November 4, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Residents in Barawe receive the first food aid
04 Nov- Source: Radio Mogadishu/Radio RBC – 168 words
Residents in Barawe town, the latest stronghold taken from Al Shabab by the Somalia National Army and the AMISOM forces, received the first food aid delivered by the Federal Government of Somalia.
The Ministry of Interior & Federal Affairs delivered food aid, which included large quantities of rice and flour, to Barawe district on 28 October 2014. Barawe was one of the areas most recently recovered from Al-Shabaab control. Barawe residents had previously felt extreme hardship under the rule of the terror group.
Hassan Mohamed Abukar of the Somali National Army (SNA), stated that SNA had escorted the food aid into the town without incident, whereas Al-Shabaab had previously blocked all aid convoys from reaching the area.
“The food aid is the beginning of more assistance to the area and the Federal Government is committed to reaching out to all the residents of Lower Shabelle so that people can feel the peace dividend.” He said.
Key Headlines
- Somalia wants direct flights from Mogadishu to Nairobi (Horseed Media /Radio Mogadishu)
- Residents in Barawe receive the first food aid (Radio Mogadishu/Radio RBC)
- Gedo region remain the most hard hit by droughts in Somalia (Radio Dalsan)
- Somaliland president rejects invitation to attend the Copenhagen Conference from the Federal Government of Somalia (Radio RBC)
- Armed men with knives kill woman in Mogadishu (Mareeg Media/Gaafo.com)
- Diarrhoea outbreak in IDP camps (Radio Goobjoog)
- Sailors freed by Somali pirates land in Mumbai (Radio Goobjoog)
- Juba security forces take new areas from Al Shabaab (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Parliamentary social service committee rebuffs UNFPA’s population estimation survey (Radio Goobjoog)
- Puntland President urges federal government heads to accept political unity (Radio Danan)
- Videos promoting terrorism lands school bus driver in court (Daily Nation)
- Somaliland rights centre calls for journalists’ release (Sabahi Online)
- AU mulls size composition of projected standby force (Voice of America)
- Somali pirates face new forces as Drum Cussac sells to Ambrey Risk (The Telegraph)
SOMALI MEDIA
Somalia wants direct flights from Mogadishu to Nairobi
04 Nov – Source: Horseed Media /Radio Mogadishu – 169 words
Somalia’s minister of Transportation and Public works met his Kenyan counterpart Michael Kamau to discuss areas of cooperation. The meeting was held in the Kenya ministry of Transport and Infrastructure headquarters in Nairobi on Monday with both ministers discussing how to enhance cooperation.
Among issues talked about was planes that come from Somalia and stop in Wajir, a tiny airport in the remote northern Kenya town. Somalis have continuously complained about the ordeal they encounter when flying to Nairobi. Every plane that flies from Somalia has to land at Wajir for security reasons. Besides that, Somalis often complain about being discriminated and abused by the Kenyan immigration officers.
“Most of them end up paying bribes to the officials at the airport in order to continue with their journey to their final destination. We want direct flights from Mogadishu to Nairobi without stopping at Wajir,’’ the Somali minister told reporters after the meeting. Both ministers agreed to form a joint committee to investigate on the complaints from the ethnic Somalis within a month.
Residents in Barawe receive the first food aid
04 Nov- Source: Radio Mogadishu/Radio RBC – 168 words
Residents in Barawe town, the latest stronghold taken from Al Shabab by the Somalia National Army and the AMISOM forces, received the first food aid delivered by the Federal Government of Somalia.
The Ministry of Interior & Federal Affairs delivered food aid, which included large quantities of rice and flour, to Barawe district on 28 October 2014. Barawe was one of the areas most recently recovered from Al-Shabaab control. Barawe residents had previously felt extreme hardship under the rule of the terror group.
Hassan Mohamed Abukar of the Somali National Army (SNA), stated that SNA had escorted the food aid into the town without incident, whereas Al-Shabaab had previously blocked all aid convoys from reaching the area.
“The food aid is the beginning of more assistance to the area and the Federal Government is committed to reaching out to all the residents of Lower Shabelle so that people can feel the peace dividend.” He said.
