May 14, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Somalia envoy denies calling for KDF pullout
14 May- Source: Star-Kenya- 218 words
Somalia ambassador to Kenya Mohamed Ali Nur has denied reports that Mogadishu wants Kenya Defence Forces out of the country.
He denied claims that the relationship between Kenya and Somalia is frosty. Speaking to the Star on phone yesterday, Nur said the Somalia government appreciates the role of the KDF prole in the fight against the al Shabaab.
“The Somalia people, and the Somalia government are very thankful for KDF being part of AMISOM, we have not said they should withdraw,” he said Nur denied that he told the Christian Science Monitor that his government is opposed to KDF’s stay in Somalia.
“When the right time comes, they will of course withdraw because they are not part of the Somalia government, but for now we know they are doing a good job,” he said. KDF went to Somalia in October 2011 in an operation to neutralise the al Shabaab.
Key Headlines
- Precarious calm returns to Beled-Hawa town (Radio RBC/Shabelle)
- Somalis raise funds to reconstruct Somali embassy in Belgium (Hiiraan Online)
- Al Shabaab executes a man in public (Radio Dalsan)
- Death toll from Beled-Hawa fighting rises to 12 (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Somalia’s State minister receives two Arab Ambassadors in Mogadishu (Radio Mogadishu)
- Elders Say Govt Didn’t Send Them to Somaliland (Radio Dalsan)
- Two civilians killed in Lower Shabelle region (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Rains threaten IDPs in Baidoa (Radio Ergo)
- Heavy rains in Las Anod town destroy properties (Widhwidh Online)
- Parliamentary Finance Committee to investigate gov’t corruption scandals (Radio Shabelle)
- Somalia envoy denies calling for KDF pullout (Star-Kenya)
- 800 soldiers have deserted Kenya Defence Forces since 2011(Standard Media)
- Nigerian girls voluntarily joined Islam – Al Shabaab (Source: news24)
- Kenyan police ban buses with tinted windows (BBC)
SOMALI MEDIA
Precarious calm returns to Beled-Hawa town
14 May- Source: Radio RBC/Shabelle/Radio Mustaqbal- 221 words
According to residents and officials in Beled-Hawa town, precarious calm starts to return to the border town after a day of intense gun battle between two rival troops over the control of the town.
Tuesday’s gun battle has left at least nine people dead, including civilians while seven others were reportedly injured. Hundreds of families continue to flee towards Garbaharey, Luq and Dolow within the region from Beled-Hawa town.
The town is still under the control of the Ahlusuna paramilitary forces backed by soldiers loyal to the Gedo regional authority. The rival forces are reportedly on their defense positions outside the town.
There is no negotiation currently going on to cease the fight, but the warring sides have, on their own initiative, stopped fighting Tuesday afternoon without the intervention of any third party.
The Ethiopian forces serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia reportedly vacated the townWednesday morning. The Federal Government of Somalia, which two weeks ago threatened to punish those responsible of the battle remains to be silent of the conflict.
Members of the Parliament [MPs] hailing from the region have called for immediate action by the government to do something to punish the warring sides.
Somalis raise funds to reconstruct Somali embassy in Belgium
14 May – Source: Hiiraan Online – 163 words
Somali community in European countries have commenced fund-raising campaign to help reconstruct the country’s embassy in Belgium, a key community leader Dahir Ali Kulmie revealed during an interview with HOL English Desk here in London on Wednesday.
Mr. Kulmie who chairs the Somali Sporting community in the UK is one of the inventors of the constrictive idea which is mainly intended to rebuild the war-ravaged country’s diplomatic compounds across Europe.
“In the first phase of our program, we are intending to rebuild the Somali embassy compound in Belgium which is the diplomatic gateway to Europe, as the embassy is also responsible for the continuation of diplomatic ties with the EU” Mr. Dahir Ali Kulmie noted during interview with HOL on Wednesday.
“Our first fund-raising meeting was held here in London over the weekend and it went on successfully—we have raised some money, but our fund-raising campaign will not end there” said Mr Dahir Ali Kulmie thanking all those who attended the meeting.
Al Shabaab executes a man in public
14 May- Source: Radio Dalsan- 226 words
Late on Tuesday afternoon, al Shabaab militants executed a man by firing squad in public in Baardheere district in Gedo region. They accused him of spying on them for the government army. An al Shabaab ad hoc court convicted him to be executed.
Sources say the man was identified as 29 year old Abdihamiid Sheikh Mohamed Hussein. The judge who convicted him said the man admitted the crime he committed. The judge added that the man said he was working with the government troops for thirteen months as a spy. The judge continued to say that any person who spies for the government troops and the intelligence agencies of the Western countries will be dealt with by al Shabaab in accordance with the Islamic Sharia.
