March 18, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Federal government plans to establish interim administration for captured areas

18 Mar – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 141 words

The federal government of Somalia is planning to establish an interim administration in the areas taken over from al Shabaab the recent few weeks by the joint forces.

Federal government Minister for Interior Abdullahi Godah Bare told Goobjoog FM that the the federal government will put in place a powerful administration to restore law and order in the places and speed fast.

A delegation of Ministers and members of Parliament reached Hudur, the headquarters of Bakol region to supervise and establish an interim administration for the areas taken over by the government forces and African Union peacekeeping troops in Somalia.

This comes a time when government forces and AMISOM keep on taking over new areas in Bay, Bakol, Gedo and Hiran region in an offensive military attack.

Key Headlines

Federal government plans to establish interim administration for captured areas (Radio Goobjoog)
We had a very warm welcome from over 2000 people in Hudur Defense Minister says (RBC)
AMISOM & SNA discover drugs alcohol in al Shabaab hideout (Walta Information Center)
Somali National Army prepare for offensive against al Shabaab in central Somalia (Bar-kulan)
Uganda: Police warn of al Shabaab attack on fuel stations (New Vision)
Kenya arrests two after bombs ‘found in car’ (BBC/VOA)
Hudur families cut off by conflict face hunger (Radio Ergo)
Somali Islamists attack hotel in central region (Reuters/VOA)
Kenya deports three al Shabaab suspects (Bar-kulan)
Relief project launched for Somalia Philippines (Gulf Times)
Senior Somali commander killed in ambush (eNCA News)
Afgoye military commander speaks about car bomb explosions in Arbiska (Radio Goobjoog)

SOMALI MEDIA

Federal government plans to establish interim administration for captured areas

18 Mar – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 141 words

The federal government of Somalia is planning to establish an interim administration in the areas taken over from al Shabaab the recent few weeks by the joint forces.

This comes a time when government forces and AMISOM keep on taking over new areas in Bay, Bakol, Gedo and Hiran region in an offensive military attack.

We had a very warm welcome from over 2,000 people in Hudur, Defense Minister says

18 Mar – Source: Radio RBC/Radio Dalsan/Radio Mogadishu/Radio Bar-kulan – 267 words

Following the liberation of eight key towns from al Shabaab by the Somali National Army with support from AMISOM, ministers visited the newly liberated areas to access the needs of the people.

Minister of Defence, Mohamed Sheikh Hassan Hamud, and the Interior Minister, Abdullahi Godah Barre,Monday visited Hudur town to access the needs of the area and the roll out of government stabilisation plans. In the short-term there is an urgent need for humanitarian assistance, specifically food and water, and in the longer-term the rebuilding of local infrastructure.

Up to three million people live in the districts and regions impacted by ongoing military operations and government stabilisation plans are now being implemented to support and revive local services.

Minister of Defence, Mohamed Sheikh Hassan Hamud said: “I want to thank and praise the bravery of the Somali National Army and our AMISOM brothers in liberating Hudur and vast amounts of people and territory in the last two weeks. They have freed these people from the horrors and oppression of life under al Shabaab. “We had a very warm welcome from over 2,000 people here in Hudur today, where we carried out an assessment of the security and humanitarian situation on the ground.

“The people of Hudur want their local institutions to be up and running again and infrastructure rebuilt. But right now there is a critical need for food aid to be delivered to towns liberated from al Shabaab. Government stabilisation plans are already being rolled out to deliver local infrastructure and revive local services. “Al Shabaab is on the run and we will keep pursuing them until they have nowhere left to hide in Somalia.”

Somali National Army prepare for offensive against al Shabaab in central Somalia

18 Mar – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 133 words

Somali National Army in central Somalia conducted a military drill in an effort to prepare for an offensive against al Shabaab militant group in the area.

Colonel Salat Mohamed Roble Somali army sector 21 commander has told Bar-Kulan that the army is ready to clear the militants from the remaining areas under their control in Galgadud province in central Somalia.

He added that they got significant call from the locals to embark on the mission to clear what he described as terrorists group from the area.

Somalia national army backed by AMISOM peacekeeping forces have for last few weeks drove out al Shabaab militant group out of key strategic areas in their ongoing offensive against the group stronghold in the south and central Somalia.

Afgoye military commander speaks about car bomb explosions in Arbiska

18 Mar – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 99 words

The commander of Afgoye military sheegow Ahmed Ali has given further details about the car bomb explosions in Arbiska Monday. He stated that four Somali soldiers died and three others sustained injuries in a car bomb attack aimed at the commander.

The commander who survived from the attack confirmed that they arrested a man who is suspected to be behind the attack.

The three wounded men were rushed to Mogadishu for treatment as the commander told Goobjoog FM. Al Shabaab claimed the responsibility of the attack claiming that they killed senior AMISOM officials in yesterday’s attack.

