February 19, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Kenya Probes Suspected Al-Shabaab Financier
18 Feb – Source: Global Post/Xinhua News – 426 Words
Kenyan police on Wednesday interrogated an Al-Shabaab financier in the coastal town of Lamu that had witnessed mass killings over 90 people between June and July last year. The police said Mustafa Shebwana Mohamed was arrested by a team of anti terrorism police officers who were trailing him for months and is believed to be behind the recruitment of Kenya youth to the Al-Shabaab group in Somalia. “We believe Mohamed is the link person between Kenya and Somalia whereby he recruits and ferry youth through the Somalia border to undergo military training in Somalia,” a detective from the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) told Xinhua.
Mombasa Chief Magistrate Stephen Riech on Wednesday granted police ten days to continue detaining the suspect at a police station in the coastal city. Prosecuting Counsel Eugene Wangila applied for his continues detention to enable police complete their investigation. Wangila said the state is conducting complex investigation and his release might jeopardize the ongoing probe. He disclosed that his seized mobile phone has been handed over to a team of cyber crime experts in Nairobi for data analysis. “The nature of the offense requires more time to extensive investigation. It’s our submission that we are granted ten more days to continue detaining the suspect at airport police station,” said Wangila. However his lawyer Yusuf Abubakar objected, saying the accused has constitutional right to be released on bond pending hearing and determination of the case.
Key Headlines
- Puntland Court Hands Sentence To Al-Shabaab Recruits (Garowe Online)
- On CNN 2 Somali-Americans Clash Over Anti-terror Program In Minnesota’s Somali Community (Sahan Journal)
- New Minister For Defence Takes Over The Ministry’s Office (Radio Goobjoog)
- Plans Underway To Establish Barawe Airport (Radio Dalsan)
- Security Ministry Displays Alleged killers in Mogadishu (Garowe Online)
- US Banks Criticised For Banning Somalis From Sending Money Home (Daily Nation)
- British Muslims Turn To US Embassy For Radicalisation Advice (Channel 4 New)
- Dem Rep’s Steps To Stop Extremism Include Less Surveillance Allow Wire Transfers To Somalia(Washington Free Beacon)
- For Somalis In Minneapolis Jihadi Recruiting Is A Recurring Nightmare (NPR)
SOMALI MEDIA
Puntland Court Hands Sentence To Al-Shabaab Recruits
19 Feb – Source: Garowe Online – 221 Words
Puntland Military Court has handed prison sentences to five alleged Al Shabaab recruits during criminal hearings in the port city of Bossaso on Wednesday, Garowe Online reports. Court Chairman, Abdifatah Haji Adan, who announced the sentences of the five said that-Adan Ali Abdi, 19 Ahmed Abdi Hussein, 24 Abdi Mohamed Hussein, 19 Ahmed Adan Abdi, 18 and Ali Mohamed Nur, 19-were sentenced to two years in prison each while two defendants Ali Nur Ali, 19 and Abdi Nunow Abdi, 31 were freed after the court found them not guilty of terrorism.
“We softened the sentences for them since they confessed to heading to Galgala Mountains and took part no terror offensives as of now,” Adan said, referring to the largest Al Shabaab springboard in the north eastern state of Puntland. On Sunday, the military court handed down death penalties to four alleged Al Shabaab members, marking the first sentences to be handed out in this year, 2015. Puntland is trying to curb the rampage by Al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab militants operating from hideouts along the Golis Mountain Ranges. Bossaso, Puntland’s most populous city, has become a spot for coordinated terror attacks and night raids by militants.
On CNN, 2 Somali-Americans Clash Over Anti-terror Program in Minnesota’s Somali Community
19 Feb – Source: Sahan Journal – 468 Words
The U.S. government is partnering with Somali groups and mosques in Minnesota as the community struggles on how to combat and stop Somali youth from becoming radicalized and recruited by militant groups such as ISIS and al-Shabaab. This week, the White House has invited some members from the Somali community and local enforcement agencies to take part in a summit aimed at combating the root causes of terrorism and exploring what leads young Muslims to join the militant groups. “The FBI, all of my law enforcement partners, are committed to disrupting the activity with a multi-pronged approach,” said Richard Thornton, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Minneapolis Division. “This includes building strong community partnerships to prevent radicalization, and separately, through aggressive investigation of federal law.” Nonetheless, some Somali leaders fear that the new partnership program between Somali community groups and federal law enforcement agencies could lead to spying on Muslims.
Jaylani Hussein, executive director of Minnesota’s Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR-MN, said the outreach program that the U.S. government is spearheading “blurs the line between community outreach and surveillance.” “Our community will perceive any organization that gets funds from the federal prosecutor as actually part of the law enforcement,” Jaylani told CNN’s Brooke Baldwin. “What we are really recommending is for the community to be empowered to be really more robust in how they deal with the issue.” For his part, Omar Jamal, a controversial figure in Minnesota’s Somali community who is the executive director of American Friends of Somalia, disagreed with Jaylani and accused him of fear mongering. “First of all, this country is at war,” Omar told Baldwin. “ This is about a time that everybody should be together, including the Congress, and the only thing we have now is the element of fear. The U.S. attorney’s office work and outreach has been appreciated, and the FBI should be continuing their job. It is about time that the community, the law enforcement agents, the imams all came together because we’re all in this together.”