Officials of al Shabaab including their Chairperson for Gedo Region and many members of the public were present at the scene where the execution took place. The Chairperson of al Shabaab for Gedo Region Abdirahman Sayid advised parents to stop their boys from spying for the Ethiopian troops and said that any person found spying will be executed.
It is not the first time al Shabaab executed men they said to be spies for the government, AMISOM and the intelligent agents of the Western governments. It was just months ago, when they executed three people in Barawe after accusing them to be directing drones.
Death toll from Beled-Hawa fighting rises to 12
14 May- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 100 words
Security officials in Beled-Hawa town, Gedo region have confirmed to Bar-kulan that at least 12 people were killed in Tuesday’s clashes in the border town.
Mohamed Wali, Beled-Hawa security chief told Bar-kulan that at least 6 others were injured in the clashes between two armed groups, one from Dolow district and another based in the town. The security official added that most of the casualties were from the warring sides.
Meanwhile, calm has returned to the area following the fierce fighting between the two groups competing over the control of the town.
Somalia’s State minister receives two Arab Ambassadors in Mogadishu
14 May- Source: Radio Mogadishu/Radio RBC- 203 words
The State Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Government of Somalia Bur’i Mohamed Hamza has on Tuesday received two Arab Ambassadors in Mogadishu.
The State Minister welcomed and had discussions with Arab League Ambassador to Somalia Mohamed Abdalla Idiris and the Yemeni Ambassador to Somalia Fu’ad Mohamed Al Zorqah in the Foreign Affairs Ministry Compound in Mogadishu.
The State Minister and the Yemeni Ambassador discussed numerous issues including the launching of a new direct Mogadishu-San’a flight which becomes the first since early 1991 following the collapse of Somalia’s late central government.
Ambassador Al Zorqah praised that himself traveled thought the Al Saeda Airlines in his route from San’a to Mogadishu.
The Yeeni Ambassador presented a letter from the Yemeni Foreign Minister Abubaker Al Qirbi to the State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Somalia relating the plight of the Somali refugees in Yemen.
Meanwhile, the meeting with Ambassador Mohamed Abdalla of the Arab League focused on the Arab League Members States’ recent move to conduct a fundraising for Somalia’s recovery.
The UAE, Qatar and Kingdom o Saudi Arabia responded a pledge by the Arab League Secretary General which calls great backing to Somalia’s rebuilding.
Elders Say Govt Didn’t Send Them to Somaliland
14 May- Source: Radio Dalsan- 84 words
45 elders who were part of the elders that recently visited Somaliland said that they went to Somaliland for discussions with the elders in Somaliland. After returning to Mogadishu, Mohamed Hassan Xaad who was one of the elders told Dalsan Radio that they were not sent by the federal government but they went on their own and the aim was to discuss with the elders of Somaliland on the common good of all the Somalis.
Two civilians killed in Lower Shabelle region
14 May- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 89 words
Two civilians have reportedly been killed in separate incidents in El Jale and Shalambdo areas in Lower Shabelle region. Some of the community elders in Marka, the provincial capital of Lower Shabelle region who requested to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions have confirmed the killings of the two civilians to Bar-kulan. The attackers behind the killings and their motives are yet to be established, however, unconfirmed reports indicate that a long-standing family feud could be the main cause of the killings.
Rains threaten IDPs in Baidoa
14 May- Source: Radio Ergo- 249 words
Rains in Bay region are worsening the living conditions of thousands of internally displaced families in camps around the regional capital Baidoa. Heavy rains have fallen over seven days, flooding the camps and destroying dozens of tents and makeshift houses on the outskirts of the town.
The families, who fled from conflict in Hudur, Wajid, Burdhubo and surrounding villages in Bakool and Gedo, have been living in hastily made huts built from cardboard and tree branches. “Our tents have been washed away by the floods and we have nowhere else to go but just to sit here and wait for help,” a mother of six children, Fadumo Sharif Mohamed, told Radio Ergo.
Mohamed is among about 4,000 displaced people, mostly women and children, who came to Baidoa from the south-western regions of Bakol and Gedo, where the Somali National Army and African Union forces launched an offensive against the militant group Al-Shabaab. “We have received no food since we came here, but we are still hoping,” Mohamed said.
Another old woman, Edebo Abdirahman, said to be 100 years old,said the weather was making life very difficult. “We have no food, no tents and no clothes and I am very sick from the cold,” Abdirahman told Radio Ergo’s local reporter.
Radio Ergo’s reporter, who visited several camps in the town, said the heavy rains and wind, combined with the poor shelters and sanitation in the camps, could have severe negative impacts on the IDPs’ health.
