May 29, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somaliland Calls EU To Mediate Talks With Somalia Government
29 May – Source: Somali Current – 118 Words
Self-declared State of Somaliland has called the European Union to intervene, host and mediate talks with Somalia Federal government. Somaliland Foreign Minister Musa Bihi said his administration is ready to resume negotiations with Somalia government to reach an agreement, but mediated by EU.The separatist administration declared their independence from the rest of Somalia in 1991 after the collapse of the central government, but has not been yet recognized. Turkey has been mediating the talks between the two sides before collapsing on early 2015. Early this year, talks between the two collapsed after Somaliland refused to commence the dialogue until members in Somalia government side to be removed from the talks whom they said are ‘Somaliland rebels’.
Key Headlines
- Somaliland Calls EU To Mediate Talks With Somalia Government (Somali Current)
- Puntland Launches Bosaaso Port Expansion Project (Garowe Online)
- Somaliland Orders A Boat Loaded With Somalis Not To Dock At Its Port (Goobjoog News)
- Galgaduud Region: Several People Dead In Tribal Clashes (Wacaal News)
- Somali President Arrives in Abuja (RBC Radio)
- Somalia May Pay 90% Of Oil Revenue To Explorer Under Draft Deal (World Oil)
- Portland Swears In Its First Somali-born Police Officer (The Columbian)
- Shift To Training Regional Forces As Somali Piracy Decreases (Defence Web)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Puntland Launches Bosaaso Port Expansion Project
28 May – Source: Garowe Online – 201 Words
The President of Somalia’s Puntland Government Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali has launched Bosaaso port expansion project on Thursday, Garowe Online reports. President Ali presided over a signing ceremony attended by other Puntland government officials and Divers Marine Contracting L.L.C representatives at Bosaaso presidential palace. Puntland Ports and Marine Transport Minister Abdullahi Jama Salah and Divers Managing Director Mr. Abdullah Darwish signed port expansion project deal. Government has not disclosed further details on the duration and costs allotted for Bossaso port infrastructure upgrade.
Garowe Online (GO) learned that Divers Marine Contracting L.L.C is owned by UAE-based Palestinian who resides in Ras al-Khaimah. Puntland has been pondering a plan to hand over management of Bosaaso port to another UAE-based firm, DP World. DP World officials previously visited Puntland, touring Bosaaso and the Indian Ocean town of Gara’ad. In his last trip to Dubai, Ali discussed issues pertaining to Bosaaso port with DP World management. DB World is poised to handle services at port in the Red sea town of Bebera in breakaway Somaliland region. It is unclear whether Bosaaso port renovation contract stipulates expansion of terminals and shipping network facilities due to shallow water harbor and increasing cargo volume.
Somaliland Orders A Boat Loaded With Somalis Not To Dock At Its Port
29 May – Source: Goobjoog News – 418 Words
A boat loaded with Somali and Yemen refugees who are fleeing from Yemen Conflict was rejected to dock at Berbera port by the proclaimed republic Somaliland on Thursday. The boat which reportedly set out one day ago, ferried vulnerable Somali refugees including women and children who are fleeing away the escalating Yemen violence. This boat will be the first to reach Somaliland’s waters since it has rejected refugee boats to dock at the harbours. It was on 24th May this year when the administration of the breakaway Somaliland issued statement rejecting to receive boats carrying Somalis from Yemen.
Somaliland minister for interior, Ali Mohamed Waran-Adde who spoke to the media on that day said that they will no longer accept boats from Yemen to dock at their harbours. “NGOs and Humanitarian aid agencies have fail to respond and help those poor families from Yemen who have nothing to eat or drink, our country is very young which cannot support this large number of refugees, from today on, as Somaliland Administration, we decided to stop boats loaded with Somalis, from docking at our ports” he said.
He added that they also have fear for the security their towns as hooligan people infiltrate in those boats which ferrying Somalis. Yemen became home for ferocious fighting between the internationally recognized government and the Houthis, who have taken control of large swaths of Yemen. The brawl claimed thousands of lives and displaced hundreds of thousands including Yemenis and Somali refugees who escaped the conflict and hardships in their country before civil war eruption in Yemen. Since 1st April, 7000 of Somali refugees have returned home by themselves with small boats. They accused the government of ‘’failing’’ to intervene the situation of the trapped citizens.
