December 24, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Federal parliament approves the newly appointed Somali premier

24 Dec – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 80 Words

The Federal Parliament of Somalia has unanimously approved Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke as the Somali prime minister. Parliamentary speaker, Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari, announced the results after voting was completed. “Out of 224 MPs in attendance, 218 MPs voted in favour of the premier, no members rejected nor abstained from the exercise,” he said. The prime minister is will be sworn in, and is expected to give his first speech as premier before the parliament.

Key Headlines

Federal parliament approves the newly appointed Somali premier (Radio Goobjoog)
Somali jihadist killed fighting for ISIS in Syria’s Kobani town (Somali Current)
Heavy clashes between Puntland and Galmudug forces embarks in Mudug region (Radio Goobjoog)
Military tribunal due to open branch in Tigaglow Bakol region (Radio RBC)
Somali women gain skills for fishing industry jobs (Sabahi Online)
IDB and the European Union discuss coordinating relief efforts in Palestine Somalia and Syria (Emirates News Agency)
Somalia Questions Deal Giving Ex-U.K. Soldiers Fish Rights (Bloomberg Businessweek)
Seeking U.S. funds Somali clan retains D.C. lawyer (Politico)
Kenya’s anti-terror law comes under intense scrutiny (BBC)

SOMALI MEDIA

Federal parliament approves the newly appointed Somali premier

24 Dec – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 80 Words

Somali jihadist killed fighting for ISIS in Syria’s Kobani town

24 Dec – Source: Somali Current – 180 Words

A Somali American jihadist who fled from Minnesota has been reported to have been killed in Syria while he was fighting for ISIS. Mohamed Abdulahi Hassan is believed to have been shot dead in fierce gunfire confrontations between ISIS and local militia in Kobani town as he was fighting alongside the group. The terror group was attempting to capture Kaboni village on Tuesday.

On August 2008 Hassan has traveled to war torn Somalia to fight for the militant group Al-shabaab according to New York Times. Reports of his death have not been independently confirmed. “My heart is in Sham, my eyes are in Aqsa and my soul is in Somalia,” Mohamed posted early this year. His twitter account was suspended several times after he joined ISIS, and officially announced a fight against the West. The deceased graduated from Roosevelt High School in Seattle when he was 17 years old. ISIS has recruited many Somalis in their latest attacks on Iraq and Syria.

Heavy clashes broke out between Puntland and Galmudug forces in Mudug region

24 Dec – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 89

Reports from Mudug region in Central Somalia state that heavy clashes broke out between Puntland and Galmudug forces in Saho locality earlier on Wednesday. At least three people from the warring sides died, and two others sustained serious injuries local residents confirmed to Goobjoog FM. Our correspondent in the region says the confrontations between the forces is due to an argument over water wells. The situation in the area is now tense, the elders and intellectuals in Saho locality and surrounding areas are making efforts to ease and contain the tensions.

Military tribunal due to open branch in Tigaglow, Bakol region

23 Dec – Source: Radio RBC – 83 Words

The Somali Military Tribunal has laid a foundation for a branch in Tigaglow district in Bakol region. Somali military court officials have arrived in the district for the first time to open a new office; numerous crimes have been recorded in the Bakol region. Somali government troops are battling Al-Shabab militants in Bakol region, and there is a thirst for a tribunal where cases between the military forces and civilians can be heard.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Somali women gain skills for fishing industry jobs

23 Dec – Source: Sabahi Online – 571 Words

Twenty women from across Somalia recently began to learn how to make fishing nets under a new vocational training programme developed by the Hibo Somali Fishing Association (HSFA). The aim of the 45-day programme, which kicked off December 10th in Mogadishu with funding from the European Union, is to teach women skills they can use to get jobs in the country’s fishing industry, said HSFA chairperson Hassan Mohamud Roble.

“Since 100% of the people who currently fish are men, we thought women should be part of those who take advantage of marine resource production,” he told Sabahi. “We have now started a trial training for 20 women who have been selected from various regions of the country.” In addition to enabling women to pursue careers in the fishing industry, this type of training could have the added effect of reducing the number of young people who engage in acts of piracy through the positive influence of their female family members, Roble told Sabahi.

