December 4, 2012 | Daily Monitoring Report.
PRESS RELEASE
AMISOM Vows to Help Somalia Enhance Security on Marka Road
04 Dec – Source: AMISOM – 243 words
AMISOM is taking steps to enhance security along the road between the port city of Marka and Kilometre 50, following two failed attacks on a Somali government convoy.
A convoy carrying Interior Minister Abdulkarim Hussein Guled on Monday encountered an improvised explosive device at Bufow. On Sunday, AMISOM and Somali forces successfully repelled an ambush by suspected al Shabaab terrorists on the same convoy as it approached Marka.
AMISOM Force Commander, Lt Gen Andrew Gutti, said that the safety of the Somali people would continue to be AMISOM’s top priority adding that the AU mission was working with the Somali Federal Government to ensure that security was restored to the area.
“Despite the remarkable success we have had in removing the al Shabaab from the major population centres in southern Somalia, these incidents serve as a reminder that we cannot afford to be complacent,” he said.
Key Headlines
- AMISOM Vows to Help Somalia Enhance Security on Marka Road (AMISOM)
- Somali PM calls for end to clan fighting in central Somalia (Shabelle)
- Somalia: ‘al Shabaab’ ambush Ministers and defend Jowhar (BBC)
- Explosive-laden car seized in Kismayo (Radio Mustaqbal)
- Heavy fighting erupts outside Mogadishu (Shabelle)
- Kenyan administration will train Somali civil servants (Coast Week/Xinhua)
- First EU Human Rights working group (HRWG) Mission in Somaliland (Somaliland Press)
- East African military officers discuss peace support operations (Ocean Uslive)
PRESS RELEASE
AMISOM Vows to Help Somalia Enhance Security on Marka Road
04 Dec – Source: AMISOM – 243 words
AMISOM is taking steps to enhance security along the road between the port city of Marka and Kilometre 50, following two failed attacks on a Somali government convoy. A convoy carrying Interior Minister Abdulkarim Hussein Guled on Monday encountered an improvised explosive device at Bufow. On Sunday, AMISOM and Somali forces successfully repelled an ambush by suspected al Shabaab terrorists on the same convoy as it approached Marka.
AMISOM Force Commander, Lt Gen Andrew Gutti, said that the safety of the Somali people would continue to be AMISOM’s top priority adding that the AU mission was working with the Somali Federal Government to ensure that security was restored to the area. “Despite the remarkable success we have had in removing the al Shabaab from the major population centres in southern Somalia, these incidents serve as a reminder that we cannot afford to be complacent,” he said.
“AMISOM will continue to support the government in its efforts to build up the capacity of the Somali National Security Forces and to rid the country of the al Shabaab menace,” he added. With AMISOM’s support, the Somali national forces have pushed the al Shabaab out most major urban centres in southern Somalia, including the capital Mogadishu and the port cities of Marka and Kismayo, as well as many other towns and centres, creating the best chance Somalia has had in a generation to achieve a lasting peace and to establish legitimate and to establish legitimate and representative institutions.
SOMALI MEDIA
Explosive-laden car seized in Kismayo
04 Dec – Source: Radio Mustaqbal – 124 words
Reports from the port city of Kismayo say that the Somali forces have captured a vehicle carrying explosive materials that allegedly was on the way to carry out suicide attack against the Somali forces and AMISOM stationed at the airport.
The car was reportedly then taken to a place outside the city where an investigations in now going on. There are no comments from the military officials of the Somali government nor from AMISOM.
Somali PM calls for end to clan fighting in central Somalia
04 Dec – Source: Shabelle – 112 words
Abdi Farah Shirdon, Somali PM has called on clans to immediately end a deadly fighting in the country’s central region of Galgudud. The Prime Minister said his government is going to send a peace committee to the region in a bid to cease the skirmishes. He also sent his condolence to the families and friends of those who lost their loved ones in the battle.
The call comes after fierce fighting between heavily armed rival clans killed at least 30 people and 60 injured in a disagreement over water wells in Balaldhere, just 100 Km away from Dhusamareb city.
New political party launched in Puntland
04 Dec – Source: Puntland Online/Garowe Online – 108 words
A new political Party (UGUB) was launched in Bosaso as over dozens supporters , guests and intellectuals gathered on the occasion. Promising to provide opportunities of change and development UGUB party chairman officially announced the new party.
“We have finally found a party you can vote for next democratic election,” said the chairman of UGUB party Mohamed Nuur Said (Dabayl). The party’s headquarter would be in Bosaso while other offices are planned to set up in other cities in Puntland.
Suldan Abdillahi Jeenicad and Carale Ciise, renowned intellectuals in Puntland supported the idea of the new party which they called a step taken toward development and prosperity.
First EU Human Rights working group (HRWG) Mission in Somaliland
04 Dec – Source: Somaliland Press – 142 words
A delegation from the EU Human Rights working group (HRWG) is currently in the country, this been the first time the working Group has organized a mission to Somaliland, and, considering the positive political of the 28th of November local council elections, the international community hopes that the human rights issues will be a priority in the political agenda for the government of Somaliland.
