November 19, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Suicide attack rocks central Somali town of Beledweyne
19 Nov- Source: Radio Mustaqbal/Radio Simba/Risaala/Hiiraan/Kulmiye/
A suicide attack has rocked a police station in central Somali town of Beledweyne, capital of Hiiraan region. Initial reports confirmed that the attack was carried out by a suicide car bomber targeted a police station in Beledweyne. The reports added that al Shabaab gunmen stormed the police station after a suicide bombing. A reporter in the town says that fierce gunbattle erupted inside the police station. The number of casualties in the raid was not immediately clear. Beledweyne has been previously hit by a series of bombs and shootings claimed by al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab fighters.
Key Headlines
- MPs demand prosecution of officers ( Radio Dalsan)
- Suicide attack rocks central Somali town of Beledweyne ( Radio Mustaqbal)
- Puntland security forces detain two foreign nationals (Garowe Online)
- Galkayo IDPs in the cold after heavy rains (Radio Ergo)
- 500 IDP families resettled in Jowhar town(Radio Bar-Kulan)
- Kenya: Jubilee calls for pullout of KDF troops(Star – Kenya)
- UAE donates goods and services to Somalia( National)
- UN tells Somalia to ban pirates (AP)
- Dadaab Kenya: A giant refugee camp Somalis call home (BBC)
PRESS STATEMENT
Terrorists are going backwards in Somalia, says President, sending condolences after Beledweyne attack
19 Nov- Source: Office of the President- 175 words
His Excellency President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud today sent his condolences to everyone affected by a terrorist attacked against a police station in Beledweyne. The President said: “My first priority is to send my personal condolences to the victims and families affected by this stupid attack. AMISOM and Somali security forces alike have paid a heavy price for their brave role in stabilizing Somalia. I say this was a stupid attack because our enemies need to understand that these attacks do nothing to advance their cause, however misguided. We are making great progress while our enemies are on the back foot and reduced to sporadic and self-defeating attacks with no regard to life. Al Shabaab wants to terrorise the people while the government is bringing peace and stability to Somalia. The government is committed to eliminating the threat posed by Al Shabaab.” Security forces and the Hiraan regional administration are conducting an investigation into the attack and the casualties. Further information will follow.
UN DPI — Security Council, Adopting Resolution 2125 (2013), Tightens Anti-Piracy Measures, Agrees to Consider Creation of Specialized Courts in Somalia, Broader Region
18 Nov – Source: UN – 518 words
Reiterating its condemnation of all acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia, the Security Council today renewed for another year authorizations, first agreed in 2008, for international action to fight those crimes in cooperation with Government authorities.
Through the unanimous adoption of resolution 2125 (2013) under the Charter’s Chapter VII, the Council renewed its call upon States and regional organizations that had the capacity to do so to fight ongoing sea crimes by deploying naval vessels, arms and military aircraft, and through seizures and disposition of boats, vessels and weapons used in the commission of those crimes.
It also decided that the arms embargo imposed on Somalia by resolution 733 (1992) did not apply to supplies of weapons and military equipment, or to the provision of assistance, destined for the sole use of States, international, regional and subregional organizations taking measures in line with the authorizations.
By other terms, the Council underlined the primary responsibility of Somali authorities in the fight against piracy and armed robbery off their coast, requesting them to pass a complete set of anti-piracy laws without further delay, and urging continued efforts, with international support, to adopt an exclusive economic zone, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Somali authorities were also called on to bring to justice those who were using Somali territory to plan, facilitate or undertake those crimes. All States were urged to adopt legislation to facilitate the prosecution of suspected pirates off the coast of Somalia, and to assist Somalia — at its request and with notification to the Secretary-General — in strengthening its maritime capacity. They were also called on to criminalize piracy under domestic law.
The Council affirmed that the authorizations, originally outlined in resolutions 1846 and 1851 of 2008, applied only with respect to the situation in Somalia, and followed receipt of the 12 November letter conveying the country’s consent. They did not affect States’ rights or obligations under international law, particularly the United Nations Convention. In that context, the Council reiterated its decision to consider the establishment of specialized anti-piracy courts in Somalia and other regional States, with substantial international participation, as outlined in resolution 2015 (2011).
More broadly, the Council urged all States to take measures under their domestic law to prevent the illicit financing of piracy and laundering of its proceeds, and further, to investigate international criminal networks involved in piracy off the Somali coast, including those responsible for illicit financing and facilitation. Urging States to share information with the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), for use in a global piracy database, the Council also noted the importance of securing the safe delivery of World Food Programme (WFP) assistance by sea.