IDB and the European Union discuss coordinating relief efforts in Palestine, Somalia and Syria

23 Dec – Source: Emirates News Agency – 213 Words

Chairman of the Islamic Development Bank, IDB Group, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali has said that improving living conditions in Gaza, Somalia as well as providing relief to Syrian refugees top the priorities of cooperation between the IDB and the European Union. This came during a visit of Marcus Cornaro, the Deputy Director-General of the Directorate General for Development and Cooperation of the European Commission, to the Islamic Development Bank Group headquarters in Jeddah. Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali also welcomed cooperation between the two sides to provide further assistance to the IDB least developed member countries mainly suffering from instability.

The two sides agreed on the need for joint action to provide assistance to nearly two million residents in the Gaza strip, enabling them to secure their basic rights for a decent life, especially the chance to access water and electricity. Mr. Cornaro appreciated the support provided by IDB offering relief and shelter to Somali refugees as well as displaced Syrians. He underlined that the purpose of the visit was to consult with IDB officials on the priorities of development cooperation with the EU, taking into account the important role IDB has played in supporting development in its member countries.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somalia Questions Deal Giving Ex-U.K. Soldiers Fish Rights

24 Dec – Source: Bloomberg Businessweek – 926 Words

Somalia is seeking to renegotiate an agreement that gives a company run by former British soldiers sole control over one of the world’s richest fishing grounds off the longest coastline in Africa. The deal, signed on July 25, 2013 with Mauritius-registered Somalia Fishguard Ltd., provided the company with an “extremely high” share of the revenue compared with similar agreements and failed to detail its investment commitments, Somalia Fisheries Minister Mohamed Olow Barow, said in a Nov. 21 letter obtained by Bloomberg. Barow also questioned the length of the agreement. The fishing contract adds to concern from United Nations investigators that the country is entering agreements that are largely unscrutinized or lack a competitive bidding process. “The Somalia Fishguard deal is just one of several major contracts awarded by the Somali federal government without a transparent tender process and other forms of public scrutiny,” Matt Bryden, director of Nairobi-based Sahan Research institute, said in an interview on Dec. 19.

The Somalia government announced a few months ago it would be reviewing previously signed contracts to “ensure the interests of all parties is protected,” spokesman Ridwaan Haji said in an e-mailed response to questions yesterday. Haji said he was unable to comment directly on the Fishguard agreement. At least two e-mails and five phone calls to Barow seeking comment went unanswered. The letter was addressed to Fishguard’s Chief Executive Officer, Simon Falkner, who said the contract remains valid, in an e-mailed reply to questions. The company will wait for the selection of a new cabinet following the appointment of Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke as prime minister this month, before commenting further, Falkner said.

Seeking U.S. funds, Somali clan retains D.C. lawyer

23 Dec – Source: Politico.com – 407 Words

A Somali clan has found its man in Washington — in hopes of securing U.S. funds. The Habr Gidr clan suffered significant civilian losses during a U.S. military operation in the Somali capital of Mogadishu in July 1993 — a precursor to the U.S. troops’ battle in that city that was detailed in the “Black Hawk Down” book and movie. Clan members recently retained D.C. lawyer Steven Schneebaum, who told POLITICO that they want to reset relations with the American government and gain monetary support for their people in the impoverished African nation.

Schneebaum shunned the word “reparations” in describing the clan’s desire for U.S. financial backing, saying that bolstering this clan is a wise investment. “These are people who have shown their proper behavior, shown their commitment to things that are American values,” he said. “They have suffered a great deal and would be worthy of whatever civil society restorations the U.S … may be offering in Somalia. We’re not talking about compensation for injury…We’re not sort of trying to repair his image, restore him to some important place in the pantheon,” Schneebaum said of Aidid, “but simply to say, then was then, now is now.”

Kenya’s anti-terror law comes under intense scrutiny

23 Dec – BBC News – 314 Words

It asked the High Court to annul the law, saying it risked turning Kenya into a dictatorship. The court refused to immediately suspend the legislation, but asked both sides to return to court on Wednesday. The government says its security and intelligence agencies need more powers to tackle the Somali militant Islamists threatening Kenya’s security. In the past month, al-Shabab, a militant group linked to al-Qaeda, has killed 64 people in two attacks in Kenya’s north-eastern region of Mandera.

Kenya’s parliament passed the law during a chaotic session on Thursday, which saw brawls between opposition and governing coalition MPs. James Orengo, a lawyer for the opposition Coalition for the Restoration of Democracy (Cord) party, told the court the legislation had more than 10 clauses which violated the basic liberties of Kenyans, and was “inconsistent” with the constitution.