The EU HRWG was established by the European Union (EU) in December 2011 and it comprises EU Member states and Norway, Switzerland and the USA. It is currently chaired by Denmark.
The Working Group meets quarterly or as required with a mandate to monitor the Human rights situation through interaction with local and international partners; to engage in dialogue on Human Rights with all relevant parties and to coordinate efforts to promote Human Rights.
Heavy fighting erupts outside Mogadishu
04 Dec – Source: Shabelle – 91 words
Heavy fighting between Somali forces and al Shabaab has again erupted on Tuesday at areas near Qalimow town just outside Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, reports said.
The battle flared up in the early hours of Tuesday when al Shabaab attacked military bases controlled by Somali troops near Jowhar, the capital of Middle Shabelle region, killing 4 people, according to the local residents.
Military officials say Somali forces managed to fend off the militant attack on their bases near Qalimow neighborhood and killed at least 13 combatants during the fighting.
Al Shabaab enlisting children in southern Somali town
03 Dec – Source: Radio Galkacyo – 81 words
Somalia’s al Shabaab militants are reportedly said to have begun enlisting children in fight against government troops and AMISOM (African Union’s Mission in Somalia), privately-owned Radio Galkacyo reported on 3rd December.
A local resident in Kismayo town on condition of anonymity told the media that the group had mobilized children to take up arms and fight against the allied forces who are controlling the town. The resident further stated that the enlisting of children started after many members secretly deserted the group.
AMISOM troops bombard Somali town
04 Dec – Source: Shabelle – 78 words
Witnesses say AMISOM forces have bombarded residential areas near Afgoye town, 30 Km northwest Mogadishu. AMISOM forces based at Arbiska area fired at least 16 rockets on Dhanane location near Afgoye district, where is believed to be a hideout for al Shabaab militants.
Hundreds of local residents have fled from their houses overnight after rounds of shells rained on parts of the town. The causality figures on the civilians are yet unknown.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Kenyan administration will train Somali civil servants
04 Dec – Source: Coast Week/Xinhua – 183 words
Kenya will embed Somalia civil servants in its public service ranks to facilitate their on-job training as part of its skills improvement support for the new government. Foreign Affairs Ministers of Kenya and Somalia Professor Sam Ongeri and Fauzia Yusuf Haji Adan respectively announced the plan in Nairobi on Tuesday during their closed-door talks.
The embedding will start as soon as the two countries revive the Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) that was first signed in 2006 but has been dormant since then. “The two countries are finalizing the modalities of signing a revised JCC.
The deployment of Somalia civil servants will start thereafter,” Ongeri told journalists in Nairobi. Those to be embedded will mainly come from security, administration and peacekeeping sectors, the two ministers said.
But the Somali government will be free to make request for embedding across all the sectors. Kenya has used a similar strategy to support the setting up of the civil service in South Sudan, Africa’s youngest country. Kenya was also involved in supporting the establishment of the civil service in Namibia after the country’s independence in 1988.
Kenyan firm makes inroads in Somalia as peace opens business window
03 Dec – Source: Business Daily Africa – 491 words
Improved security in Somalia has opened business frontier for Kenyan companies with a standardisation firm setting base in Mogadishu.Polucon Services Limited managing director Dominic Mureithi said he was working with the Somali government to set up the first laboratory in the country.
“There is great potential there especially with standardisation and testing services and since we entered into the country a couple of months ago we have been doing fumigation for various organisations. We intend to open our first lab by mid next year,” he said.
Mr. Mureithi, who spoke at the weekend when his company was awarded the ISO 17025 accreditation by the Kenya Accreditation Service (KENAS), said his firm – which also operates in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania – would work with various organisations to ensure that products imported from Somalia meet high standards.
Since the capture of Kismayo by Kenya Defence Forces, security in Somalia has improved after years of civil war that lasted over two decades, opening up opportunities for Kenyan companies.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia: ‘al Shabaab’ ambush ministers and defend Jowhar
04 Dec – Source: BBC – 259 words
After weeks of relative calm in Somalia, a convoy carrying three ministers has been attacked, while fierce fighting has erupted near the militant base of Jowhar, officials say.
The Ministers of Defence, Interior and Justice were unharmed after a landmine exploded under a vehicle near the port of Merka, they say. A governor told the BBC there had been a two-hour gunbattle near Jowhar. This is the biggest town under the control of al Shabaab Islamists.
The al Qaeda linked group has been driven out of most urban areas over the past two years still controls many rural areas of the country. Middle Shabelle governor Abdi Jiinow told the BBC Somali service that al Shabaab had now gathered its forces around Jowhar, 90km (55 miles) north of the capital, Mogadishu, in order to defend the town.
East African military officers discuss peace support operations
04 Dec – Source: Ocean Uslive – 530 words
Officers of the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces (SPDF) are joining military officials from several states of the region this week for a five- day training course on peace support operations under the mandate the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU).
