December 29, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Somali president to meet his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo
29 Dec – Radio Goobjoog – 192 Words
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud arrived in Cairo after receiving an official invitation from his counterpart Egyptian president Abdifatah Al-Sisi. On touching down at Cairo airport, President Hassan and his delegation received a warm welcome from the Egyptian Minister for Research and Higher Studies, Abu Nsri, the Ambassador of Somalia to Egypt, Abdullahi Hassan, and other officials.
President Hassan is expected to take a separate closed door meeting with Egyptian president Gen. Abdifatah Al-Sisi and Secretary General of the Arab League, Nabil Al-Arabion Monday. His talks with Gen. Al-Sisi will focus on strengthening the bilateral relations between the two nations, and persuading Egypt to double its commitment to take part in the rebuilding of Somalia, which is regaining stability after more than two decades of civil strife.
President Hassan is accompanied by key out-going government ministers including ministers for foreign affairs, justice and finance. This is the Somali president’s second official visit to Egypt within one year; earlier in June, President Hassan attended Egyptian president Abdul Fatah Al-Sisi’s inauguration ceremony.
Key Headlines
- Somali president to meet his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo (Radio Goobjoog)
- Somali university graduates in Uganda urged to return home (Radio Bar-Kulan)
- Himan and Heb trains more forces to tighten the security of Adado (Radio Goobjoog)
- 12 Al Shabaab militants killed in Galgala assault (Garowe Online)
- Puntland government admits freeing prisoners (Garowe Online)
- Mogadishu mayor welcomes new PM in style (Al-Shaid.net)
- Body of missing Garissa cleric found in Embu (Daily Nation)
- Amisom progresses despite PM changes (The East African)
- Murky arms traffic plagues Somalia: U.N. probe shows complexity of fight against extremists (WSJ)
- Seven awful conflicts that were under-reported in 2014 (Washington Post)
- Autistic children can pose barrier to housing (Star Tribune)
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali president to meet his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo
29 Dec – Radio Goobjoog – 192 Words
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud arrived in Cairo after receiving an official invitation from his counterpart Egyptian president Abdifatah Al-Sisi. On touching down at Cairo airport, President Hassan and his delegation received a warm welcome from the Egyptian Minister for Research and Higher Studies, Abu Nsri, the Ambassador of Somalia to Egypt, Abdullahi Hassan, and other officials.
President Hassan is expected to take a separate closed door meeting with Egyptian president Gen. Abdifatah Al-Sisi and Secretary General of the Arab League, Nabil Al-Arabi on Monday. His talks with Gen. Al-Sisi will focus on strengthening the bilateral relations between the two nations, and persuading Egypt to double its commitment to take part in the rebuilding of Somalia, which is regaining stability after more than two decades of civil strife.
President Hassan is accompanied by key out-going government ministers including ministers for foreign affairs, justice and finance. This is the Somali president’s second official visit to Egypt within one year; earlier in June, President Hassan attended Egyptian president Abdul Fatah Al-Sisi’s inauguration ceremony.
Somali university graduates in Uganda urged to return home
29 Dec – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 141 Words
More than 164 Somali students who graduated from universities in Kampala, Uganda have been advised to go back home and take part in the rebuilding the nation. The Somali diaspora community in Uganda organized an event to commemorate the education achievement of the students who attained various faculties. Deka Abdulkadir, former Somali government official who was present at the event has stressed the need of the young educated population to take part in the reconstruction of the recuperating war torn state.
Some of the students who also spoke to the media have promised to go back home and take part in the rebuilding of their nation. Since the collapse of the central government of Somalia in 1991, hundreds of Somali students got the opportunity to study outside their country. Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia are key countries that offer scholarship for Somali students.
