April 1, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Ahlu Sunnah Blocks AMISOM Convoy En Route To Adado
01 April – Source: Goobjoog News – 95 Words
The administration of Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jamah have blocked an AMISOM convoy en route to Adado where they are tasked to secure the Central State Formation Conference due to be held there. The troops belonging to Djiboutian contingent of AMISOM were stopped at Mataban district in Hiran and were refused to proceed in their journey to Adado. The motive behind this move is not known, but officials we spoke to said they are in talks with AMISOM commanders and would be speaking to the media in the coming hours.
Key Headlines
- Ahlu Sunnah Blocks AMISOM Convoy En Route To Adado (Goobjoog News)
- Puntland President Appoints New Deputy Minister (Radio Dalsan)
- Two Alleged Al Shabab Members Killed Execution-Style In Baladweyne (Goobjoog News)
- Somali Scholars Warn Against The Spread Of Shia Ideology (Radio Dalsan)
- Clan Elder Shot Dead In Baidoa (Garowe Online)
- Mogadishu Mayor Arrives In Nairobi (Radio Bar-Kulan)
- AMISOM Ambassador Meets EU Partners And Somali Diaspora (Coastweek/Xinhua News)
- UN Offers Kenya $40m Refund For Somalia Operation (Africa Review)
- Counter Piracy Patrols: China Out Chile In ( IHS Maritime 360)
- Mixed Reactions To Kenya’s Plan To Build Border Security Wall (Xinhua News/China.org)
- Xenophobic Attacks In South Africa Leave Communities In Fear (Channel News Asia)
- To Shabaab; Barbaric Attacks Will Not Deter Progress Of A Nation (Warya Post)
SOMALI MEDIA
Puntland President Appoints New Deputy Minister
01 April – Source: Radio Dalsan – 116 Words
Puntland President Abdiwali Mohamed Ali has appointed a new deputy minister for the Ports and Marine Ministry after dismissing a former official. The position had been vacant since the president sacked former deputy minister Abdirashid Gani Ali. Abdulahi Aadan was named to the post in a statement released on Wednesday, officials from the government and region elders have attended at swearing ceremony held in the capital Garowe. The appointed official returned from UAE, where he was working as a Doctor. The Puntland president wished Aadan good luck on the job. The regional state of Puntland has enjoyed relative peace compared to the rest of Somalia which has remained in the grip of violence since 1991.
Two Alleged Al Shabab Members Killed Execution-Style In Baladweyne
01 April – Source: Goobjoog News – 112 Words
Fighters belonging to a local administration calling itself West Land have shot two men dead at a close range in Baladweyne, Hiran. The men, whose bodies are still on display in the town, were accused of being Alshabab members. An official from the de facto administration said that the men confessed that they belonged to Alshabab after they were captured, and said that they had to shoot them in public. This is contrary to rule of law which stipulates that a court should find someone guilty and sentence him to death. Independent sources among the fighters confirmed to Goobjoog News that this happened.
Somali Scholars Warn Against The Spread Of Shia Ideology
01 April – Source: Radio Dalsan – 124 Words
Somali scholars have warned against the spread of Shia ideology in the country. The Spokesman of the Somali Scholars Association, Sheikh Nur Barud, called upon the government to counter the spread of Shia ideology in the Sunni country. Barud appealed to the Federal Government to close down the Imam Khomeini centre in Mogadishu, which he said is used by the Iranian embassy to spread Shia ideology. “We have reports that the embassy facilitates the transportation of some people to Iran,” he said. The Somali Scholars Association has also expressed support for the Saudi Arabian led military campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen. Islamic Republic of Iran embassy in Mogadishu could not be reached for comments regarding the claim by Somali scholars.
Clan Elder Shot Dead In Baidoa
31 March – Source: Garowe Online – 144 Words
Unknown gunmen shot and killed a renowned clan elder in Baidoa’s Boqoleyda neighborhood on Mondaynight according to officials, Garowe Online reports. The late Ali Abdi Hidow was gunned down along with his wife, with the assailants taking away a colossal amount meant for blood compensation. Security forces launched a search operation in pursuit of the attackers, but no details on the matter have been released to the media yet. A spokesman for Bay clan elders, Mohamed Yacqub Malaq, condemned the killing of the clan elder, calling on local authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice. Southwest state administration officialsTuesday attended a funeral held for the assassinated elder in Baidoa. The security situation has been deteriorating over the last few months as suspected Al Shabaab gunmen have targeted clerics aligned with the paramilitary group of Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama’a in planned assassinations.