Hudur families cut off by conflict face hunger

18 Mar – Source: Radio Ergo – 257 words

Families remaining in Hudur district, which has been cut off by conflict, say there is no food left in the markets and they are desperate. Ambiyo Ahmed Hassan, a 50-year-old mother of seven children, said al Shabaab had ordered the local business people to take all their goods and merchandise out of town before the Somali National Army and AMISOM forces took over the Somalia-Ethiopia border region.

“The business people took their food items to other towns and villages controlled by Al-Shabaab because they were told to do so and they couldn’t dare to defy,” Hassan told Radio Ergo’s local reporter in Badioa, by phone.

Hassan’s family is one of the few people who have dared to defy al Shabaab’s order to evacuate the town. They have been joined by a few by families who came back from Elbarde district, after fleeing Hudur when Ethiopian troops withdrew and al Shabaab captured the district last year. “Al-Shabaab have blocked all the roads connecting Hudur to other towns and are refusing to let the vehicles enter the town,” the district’s chairman Mohamed Moalim told Radio Ergo.

It is estimated that 4,000 families are suffering a food crisis, as the prices of the very scarce food items left available in the town have more than doubled. Mohamed Hassan Abdirahman, a Hudur resident, said 50 kg of sugar had increased from 680 Somali shillings to 1.2 million shillings. A 50 kg sack of wheat flour and rice had also risen from 600 to 900 shillings.

Kenya deports three al Shabaab suspects

18 Mar – Source: Bar-kulan – 96 words

The government of Kenya has deported al Shabaab suspects to Belgium. The three who are Mustafa Bouyabaren of Belgium, Rashid Benomari of France and Mohamed Siad of Algerian were alleged to have fought alongside al Shabaab militant group in Somalia and are expected to be arraigned in court in Belgium.

The suspects were arrested in Kenya on July last year after they entered the country illegally. Following Kenyan military incursion into Somalia two years ago several suspected al Shabaab members were arrested in the country while trying to cross the border to Somalia to fight alongside theal Shabaab militants.

Town councilor in Las Anod announce resignation

18 Mar – Source: Somaliland Informer – 105 words

Ms. Istahil Mohamud Adam was among the local councilors in Las Anod and on Monday announced her resignation from the town council citing that she is leaving to pursue further education abroad.

Ms.Istahil is the first to resign from the town council where two former councilors deserted and went to Puntland.

Las Anod councilors express their complaint over the management and majority say that the mayor does not hold regular meetings to discuss their duties. They claimed that once they complain to the ministry of Interior all their concerns fell into deaf ears.

Sool residents say no to deforestation for charcoal

18 Mar – Source: Radio Ergo – 292 words

Residents of the small town of Boame in the southeast of Sool region have began a campaign to protect their land from deforestation and charcoal production. Mohamud Hirsi Farah, a civic official in charge of environmental and wildlife protection, said cutting trees and charcoal production had got out of hand over the past for years.

“We have tried to stop it peacefully several times, but we failed,” Farah told Radio Ergo’s local reporter, who visited the town. Farah said the elders and residents had now joined hands with local police to set ambushes around the sites where charcoal production was going on illegally to arrest the culprits.

“Several people involved in charcoal production are now in prison thanks to the close cooperation with the residents,” said the police chief of Boame, Ahmed Hassan Jama. Radio Ergo’s local reporter said all of those accused of cutting trees illegally are young men. They are yet to appear in court.

Ahmed Muse Yusuf, an advocate for youth welfare in Boame, said the people involving in burning charcoal are unemployed rural youth, who see it as a lucrative trade and their only source of income. “Because they are desperate for earning a livelihood, these young people can’t see the long-term negative impact that cutting trees could have on their life in the future,” said Yusuf.

Most of the population living Boame town are pastoralist communities, whose livestock depend on the pasture and vegetation growing in the surrounding areas. The charcoal burning and deforestation is a direct threat to their livelihoods. “The elders and local administration should think about creating alternative jobs for such desperate young people. That will turn the youth away from charcoal burning,” Yusuf said.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Uganda: Police warn of al Shabaab attack on fuel stations

18 Mar – Source: New Vision/Africa Review – 238 words

The Police have warned of possible terror attacks by al Shabaab on fuel stations in the country.

“We have received intelligence information that terrorists belonging to the al Shabaab group are planning to attack Uganda by hitting fuel tankers on transit, fuel depots and stations,” a statement released by deputy Policeperson, Patrick Onyango, said.

In the statement, Onyango warned that they have received intelligence that fuel tanker stopovers and parking places like Naluwerere, Mbiko, Lugazi, Nakawa, Buwama, Lyantonde, Ruti, Rubaale, Karuma, Elegu were possible targets.