Heavy rains in Las Anod town destroy properties
14 May- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Widhwidh Online- 119 words
Heavy rains are reported to have caused damage and destruction to over 30 houses in Las Anod town, the provincial capital of Sool region. Abdi Khayre, the Director of Las Anod City Council told Bar-kulan that heavy downpours in the late hours of Tuesday and early Wednesday have caused havoc to the local populations in the area.
Khayre stated that the torrential rains have destroyed many properties and left hundreds of homes in the town without power. He added that the officials are taking measures to assess the destruction of properties and the damages caused by the rains.
Many parts in Somalia have been experiencing heavy rains in recent days following the start of the much awaited Gu’ rains.
Parliamentary Finance Committee to investigate gov’t corruption scandals
13 May – Source: Radio Shabelle – 110 words
Abdi Barre Yusuf, a parliamentarian who is among legislators in the Finance Committee, told Radio Shabelle on the recent corruption claims involving the Ministry of Finance.
The Member of Parliament confirmed that he has received incriminating evidence that the State Minister of Foreign Affairs ordered the compensation of $300,000 USD to a company that imported thousands of kilograms of sugar from abroad at Mogadishu seaport.
Mr. Yusuf vowed that the Parliamentary Finance Committee will not accept any corruption scandals like this and ordered the National Treasury to conduct a complete investigation to determine who ordered the huge sum to be paid to a businessman.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Somalia envoy denies calling for KDF pullout
14 May- Source: Star-Kenya- 218 words
Somalia ambassador to Kenya Mohamed Ali Nur has denied reports that Mogadishu wants Kenya Defence Forces out of the country.
He denied claims that the relationship between Kenya and Somalia is frosty. Speaking to the Star on phone yesterday, Nur said the Somalia government appreciates the role of the KDF prole in the fight against the al Shabaab.
“The Somalia people, and the Somalia government are very thankful for KDF being part of AMISOM, we have not said they should withdraw,” he said Nur denied that he told the Christian Science Monitor that his government is opposed to KDF’s stay in Somalia.
“When the right time comes, they will of course withdraw because they are not part of the Somalia government, but for now we know they are doing a good job,” he said. KDF went to Somalia in October 2011 in an operation to neutralise the al Shabaab.
800 soldiers have deserted Kenya Defence Forces since 2011
14 May – Source: Standard Media – 134 words
The Kenya Defence Forces has lost 800 soldiers since 2011, a State lawyer has disclosed. This comes as the military warns that desertions will be severely punished to deter those stationed in Somalia and other missions from leaving.
The shocking disclosure, which is said to have raised concerns among top military officers, was made at the Court of Appeal in Malindi last evening. The State is attempting to overturn a High Court ruling issued last week by Justice Edward Mureithi in Mombasa that suspended three court martials trying 26 former naval servicemen for deserting the military in 2007 and 2008.
Last evening, the Court of Appeal rejected an application by State lawyer Mwangi Njoroge who is representing Defence Cabinet Secretary Rachel Omamo seeking the immediate reversal of Justice Muriithi’s suspension of the military trials.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Nigerian girls voluntarily joined Islam – Al Shabaab
14 May- Source: news24- 396 words
Somalia’s al Qaeda-linked militant group al Shabaab has reportedly praised Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamist group for its fight against those who “targeted” Islam.
This comes amid international outcry over the abduction of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls by Boko Haram militants from their school last month.
According to an eNCA report, a spokesperson claimed during an interview with an al Shabaab controlled radio station that the kidnapped schoolgirls in Nigeria had willingly left their school to join Boko Haram and to convert to Islam.
Al-Shabaab dismissed the kidnapping claims as western propaganda.
Kenyan police ban buses with tinted windows
13 May – Source: BBC – 107 words
Kenya’s police chief David Kimaiyo has ordered the seizure of commuter buses with tinted windows. The move was intended to prevent attacks by militant Islamists from neighbouring Somalia, he said.
Police believe it will be easier to spot militants in vehicles with untinted windows, says the BBC’s Robert Kiptoo in the capital, Nairobi.
Explosions on two buses in the city killed three people and wounded more than 80 earlier this month. The government believes the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group was behind the attacks.
Our correspondent says previous appeals by the authorities that coaches and minibus taxis – known as matatus – should not have tinted windows were ignored.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Every year, thousands flee their country to escape war, drought or poverty. In 1996 in Somalia, Africa Reporter Jamal Osman was one of them. Here, he retraces his steps and meets those trying it now.”
On the refugee road: my story
14 May- Source: Channel 4-747 Words
It was in 1996. I was a teenager. At that point, the Somalia war had been raging for several years. Fleeing from one place to another and going back and forth was the norm. By then, I had been to most of the neighbouring countries. But this time, my plan was to go as far as I could and away from the conflict. Destination: South Africa.