Mogadishu Mayor Arrives In Nairobi
31 March – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 80 Words
The Governor of Benadir who is also the Mayor of Mogadishu, Hassan Mohamed Hussein has arrived in Nairobi for work purposes. The governor received a formal invitation from his Nairobi counterpart and is likely to hold talks with key Kenyan government officials and meet some of the Somali diaspora in Nairobi. During his visit , Mungab isa;sp expected to meet Somali businessmen. He was welcomed at the airport by the Somali Ambassador to Kenya , Mohamed Ali Nur (Ameeriko).
REGIONAL MEDIA
AMISOM Ambassador Meets EU Partners And Somali Diaspora
01 April – Source: Coastweek/Xinhua News – 501 Words
The Special Representative of the African Union Commission Chairperson (SRCC) for Somalia and head of the AU in Somalia Ambassador Maman Sidikou has appealed to Somalis in the diaspora to be the champions of the change and growth the country needs. He made the call during a diaspora engagement meeting in the Hague, Netherlands, that was held on the heels of a meeting with the EU Political and Military Committee composed of the ambassadors of all the EU member states held in Brussels. The SRCC also held bilateral meetings with senior officials of the European Commission. While in Brussels, the SRCC briefed the Committee on the prevailing situation in Somali, the activities of AMISOM, highlighting the achievements of AMISOM and SNA joint operations as well as current operations that continue to weaken the Al Shabaab. Amb. Sidikou noted that Somalia remains on the right path towards the attainment of the Vision 2016 agenda but still faces challenges including the need to strengthen the Somali National Army (SNA), the form and shape of elections in 2016 and stabilization of the areas recovered from Al Shabaab that require the international community’s continued attention.
On AMISOM, the SRCC underlined the need for the forthcoming joint AU-UN benchmarking to facilitate the reconfiguration of AMISOM, with a view to strengthening it including through the deployment of specialist units, additional formed police units, and deployment of civilian personnel in the sectors. The SRCC also held bilateral meetings with a number of officials including: Stephano Manservisi, Chef de Cabinet of the High Representative/ Vice President of the EU, M. Popowski, Deputy Secretary General, European External Action Service, Nicholas Westcott, Managing Director Africa, European External Action Service and Koen Doens, Director East and Southern Africa and ACP Coordination, Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development, among others. The Ambassador then moved on to the Hague, where he met members of the Somali diaspora from within and neighboring cities.
During the engagement, he appealed to them to be more involved in the reconstruction of Somalia, especially in support of rebuilding national institutions key to the stability of the country. “One of the aims of AMISOM, the African Union and our partners is to help the government of Somalia get the Somali National Army and security forces formed, standing and taking off. “Ultimately, this is what must be done,” he said, adding that the strength of security institutions is key to enabling the government to defend its sovereignty. Amb. Sidikou urged the Somali diaspora to support the Federal Government not only with resources but ideas and the human resource capital, necessary to propel it forward. “I have no doubt that Somalia soon will be one of the most vibrant members of the East African Community and other communities around, because the resources are there, especially the human resources and the hearts. Because only hearts allow people to survive what Somalia has gone through and continue as resilient as Somalis are today,” he said.
UN Offers Kenya $40m Refund For Somalia Operation
30 March – Source: Africa Review – 378 Words
The United Nations has offered Kenya $40 million (Sh3.7 billion) as refund for money spent by its troops fighting Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia after months of delay. Treasury documents show that the reimbursement was done in February. The country has been awaiting the cash from August last year. The UN failed to refund Sh2.03 billion in the quarter to September and another $22 million (Sh2.01 billion) in the three months to December. The refund looks set to ease budgetary constraints from a government reeling from a shortfall in taxes as the Kenya Revenue Authority failed to hit revenue targets by Sh23 billion in the first half of the year. In the past, delay in reimbursement of the money has been linked to the UN’s insistence on proper verification of Kenya’s claims. In October 2011, the country formally sent 4,660 soldiers to Somalia after incessant attacks and kidnapping by Al-Shabaab militants within its territory.