SOMALI MEDIA
Suicide attack rocks central Somali town of Beledweyne
19 Nov- Source: Radio Mustaqbal/Radio Simba/Risaala/Hiiraan/Kulmiye/
A suicide attack has rocked a police station in central Somali town of Beledweyne, capital of Hiiraan region. Initial reports confirmed that the attack was carried out by a suicide car bomber targeted a police station in Beledweyne. The reports added that al Shabaab gunmen stormed the police station after a suicide bombing. A reporter in the town says that fierce gunbattle erupted inside the police station. The number of casualties in the raid was not immediately clear. Beledweyne has been previously hit by a series of bombs and shootings claimed by al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab fighters.
MPs demand prosecution of military officers leading clashes in Lower Shabelle
19 Nov- Source: Radio Dalsan- 123 words
Members of Somali federal assembly who convened a meeting in Mogadishu on Monday demanded urgent trial of military commanders who are leading the government forces in the conflict that has erupted in lower shabelle. Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail, one of the lawmakers urged the federal government to take the responsibility and bring those in charge of the offensive before the court of law.
“We are calling on the government to investigate and bring those responsible whether government officials or civilians to face trial of their heinous act,” he said, while stressing that there is need to replace the Somali national army in the area with the AMISOM forces. There have been constant clashes between government forces and armed militia loyal to tribal war lords in the Lower Shabelle region for a long period of time.
Puntland security forces detain two foreign nationals
19 Nov- Source: RBC/Garowe Online/Radio Bar-kulan- 174 words
Puntland security agencies have detained two foreigners in an ongoing investigation into Oversight International, a shady organization that registered in Puntland as a Local NGO in March 2013, the region’s authority said in a press release later on Monday.
The two foreigners – French national Quentin Ygorra and British national Alasdair Walton – were arrested in Garowe on November 14, by Puntland security agencies following a three-month investigation into Oversight International, its foreign and local staff. Two local staff members were also arrested.
A search of the organization’s office in Garowe revealed that Oversight International was illegally collecting classified information about public institutions and private sector in Puntland. The organization was also sharing the classified information with foreign entities. In addition, Oversight International engaged in the illegal activity of collecting mineral samples without permission of Puntland Government.
The press release of Puntland Government said that it is strongly committed to defending the State’s security, political stability, economic progress and the rule of law.
Galkayo IDPs in the cold after heavy rains
19 Nov- Source: Radio Ergo- 262 words
Hundreds of internally displaced persons (IDPs) camping in Galkayo are facing hard conditions after Deyr rains began in the region last week. The rains, which are still pounding in the town, have flooded or destroyed the makeshift houses in the camps. “We had non-stop rains from Monday to Friday night and more than 18 shelters have been washed away,” Makay Osbole, a mother of eight children, told Radio Ergo’s local reporter. She said she had been struggling for three days to remove water from her shelter, which is still flooded.
“Whenever we get rid of the water from our shelter, more rain comes and it pours in again,” she said. Abdiqadir Ali Farah, a father of six children, said his temporary shelter was washed away by the heavy rains three days ago. “We have been left homeless for three days and no-one is coming to our help,” he told Radio Ergo. He added that he couldn’t get another shelter for his wife and children, who have therefore been staying with another displaced family. “I just gave up. I don’t know what else to do,” he said.
Radio Ergo’s reporter, who visited several camps in the town, said the heavy rains with wind, combined with the poor shelters and sanitation in the camps, could have severe negative impacts on the IDPs health. He said he had seen several people suffering from illnesses and diseases such as diarrhoea and malaria, and respiratory diseases were rife in the camps. There are more than 20 IDP camps in Galkayo mainly housing people originally from southern Somalia.
500 IDP families resettled in Jowhar town
18 Nov- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 117 words
More than 500 internally displaced families in the capital Mogadishu, have been resettled in Jowhar town in Middle Shabelle. Mumino Ismail Omar is one of the families that have been resettled in Jowhar and she told Bar-kulan the move is part of the government plans to resettle displaced families to their home regions.
She said the families had been taken to Jowhar by DRC humanitarian organization, adding that some of the families have joined their relatives while others are living in the streets of the town. She said some women who have recently given birth to new babies are among those living in the streets.
Local authorities in Middle Shabelle region are yet to address the situation.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Kenya: Jubilee calls for pullout of KDF troops
19 Nov- Source: Star- Kenya- 260 words
Jubiliee members have asked President Uhuru and Deputy President William Ruto to withdraw Kenya Defence Forces troops from Somalia. The leaders have asked Uhuru and Ruto to remove all United Nations Security forces out of Kenya. The move seems to be a retaliatory attack on the UN Security Council for failure to assent to the ICC cases deferral.
Tharaka Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki and TNA chairman Johnson Sakaja were speaking at Rusigiti playground in Kikuyu sub-county, Kiambu during the homecoming party for Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wa on Sunday. Kindiki said the directive will be implemented in six weeks.