Gedo region remain to be the most hard hit of droughts in Somalia
04 Nov – Source: Radio Dalsan – 164 words
Humanitarian partners are scaling up response to cover the needs of affected people in drought-affected regions in Somalia.
Gedo region has been hard hit with 70 per cent of its population affected by drought conditions according to authorities and humanitarian partners. An estimated 1,500 people have been displaced from rural to urban areas within Gedo due to the drought.
About 77,000 people have received emergency water through water trucking in Baardheere, Ceel Waaq, Doolow and Luuq distri-cts in Gedo region, while another 78,000 people will receive similar support in October in Buur Dhuubo and Garbahaarey. Over 47,000 people were provided with food in September and 130,000 people have benefitted from cash-for-work activities.
The military offensive by the Somali National Armed Forces and the African Union Mission in Somalia to recover Al Shabaab controlled areas in southern and central Somalia continues. More than 7,000 people have fled their homes in August and September due to the military offensive, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).
Somaliland president rejects invitation from the Federal Government of Somalia
to attend the Copenhagen Conference
04 Nov – Source: Radio RBC – 213 words
The President of self-declared autonomous state of Somaliland Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo has said his region rejected to accept an invitation from the Federal Government of Somalia to attend to the Copenhagen Conference on Somalia in Mid of November.
President Ahmed Silanyo has mentioned that he wrote officially to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the President of Somalia informing him that Somaliland will not take part in the process of the Copengahen Conference.
“I said my views in the Copenhagen Conference is all about implementing the New Deal project for Somalia, so there is no place open for Somaliland.” he said during his address in a meeting with the international donors in Hargeisa on Monday.
Silanyo reiterated that his region is separate entity from Somalia despite the fact that no other country has officially recognized it.
“We are independent republic from Somalia and every conference about Somalia’s politics is not something we care.” Silanyo added. The Federal Government of Somalia, which will co-chair the conference in Copenhagen has started to send invitation letters to the regional administrations within the country including Somaliland.
The Copenhagen Conference, which is the second phase of the New Deal Compact is part of the coordination international efforts to seek Somalia’s priorities are properly funded with the consultations of its national stakeholders.
Armed men with knives kill a woman in Mogadishu
04 Nov – Source: Mareeg Media/Gaafo.com – 119 words
Three men armed with knives have killed a woman in Mogadishu last night eyewitnesses told Mareeg Media. The motive for the murder is not yet identified by the police. Hodon Yusuf was killed in front of her home in Somali capital Mogadishu.
One of the residents in the area told the media, that the murdered woman left 2 children, but she was divorcee. Somali security forces made visit to the scene of crime and collected the body. No one has been arrested in connection with death of the Hodon.
The murder of this woman has worried local people and it coincided with killing two female teachers last Sunday.
Diarrhoea outbreak in IDP camps
04 Nov – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 147 words
The administration of Hiiran region in Central Somalia reports an outbreak of diarrhoea in an IDP camp for families newly displaced by the floods of river Shabelle.
Over 10,000 families displaced by the floods reached Eel-Jaale locality in the outskirts of Beledweyne. They face dire humanitarian conditions as they are no access to clean water, medicine and other basics, senior official of Hiiraan administration confirmed to Goobjoog FM.
The secretary of Hiiraan region Salat Hassan Abdi after supervising the various parts of the IDPs in Eel-Jaale said the families are in desperate conditions adding they have not received aid since they fled their houses.
Mr. Salat added that if emergency aid is not delivered to the families the situation might worsen and the cases of diarrhoea might increase. He urged the federal government of Somalia, local and international humanitarian aid agencies to deliver emergency support to the IDPs.
Sailors freed by Somali pirates land in Mumbai
04 Nov – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 315 Words
After a nine-hour flight from Mombasa, the seven Indian sailors who were held captive by Somali pirates for four years and set free on October 30 landed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at 2am on Monday.
Two of the sailors—Bahadur Singh and Manjeet Singh—are from the city while two others—George Joseph and Unnikrishnan Bhaskaran— are from Kerala. The remaining three, Bhim Sen Singh, Daniston Littan and Sohan Singh, are from Punjab, Tamil Nadu and UP respectively. The sailors, who are suffering from trauma and several other health issues, have checked into a suburban hotel.