Himan and Heb trains more forces to tighten the security of Adado
29 Dec – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 131 Words
The security of Adado district, the administrative capital of Himan and Heb has been strongly fortified as officials confirm. Adado is due to host the central state formation conference that is launching soon. Spokesman of the administration, Areys Mohamed Haji, told Goobjoog FM that the administration is ready to hold the conference, adding that their priority is to beef up security in the region, particularly in Adado district.
He noted that the administration has trained more forces to tighten the security of the district and surrounding areas. The delegates will stay in the town during the state formation conference.“It is our responsibility to strengthen the security of the region first so as to hold the conference smoothly” the spokesman said.
12 Al Shabaab militants killed in Galgala assault
28 Dec – Source: Garowe Online – 138 Words
According to security officials, Puntland Defence Forces (PDFs) killed 12 Al Shabaab militants in a deadly assault on an Al Shabaab base in the rugged terrain of Galgala on Saturday, Garowe Online reports. The pre-emptive attack occurred in Madashon, 23km west of Galgala. Puntland army troops are in full control of the areas where the raids took place, with credible sources disclosing that Al Shabaab remnants fled from the second largest hideout in the extremely volatile vicinity. As part of clean-up operation aimed at cleansing hotbeds of terrorists, officials say the raids will continue until stability prevails. The United States appears to be pressuring President Ali’s administration to fend off growing terror threats. On December 12, remote-detonated roadside Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) left three Puntland soldiers dead and four others wounded.
Puntland government admits freeing prisoners
28 Dec – Garowe Online – 184 Words
The Puntland government, in northern Somalia, has admitted it released an undisclosed number of inmates from a prison amidst concerns over the freeing of two convicted Al Shabaab members, Garowe Online reports. Speaking in an annual performance review conference at health ministry headquarters in the state capital of Garowe on Sunday, Puntland’s Minister for Justice, Ismael Mohamed Warsame, revealed that prisoners held at security checkpoints in the southern part of Garowe have been set free.
“The prisoners being held at Garowe security checkpoint were all released,” said Warsame. Prison facilities in Puntland freed many Al Shabaab suspects according to a confidential report by United Nations Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea in early October 2014. The justice minister insisted that after interrogations, the government freed suspects.
On the substandard living conditions, Warsame noted that the recently-constructed Gardo and Garowe prisons relieved the overcrowding police custodies of burden. On December 15, insiders told Garowe Online that convicted Al Shabaab members-Abdirizak Hussein Tahlil (Ilka Ase) and Mohamed Nuh Adan (Abu Hafsa)-were freed in exchange for three kidnapped civilians in Galkayo.
Mogadishu mayor welcomes new PM in style
Dec 28 – Source: Al-Shaid.net – 184 Words
Mogadishu city local administration organized a ceremony to welcome the new Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke on Saturday night. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the new PM, and several members of parliament attended the ceremony which was held the newly opened building of the administration in Hiliwa district.“Our administration welcomes the newly appointed PM. I think his cabinet members will settle the different districts in the region, so to take part securing the city,” said Mogadishu mayor and Banadir region administration governor, Hassan Mohamed Hussein (Mungab) at the ceremony.
Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke has thanked the Mogadishu local authority for the event which was the first to be dedicated for him since his inauguration in mid-December.The prime minister promised to form an inclusive government that will improve security and the lives of the people. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud who spoke at the event has also thanked the local authority for its support of PM Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke. The new PM is expected to form a cabinet in the next few weeks.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Body of missing Garissa cleric found in Embu
28 Dec – Source: Daily Nation – 277 Words
Tension and anxiety remained high in Garissa town Sunday as the body of a missing cleric was found in Embu County. The cleric cum business man, Mr Mohamed Ali Kheir alia sheikh Dawara was allegedly handcuffed and kidnapped on Thursday by unknown people as he walked along posta road in Garissa town. According to his brother Yussuf Ali Kheir the deceased was been searched since his disappearance noting that they have gone to all police station in the county.
