January 27, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Al-Shabaab kidnaps farmers, pastoralists for ransom

27 Jan – Source: Garowe Online/Somali current – 181 Words

Somalia’s Al Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab militants have kidnapped dozens of civilians for ransom amid severe setback on the frontline and dire economic situation in a few strongholds in central and southern Somalia, Garowe Online reports. The kidnap occurred after militants in fighting vehicles poured into Goof-Gadud village which lies some 20km from Bay regional capital of Baidoa. Local official, Ahmed Mohamed Adan said that 43 people, almost all nomads and farmers are in the hands of the Al-Shabaab terrorists. “The 43 people are being held for $500 ransom, they are innocent civilians,” noted Adan, calling for their unconditional release.

He also called on Somalia Federal Government and Southwest State administration to take part in any campaign that would set the locals free. Somali militants group lost many sources of income in intense military campaign. In late 2014 UN Security Council ordered inspection of Gulf-bound ships following a concern over the illegal charcoal trade. Al Shabaab is believed to have benefited from the illicit trade, forging partnership with profiteers and allegedly selling charcoal to Mideast markets.

Key Headlines

President Hassan: “former ministers will be accommodated in the upcoming babinet”
(Radio Goobjoog)
Al-Shabaab kidnaps farmers pastoralists for ransom (Garowe Online/Somali current)
Government forces conduct an operation in Berdale (Radio Muqdisho)
Somali parliament warns PM over ministers’ recall (Hiraan Online/Radio RBC)
Measles kills 34 in Middle Shabelle (Radio Ergo)
Progress made on construction of Bosaso airport runway (Horseed Media)
Qatar Red Crescent to extend charity mission to Somalia (The Peninsula)
Allied forces drive Al-Shabaab from Bakol villages (Sabahi Online)
Somalia shows signs of recovery and optimism after decades of turmoil (ITV)
Somalis begin 3862 km journey home from Swaziland by foot (Hiraan Online/The Observer)
MP says Somalis lead to fewer pubs in part of Bristol (ITV)

SOMALI MEDIA

President Hassan: “former ministers will be accommodated in the upcoming cabinet”

27 Jan – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 150 Words

The president of federal government of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud addressing the media applauded the government security forces and the public for the role they played during Erdogan’s visit while he apologized for any inconvenience caused by the operations launched by the security forces. The president talked about the political situations of the country and the forthcoming cabinet of Prime Minster Omar Abdirashid.

President Hassan emphasized that the prime minister would form competent government based on 4.5 clan quota, adding that it would be satisfactory to all different parties of Somali people. “I informed the public through the media that the forthcoming government will be inclusive one which will include all parties” he said. The president also underlined that some of the former ministers would be included the list of the new cabinet. This comes after two Somalis parliamentary caucuses warned the prime minister against re-appoint of former ministers.

Al Shabaab kidnaps farmers, pastoralists for ransom

27 Jan – Source: Garowe Online/Somali current – 181 Words

Government forces conduct an operation in Berdale

27 Jan – Source: Radio Muqdisho – 96 Words

Somali National Army has carried out an operation in some areas under Berdale district in Bay region in order to ensure the security of the residents and traffic safety. Mohamed Isak Hassan, District Commissioner of Berdale told Radio Mogadishu the security forces conducted the operation into Gel-gel and Bulo-Hawo neighborhoods close to the district. Pro Al-Shabaab militias who were menacing the residents in those areas were attacked and similar operation occurred at Owdinle, a village leading to Berdale district and Baidoa town itself. Some suspects were arrested during the operation according to the police officials there.

Somali parliament warns PM over ministers’ recall

26 Jan – Source: Hiraan Online/Radio RBC – 156 Words

In a meeting at Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu today, two parliamentary committees in the parliament warned Somalia’s prime minister against reinstating certain ministers who served in his predecessor’s government, accusing them of creating recurring political wrangling between the president and his former prime minister. The development comes following the Somali prime minister’s recent decision of withdrawing his previous cabinet line-ups that saw him reinstating some ministers from his predecessor’s government after the majority of the country’s legislators expressed their outrage towards his decision.