New al Shabaab magazine spins horrors of Westgate, threatens Kenya with more attacks
18 Nov- Source: Sabahi Online- 1102 words
In the new edition of its bilingual English-Swahili magazine, al Shabaab in great detail attempts to justify its massacre at Nairobi’s Westgate mall as part of an Islamic retribution, and warns Kenya of a host of terrorist attacks to come.
“Kenyans are in for the long haul; the Westgate attack is merely the beginning of a long, gruesome war,” the magazine quoted al Shabaab top commander Ahmed Abdi Godane as saying.
Released on a number of jihadist websites November 12th, the magazine, called Gaidi Mtaani, is a skilfully produced electronic document complete with pictures, essays and opinion pieces supporting al-Shabaab’s activities and calls to jihad.
A large portion of the magazine is dedicated to al Shabaab’s reasons for carrying out the Westgate attack, most prominent among them Kenya’s continued military presence in Somalia.
UAE donates goods and services to Somalia
18 Nov- Source: National- 383 words
The UAE Government has donated bullet-proof vehicles and police uniforms to Somalia, the country’s consul general said on Monday. The donation of five bullet-proof Nissan Patrols, two ambulances, two fire lorries and 5,000 police uniforms was received in Mogadishu last week. “This donation is important to restore the peace and security in Mogadishu,” said Abdulkadir Al Hatimi, consul general at the Somali Consulate in Dubai. “You need to have police in the streets and they have to be in uniform, but they have a lack of them and sometimes they don’t even have shoes, so they need these uniforms.” He said the bullet-proof cars were to be used by ministers. “Ministers have to be in a safe car,” Mr Al Hatimi said. “They are a target from the Al Shabab so bombs often happen in the streets of Mogadishu and a lot of ministers have been killed in the past.” He said many Somali officials had been killed in cars. “This will definitely protect them.” Ambulances and firefighting vehicles were equally needed in Somalia.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Gunmen attack police station in central Somalia
19 Nov- Source: Reuters/Al Jazeera English-60 Words
Gunmen attacked a police station in central Somalia on Tuesday after blowing the gates of the compound with a car bomb, a legislator said. “Armed militants went in and continued killing policemen,” legislator Dahir Amin Jesow told Reuters. It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack on the station in Beledweyne town or the number of casualties.
UN tells Somalia to ban pirates
19 Nov- Source: AP/eNCA/The New Zealand Herald-415 Words
The U.N. Security Council on Monday unanimously called on Somalia to pass laws banning seafaring pirates off its coasts and urged the east African nation to more aggressively combat them and the crime lords on land who finance and organize their raids. The council passed a resolution 15-0 reauthorizing foreign ships, including the European Union Naval Force and African Union, Chinese and Pakistani forces, to continue patrolling sea lanes off Somalia and protecting shipping in the Indian Ocean.
The resolution also told Somalia to step up its efforts to arrest pirates and bring them to trial. Somali pirate cases are tried in other countries whose nationals have been held hostage or killed, or which own ships and cargos and claim jurisdiction, including the United States. The council welcomed the news that pirate attacks off Somalia have fallen to their lowest level since 2006. Armed guards aboard cargo ships and an international naval armada complete with aircraft that carry out onshore raids have put a huge dent in Somali piracy.
Dadaab, Kenya: A giant refugee camp Somalis call home
19 Nov- Source: BBC-125 Words
The UN is preparing to carry out a survey in the world’s largest refugee camp, Dadaab in Northern Kenya, to find out how many of the hundreds of thousands of Somalis who live there would be prepared to go home. But, as Gabriel Gatehouse explains, very few residents are likely to say they want to return to their country, despite concerns about extremism within the camp.
Kenya believes that some individuals from the camp were involved in planning the attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi in September, in which more than 60 people were killed. The Somali militant Islamist group al Shabaab claimed it carried out the attack and four men charged in connection with the siege are said to be of Somali origin.
Three Somalis sentenced to prison for aiding terrorist group in homeland
18 Nov- Source: LA Times-212 Words
Three Somali immigrants — an imam, a cabdriver and an employee of a money transmitting business — were sentenced Monday to federal prison for aiding a terrorist group in their homeland. Basaaly Saeed Moalin, 36, the cabdriver, was sentenced to 18 years. Mohamed Mohamed Mohamud, 41, the imam, was sentenced to 13 years. Issa Doreh, 56, the employee of the money transmitting business, was sentenced to 10 years.
The three were convicted of a conspiracy to send money from San Diego to Somalia to help al Shabaab, termed by the U.S. government as a terrorist group linked with al Qaeda attempting to topple the shaky governments in Somalia, Yemen and elsewhere. Moalin received the longest sentence, according to U.S. District Judge Judith Miller, because he attempted to not only send money to the group but also to provide a house in Mogadishu to terrorist leader Aden Hashi Ayrow.