“We recorded statement with the police over the disappearance of the sheikh perhaps he might be arrested and being held in police custody,” he said. Mr Kheir said after a long search they were informed that the body was found at water pond in Embu County and taken to a mortuary in the same town. “The body of my brother who was missing since December 25th and has been found at water point in Embu, we are now making arrangements to bring the body to the Garissa town for burial,” he told the nation.co.ke on phone from Embu.
Amisom progresses despite PM changes
27 Dec – Source: The East African – 415 Words
Despite African peacekeepers’ successes in Somalia in 2014 — routing Al Shabaab from their stronghold and starving them of their sources of revenue — the unending changing of prime minsters is a major worry. Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke replaced Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed as the prime minister on December 17, leaving analysts wondering whether he will keep to the programme of national political dialogue, a new constitution and elections in 2016.
Mr Sharmake has received overwhelming support across the board, with the semi-autonomous region of Puntland describing him as the most qualified in the current circumstances. The new prime minster has a huge task ahead of him, including bringing cohesion to the government, addressing security, completing the constitution and creating federal state administrations ahead of the 2016 elections.
Parliament had earlier voted out Mr Ahmed because of differences with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud over the composition of the government. However, 2014 has been a good year for Amisom. In October, it recaptured Barawe, the last remaining port under Al Shabaab, thereby starving the militants of the only remaining source of revenue.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Seven awful conflicts that were under-reported in 2014
29 Dec – Source: Washington Post – 833 Words
Al-Shabaab, an Islamist group that’s also connected to al-Qaeda, had appeared in retreat in recent years, pushed back by U.S. counter-terror operations as well as an African Union peacekeeping operation in Somalia, the semi-lawless country where the extremists are based. But its attacks have not stopped. In 2014, suspected al-Shabaab fighters carried out a series of terror strikes in neighboring Kenya, including the slaughter of non-Muslims on a bus in November and at a quarry site a few weeks later. The violence has led to heavy-handed reprisals by the Kenyan government and fears that religious and ethnic tensions may deepen in the East African nation.
Murky arms traffic plagues Somalia: U.N. probe shows complexity of fight against extremists
29 Dec – Wall Street Journal – 1,351 Words
Since leaving Somalia in the 1990s, Musa Haji Mohamed Ganjab has been a landlord and entrepreneur and served as a representative of the Somali government, which the U.S. is backing to fight the jihadist group al-Shabaab. He also has ordered that arms intended for Somalia’s government be delivered instead to an al-Shabaab commander, a confidential United Nations report alleges. This is just one of the discussions, the report says, that Mr. Ganjab has had about illegally arming groups in Somalia, including the government.
The report shows the complexity of the struggle against extremism in Somalia, a country that is a U.S. national-security concern because of its local al Qaeda-linked group. Al-Shabaab recently launched two attacks just across the border in Kenya in which it slaughtered all non-Muslims, including killing 36 at a quarry-worker camp early this month and more than two dozen in an attack on a bus in November. On Christmas Day, it attacked an African Union base in Mogadishu, killing three soldiers.
President Barack Obama has cited America’s antiterrorism approach in Somalia as an example of how to battle Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, a strategy combining U.S. air power with supporting local ground forces. The confidential U.N. report—now in the hands of the Security Council, and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal—shows how murky relationships among politicians, clans and militia leaders can complicate the effort. For example, South African security officials were involved in some of the discussions Mr. Ganjab had about arming Somali factions, according to U.N. documents and people familiar with the matter.
Autistic children can pose barrier to housing
28 Dec – Source: Star Tribune – 965 Words
Marian Ahmed’s new Savage home is sparsely furnished but immaculate, with a stone fireplace and back-yard views of a pond where her four kids can watch the Canada Geese land while they eat their cereal. The amenities are nice, Ahmed said, but they aren’t the reason she took on a mortgage she can barely afford. What’s essential for Ahmed is the basement space that allows Anas Hassan, her 4-year-old autistic son, to rock in a specially built suspended swing that keeps him calm, along with the thick walls that allow her other children to rest undisturbed when Anas wakes up screaming in the night. Most important, Ahmed has peace of mind, knowing she no longer risks eviction from a frustrated landlord after one too many complaints from the neighbors.