Besides Seychelles, the course at the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Hotel for the Eastern African Standby Force Coordination Mechanism (EASFCOM) is being attended by officers from Somalia, Sudan, Burundi, Kenya, Comoros and Rwanda.
Also present at the opening ceremony yesterday were officers of the Nordic Maritime Support Organisation – Finland, Norway and Denmark. Norwegian captain Helge Tonning said Denmark already has a frigate in the anti-piracy squadron in the western Indian Ocean, while Norway will have one next year.
Delay of Africa Standby Force costly
03 Dec – Source: Xinhua – 929 words
Although not yet capped, the relative success of the Africa Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is a clear indication that regional driven peacekeeping missions can be successful.
Successful regional peacekeeping missions have been undertaken in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Lesotho in the recent past. The challenge it appears is the difference between the time an insurgency is started and the time it takes for the regional forces to intervene.
In the case of Somalia for instance, intervention by a regional force has taken more than 20 years. In the most recent case of Mali, the debate is still ranging on the mode of intervention as the rebels take more territory and amass more arms.
Energy Juniors Eye Somaliland Oil Potential
03 Dec – Source: Oil Price – 513 words
Three foreign oil juniors are set to begin exploration in Somaliland by next year, as the rush on East African hydrocarbon largesse extends to the riskiest venues of the Horn. There’s one small problem, though: Somaliland has not been recognized since it declared independence from Somalia in 1991.
That, however, is a minor detail as far as Turkey’s Genel Energy, Australia’s Jacka Resources, and the UK’s Ophir Energy are concerned. All three have announced they will launch exploration in early 2013.
Somaliland officials are of course euphoric.
The big name here is Genel Energy Plc (GENL), headed by former BP CEO Tony Hayward. The Turkish company hopes to drill its first well in Somaliland in 2014. Genel said it would buy a 50% interest in the Odewayne block in Somaliland from Jacka Resources Ltd. (JKA) for $657,000. Genel will operate the block and assume the costs of seismic work and drilling an exploration well.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“I soon realized that the UK welfare system is exceptionally robust, especially when compared to the American system. Almost every Somali family I encountered lived in government provided housing, and the families appeared dependent on this. Based on the small sample size I interacted with during my visit, I got the sense Somalis are not seeking out higher education or good jobs because they feel comfortable with their quality of life under government support. This is sad for many reasons, especially since it will cause generations of young people to never achieve their potential, educationally or professionally.”
When welfare stifles progress
03 Dec – Source: On Somalia Blog – 439 Words
I recently visited London to see friends and relatives and had a great time – especially shopping on Oxford street and having lunch at an amazing french restaurant near London bridge. My overall conclusion – London’s a fabulous city to visit but not so great to live.
Partly because its ridiculously expensive, but primarily because it doesn’t look like there is much upward mobility for low-income people. Immigrant communities in particular appear concentrated in low-income communities (esp. East London) and you don’t see many non-whites in professional careers. There are probably many reasons for why this is the case, and I don’t want to simplify the issue, but I want to make an observation about what I see as one of the key root causes – the overly generous UK welfare system.
I’ll use Somali immigrants/refugees in the UK as an example. Many of the Somali Brits I encountered either dropped out of University or did not bother going to University at all. Most had low-wage jobs such as bus drivers or store clerks, or were completely unemployed. I was scratching my head – trying to figure out how they can live in such an expensive city with little or no revenue.
The Somali artist promoting peace in Mogadishu
04 Dec – Source: BBC – 23:00 Mins
Somali artist Abdullah Abdirahman Abdullah has spent the last few years fearing for his life. After the Islamist insurgent group al Shabaab took over parts of Somalia, his drawings were deemed un-Islamic. To escape from the group Abdullah and his family went into hiding in 2007. But, earlier this year, he emerged from the shadows and joined a group of artists who are promoting peace through giant paintings spread across Mogadishu.
Top tweets
@Aynte Commander of #Africom: Fight against #alShabaabmilitants in #Somalia by @amisomsomalia is ‘instructive model’http://reut.rs/WF3TWw #Africa.
@Hamza_Africa IEDs now the biggest threat to senior #Somaligovernment officials. Most officials travel in non-armoured vehicles. #Somalia.
@amisomsomalia #AMISOM vows to help #Somalia enhance security on Marka Road. http://bit.ly/TK4Qf2.
@UNDPSomalia Our Country Director David Clapp has officially relocated to #Mogadishu, #Somalia. He addressed Parliament yesterday: pic.twitter.com/byIwXmSq.
@Matt_Walje For those who haven’t seen it, this is the problem with PCASP. #PMSC #pirate #Somalia http://bit.ly/TCSXv2.
@SomBrist Debate about #Somalia Vs #Somaliland – diverse opinions of the participants, before 1969 military coup & till 1991http://bit.ly/RyjkTL.
Image of the day
Somalis congregate and pray to commemorate the blast that killed 14 medical students during a graduation ceremony in 2009 at the Shamo hotel in capital Mogadishu December 3, 2012. Photo: Reuters.