Most of the dissolved cabinet members were close allies of the president. In a statement issued after their meeting, the 90-member committees affirmed their willingness to have political novices whom they said can be eligible for their designated positions. Political analysts believe that the parliament’s new political front represents a major challenge to the prime minister’s new political agenda which faces mounting challenges before he appointed his new cabinet again.

Measles kills 34 in Middle Shabelle

26 Jan – Source:Radio Ergo -214 Words

Local officials say that 34 people, mostly children, have died in an outbreak of measles in villages near Mahadday and Bal’ad in Middle Shabelle.Twenty nine of the dead were children, while five were elderly persons. Thirty of the deaths occurred in Shidle-bari and Kulmisweyne villages near Mahadday while the rest were in Jame’o near Bal’ad.

Kulmisweyne village chief, Mohamed Ibrahim Ali, said families had been unable to get the sick to the nearest medical facility in Jowhar, 25 km away, because of insecurity caused by ongoing clan clashes. People opted to stay in their villages and use traditional herbal medicine as treatment.“We recognized it was measles because of symptoms like abdominal pain, followed by diarrhoea and skin rashes. We treat it with dik dik soup and medicine from the Mareer tree species,” said Mohamed.

Another 120 people in the area are reported to be infected.Ibrahim Abdulkadir Hussein, the region’s health coordinator, told Radio Ergo measles broke out in Bal’ad and Mahadday at the end of December 2014. He said the fight against it had been slow, as health agencies could not access the affected areas due to insecurity.However, he said they were planning to dispatch measles vaccines to safe areas in the region to prevent the disease from spreading further.

Progress made on construction of Bosaso airport runway

26 Jan – Source: Horseed Media – 251 Words

Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali ‘’Gaas’’ along with Minister of Aviation and airports Hassan Adde, Deputy Finance Minister and several engineers visited and inspected ongoing work on the Bosaso airport during his working visit to the commercial hub of the semi-autonomous region. Since the groundbreaking ceremony for the upgrade works last month, progress has been made on the construction of the new runway. Aviation Minister Hassan Adde reported to the president that all of the planned work on the construction and reconstruction of the airport’s facilities were going according to schedule.

The engineers in charge of the project, in turn, noted that Bosaso airport would be one of the best in the country. According to officials from the President’s office, they said that the President was satisfied with the works thus far and left encouraging messages for the engineers. After reconstruction work is completed, the runway will be over 2.60 kilometers long. The project is undertaken by China Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC). According to government and company officials, the new runway will be operational before the end of this year. Upon completion of the construction, the airport is expected to attract many Airline companies and resume their daily local and international flights.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Qatar Red Crescent to extend charity mission to Somalia

26 Jan – Source: Thepeninsulaqatar.com – 397 Words

Qatar Red Crescent signed a bilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS) to further relief, development and capacity building activities.The MoU will enhance cooperation and coordination in relation to QRC’s humanitarian activities in favour of the drought- and typhoon-affected communities throughout Somalia, particularly in health, water, capacity-building, and community resilience, according to a release from QRC.

A delegation of SRCS visited QRC premises, including Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, SRCS President, Dr Youssef Hassan Mohamed, SRCS Vice-President, Ahmed Bakal, SRCS Coordinator in Somaliland, and Mohamed Ahmed Adli, SRCS Coordinator in Mogadishu, Somalia.On the QRC’s side, the pact was signed by the Secretary-General, Saleh bin Ali Al Mohannadi, in the presence of the Director of Administrative Affairs and Human Resources, Nayef bin Faisal Al Mohannadi, and Head of QRC’s Office in Somalia, Dr Zuhair Abdel-Qader.