The crew on Monday was sent for medical examinations and counselling sessions before reunions with families at the hotel. The reunion was organized by the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme (MPHRP), which played a key role in getting the crew back. “The sailors were extremely weak when we got their custody on October 30. They were traumatized, had lost weight and were suffering from skin infections. They lived in the jungle under challenging weather conditions (extreme heat during daytime and very cold at night),” MPHRP regional director (south Asia) Chirag Bahri.
“The sailors said that when the pirated would run out of engine oil or other amenities, they would get angry and fire from near their ears. They were provided food occasionally, just enough to live. The water which they were given to drink was harvested rainwater, usually contaminated by wild creatures causing infections,” said Bahri.
It is too early to say if they would resume work in the merchant navy, he said. “We, along with director general of shipping, the Seafarers Union and several other agencies, have taken care of their families too. The crew will undergo some more tests and is under government care,” said a source.
Juba security forces take new areas from al Shabaab
03 Nov – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 104 Words
The security forces of the interim regional state of Jubaland have pushed Al Shabaab militant group from new areas. According to Col. Mursal Gedi, Juba land security forces have captured Barsanguni,Koban and Wirkoy in lower Juba.
Col. Mursal has told Bar-Kulan they killed three Al Shabaab militants and captured arms from the group during the operation to seize the areas. He said they will continue to pursue the group until they are cleared out of the remaining areas under their control. The operation was jointly conducted by Juba land forces backed by Kenyan military who are part of AMISOM troops in the country.
Parliamentary social service committee rebuffs UNFPA’s population estimation survey
03 Nov – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 193 Words
The secretary general of parliamentary committee of social services Abdullahi Omar Abshir described 2014 population estimation survey conducted by UNFPA recently as underestimated figure, mistaken and far from truth.
The MP, Mr. Abshirrow said Somali people are currently more than the estimated number of 12,316,985 people.
Mr. Abshirrow stated that no accurate population estimation survey can be collected in the country due to challenges like security and lack of trained personnel. The MP said the statistics made by the agency lacks accuracy as they used aerial survey and mobiles instead of using head counts.
He stated that the committee had full information about the study but they are shocked by the final results issued by UN. The last population census was done in 1985/86, but no data was released. Only a few data were released from the earlier census conducted in 1975.
A settlement survey was done by United Nations Development Program back in 2005/06, but the Somali administration came out against it, because they felt that their population had been underestimated. Nevertheless, those data has been used as a framework for designing surveys until now according to UNFPA Somalia.
Puntland President urges federal government heads to accept political unity
03 Nov – Source: Radio Danan – 138 Words
Puntland president Abdi Weli Mohamed Ali Gaas has expressed deep concern over the political rifts between the Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his PM Abdi Sheikh Ahmed, which emerged after the PM reshuffled his cabinet ministers last month.
Addressing media shortly after he returned from Dubai, Puntland president stated that current rifts can delay the peace process made by the international partners in Somalia and called rival parts to play down this political anxiety.
“I don’t know more about the conflict but these differences can be solved attentively through Somali provisional constitution like this time political unity is necessary both sides should do their duties accurately “President Gaas has told reporters in Garowe.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Videos promoting terrorism lands school bus driver in court
04 Nov- Source: Daily Nation – 216 words
A driver working at a primary school in Nairobi has been charged with being in possession of materials that promote terrorism activities.
Asman Yahya Gichuru was charged with being in possession of two videos with the aim of instigating a terrorism act in the city.
The charge stated that he was found with the two videos saved in his Nokia mobile phone on October 19 this year at Majengo area in Nairobi County.
The prosecution objected an application for bond by the accused lawyer, Mr Mbiu Kamau.
Prosecuting counsel Mr Dancun Ondimu said terrorism incidents were on the rise in the country and police are apprehensive that the accused was planning to execute a terrorism act.
Somaliland rights centre calls for journalists’ release
03 Nov – Source: Sabahi Online – 145 Words
The Somaliland Human Rights Centre called on Saturday (November 1st) for the release of two journalists arrested last week in Gabiley.
Mohamed Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of SOMSAT was arrested Thursday and Mukhtar Nuh Ibrahim of Horn Cable Television was arrested Friday for reporting on the low turnout for a public conference organised by the Kulmiye ruling party, Somalia’s Garowe Online reported.