“We have deployed adequately in these places both overt and covert personnel. We call upon the general public to be vigilant and report any suspicious people/objects in their areas,” the statement said.

AMISOM & SNA discover drugs, alcohol in al Shabaab hideout

18 Mar – Source: Walta Information Centre – 380 words

The ongoing offensive by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) together with the Somali National Army against the al Shabaab has exposed the insurgents as engaging in practices contrary to Islam, the religion which they claim to fight for, AMISOM discloses.

The troops liberated the town of Buula Burde in the Hiran Region last week, and tours to different parts have exposed hide outs where alcohol and drugs were being used the terrorists.

Also discovered during the security and search operations are unkempt houses littered with clothes belonging to women, which are suspected to have been detention cells for females.

Buula Burde is the sixth town to be liberated by AMISOM and SNA troops as part of the offensive that began this month. Speaking after the discovery, the town residents said it was quite ironic that the insurgents that purported to fight for religion would be the same acting contrary to its commands.

Relief project launched for Somalia, Philippines

17 Mar – Source: Gulf Times – 384 words

The Qatar Relief Alliance of charitable societies has announced the initiation of phase II of the Somalia and the Philippines relief project after sending a field team for evaluation and submission of the final findings.

On studying the visit findings, it has been agreed to implement recovery projects at Puntland in eastern Somalia for the purchase of cattle and fishing boats, rehabilitation of some artesian aquifers and healthcare centres and operation of four mobile clinics with a total budget of $1.86mn.

Saleh bin Ali al-Mohannadi, secretary general of Qatar Red Crescent (QRC), said such projects were immediately introduced for implementation after the completion of phase I, where food and non-food items were delivered to more than 1,000 vulnerable families at a total cost of $1mn.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somali Islamists attack hotel in central region

18 Mar – Source: Reuters/VOA – 434 words

Somali Islamist militants drove a car bomb at a hotel in a town in central Somalia that was being used by African Union and Somali military forces, a resident and the militant group said.

The al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab movement said its raid on Monday claimed many lives, but poor communications to that region of the Horn of Africa nation, a country wracked by fighting for more than two decades, made it difficult to verify numbers.

The insurgent strike followed an attack on a military convoy near the capital Mogadishu on Monday which killed four Somali soldiers, an army captain said.

The AU peacekeeping force AMISOM, now bigger after Ethiopian troops joined this year, has launched an offensive to clear more territory still held by al Shabaab rebels. The Islamists have responded with more guerrilla assaults.

Kenya arrests two after bombs ‘found in car’

18 Mar – Source: BBC/VOA – 177 words

Police in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa say they have arrested two people who were driving a car with two improvised bombs hidden inside it. The suspects, one Kenyan and the other of Somali origin, were planning to attack an unspecified target, they say.

The arrests followed a tip off, a police official added. Kenya is on a heightened state of alert after militants from Somalia’s al Shabaab Islamist group attacked a shopping centre in Nairobi last year.

Security was increased further following Monday’s incident.

“We have not established where the target was, but we have detained two terror suspects who were in the vehicle,” said Henry Ondiek of the Mombasa Criminal Investigation Department. “We were tipped off that the two were headed for an attack on an unspecified place and we laid an ambush,” he said.

Two homemade bombs were found in the car along with a mobile phone, which could have been used as a detonator, according to police. In last September’s attack, at least 67 people died when al Shabaab stormed the Westgate shopping centre.

Senior Somali commander killed in ambush

18 Mar – Source: eNCA – 136 words

A senior military commander in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region was Monday killed in an ambush, local officials said. General Jama Said Afgadud was travelling in a car near the port town of Bosaso.

One soldier was also killed and another injured in the ambush. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. Troops based near Bosaso fight Islamist militia groups affiliated with the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab, which is facing a military offensive from Somali government and African Union forces.

Meanwhile near Mogadishu, a suspected suicide bomber targeting an AU military convoy was shot dead, AU military spokesman Ali Aden Haamud said. “The troops fired several bullets at the car, which killed the driver and then his car exploded,” one witness said.

Somali farmers improve domestic food production

18 Mar – Source: Press TV – 225 words

For a long period of time the food crisis in Somalia has been a major concern in a country that possesses huge fields of rich agricultural land. Now the UN World Food program has decided to start up a plan that aims to empower Somali farmers.

Now for the first time ever, Somali farmers are able sell 2-hunred tons of high quality maize grain to WFP. The amount will be used to supply areas that are deprived of enough food. Musa is a farmer from Afgooye. He says they have the capacity for massive production but they need support to market their product on an extensive level.

Somalia’s Agriculture Minister says the revamping of the agriculture sector is a significant step aimed at reviving an economy strained by two decades of civil war.The new program can be a major breakthrough for the farmers of a country that was faced with severe famine less than three years ago.