At a Kenyan border town, I boarded a bus to Nairobi. Most of the passengers were Somalis. So I was in some sort of a familiar zone – yet I was on my own. A few days prior to that, I had said goodbye to my family. They had to reluctantly accept my decision. It was made out of desperation, a necessity and a desire for a better life.
I was fleeing the Somalia war, which since then has taken many twists and turns and is still going on. It has caused death and destruction to millions of innocent people. I happened to be one of those affected by the conflict, one of many confused by what was going on.
I don’t know who to blame for our suffering: is it the late Siyad Barre regime? Is it the Somali clan system which has divided us? Is it the warlords who chased us from our homes? Is it the neighbouring countries like Ethiopia who funded and armed the clan militias that over threw the government and are still meddling in Somali politics? Is it the British, who colonised us and divided our families into different entities and countries? Is it the Americans, who, for whatever reason, seem to support anyone prepared to destabilise Somalia? I blame all of the above.
“If the KDF made a phased withdrawal from Amisom, so that another country could take over in Jubaland, it would restore the confidence of the Somali government. It would also free up Kenya troops to secure the border against al Shabaab.”
Kenya should consider pulling out of Somalia
14 May- Source: Star-Kenya-203 Words
LAST month the Somalia ambassador to Nairobi, Mohamed Ali Nur, was recalled to Mogadishu. The Star later exclusively reported that the appointment of a Kenyan consul in Kismayu had upset Somalia. It looked like Kenya was joining a carve-up of Somalia.
The Somalia government was also unhappy that Kenya sent a delegation to Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, to discuss opening a consulate there.
Now Nur has returned to Nairobi saying that Kenya apologised and agreed to only open consulates with the approval of the Somalia government.
The KDF invaded southern Somalia in September 2012 and eventually captured Kismayu with the help of the Ras Kamboni militia.
The Kenyan incursion was eventually legitimised by absorption into Amisom but many Somalis still believe that Kenya wants to annex Jubaland.
“To the West, the famine was a moral imperative. To some Somalis, it was a business opportunity. Somalia is too dangerous for aid workers to set up their own camps. So entrepreneurs like Jimali could set up private camps and stock them with people. She could go to villages affected by famine and say — come with me, I got some land. Sometimes she could purchase the people from other camp owners.”
In Somalia, Collecting People For Profit
13 May- Source: NPR Blog-2257 Words
Last year I took a drive through the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia, in a bulletproof SUV. My seatmate was Justin Brady, who at the time was working for the U.N. We were both wearing body armor — standard issue for these trips — and we were followed by a second car with more guys with guns.
Coordinating humanitarian aid can be an incredibly risky job in Somalia, where Islamist militants al Shabaab have declared open season on any Westerner or anyone accused of working with the so-called Western occupier.
And yet, Brady points out the tinted window at wooden signs, hand-painted in English. Each has the name of a camp, and someone’s phone number. Some even have bright red arrows, as if to say: Hey aid workers, bring your food here! We stop our small convoy by one sign, “Najib Camp.” The camp owner, Adad Hassan Jimali, emerges to give us a tour. A stout woman in a black headscarf, she leads us past rows of tents and old latrines.
Her camp looks like one you might find in any war-torn country or see on CNN. But Jimali is not a professional aid worker. She is the widow of a powerful government official who gave her this land. She paid to have it cleared to make space for the tents. And at first it’s not clear why she’s doing this. The U.N. isn’t paying her a salary to help these people. The people are mostly too poor to pay rent.
Top tweets
@UgoUganda “You Are A True African Brother,” #MuseveniPraised For Supporting #Somalia http://news.ugo.co.ug/?p=35938 #Uganda pic.twitter.com/MNbTdyVmN0
@AbdirashidMuse Actor Barkhad Abdi joins Ellison to protect money-transfer system for Somali communityhttp://bit.ly/1ssj5X7 pic.twitter.com/z20W9SkW6R
@VvanBelle #EU #Popowski w Somali National Sec Adviser SheikhIssa at opening of Contact Group on #Piracy .Maritime Sec Key issue. pic.twitter.com/QN0XzVyzx4
@mukhtaryare Al-Shabaab’s new recruitment video features Somali-American militants urging youth in the diaspora to join the jihad. pic.twitter.com/oVBXG1cHd4
@WaaberiProject #Somali boys line up for football training in#Mogadishu pic.twitter.com/ZEPDjvsoYN
Image of the day
Injured victims in #Baidoa car bomb were brought into #Mogadishu for medical treatment. Photo: @Tuuryare10