“When you say ‘fear,’ I’m curious, do you mean fear of the radicalization of young Muslim youth or fear of being stigmatized?” Baldwin asked Omar. “Well, fear of being stigmatized, fears of feeling distrust and alienation. But we reached a time where we cannot win this war. We have to come together. All of us,” Omar responded. “What I’m saying is I think we came to the point where we have to come together and work together in order to defeat the terrorism.” Jaylani argued that previous law enforcement programs blurred the lines between outreach and intelligence gathering, which created a “great deal of distrust between the agencies in our community.” “This is not fearmongering,” Jaylani told Omar. “I think these are legitimate concerns the community has.”
Plans Underway To Establish Barawe Airport
19 Feb – Source: Radio Dalsan – 114 Words
There are ongoing efforts by the South Western regional state administration to establish an airport in the port city of Barawe. The seaside city was recently recognized as the capital for the newly establish South Western Regional State and thus an airport will be very useful. The deputy chairman for security in the area Bashir Mohamed Yussuf told the media that there are plans to institute international airport in the city. He said inspection committee is expected to arrive in the area soon to survey suitable location for an airport. Al-Shabaab controlled the area but lost their stronghold of Barawe to Somali National Army and African Union forces last year.
Security Ministry Displays Alleged Killers In Mogadishu
19 Feb – Source: Garowe Online – 137 Words
The Federal Government of Somalia’s Ministry for National Security put two alleged killers of airport workers and a police officer on display in Mogadishu, Garowe Online reports. At a rare event showcasing the capture of perpetrators in Mogadishu, National Security Ministry spokesman, Mohamed Yusuf Osman said that the two men executed a plot that left four Mogadishu airport staff members dead last Monday. Osman told the media that two assailants managed to escape, one was killed in the operation, and the two captured assailants attempted to change the plates of the car. On Monday, gunmen killed four airport workers in drive-by shooting at Mogadishu’s KM4 junction. Mogadishu has been the scene for planned assassinations, military style ambushes and suicide bombings since the removal of Al Shabaab militants in early 2011.
New Minister For Defence Takes Over The Ministry’s Office
18 Feb – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 137 Words
The new Minister for Defence, Abdikadir Sheikh Ali Diini, has officially taken over the office from the former minister, Mohamed Sheikh Hassan Hamud. A colourful handing over ceremony held in Mogadishu was attended by officials from Somali National Army and other officials from the ministry. The chief of the Somali National Army, Dahir Elmi Adan speaking at the ceremony has detailed the progress of the ministry and the national army during Hamud’s time in office. The former defence minister welcomed Mr Abdirakadir to the office, and pledged that he will cooperate with him in any way. Lastly, he called upon ministry staff to work with the new minister s as they did with him during his time in office.
REGIONAL MEDIA
US Banks Criticised For Banning Somalis From Sending Money Home
19 Feb – Source: Daily Nation – 293 Words
Non-Governmental Organisations are warning of a financial crisis in Somalia after banks in the United States halted money transfers to the country ravaged by decades of instability. The NGOs said Somalis living in the US are unable to send money home after the ban that is threatening to cut off financial lifeline of locals. The banks in the US have broken ties with money transfer operators in the country, a report released by the civil societies Thursday said. According to the report, Somalia receives approximately $1.3billion in remittances annually.
“Over 40 percent of people living in Somalia rely on remittances to meet their basic daily needs, nearly three million Somalis risk going hungry this year, families will not be able to afford health care, and a generation of children could be kept out of school,” Oxfam Somalia Country Director Enzo Vecchio said. UK based Barclays Bank was the first to close its accounts with Somali money transfer operators last year. Two weeks ago, US’s Merchant Bank, which was responsible for transferring an estimated 60 to 80 per cent of remittances to Somalia, followed suit. Australia’s Westpac Bank has announced that it would soon close remittance accounts in the war-torn country.
Another Somali based NGO boss Ms. Degan Ali said annual remittances to the country dwarf the yearly humanitarian aid, development aid and foreign direct investment budgets for Somalia combined. The report by NGOs state that annual remittances represent 25 to 45 per cent of Somali’s GDP. “Somalia needs long-term support to build sustainable financial institutions as well as urgent help to maintain its current remittance flows,” states the joint report by the NGOs namely Oxfam, Adeso and Global Centre for Cooperative Security.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
British Muslims Turn To US Embassy For Radicalisation Advice
18 Feb – Source: Channel 4 News – 752 Words – Video – 5: 39 Minutes
The Somali community groups, including the London Somali Youth Forum, say that the Home Office is “not taking seriously” their concerns on radicalisation. Some of the groups have become so frustrated that they are now meeting with officials from the US embassy for advice and support on British problems, rather than with the British government. The news comes as Home Secretary Theresa May attends an international summit at the White House on countering violent extremism.