The initiative by the UN World Food Program that plans to buy grains from Somali farmers is meant to show the Somalis that they can be self-reliant and do away with food aids. Experts say Somalia owns rich agricultural lands that can produce high-quality food and fruits, with oranges such as this one exported from as far as the Persian Gulf countries.

Uganda issues al Shabaab terror alert

17 Mar – Source: Anadolu Agency/Turkish Press – 307 words

Ugandan police are warning of possible terror plots by the Somali militant group al Shabaab to attack fuel stations in the country. “We have received intelligence information that terrorists belonging to the al Shabaab group are planning to attack Uganda by hitting fuel tankers on transit, fuel depots and stations,” deputy police spokesperson Onyango Patrick said in a statement late Monday.

Uganda security agencies have, thus, activated and tightened security in particular around fuel tanker stopovers and parking places. “We have deployed adequately in these places with both overt and covert personnel,” said Patrick.

“Police have decided to escort all fuel tankers from Busia and Malaba borders with Kenya in a convoy by our Counter Terrorism Officers in liaison with the Territorial Commanders of the area in which these tankers are passing.”

According to Patrick, fuel deliveries in the capital shall be done under the escort of the Counter terrorism Police and Kampala Metropolitan Police.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“By working together African nations can increasingly develop the capacity for international interventions among their neighbors, and it will be crucial that the AU and regional bodies maintain and expand their roles as the legitimate leader in these interventions.”

Uganda and the African Standby Force

17 Mar – Source: Council on Foreign Relations Blog – 493 words

Since 2003, The African Union Peace and Security Council has sought to establish an African Standby Force, whose purpose would be to rapidly respond to conflicts and emergency situations in Africa. Since then the Council has proposed several structural versions of a standby force to fill this rapid reaction role, none of which have yet yielded results. In the meantime it appears that the Ugandan government is using its own military to fill this role.

The inability of the AU to deploy a rapid reaction force has impaired its ability to implement policy in East Africa. And after years of fighting rebel threats throughout the region, Uganda’s well trained military seems to have the strength to fill this vacuum.

In December of 2013, fighting broke out in South Sudan between government and rebel forces. While the AU and UN were debating intervention the Ugandan government sent soldiers into South Sudan in support of the sitting government. Uganda then threatened the rebels with further military intervention if they refused to negotiate a peace with the South Sudanese government.

“Proper safety, security, and psychological training would allow both international correspondents and local journalists to act more responsibly and effectively in the dangerous situations they face daily. As global conflict and civil unrest continue in all corners of the world, investing directly in these trainings to protect journalists will be crucial to ensuring their safety while maintaining access to information, as the public and policy makers seek to understand global conflict.”

Protecting Journalists in Armed Conflict

17 Mar – Source: Council on Foreign Relations Blog – 1107 words

Reporting from conflict zones, while risky, is crucial to understand global crises. Seventy journalists were killed on the job in 2013: 44 percent were murdered, 36 percent in direct combat or crossfire, and 20 percent while on a dangerous assignment. Combat-related deaths were due in large part to the Syrian civil war, along with spikes in violence in Iraq and Egypt.

Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war, the country has been the deadliest in the world for journalists, with thirty-one killed in 2012 and twenty-eight in 2013. Professional media workers and citizen journalists alike have been targets of death, torture, enforced disappearance, abduction and intimidation, and an indeterminate number of human rights violations by both pro- and anti-government forces. Already ten journalists have been killed globally in 2014.

Six months ago, CFR’s Center for Preventive Action and International Institutions and Global Governance Program cosponsored a roundtable on “The Protection of Journalists in Armed Conflict” to foster a discussion on the successes and gaps of United Nations (UN) policy approaches to the protection of journalists in armed conflict, and how to ensure protection while maintaining a global network of information sharing.

Top tweets

@amisomsomalia VIDEO:AMISOM & Somali National Army discover drugs, alcohol & women’s clothing in al Shabaab hideout http://bit.ly/1hs7CCk #Shabaabontherun.

@Abdikarim_Abdi3 A senior commander of the Somali National Army died after a suicide bombing attack by Al-Shabaab in Buulobarde district. #Somalia.

‏@faoinsomalia There is over 9mn hectares of land suitable for animal grazing in #Somalia.

@TheVillaSomalia #AlShabaab in full flight across #Somalia as brave #SNA & #AMISOM liberate more & more towns#Shabaabontherun pic.twitter.com/9f8bR2YEvh.

@SomaliaWeynNews Do you like pink? You better if you want a driving license in #Somalia pic.twitter.com/mlakLJSEyx.

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Image of the day Tarabunka Road in #Mogadishu, #Somalia gets a much needed facelift thanks to the #Turkish government. #Turkey #Africa. Photo: @Hamza_Africa.