan contingent commander. “We are committed in supporting the Somali people in attaining peace,” Ondoga noted, adding: “Such operations will continue day and night to wipe out the few remaining pockets of the insurgents. Since we denied them their traditional urban centres, they have resorted to living a wild life in thickets.”

Key Headlines

UPDF overruns al Shabaab hideout (New Vision)
EU envoy to Somalia condemns assassination of Journalist Ahmed ‘Saakin’ (Bar-kulan)
3 killed 5 wounded in ‘ransom’ fight in central Somalia ( Shabelle)
Preparations for Eid day celebrations underway in Mogadishu (Radio Risaala)
Somali farmers return to areas liberated from al Shabaab (Sabahi Online)
Foreign naval ship releases pirates on Bandarbeyla beach (Bar-kulan)
Memoir of an al Qaeda Figure May Be Cited in Plea for Leniency (New York Times)
Attacks raise piracy concerns on Somali waters (Standard)

SOMALI MEDIA

EU envoy to Somalia condemns assassination of Journalist Ahmed ‘Saakin’

25 Oct – Source: Bar-kulan – 161 words

The European Union Special Envoy to Somalia, Michele Cervone d’Urso, has condemned the brutal assassination of Ahmed Farah Ilyas, known as Saakin, on 23 October 2012. Ahmed Farah Ilyas was shot in the town of Las Anod in Sool region. Mr. Cervone expresses his sincere condolences to the family, colleagues and friends of Ahmed Farah Ilyas.

“I want to pay my respect to those media workers attacked while carrying out their duty and I call upon the relevant authorities to investigate these cases with urgency. I reiterate the importance of freedom of expression for genuine peace and state building in Somalia, that has taken new impetus with the new political order,” said Cervone.

In a statement sent to Bar-kulan, the EU says together with its member state it has developed a Local Implementation Strategy for Human Right Defenders in Somalia to provide the EU with a tool for more systematic protection of cases of intimidation and threats against for instance journalists.

3 killed, 5 wounded in ‘ransom’ fight in central Somalia

25 Oct – Source: Shabelle – 105 words

Intense fighting between Somali pirate gangs over a ransom money for the release of foreign hostages has killed at least three and injured 5 people, mostly pirates, reports said.

The fighting that erupted in the town of Gawan, just 60 Km north of the coastal city of Hobyo, late on Wednesday, local residents told Shabelle Media by phone. All those killed are said to be gang members. Tension has been high on Wednesday in the central Somali pirate lair for the release of the captives and the ships held by the Somali pirate gangs.

Preparations for Eid day celebrations underway in Mogadishu

25 Oct – Source: Radio Risaala – 80 words

Muslims across the world are preparing to mark Eid ul Ad’haa on this Friday. Mogadishu is experiencing business boom as families shop for clothes, toys and snacks for themselves and their young ones.

Supermarkets and livestock markets are struggling to cope with the increased demand for their products. Bakara Market which is the biggest market in Somalia and the Livestock market known as “Suuqa Xoolaha” are experiencing the biggest influx of customers and business is clearly booming throughout the city.

Foreign naval ship releases pirates on Bandarbeyla beach

25 Oct – Source: Bar-kulan – 124 words

Reports from Bandarbeyla district of Bari region say a foreign naval ship on Wednesday night brought in 17 suspected Somali pirates in a beach near Bandarbeyl town and set them free. The alleged pirates were earlier captured off the coast of Somalia while involved in piracy activities.

Ahmed Suleyman Farah, a local fisherman told Bar-kulan the pirates were brought in at around 10:30 pm local time. Sources say the pirates were captured three days ago during a rescue mission to release a hijacked Iranian fishing vessel off the coast of Somalia.

Bar-kulan could not independently confirm whether these men were pirates as alleged and the ownership of the said naval ship. The rescued Iranian sailors are reportedly set for Yemen.

Somaliland government condemns killing of TV journalist, vows to bring culprits to book

25 Oct – Source: Somailand Press/Bar-kulan – 128 words

Somaliland Minister of Information, Culture and National Guidance Hon Abiib Diriye Nuur(Abiib Timacade)has strongly condemned the killing of Ahmed Saki Farah, a journalist working for Universal Television in the town Las Anod by unknown assailants.

In a press statement, the Information Minister stated: “The Government of Somaliland wishes to express its condolences to the family, friends and co-workers at the Universal Television of the Late Ahmed Saki Farah and that our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.”

“Somaliland Government strongly condemns the perpetrators of this heinous act and that we will invest all resources in our disposal to pursue them so that they face the full wrath of the law.”