“I didn’t want to buy a house, I didn’t want the headache,” the 34-year-old said from the couch that is one of the home’s few pieces of furniture, as Anas squirmed on her lap. “I could rent a townhouse or a three-bedroom apartment and life would be easier. But nobody’s going to rent to us. It’s not only me, it’s about other families.” Across Minnesota, families with children who have autism or other disabilities struggle to stay in rental homes in the face of disruptions or damage caused by the kids.
The situation is particularly acute in the Somali community, where one in 32 children between ages 7 and 9 is on the autism spectrum, according to a University of Minnesota study. That compares to 1 in 48 for children of that age in the overall population. The Minnesota Legislature tried in 2013 to help alleviate the problem by creating a $500,000 fund aimed at providing housing for families like Ahmed’s. But bureaucratic glitches have kept the money in limbo, with the families unable to access it.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“He plays [an] African warlord…hiding on the island here, and somebody discovers that he’s here. And our guys end up confronting him. It’s a big, big episode. We were so lucky to get him, and we wrote it with him in mind.”
‘Captain Phillips’ star Barkhad Abdi heads to ‘Hawaii Five-0’
28 Dec – Source: Entertainment Weekly – 178 Words
Captain Phillips star Barkhad Abdi has landed a guest-starring role on Hawaii Five-0. The Oscar-nominated actor will play Roko Contee, a Congolese warlord who, at one time, was the most wanted man in the world. Although the character was allegedly killed during a 2011 bombing by the Zaire Air Force, the Five-0 team discovers that the rumors of his death were greatly exaggerated: Roko has been working as a taxi driver hiding in plain sight.
“While these are huge economic challenges, there are abundance of economic opportunities . The overall security situation is improving…Somalia has abundance natural resources that are in high demand all over the world. There is growing demand for Somali livestock and farm products in the growing economies of the Middle East.”
The future of Somali economic growth 2015
25 Dec – Source: Hiiraan Online – 965 Words
Somalia is a country that is coming out of two decades of civil war. The Somali economic challenges are many and addressing them will not happen overnight . Security situation is improving but still volatile. The governance is fragile and lacks the capacity to carry out basic functions of governing in providing security and economic opportunity. Credible public revenue “ taxation” systems is not fully functioning. Without taxation, creating jobs, reconstruction of infrastructure, health and education is very challenging.
The political leadership is constantly engaged in a petty political squabbles that squander valuable time and resources. The majority of the citizens are very poor with not much money to spend outside of their daily necessities such as food, water and shelter. Government grand vision in infrastructure development programs to create jobs and alleviate poverty is very limited. Institutionalized corruption in the government, the private sector and Non-Governmental organizations is a major problem hindering economic development.
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@DalsanFM_SOM: Somali president arrives in Egypt for two-day official visit #Somalia
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@margaretwsj: #Somalia battles #shabaab, but greed, arms smuggling get in the way http://www.wsj.com/articles/
@warscapes: #MostRead LITERATURE: Proust in #Somalia by@hgsantur http://bit.ly/1BiibBH #warscapes2014
@EthioEmbassyUK In case you missed it, the latest#AWeekintheHorn is out – http://goo.gl/wBelbD #Ethiopia#Somalia #Sudan #SSudan
@Abdihukun: #Somalia‘s President Hassan Sheikh is in Egypt meeting with Sisi, @TheVillaSomalia ask Sisi to release@AlJazeera journalists. #FreeAJStaff
@deeqtaako #ahmed #fiqi to reach #Dhuusamareeb#Galgadud for Elections #Campaign #Somalia
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Image of the day
Interim South West Administration President Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan arriving in Kismayo, Somalia for the first time since his election as President of ISWA, on December 27, 2014.
Photo: AMISOM – Awil Abukar