At a community centre in North London, youth leaders told Channel 4 News that they now find it impossible to deal with the Home Office, blaming a top down, surveillance focused approach that avoids the wider issues. “The government needs to take our arguments seriously, they need to come and listen to us. I think all of us here can agree that there has been some disengagement,” says Mohamed Aden, chair of the London Somali Youth Forum. Some of these community groups are meeting regularly not with the Home Office but with US embassy officials in London. Mohamed Ibrahim of the London Somali Youth Forum said: “the US embassy is more forthcoming in discussing issues in a wider context while we feel the Home Office seems to feel not engaged.”
Dem Rep’s Steps To Stop Extremism Include Less Surveillance, Allow Wire Transfers To Somalia
18 Feb – Source: Washington Free Beacon – Video – 2:51 Minutes
The White House is hosting a three-day summit with more than 60 countries on how to combat violent extremism. One Democratic representative believes that one of the reasons that the United States is so susceptible to extremism is because there are not enough opportunities for these people. The congressman went on to say that in order for law enforcement to combat violent extremism they need to limit the amount of surveillance that happens and perform more outreach. But he also warned of mixing surveillance and outreach and that the actions need to be performed separately. In a final effort to explain how to stop violent extremism, the congressman noted the recent decision to halt wiring money to Somalia. He also mentioned that the violent extremists in the country would use this decision against the United States. “The violent extremists wants to be able to say, ‘See they won’t even let your relatives send you money.’ They want to be able to say that and we have to be able to stop them from saying that,” the congressman said.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Parents in the community are frightened. They have experienced this before, and there is a sinking feeling among parents that they’ll be losing their children again. “They are more afraid now than ever before because ISIS is something worse than anything we have ever seen,” said Bihi. Officials believe ISIS is taking advantage of the recruiting infrastructure al-Shabab developed almost a decade ago.”
For Somalis In Minneapolis, Jihadi Recruiting Is A Recurring Nightmare
18 Feb – Source: NPR – 1,188 Words – Audio – 6:37 Minutes
This week officials are gathering in Washington to discuss how to counter extremist messages, particularly those from the self-proclaimed Islamic State. ISIS has been luring thousands of Westerners to the battlefields of Syria and Iraq. The number of Americans who have traveled to Syria is still relatively small — in the neighborhood of 150 people — and a thin slice of that group, perhaps as many as two dozen Americans, are thought to have joined ISIS. In the discussions at the White House this week, one city has focused minds: Minneapolis-St Paul. It had been ground zero for terrorist recruiters in the past, and is fast becoming the center of ISIS’ recruitment effort in the United States.
“I know one guy who tweets the community all the time,” said Abdirizak Bihi, the director of Somali education at a local advocacy group. “He left with my nephew 2008, and he’s still alive. And he’s been tweeting about who died in ISIS and where they come from, kind of maybe the new spokesman.” Bihi’s nephew was a Minneapolis teenager named Burhan Hassan, who joined a handful of young men from the Twin Cities and traveled to Somalia to join a terrorist group there called al-Shabab. Hassan died there several years ago. Between 2006 and 2011, some 27 Somali-Americans from the community disappeared to fight in Somalia. That’s important to what’s going on now because officials believe that prior connection to jihad is one reason why ISIS has been so successful at recruiting in Minnesota today.
Top tweets
@Oxfam Remittances = 25-45% of Somalia’s economy: new report http://oxf.am/ZcT9 @Adesoafrica @GlobalCtr#SomaliLifeline
@KnowSomalia Idil Ibrahim is a Somali–American film director, producer, actress, writer and entrepreneur. #SheIsSomalia#Somalia pic.twitter.com/JRVQ8KNgSb
@IOM_Somalia #Somalia IOM distributes goats 2 returnees who arrived in Jowhar in the past few months with no livelihood assets.
@ragehomaar: so jonathan powell says if #libya fails it’ll be like#Somalia on the mediterranean-which somalia is he referring to……??
@HarunMaruf: #Somalia: Police shoot, capture 3 Al-Shabab suspects said to be behind string of assassinations in Mogadishu this wk. http://m.voasomali.com/a/
@shahed: #Somalia-American mentors/leaders speak abt mental health, identity,fear of law enforcement#OpenCVESummit
@Adesoafrica: Check out this infographic produced last year to find out how #remittances to #Somalia actually work#SomaliLifeline
@PuntlandMOH: Watch our polio immunization day at Jowle camp. #Health #UNICEF #Somaliahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?
Image of the day
President Hassan Sheikh of Somalia joined PM Hailemariam at the Weldiya – Mekelle Railway Project Ground Breaking Ceremony in Quiha.
Photo: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus – Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affairs