A year later, the UN Security Council gave Kenya the green light to join the African Union Mission to Somalia (Amisom), a decision that meant the Treasury would not bear the full costs of the incursion. Amisom is an eight-year- old operation with nearly 20,000 troops from Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Sierra Leone and Kenya. Amisom refunded Kenya the monies spent from the date of the UN resolution until June 2012 when Amisom began catering for the soldiers directly. Under the deal, Kenyan soldiers were to receive a monthly allowance of Sh88,408 ($1,028) each besides their salaries as well as comprehensive medical covers and access to advanced equipment. The entry into Somalia to battle Al-Shabaab has triggered a series of grenade and bomb attacks in the Kenya as the militant group pushes for withdraw from the country. This has spurred the UK, US, Australia and France to warn their citizens against travelling to Kenya. Kenya has in the past used its ambassador to the UN, Macharia Kamau, to demand the reimbursements, claiming that failure to refund the money was not only “unacceptable”, but also “unsustainable.” The UN cut compensation for the Kenyan operation in Somalia by a fifth to $51 million (Sh4.69 billion) in the year to June.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Counter Piracy Patrols: China Out, Chile In
31 March – Source: IHS Maritime 360 – 338 Words
As China announced it would be suspending its anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden, the Chilean Ministry of National Defence revealed it will be sending a ship to take part in the EU’s counterpiracy operation. China’s action is in response to the worsening security environment in Yemen. According to IHS Jane’s Navy International, the South American country agreed to “integrate one of its navy’s ships in the European Operation ‘Atalanta'” after a meeting between the Spanish and Chilean defence ministers last week. The news comes after the first successful hijacking of a vessel in the region for three years. Last week, Agence France-Presse reported that a Somali pirate gang had seized an unidentified Iranian fishing vessel near the village of Ceel Huur. According to Alan Cole of the UN Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC), “An Iranian vessel, fishing illegally in Somali waters, was hijacked earlier this week.” Depredations off the coast of Somalia, mostly by Asian and European trawlers, are acknowledged to have been one of the triggers for the development of piracy in the region. Seychelles News Agency quoted Cole as saying, “These are the conditions that started piracy in the first place.” Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is widespread around the African coast and in the Indian Ocean.
Last week, the Seychelles attorney general withdrew charges against the masters of two Indian-flagged vessels that had been suspected of IUU fishing. The men were released after it was found that their GPS devices were malfunctioning. For large vessels, violation of Seychelles waters can result in a fine of USD2.3 million. Pirate action groups have often used fishing vessels as motherships from which to launch attacks on merchant vessels. Since mid-2012, regular naval patrols, onboard armed security, use of Best Management Practices, prosecution and jailing of pirates, and a semblance of stability in Somalia have all helped to undermine the pirate economy. However, frontline countries such as Seychelles and crime-fighting agencies such as UNODC continue to warn against complacency.
Mixed Reactions To Kenya’s Plan To Build Border Security Wall
31 March – Source: Xinhua News/China.org – 702 Words
Kenya’s plan to construct a security wall that will run for 20 km in its first phase of the 80 km stretch from border point one to Bulla Hawa along the common border with Somalia has received a mixed reaction among the locals and area leaders. Although a majority of residents have welcomed the government’s plan, some see it as a plan to cut them off from the war-torn Somalia where they have a lot of attachment. Those who supported the idea cited security concerns while those who are against blamed it on cutting social ties between residents of the two countries and affecting nomadic pastoralism which is their lifeline. Mandera County Assembly Speaker Abdikadir Sheikh on Monday welcomed the idea, saying that the wall will assist in curbing illegal immigrants as they mostly sneak into the country through Bulla Hawa. Sheikh, however, said the county government has not been consulted on the project, adding that it will open up a new debate in the county assembly. He advised the national government to engage area residents in the project, saying that security has not been taken seriously in the county.
The speaker warned that the wall should not only be taken as a Vision 2030 target, but address the perennial issue of terrorism in the region. Kenyan officials say the security wall will provide a long-term security efforts to secure the border, adding that once the wall’s construction is completed, it will only be crossed by entering through the appropriate border points. The Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab has carried series of deadly attacks in northern Kenya and other towns, including the capital city of Nairobi since the East African country sent its military into Somalia in 2011 to fight against the Al-Qaida inspired group. Kenyan authorities have also blamed the militants for being behind spates of kidnapping of expatriates working in the sprawling refugee camps in the incursion-prone northern region and tourists in the coastal archipelago towns of Mombasa and Lamu. However, some local residents have voiced different opinions. Hassan Hussein, a local elder criticized the project, saying that people of the two nations share cultural ties that should not be disconnected. Hussein told Xinhua that citizens from both the countries have intermarried, and the wall will affect family ties due to immigration complications since the authorities will be demanding travel documents. Hassan Farah, another resident, said the wall will affect pastoralists’ livelihoods as Kenyans cross into the hinterlands of Somalia where there are abundant pastures for their livestock. Farah called on the government to leave exit points for livestock and people crossing to either side. The Somali government has reportedly opposed the plan, saying it was not consulted in the planned erection of the wall.