“This MoU is an extension of QRC’s work in Somalia, in light of its message as an international humanitarian organisation that is an auxiliary to Qatar in its humanitarian efforts locally and internationally, striving to protect human dignity at times of disasters or armed conflicts, in compliance with the principles and rules defined by the Geneva Conventions, the Rules and Procedures of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and the relevant national and international laws and regulations,” said QRC’s Al Mohannadi.

Allied forces drive al-Shabaab from Bakol villages

26 Jan – Source: Sabahi Online – 97 Words

Somali forces backed by African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops on Friday (January 23rd) freed three villages in Bakol region from al-Shabaab’s control, Somalia’s Garowe Online reported.The allied forces took control of Bulo Jadid, Bulo Yusuf and El Jarmed without encountering much resistance from the militant group, according to Tiyeglow District Commissioner Mohamed Abdulle Hassan.”The government will return the situation of liberated areas to normal,” Hassan said.Al-Shabaab has maintained a blockade on the villages in the recent past.On January 6th, Somali forces took control of Abag Hedey, outside Bakol’s capital of Hudur.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somalia shows signs of recovery and optimism after decades of turmoil

27 Jan – Source: ITV – 437 Words

For almost 25 years, Somalia has been a byword for the ultimate failed state; a country where there were no national governing institutions which could ordinary Somalis even the most basic sense of daily security.Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled, from the rural farmers to the educated middle classes from cities with the latter escaping in droves to the UK, Scandinavia, North America and Europe.

I’ve just returned from the capital Mogadishu, the city where I was born. The last time I saw the devastated city when I had just turned 13 on a family holiday just a few years before the civil war broke out. I remember it as a sun-kissed, carefree city with mile upon mile of white sandy beaches with the warm crystal clear waters of the Indian ocean lapping on its shores. As I walked back through its many districts, building after building riddled with the scars of years of war, I was struck by how this city and this country is now showing signs of real recovery and optimism.

Only a year ago, vast swathes of Mogadishu were held by the militant Islamist group, al-Shabaab.Yet today, neighborhoods throughout the city are bustling with normal life. Restaurants, markets, shops and stores are filled with people trading, shopping and taking in the sights.Scan the horizon of the city and you are struck by the apartment blocks, offices and shopping malls being built. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is the first civilian to be elected in a free and fair election to lead the Somali Federal government for 45 years. He didn’t flee and stayed throughout the civil war. He says that with the backing of the international community and African peacekeepers, as well the killing of the leader of al-Shabaab in a US led airstrike in September 2014, the militant groups is on the backfoot with many leaders taking advantage of a government amnesty to surrender.

Somalis begin 3,862 km journey home from Swaziland by foot

27 Jan – Source: Hiraan Online/The Observer – 673 Words

Following their alleged unresolved grievances against the ministry of home affairs, Somali nationals, who have been at loggerheads with government, have since resolved to return to their war-torn country by foot.At least seven Somali asylum seekers have recently been making headlines in local newspapers after they complained of living conditions at Malindza Refugee Camp which they termed as ‘inhuman’.

They complained of being starved and made to work in the fields situated at the camp without being given anything in return. The Somalis were also reported to be eating grass and tree leaves as they claimed that they were not given anything to eat at the camp.In a bid to address their situation, the Somalis also visited the ministry of home affairs to seek audience with the principal secretary in the ministry, Anthony Masilela and other officials.Upon meeting with the PS and the officials, the Somalis are said to have asked the ministry to assist them in going back to their home country, stating that they could not take any more of the hardship they faced at the camp.

They have since resolved to go to their country and they started the over 3 862 journey to Somalia by foot last night. They left for the Lomahasha border gate by foot.The Somalis are said to have also made their intention to leave the country known to the administration of the camp. Led by one Mowlid Omer Warsame, they were found already on the road at around 10:30am.Interviewed briefly, Warsame said they had since decided to walk back to their country following the harsh living conditions they were going through at the camp.Warsame said the living conditions were unbearable to the extent that they found it better to go and die in the war front in their home country than in a foreign land.