Ahlu Sunna warns Somali government against terminating previous treaties

24 Oct – Source: Radio Risaala – 110 words

Somalia’s Sufi group Ahlu Sunna had urged the new federal government to honor agreement previously entered with the previous TFG government which stipulates that the group will be part of any future government and cabinet.

Ahlu Sunna commander, Sheikh Omar Mahamud Mahad Alle, on a telephone conversation with Risaala Radio in Mogadishu, warned of any attempts to terminate the previous agreements it had signed with the previous Transitional Federal Government whose mandate has now expired.

Sheikh Omar said that Ahlu Sunna should be given ministerial positions in the new cabinet which is expected to be formed soon. Its yet to be seen if the new government which includes a new president, prime Minister and a new Speaker will heed to these demands.

Soldier killed as Somali govt forces exchange gunfire in Marka

25 Oct – Source: Shabelle – 106 words

At least one Somali government soldier was killed and another wounded in a heavy gunfire in southern port city of Marka located just some 100 Km (62 miles) south of Mogadishu, reports said.

Witnesses said the fighting flared up on Wednesday afternoon at an army checkpoint in the city and raged on for several hours. The cause of the fighting is unknown while Somali military officials in the city are tight-lipped on the matter. The latest reports from the town on Thursday indicated that the situation is calm after the local elders intervened.

Four minors drowned in Dadaab refugee complex

25 Oct – Source: Bar-kulan – 151 words

Four Somali refugee boys on Wednesday drowned in Hagardera refugee camp, one of the camps forming the larger Dadaab refugee complex in northern Kenyan near the border with Somalia. Among the four aged between 8 to 12 years, two were said to be brothers and were found dead in a dam in the camp. They are believed to have drowned while trying to swim in the dam.

Local refugees in the camp appealed to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) to do something about such killer dams in their locality fearing the safety of their children. In a separate incident, Kenyan police in Dadaad are investigating the killing of three refugees in a shooting incident, local media reported.

The bodies of Abdrashid Maalim Ahmed, 50, Hassan Aden Auul, 43 and Siat Mohamed Ismail, 48, were found in a bush near the camp with bullet wounds, according to the Standard newspaper.

Somaliland President Silanyo Sends Condolence to Family ofLate Pilot Abdi Ali Obsiiye

24 Oct – Source: Somaliland Press – 158 words

Somaliland’s President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud (Silanyo) has sent a message of condolence to the family, friends and all Somalilanders on the death of pilot Abdi Ali Obsiiye who died and was buried in Hargeisa.

Silanyo in his message said the late Abdi Ali Obiisye was a hardworking civil servant who served both his people and country with a boundless zeal and that he will be missed by many. “His death is a great loss to his family and to the Somaliland nation at large. May Allah (SWT) bless his soul our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.”

The Late Abdi Ali Obsiiye was the first Somali born pilot to fly a commercial plane in the now defunct Somali Airlines ,he also served as the Director-General in the Somaliland Ministry of Civil Aviation and air Transport since 1991-2010 and as the personal advisor to the Minister of Civil Aviation from 2010-2012.

Several homes submerged in Jowhar following heavy rains

24 Oct – Source: Bar-kulan – 105 words

Heavy rains pondering parts of Middle Shabelle have reportedly displaced several people in Jowhar town after their homes were submerged. Several neighbourhoods including Horsed, Golis and Hanti-wadag were badly affected by the rains, forcing locals to flee to higher grounds outside the town.

The affected families are said to be sheltering in makeshift houses. Local farmers were also affected as rain water swept away seeds planted in their farms.

Several people were recently killed and dozen others displaced when floods hit several parts of the country, with Beledweyne being the worst hit where some 52 people were reportedly killed late last month.

REGIONAL MEDIA

UPDF overruns al Shabaab hideout

25 Oct – Source: New Vision – 360 words

The Uganda contingent backed by the Somali National Army (SNA), in an overnight operation captured six ready-to-use improvised explosive devises (IED), two remote controls and one IED manual, officials and commanders from the field said on telephone. AMISOM forces did not incur any loss or injury in the operation, said Brig. Michael Ondoga, the Ugandan contingent commander.

“We are committed in supporting the Somali people in attaining peace,” Ondoga noted, adding: “Such operations will continue day and night to wipe out the few remaining pockets of the insurgents. Since we denied them their traditional urban centres, they have resorted to living a wild life in thickets.”

Somali farmers return to areas liberated from al Shabaab

25 Oct – Source: Sabahi Online – 138 words

Somali farmers who were long victims of al-Shabaab’s forced taxation are returning to their farms along the banks of the Shabelle River. In the past six months, the Somali National Army, supported by forces from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), succeeded in liberating a number of towns, villages and farming areas from al-Shabaab in the Lower and Middle Shabelle regions.

