08 Sept 2011 – Daily Monitoring Report
Key Headlines:
- Former Somali PM calls for al Shabaab to join peace process
- U.S federal court approves the release of Somali man charged with terrorism acts
- Somalia may record normal rains from September to December: UN report
- Somalia pirates free Danish family seized in February
- S. Korea court upholds Somali pirate life sentence
- Kenya to host regional conference on Horn of Africa drought
SOMALI MEDIA
Former Somali PM calls for al Shabaab to join peace process
08 Sept – Source: Shabelle, Mareeg Online – 105 words
Nur Hassan Hussein, the Somali ambassador to Italy and envoy to EU on Thursday called for the al Shabaab movement to join in the peace process and stop fighting against the TFG. Hussein, an ex-prime minister, described al Shabaab move to retreat from Mogadishu after years of battles as a good step. The move could help bring peace back to war-torn Somalia’s capital. The ambassador reiterated that al Shabaab is needed to relinquish violence and sign peace agreement with Somalia’s TFG. The former Somali prime minister welcomed the UN-backed Somalia consultative meeting, adding that outcome is crucial and constructive.
http://www.shabelle.net/
U.S federal court approves the release of Somali man charged with terrorism acts
08 Sept – Source Radio Mogadishu, Bar-Kulan and Shabelle – 254 words
A U.S federal judge has approved the release of a Somali man Kamal Said Hassan who has been in custody on terror charges while he awaits sentencing. Mr. Hassan, 26, is one of about 20 Somali-American men from Minneapolis who traveled overseas to fight with the terrorist group al Shabaab. After more than two years in jail, Hassan, will be released at the end of the month and confined to his family’s home.
U.S. District Court chief Judge Michael Davis told Hassan that he must be wear of a global positioning tracking device that will sound an alarm if he leaves the house and will be taken into custody. Hassan who in 2009 pleaded guilty to lying to FBI investigators is forbidden to use mobile phones and firearms while all computers in the home will be monitored by the government.
In 2009, Hassan told FBI investigators that after he left an al Shabaab training camp in Somalia, he went straight to Yemen without committing any further acts on behalf of militant group. But according to his plea agreement, Hassan admitted he continued to fight for al Shabaab.
He also pleaded guilty to one count of providing material support to terrorists and one count of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and faces up to 38 years in prison. Hassan is one of three Somali men who returned to Minnesota after allegedly fighting for the Al- Shabaab militant group and the last one still in custody. The other two have already pleaded guilty to terror charges and have been released while they await sentencing.
Somaliland government appoints committee to combat piracy
07 Sept – Source: Somaliland Press – 185 words
A committee appointed by the Somaliland government to combat and prosecute all those that are responsible for acts of piracy off the coast of Somaliland had their first meeting in Hargeisa, the capital. This committee which included the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, Somaliland Coastal Guards as well as independent attorneys of law, met at Ambassador Hotel to converse on how the government and people of Somaliland will battle the piracy off the coast of Somaliland. Dr. Mohamed Abdullahi Omar Minister of Foreign Affairs and a member of the committee in the fight against piracy addressed the press at meeting and said “the responsibility of the committee is to look back and examine the possibilities on how Somaliland can co-operate with the international committees as well as taking part in playing a vital role in the fight against piracy.
http://somalilandpress.com/
Govt forces, al Shabaab battle in southern Somalia
08 Sept – Source: Shabelle – 149 words
Fierce battle between TFG forces and fighters loyal to al Shabaab movement has taken place in parts of Gedo region of southern Somalia, officials say. Reports say that armed clash occurred in a village about 5 kilometers from the town of Luq as the two parts used artillery guns and light weapons. The fighting broke out after the rebel group fighter launched an ambush attack on military bases manned by government forces in the region. At least three people have been so far confirmed to be injured in the battle, according to eyewitnesses talked to Shabelle Media Network. But, Diyal Abdi Kalil, a government military officer, said in brief interview with Shabelle that they have defended themselves after they came under attack from al Shabaab. He accused al Shabaab of establishing checkpoints in the streets of Gedo region collecting illegal money from the public and trade transportation.
http://www.shabelle.net/
Citizens banned from migrating from Mogadishu airport
07 Sept – Source: Radio Shabelle, Kulmiye – 116 words
The Immigration and Naturalization Department of the TFG on Wednesday banned Somali citizens from emigrating from Mogadishu international airport. The director of the Immigration and Naturalization Department, Abdullahi Gafow Mohamoud told reporters in the capital that from today no citizen will be allowed to immigrate illegally to the foreign countries. He went on to say they stopped at least 21 Somali young people from departing from Mogadishu international airport while on their way to Borama town in Somaliland and then Yemen thought the sharks-infested Red Sea.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Kenya to host regional conference on Horn of Africa drought
07 Sept – Source: Al Shahid, KBC – 239 words
Regional leaders have called a two day summit in Nairobi Thursday to address the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa caused by the worst drought in the region in the last sixty years. Prime Minister Raila Odinga told journalists in Nairobi that the situation was so grim; saying that by Monday the Dadaab refugee camp was home to 530,000 refugees fleeing from hunger in Somalia and other countries in the region.