“The journalists were arrested while they were doing their own work. They have done nothing wrong,” said Guleid Ahmed Jama, chair of the Somaliland Human Rights Centre. The action of the Somaliland authorities violates the constitution and international human rights laws, he said.
The Somaliland Journalists Association (SOLJA) condemned the arrests and called for the immediate release of the two journalists. The journalists were arrested during the conference after they filmed crowds burning the Kulmiye party’s flag, said SOLJA deputy chairman Mohamed Abdi Urad.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
AU mulls size, composition of projected standby force
04 Nov – Voice of America – 285 Words
The African Union Commission’s Peace and Security Department is meeting in Zimbabwe as part of efforts to create an African Standby Force. The envisioned force would play a peacekeeping role of sorts, responding to political emergencies around the continent to maintain stability.
General Samaila Iliya is leading the process of ensuring that there is African Standby Force, or ASF, by the target date of April of next year. The Nigerian general noted the idea of a standby force was raised at the inception of the African Union’s predecessor, the Organization of African Union, in 1963.
“We should own and be able to deploy and be able to promote peace and security. All put together it is a mechanism, an architecture owned by Africans themselves, in case there [are] issues that border on peace and security, you can make use of that capability,” he said. At the moment, AU forces like the AMISOM mission in Somalia rely on member states voluntarily contributing security forces.
Somali pirates face new forces as Drum Cussac sells to Ambrey Risk
03 Nov – Source: The Telegraph – 280 Words
Security group Drum Cussac is to sell its business which protects ships from Somali pirates operating in the Indian Ocean to rival Ambrey Risk. Andrew Littlejohns, chief executive of Drum, said the deal – for an undisclosed amount – would allow his business to focus on longer-term maritime contracts and developing its core risk consultancy and mitigation operations.
Drum’s maritime transits arm deploys armed guards to vessels sailing through high-risk areas to protect them from pirate attacks. The business was set up in 2008, following a rise in Somalia-based piracy in the Indian Ocean from 2006 onwards.
Initially it used methods such as emitting ear-splitting soundwaves and firing high-pressure hoses at pirate ships to scare them away. But, folllowing customer requests, it eventually armed its guards to ensure its customers were better protected. The sale follows a decrease in the number of incidents of piracy off the Horn of Africa and in the Indian Ocean, from a peak of almost 200 in 2010 and 2011 to just two this year to date.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“But on a positive note, a new World Bank paper forecasts that the Horn will undergo dramatic and lasting change when oil production starts in Kenya, Uganda, and possibly Somalia and Ethiopia.”
Peace, development in Horn of Africa take centre stage
04 Nov – Source: Standard Media – 518 words
Last week, Kenya hosted a high-ranking delegation of international development partners and donors. The overriding message from the United Nations, World Bank, European Union, Islamic Development Bank Group and the African Development Bank was on the interdependence of peace and development.
To this end, some of these institutions pledged Sh716 billion to support peace and development in the Horn of Africa, which covers Kenya, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. At State House, Nairobi, President Uhuru Kenyatta said: “We are guided by the fundamental understanding that together we can achieve the positive transformation of our region.”
The money pledged is by far the largest investment dedicated towards a cause that has remained elusive on the continent; whether it bears fruit is something yet to be seen.
“Incidents of Somali piracy have been virtually non-existent since 2012, primarily due to the hardening of commercial shipping targets by embarked security teams. Other counter-measures, such as fire hoses, razor wire, and hardened crew citadels were too easily defeated by pirates, but to date, no ship with an armed security team has been successfully hijacked”
Private security drones for anti-piracy ops
03 Nov- Source:Navaldrones.com – 318 words
We’ve talked about privately-funded drones for maritime eco-activism and humanitarian operations, so it’s not surprising to see another naval mission where unmanned air vehicles have bled into the private sector. Now, at least one private security company has offered UAV services as an anti-piracy solution.
Commercial shipping companies embraced private security as a means for protecting their ships after piracy in the Indian Ocean expanded significantly in the late 2000’s, putting crews at risk and costing shippers billions in dollars in increased insurance premiums.