Exposing smuggler routes across the Somalia-Kenya border
18 Nov- Source: CNN-832 Words
More than a month after Somali militants from al Shabaab massacred 67 people at a mall in Nairobi, a Kenyan rapid response team has now been deployed to the northeastern border of the country to secure the closed border crossing into neighboring Somalia. But official border crossings are far from the only routes into Somalia. Branching brazenly off from government roads are panya routes or “rat routes” — paths hacked out of the undergrowth that are used by smugglers to cross back and forth between Kenya and Somalia undetected. They’re certainly a smoother ride than the official roads — and in spite of the Kenyan government’s efforts to beef up border security after the Westgate Mall attack, we see no government presence as we cruise down the trail.
European Union Delivers Vehicles And Training For Somaliland Coast Guard
18 Nov- Source:eunavfor- 542 words
During the past week, two European Union missions, EUCAP Nestor and EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta, have worked together on two operations for the benefit of the Somaliland Coast Guard. The first operation involved the transportation and handing over of five 4-wheel-drive vehicles to the Coast Guard of Somaliland. The vehicles were a donation from EUCAP Nestor to support the activities of the Somaliland Coast Guard and were transported by sea from the port of Djibouti to Berbera by EU Naval Force ship, RFA Lyme Bay. Upon their arrival in Berbera, the vehicles were handed over to the Commander of the Somaliland Coast Guard, Admiral Abdi Hirse Duale, during a ceremony held on board RFA Lyme Bay on Wednesday 13 November.
Polio drive to target millions in Horn
18 Nov- Source: IRIN News- 674 words
Efforts to stop the spread of polio in the Horn of Africa region are being ramped up with major immunization campaigns underway, targeting millions of vulnerable children. There have been outbreaks in Kenya and Ethiopia, and more seriously neighbouring Somalia, with 183 cases confirmed this year up to October, according to a snapshot by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). This is the first outbreak in Somalia since 2007. In response, 3.4 million children under the age of 10 were targeted for vaccination between 20 and 26 October. “Further immunization campaigns are planned for November and December,” the snapshot said.
UN Security Council extends mandate to fight Somali pirates
18 Nov – Source: Xinhua/China Daily- 435 words
The UN Security Council on Monday extended for another year the mandate for states and regional organizations to fight Somali pirates and stressed the need for a comprehensive approach by the international community to tackle the root causes of the scourge. The 15-member body, in a unanimously adopted resolution, reiterated that “it condemns and deplores all acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia.”
The Security Council “recognizes that the on-going instability in Somalia is one of the underlying causes of the problem of piracy and contributes to the problem of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia,” said the resolution. The Horn of African country has one of the most dangerous coastlines in the world due to piracy which threatens not only maritime workers but also the coastal economy. According to a UN-backed report released on Nov. 1, pirates off the coast of Somalia and the Horn of Africa have made between 339 million U.S. dollars and 413 million dollars in ransom profits since 2006, fueling a wide range of criminal activities on a global scale.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Private security and improved naval tactics have been central to the fall in Somali piracy, but so have changed onshore conditions and the lure of oil.”
Crude Findings: the Forgotten Factor in the Fall and Fall of Somali Piracy
18 Nov- Source: Think Africa Press-781 Words
In May 2012, a group of pirates hijacked the MT Smyrni, a Greek-owned oil tanker, off the northern coast of Somalia. By this time, the story of Somali militants boarding commercial vessels and holding ship and crew ransom had become a familiar to observers around the world, but at the same time, the dramatic decline in such events had already begun.
According figures from the International Maritime Bureau, there were 237 piracy-related events in 2011, the ‘glory days’ of Somali piracy; in 2012, this dropped rapidly to 75; and this year, as of 22 October, there have been just 11 incidents. The MT Smyrni was eventually released after a ransom was paid in March 2013, and it remains the last large-scale commercial ship to have been seized by Somali pirates. Although two vessels have been hijacked this year, they were much smaller fishing boats.
Top tweets
@Lattif “We shall not be referred to as sitting ducks any more,” AMISOM says as they consider renewing offensive on #Shabaabhttp://reut.rs/HZGoaG
@OCHASom Cyclone 3A Flash Update 2 – #humanitarianworkers, #Puntland authorities delivering aid to affected people –http://bit.ly/1bIHFgV
@UNLazzarini Aid orgs setup #Dangoroyo as operational hub reaching most affected #cyclone hit communities in #Puntlandhttp://bit.ly/1852gxp #Somalia
@amisomsomalia People run errands as darkness falls in#Mogadishu, once referred to as the most dangerous city in the world http://bit.ly/13WAivM #Somalia
@BBCAfrica#BBCNewsday speaks to two brothers living in#Dadaab about whether they’d consider returning to #Somaliahttp://bbc.in/1b4L6QO
Image of the day
Deputy UN Envoy for Somalia Fatiha Serour arrives in Mogadishu, meets with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud at the Villa Somalia. Photo: @UNSomalia