“The underlying cause of the drought is the climate change which has affected rainfall as well as the insecurity in Somalia,” Odinga told a news conference in Nairobi on Tuesday. the summit will be the Nairobi declaration which will summarize main points discussed at the summit and outline commitments which will have been made for subsequent implementation.
Raila went on to say that the two day summit to be held at the United Nations Complex in Gigiri will be chaired by President Kibaki, assisted by Mr. B.Lynn Pascoe, the UN under Secretary for political affairs who will represent the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.
Tens of thousands of people – in large part children – have died in the Horn of Africa country since July when a state of famine was declared, the UN says. On Monday UN officials added Somalia’s Bay region to the list of famine zones, making it the sixth region to join the list. Nearly two-thirds of all children in the Bay region are acutely malnourished.
http://english.alshahid.net/
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia may record normal rains from September to December: UN report
08 Sept – Source: UN News – 330 words
Normal to above-normal rainfall could return to famine-ravaged southern Somalia over the next three months but there may not be much easing of the drought since the rains are a relatively small part of the annual total, the United Nations (UN) climate report said.
The UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO)’s Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Sept. to Dec. reported an important rainfall season after the March-May rains in southern Somalia and other equatorial parts of the region, including Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and northern Tanzania, but rainfall in northern Somalia during this period is typically lower than in the south.
“Over parts of the region, given that Sept.-Dec. rainfall is a relatively small proportion of its annual total, there may not yet be much easing of the drought situation in these areas where drought conditions have prevailed for the past several months,” it said in a statement received here late on Wednesday.
Tens of thousands of Somalis have already died and more than 4 million others are on the brink of starvation after months of drought have seared the impoverished Horn of Africa country, which has already been devastated by two decades of ferocious factional fighting.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/
Somalia pirates free Danish family seized in February
07 Sept – Source: BBC News – 272 words
A Danish family of five and two crew members captured by Somali pirates in February have been freed and brought to safety, Denmark’s government says. Jan Quist Johansen, his wife, their three children, and two other adults were taken hostage on 24 February. The foreign ministry said they were in relatively good condition and expected back in Denmark shortly. In March, soldiers from the semi-autonomous Puntland region were killed during a failed attempt to rescue them.
“The foreign ministry confirms that the Danish sailors from the sailing ship ING – the two parents, their three children and two crewmembers – held hostage by Somali pirates since the 24 February 2011, have now been released,” said the ministry in a statement.
A ransom of $3m (£1.9m) was paid for their release, reports the BBC’s East Africa correspondent Will Ross. The Johansens, their children – aged between 12 and 16 – and crew were seized in the Indian Ocean as they were sailing around the world. They were apparently aware of the danger of piracy.
Their yacht was seized just two days after four Americans aboard another hijacked vessel were shot dead during an effort by the US military to free them.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
Somali militants say they have captured 2 Kenyan soldiers near country’s shared border
07 Sept – Source: Washington Post, AP – 128 words
Islamist militias in Somalia say they have captured two Kenyan soldiers near the country’s shared border. Al Shabaab posted a statement on a commonly used militant website on Wednesday, saying they caught the two men on a surveillance mission near the Somali town of Dhobley. There was no way to immediately verify the militants’ claims since Kenyan officials could not be reached. It was not clear exactly when the men were taken.
A thin sliver of southern Somalia along the Kenyan border is held by a militia allied to the weak U.N.-backed government, which is fighting al Shabaab. That militia receives extensive support from the Kenyan government, who consider al Shabaab a security threat to Kenya.
S. Korea court upholds Somali pirate life sentence
08 Sept – Source: AFP – 310 words
South Korean appeals court Thursday upheld a life sentence on a Somali pirate convicted of hijacking a South Korean-operated ship in the Arabian Sea and trying to murder the captain. The high court in the southern port of Busan confirmed the sentence passed in late May on Mahomed Araye after the 23-year-old had appealed.
Prosecutors had sought the death sentence for Araye for shooting and seriously injuring Captain Seok Hae-Kyun of the chemical carrier Samho Jewelry with an AK rifle. He was one of five pirates captured during a dramatic January 21 raid by South Korean navy commandos to rescue the ship. Eight other pirates were killed.
The five were brought to Busan, the ship’s home, for trial. All 21 crew — eight South Koreans, two Indonesians and 11 from Myanmar — were freed unhurt apart from Captain Seok, 58, who is still recovering in hospital after multiple operations.
The court Thursday also upheld sentences of 13 to 15 years on three other pirates. But it reduced the sentence on Abdulahi Husseen Maxamuud to 12 years from 15, saying he showed “great remorse and admitted all charges”.
The judges also took into account the fact that the 20-year-old had treated South Korean sailors well while they were held hostage, a court official told AFP. The high-profile trial was the first attempt by South Korea, a major maritime nation, to punish foreign pirates.
The crime has surged in recent years off Somalia, a lawless, war-torn country that sits alongside one of the world’s most important shipping routes. Investigators say some of the pirates involved in the January raid had taken part in the hijacking last year of a South Korean supertanker operated by the same firm as the Samho Jewelry. The 300,000-tonne Samho Dream and its 24 crew were released after a reported $9 million ransom payment was made.