Yusuf Ahmed, a 47-year-old farmer from the village of Baghdad between Balad and Afgoye, said agricultural areas are witnessing renewed farming activity.

Ahmed, who returned to his village in August after fleeing for Mogadishu two years ago, said al Shabaab treated farmers with utmost cruelty. “Al Shabaab rebels forced farmers who do not support their terrorist acts to pay high taxes that could reach up to half their harvest under the pretext of supporting jihad,” he told Sabahi.

Attacks raise piracy concerns on Somali waters

25 Oct – Source: Standard – 192 words

Two piracy incidents in Somalia last weekend have raised concern that the menace could still be rife despite a sharp reduction following the entry of Kenya Defence Forces into Kismayo.

Fishing vessel, Bohar, was reportedly hijacked by seven Somali pirates armed with Kalashnikovs on October 19. But reports made to the Regional Maritime Information Sharing Centre (RMISC) in Mombasa confirmed the vessel was safe.

Earlier this month, Transport minister Amos Kimunya had expressed optimism that once KDF had attacked pirates at source in Somalia, the menace would end.

UN lauds peaceful conclusion of transition period in Somalia

24 Oct – Source: Ethiopian News Agency ENA – 121 words

United Nations lauded the peaceful and successful conclusion of the transition period in Somalia, which culminated with the election, on 10 September 2012, of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the new President.

In a press conference he gave here on Wednesday Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia, Dr. Augustine Mahiga said the successful conclusion has a great historical significance to that country and its people. He said the UN, African Union, Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the international community will continue to support the new Somali Federal Government.

According to the Special Representative, the role of neighboring countries especially Ethiopia was crucial in the campaign to driven out al Shabaab militants from Somalia and restore peace and stability in that country.

France condemns the murder of 16th Somali journalist this year

24 Oct – Source: KUNA News – 116 words

The French government on Wednesday condemned the assassination a day earlier of yet another Somali journalist, the sixteenth to be killed so far this year, making it the most dangerous place in the world for press professionals.

The latest assassination victim was Ahmad Saakin Farah Ilyas, who was the TV correspondent for the Universal channel based in the town of Las Anod, the French Foreign Ministry reported.

“It is essential that the Somali authorities shed all light on this crime and pursue these killers, and take all measures to allow journalists to freely practice their mission to inform, in full security, in order to guarantee respect for freedom of expression and information,” a statement said here.

Justice- the Somalia way

24 Oct – Source: KTN – 2:28 min

As Kenya steps up its war against terrorism in Somalia, scores of al shabaab militants are captured by the Kenya defense forces every week but do not remain in their custody. the challenge on what to do with the militants lies with a fragile Somali government trying to enforce law and order after decades of strife.

Travel between Somalia and Kenya increases as security improves

24 Oct – Source: Sabahi Online – 150 words

In the months since allied forces in Somalia wrested key territories from al-Shabaab militants, flights between Kenya and Somalia have doubled. “We have recorded an average of 20 flights a day for the months of September and October, [up] from about 10 flights daily in the months of July and August,” said Wajir International Airport manager Charles Kiong’a.

When al Shabaab militants were in control of a large portion of Somalia a year ago, there was an average of three flights a day, he told Sabahi, adding that the increase reflects improved security in Somalia. Kiong’a said flights are likely to increase as investors seek out business opportunities and Somalia gradually returns to normal.

Nairobi-based trade and investment consultant Ibrahim Rashid Ahmed said the war crippled Somalia’s ability to produce goods and services for domestic consumption and export, but that military gains against al Shabaab offers opportunities to engage in legal trade.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Memoir of an al Qaeda Figure May Be Cited in Plea for Leniency

25 Oct – Source: New York Times – 642 words

He was one of al Qaeda’s most elusive operatives, a master of disguise who helped to orchestrate the deadly 1998 bombings of two American embassies in East Africa. He then stayed on the run for more than a dozen years until he was finally killed in 2011 in a late-night shootout at a security checkpoint in Somalia.

He was Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, al Qaeda’s leader in East Africa and a field commander for al Shabaab, a Somali terrorist group, officials have said. And now, it turns out, another of this man’s many secrets has been revealed: a 220-page single-spaced document described in court records as an autobiography.

Judge calls Minn. terror defendant who recently worked at a school a ‘danger’ to the community

25 Oct – Source: Washington Post – 187 words

A Minnesota man who has been accused of using his knowledge of the Quran to persuade young men to leave the state in 2007 and fight with the terror group al Shabaab in Somalia has been working in a position of authority at an Islamic school, authorities said Wednesday.

Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis called Omer Abdi Mohamed a “danger to the community,” and ordered that he remain in custody until he is sentenced on one terror-related count in the government’s ongoing investigation into the recruiting of more than 20 young men who authorities say left Minnesota to join the al Qaeda-linked group.