Incidents of Somali piracy have been virtually non-existent since 2012, primarily due to the hardening of commercial shipping targets by embarked security teams. Other counter-measures, such as fire hoses, razor wire, and hardened crew citadels were too easily defeated by pirates, but to date, no ship with an armed security team has been successfully hijacked. UAVs make a lot of sense to enhance the effectiveness of these teams. According to Advanced Tactics and Countermeasures Global, “acting as a forward scout and transmitting a live video feed of possible threats, the ATAC UAV simultaneously video documents each step from the identification to even the escalation of force, if necessary.”
“It is said so long as Somalia remains unstable, it will be hard to control the proliferation of arms into the country. This is where the military should have been involved by retrieving all the arms that have found their way into the country besides closing the borders to check on those sneaking in guns.”
Army Should Fight Bandits in Turkana
04 Nov- Source: Star- 697 words
The upsurge in incidents of banditry and cattle rustling has been greatly facilitated by readily available small arms and light weapons among pastoral communities. The killing of more than 22 police officers and three civilians in Kapedo on the Baringo-Turkana border, which comes barely two years after the killing of 40 others in Baragoi, Samburu county, is hard to understand.
Police deployed in areas prone to cattle rustling are often outnumbered by raiders, who are better acquainted with the harsh terrain and have sophisticated equipment. The sophisticated weaponry in the hands of these communities is frightening. All government efforts to disarm them have failed largely because of the region’s proximity to Uganda and Southern Sudan where even 10-year-old boys go about their duties with guns.
“I noticed there was a great need here for someone in the Somali community with an American education…Where I grew up by Atlanta, the people (had) left way earlier in the civil war. Most were wealthier, from Mogadishu and had an educational background. It was way easier for us to start lives as Americans.”
Somali refugee lives her dream in St. Cloud
03 Nov – Source: SC Times – 696 Words
It was 2005 and then 21-year-old Hani Jacobson was visiting family in St. Cloud. The Somali-American’s stay was supposed to be temporary. But after filling in for her sister at her job at the Whitney Center, fate had other ideas.
“My first impression was she was beautiful, hard-working and smart,” said her husband Nathan Jacobson. Nathan was volunteering at Whitney Center when the two met. He grew up in Blue Earth and initially came to the area to attend St. Cloud State University.
Hani also noticed an opportunity to make a difference in St. Cloud’s growing Somali community. She was born to an upper-middle class family in Mogadishu, Somalia, and escaped to refugee camps in Kenya when she was 7. It was 1991, and the Somali civil war had begun. She made it to the U.S. through the World Relief organization at age 9 in 1993 and grew up in an Atlanta suburb. Hani had also lived in Seattle and Nashville prior to coming to St. Cloud.
Top tweets
@UNSomalia IMAGES: Federal Government of #Somalia opens Consultation on the Post Transition #HumanRights Road Map:https://flic.kr/s/aHsk5SYVCc
@NaleyeAbdi High-level delegation led by #Turkishambassador to #Somalia is expected to arrive in #Puntland state capital, #Garowe. #Somalia. #Puntland.
@Dahirkulane o@SomaliaEU thank you for clarifying #EUstand to support #Somalia and respect our nations Sovereignty , Donors should not act like #Shabaab
@AbdiDiis Leaders of Somalia must put their differences aside so that somalia continues to pull together.
@El_Globalista SOMALIA: Residents in Barawe receive the first food aid http://binged.it/1DYA4pG
@Eye_on_Somalia #allAfrica Somalia Was Destroyed By Tribalism, Says President Yuweri of Uganda: [Dalsan Radio]The Uga… http://bit.ly/10nPSFo #somalia
@Eye_on_Somalia #allAfrica MP Ali Nuur Bodaaye Reacts to Allegation By UN Special Envoy to Somalia: [Dalsan Radio]A m… http://bit.ly/1oemfl0 #somalia
Image of the day
Minister of Women Affairs and Human Rights Khadijo Mohamed Dirie, a member of Galmudug,UNSOM Director for Political and Mediation Group, Annie Demirijian and Senior Human Rights Advisor to AMISOM, Dr Omar Alasow, attend the opening of the national consultation workshop on the Post Transition Human Rights Road Map for Somalia held in Mogadishu. :Photo:UNSOM