MP says Somalis lead to fewer pubs in part of Bristol

26 Jan – Source: ITV – 339 Words

Pubs in parts of a city have closed as a result of the arrival of Somali immigrants, communities minister Stephen Williams has said.The Liberal Democrat frontbencher made the remark as he explained the Government’s proposal to change the law to prevent establishments which have been listed as assets of community value being demolished or having their use changed without planning permission.

It comes after comments made in December by Tory peer Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts, who said the growing Muslim population was one of the main reasons for pubs closing.Today in the Commons, Labour’s Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) described the process set out by the minister as “incredibly convoluted” and asked: “Why not just give the planning protections in the first place and allow the local authority to decide through the planning process whether the pub should be saved for the future or not?”

But Mr Williams (Bristol West) said “blanket protection” of every single pub in the country would mean protecting those no longer enjoying the patronage of the local community for a range of reasons such as the arrival of immigrants. He added:”In my own constituency, lots of pubs have closed but it is usually because of demographic change. Particularly in some parts of my constituency, which used to have ‘a white working class community’ 20 or 30 years ago are now populated primarily by recently-arrived Somalis and other people.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“In this day and age, the best way to run a nation is to go with the public wind. And this requires an astute understanding of the mood of those led. It is, therefore, well advised that the old tactics of power politics may not be relevant to today’s information age.”

Somalis unfaithful in 2016 popular elections

26 Jan – Source: Radio RBC – 714 Words

The era of political mystery in which kings distort the public perception through smokescreen and manipulate the world opinion is long gone. The era of co-rule and e-governance replaced it. Love it or hate, the future is global. In fact, with the adamant of the internet and technology, people around the world can now see what the leaders’ breakfast on the table contains. And in my view, nothing explains this better than the Arab Rage that led to the coups in Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt and Libya. Leaders of these countries bought the illusion that the public can still be lied to. But with the tweet of a single video of a burning youngster, people of these countries dared to write wrong on all those sweet speeches uttered by their leaders. This is the essence of how the public co-rules in the 21st century.

Now, is it better to rule with truth or with deception in Somalia? No, this is not a fair question. A straightforward question could be this: is Villa Somalia lying about the projected elections in 2016? The following facts, give us the answer. A poll I conducted on the perception of Somalis via Facebook found that popular elections in Somalia in 2016 are unlikely. I have run a Facebook-based survey last week, and about 600 Somali Facebook users around the world responded. The survey presented respondents with three carefully worded, and in Somali language, questions that orderly led from one choice to another. The first question asked participants whether a popular election in Somalia in 2016 is possible. This question begged for a yes-or-no answer. An astonishing number (74% of the respondents) expressed no hope for a fair and democratic elections in this war-torn country. Only 26% of the total respondents answered yes.

Top tweets

MamanSidikou1 meets Nic Hailey, Director,Africa,#UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office at margins of #24thAUSummit

@UNLazzarini ·#IDP Sharifa tells how @UNFPA_Som maternity waiting home gave her hope & enabled safe birth of her daughter http://bit.ly/1Bat0cH

@EHAHRDP .@Hassan_shire opens historic, full – house human rights conference & @ACHPR special mechanisms visit to #Somalia.

@Abdi_AlSheikh Somalia shows signs of recovery and optimism after decades of turmoil – ITV Newshttp://dlvr.it/8G4DQ9 #Somalia

@OrinLevine Health care works like Noora in Somalia are the heroes of the global vaccine efforts #vaccineswork

@timothylarge RT @bbcmediaaction Find out why our romantic story line has been raising heart rates in #Somalia:@stability_fund http://dlvr.it/8G6Zhh

Follow the conversation →

Image of the day

SRCC Maman Sidikou meets Nic Hailey, Director,Africa, Foreign & Commonwealth Office at margins of 24th AU Summit.

Photo: AMISOM