Mohamed, 27, pleaded guilty last year. He was free, pending sentencing, but was arrested last week after authorities said he violated conditions of his release by not disclosing the nature of his employment.

Prosecutors said Mohamed had been working at Essential Learning of Minnesota Institute, a nonprofit program that offers after-school homework help, recreation activities and religious classes to children. Mohamed told his probation officer he was a volunteer teacher’s assistant, but some parents told the FBI that he was a manager or director.

Groundbreaking Start to Cooperation on Military Justice and Human Rights

24 Oct – Source: UNPOS – 447 words

Judges from Mogadishu’s military court came together with representatives from the international community in a milestone roundtable meeting held in Nairobi to open dialogue for better understanding of military justice.

Organised by the UNPOS Human Rights Unit, this meeting identified where donor and UN support can help strengthen human rights compliance in military justice. The meeting, attended by ten out of sixteen military judges in Mogadishu, paves the way for assessment and review of the military justice system.

The military court plays a vital role to fight impunity during the armed conflict taking place in Somalia, as the ordinary justice system has been unable to address crimes committed by organized armed groups. It is a highly dangerous job for any court or judge adjudicating such cases under constant security threat.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

The perennial Nobel Prize nominee for fiction told PBS’ NewsHour” his enormous mission as young man, “to keep my country alive by writing about it.” Farah still expresses optimism for his country’s future after his latest return to Somalia in May.”

Keeping Somalia in his heart and on the page

25 Oct – Source: Minnesota Daily – 598 Words

Distance and time usually separate Nuruddin Farah from Somalia, but this never prevents him from imagining his native country in his fiction. The novelist, heralded as one of Africa’s most important writers, seems to capture his home country with ease. From the British colonial rule of the 1930s to the ongoing civil war beginning in 1991, Farah’s breadth of knowledge and memory informs his writing.

“The only problem I have is that there is a shortage of time,” Farah said. “Anytime I have a bit of time, I can write about the past, about the present, about the future.”

As the Winton Chair in the College of Liberal Arts, Farah teaches International Fiction at the University of Minnesota. Farah commutes between his homes in Cape Town to Minneapolis often yet envisions Mogadishu in his writing life. Somalia’s capital is often the major setting of his eleven novels including the latest “Crossbones,” as well as the upcoming staged reading, “A Stone Thrown at the Guilty.”

“We do not have principles, we have impulses. We do not have political devotions, we have hobbies. In fact, we have a notorious communal habit of forfeiting principles when these values refuse to corroborate our sectarian clan interests.”

Somalia: Inclusivity, Acrimony and the Pressing National Priority

24 Oct – Source: Wardheer News – 1295 Words

I don’t want to sound a clanist. Equally, I don’t want to skirt around a matter of existential significance for fear of being labeled a clanist. After all, the role I play as a political commentator is a very expensive one. It invites hostilities; it earns me aversion and abuse.

I come across as a petulant cynic, a killer of hope, a perennial moaner. I come across as a heckler of communal joy, strangler of national optimism, stirrer of a tranquil village. I come across as an undisciplined sadist who drives heinous pleasure from taunting others. And by way of earthly justice, I get requited in kind: through insulting emails, intimidating text messages, and shattering evil-eye.

I am a masochist gratuitously courting pain and hurt; all of it through own mouth, by own ink. In Somali, they say a coward is not oblivious to his infamy. I am not a coward but I am not oblivious to my notoriety. In many ways, critical discourse is a fresh addition to our social and political milieu.

So, I cannot expect to find throwing unrestrained volleys at political figures, and challenging bad but deep-seated narratives, relaxing. Our deficient socio-political culture takes criticism for combat invitation. And therefore, I expect more brickbats after this installment.

Top tweets

‏@julmando #Somalia: “A maritime strategy is required with a proper legal framework of laws and treaties” #UNPOS #piracy #peace http://unposomalia.tumblr.com.

@philippesibelly #Somali journalists are not being killed while doing their work, they are MURDERED FOR doing their work! #Somalia http://fxn.ws/S7GrDf .

@nationhandpick #Somalia officials say that containers with “unknown stuffing” have washed up on the beach of Mudug Region. #Environment #Fishing #Pirates.

@nuurist What lessons for #Somalia from the #assessment of the prospects in #Afghanistan by the #British #MPs http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20074051 … #Women #poverty.

@MSFAustralia “on the left destroyed buildings, on the right beaches and waves to rival #Sydney‘s northern beaches”: #Somalia http://bit.ly/RX0TU3.

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Image of the day

Image of the day A Somali National Army Officer inspects ammunitions and explosives recovered from al Shabaab militants in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, October 24, 2012. Photo: Reuters.