Xenophobic Attacks In South Africa Leave Communities In Fear
31 March – Source: Channel News Asia – 460 Words
Foreigners living in South Africa are once again being subjected to xenophobic attacks in townships across the country. Mobs have brazenly looted stores owned by foreigners from Somalia and Bangladesh, among others, in daylight. Bengali shop owners Abu Bashar and Faruk Mohammed left behind family and friends in Bangladesh for a better life in South Africa. But the welcome they found was not what they hoped for and now they fear for their lives. Mr Bashar was attacked in his convenience shop in Soweto on the outskirts of Johannesburg and beaten so badly, he lost sight in his left eye. “While I’m operating there, at the same time they are coming. It’s six or seven South African people, they are coming. They say they want money,” he told Channel NewsAsia. “I say take my money, he take 300 or 400 (South African Rand) like that, the money he’s taking. I say please never beat me, take money, no problem. Others at the same time, they beat me and shoot me,” he said.
Foreigners in South Africa have suffered such attacks over the past decade with more than 60 people killed and dozens injured in 2008 alone. The latest attacks started earlier this year when a 14-year-old boy was accused of trying to rob a store and was shot by a foreign owner. “I tried going back there. People say you can’t come, they will not allow, If you come back, he will try to kill me,” said Mr Mohamed. Estimates vary widely on the number of foreigners in South Africa, from one to ten million, as many are illegal immigrants. Some South Africans see them as taking jobs and services in a country where unemployment stands at a staggering 25 percent. “It relates certainly to the vulnerability or perceived vulnerability of non-nationals as a group but also because there are criminal elements. Non-nationals as a group lack the confidence in the protection systems,” said Chantal Kisoon, the Provincial Manager of the South African Human Rights Commission.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Al-Shabab frequently carries out suicide bombings, drive-by shootings and other attacks in Mogadishu, the seat of Somalia’s Western-backed government, often targeting government troops, lawmakers and foreigners. Despite major setbacks in 2014, al-Shabab continues to wage a deadly insurgency against Somalia’s government and remains a threat in the East African region.”
To Shabaab; Barbaric Attacks Will Not Deter Progress Of A Nation
30 March – Source: Warya Post – 592 Words
Blood spattered utensils, bullet-pocked walls and overturned chairs mark the reception area of a prominent hotel in the Somali capital following an attack by Islamic extremists that killed at least 24, including six attackers. Somali special forces stood over three bloodied bodies of the alleged attackers after officials declared they have full control of the Maka Al-Mukarramah Hotel Saturday, more than 12 hours after gunmen, believed to be six in number, from the Islamic rebel group al-Shabab stormed into the hotel. The gunfire has stopped and security agents have gone through the whole building, said senior police officer Capt. Mohamed Hussein. He had earlier said the gunmen were believed to have occupied the third and fourth floors of the hotel in the capital Mogadishu. “The operation has ended. We have taken full control of the hotel,” Hussein said. Eighteen people were killed in the attack, including one solider, said Hussein. At least 28 were wounded, according to Hussein Ali, an official of Mogadishu’s ambulance service. Officials claimed to have killed six attackers but only displayed the bodies of three and did not give the location of the bodies of the other attackers.
Al-Shabab claimed some of the gunmen involved in the attack escaped, in a statement released Saturday. The group vowed to carry out more attacks. Somalia’s ambassador to Switzerland and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Yusuf Bari-Bari was among those killed in the attack, said Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-linked Islamic extremist group that has carried out many attacks in Somalia, claimed responsibility for the assault on the hotel, which is popular with Somali government officials and foreigners. Al-Shabab controlled much of Mogadishu between 2007 and 2011, but was pushed out of Somalia’s capital and other major cities by African Union forces. The attack started around 4 p.m. Friday when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden car at the gate of the hotel. Gunmen then quickly moved in. Hours later, the militants were still holed up in the hotel’s dark corridors and rooms. Sporadic gunfire could be heard, but it appeared that the security forces waited until daybreak before trying again to dislodge the militants. The attack was condemned by the African Union mission to Somalia in which troops from several African countries support Somalia’s weak government.
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Image of the day
At least forty female officers from the Somali Police Force (SPF) concluded a one day seminar convened to assess the needs of female officers, with the view of improving their work conditions and enhancing their role in the force. The female police officers called for more involvement in the Somali Police Force. Photo: AMISOM