The BBC’s Abdullahi Abdi in Nairobi says the case is likely to go to a full hearing after Judge Isaac Lenaola ordered both opposition and government representatives to appear before him on Wednesday. President Uhuru Kenyatta has approved the law, but it needs to be formally published before it comes into force, he says. Al-Shabab is fighting to create an Islamic state in Somalia, but it has been increasingly targeting neighbouring Kenya. The militants are demanding the withdrawal of Kenyan troops in Somalia.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“It was a good programme of football today and it marks peace and prosperity in the community…There was interaction between AMISOM Police and the youth.There will be more interactions in future and this will not be the last time. We are different from other Mogadishu districts because the AMISOM base is within Wadajir and we have great interactions with police and the military.”

AMISOM Police using sports to prevent crime

24 Dec – Source: AMISOM – Video – 3:41 Minutes

AMISOM Police have visited Wadajir district within Mogadishu and donated 20 soccer balls to 16 football teams there. On Tuesday, officials from the AMISOM Police Unit led by Isidore Kirukiye, the Acting AMISOM Police Commissioner , encouraged Somali youths to participate in sports as one of the ways to avoid being lured into criminal activities.

“In the port city of Bosaso, the frankincense trade is becoming a source of employment for more and more people, but traders are worried that in Somalia they are not getting a fair deal on the growing market…can frankincense be the key to a brighter, more prosperous future for the people deep in the remote Puntland?”

Three wise pirates? Today’s frankincense trade

23 Dec – Source: Channel 4 News – Video – 5:34 Minutes

Almost 90 per cent of the age-old precious resin frankincense comes from rare trees in the hills of war-ravaged Somalia. But pirates are threatening to cut off local traders from their profits.

“The Minnesota resident’s songs of peace made her wildly popular in her native Somalia, but a threat to those fomenting chaos there. Elected to Somalia’s parliament, she became a target.”

Saado Ali Warsame, 58: Daring voice of hope for Somalia

Dec 23 – Source: Star Tribune – 290 Words

Tears glisten in Horiyo Kasim’s eyes as she watches one of her mother’s music videos. In “Aan Wada Tashano,” Saado Ali Warsame’s voice is resonant, rhythmic and strong as she challenges the country’s leaders to turn against greed and violence. For decades, she composed and sang such songs. When civil war dispersed Somalis across the globe, her music bound them together, earning praise and admiration. “She had love songs, happy songs,” said her 33-year-old daughter. “But I was always a fan of her courage.”

Kasim and her brother, Harbi Hussein, tried to talk their mother out of returning to Somalia to serve in parliament. It was too dangerous. She was an American citizen. She could continue to make a difference with her travels to Sweden, Qatar and South Africa. But her mother, who once had a $2 million bounty on her head and who was jailed while seven months pregnant with Kasim, had other ideas. “She said, ‘You’re going to die one day, it’s going to happen the way it was destined to. Maybe I can be heard now.’ ”

Top tweets

@abdiegeh: It’s a unanimous Yes, Mr. Umar Abdirashid Sharmake is officially the new PM. #Somalia

‏@Le_anah: Congrats to HE Omar Abdirashid, the new PM of#Somalia. Hopefully the country can wake up from paralysis and get back to normality.

‏@engyarisow: The huge progress that #Somalia is making is visible. All regions are also making progress. Photos are in…http://fb.me/2EIdMgR7Z

‏@Goobjoognews: #Somalia frankincense traders in Bosaso faults war in Syria and Iraq where the product is marketed for the reduced export.

@farahblue: #Somalia In just 2 years we had 3 PMs, 60 ministers, 4 police commissioners, 4 intelligence chiefs and 3 chief of staffs. Insanity.

@UNLazzarini: @FAOnews, @WHO & @UNICEF join forces in fight against polio, measles & livestock diseaseshttp://uni.cf/1wTuUKr pic.twitter.com/MTtJDGGYUw

@HarunMaruf: #Somalia:Govt to hold a national conf on “Integration of the Armed Forces” next month in Mogadishu 2 create common policy b/w Govt & Regions

‏@Abdikarim_Abdi3: A Somali Bantu elder in #Barawe; a leader among others in his local community. #Somalia pic.twitter.com/gpFXJAMw5s

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Image of the day

“I miss my family, but I am sacrificing my Christmas to contribute to Somalia. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.” Edwin Ameh, AMISOM Police Force, Nigeria. Photo: AMISOM