Life went from bad to worse for the Somalis living in Yemen after the federal government revealed that it is supporting the on-going Saudi-led military offensive against the Houthi rebels who are fighting to take over internationally recognized government. Somali government promised to dispatch ships and planes for the evacuation of Somalis caught in Yemen’s conflict. It was on 27th April when Director of the Parliament Mohamed Iyow told Goobjoog that the parliament has approved to send two ships to evacuate Somalis in Yemen. While other foreign nationals have been evacuated from the impoverished gulf nation, the federal government has not yet moved to evacuate its citizens despite announcing plans to bring back them home.
Galgaduud Region: Several People Dead In Tribal Clashes
29 May – Source: Wacaal News – 74 Words
Up to 16 people have been confirmed dead and several others injured after militia from two warring clans squared it off in Balli – Dhiige location in Galgadud region. Hundreds of families were also displaced by the conflict in the town which falls under Guir’el district. The injured were taken to hospitals in Guri’el. The regional administration and the federal government did not comment on the issue at the time of going to press.
Somali President Arrives In Abuja
28 May – Source: RBC Radio – 136 Words
Somali President Hassan Shiekh Mohamud along with a large delegation arrived in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital on Thursday, RBC Reports. A plane carrying the delegation of the President has arrived in Abuja today receiving warm welcome from top officials of Federal republic of Nigeria spearheaded by the new Nigerian President Mohammadu Buhari. The delegation of Somali President includes deputy foreign minister and Presidential aides including media. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is scheduled to to attend the inauguration of the new Nigerian President Mohammadu Buhari which is set to happen in Abuja. The President of Somalia is also expected to meet his Nigerian counterpart on the two African nations’ bilateral relations and helping Somalia’s efforts towards recovery from decades old civil war and restore law and order. Mohammahud Buhari has won in competitive elections with his successor Goodluck Jonathan.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia May Pay 90% Of Oil Revenue To Explorer Under Draft Deal
28 May – Source: World Oil – 666 Words
Soma Oil & Gas Holdings Ltd., chaired by former U.K. Conservative Party leader Michael Howard, has proposed a deal with the Somali government that may grant it as much as 90% of the country’s prospective oil revenue. A draft production-sharing agreement, obtained by Bloomberg from an official close to the negotiations, sets the state’s share of revenue on the first 25,000 bopd at 10% if found at a depth of greater than 1,000 m and when oil costs less than $70 a barrel. If output exceeds 150,000 bbl, Somalia’s take rises to 30%. Crude for delivery in June fell 0.4 percent to $57.30/bbl at 4:45 p.m. in London on Thursday.
Any deal with Somalia will include terms that are “fair and balanced” and reflect those signed in other high-risk, offshore oil and gas jurisdictions, Chief Executive Officer Robert Sheppard said in an e-mailed response to questions on May 27. “The proposals being discussed are in line with current industry standards.” Somalia is trying to attract investors to help rebuild its economy after African Union-backed government forces regained control of parts of its central and southern region seized by Al-Shabaab in an insurgency that began in 2006. The Horn of Africa nation is scheduled to hold a general election in 2016, the first since 1967, according to the Heritage Institute, a Mogadishu-based research organization. Oil and gas output may start by 2020 after exploration work showed the potential for “huge” offshore deposits, former Petroleum Minister Da’ud Mohamed Omar said in February.
Portland Swears In Its First Somali-born Police Officer
28 May – The Columbian – 436 Words
The Portland Police Bureau has sworn in its first Somali-American police officer. Officer Khalid Ibrahim’s swearing-in ceremony on Thursday comes less than a year after another local Somali-American, Mohamed Mohamud, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for plotting to bomb a crowded holiday event in Portland’s town square. Mohamud’s arrest in 2010 sent shock waves through the area’s Somali community and strained relations with law enforcement agencies, which the city and community have since worked to repair. “This is a historical day for our police bureau as we welcome the first officer from Somalia. We’ve put in a lot of effort to build relationships with the Somali community,” Assistant Police Chief Donna Henderson said at the standing-room-only ceremony.
The bomb plot was actually an FBI sting. Agents posing as al-Qaida recruiters targeted Mohamud, a former Oregon State University student, after the then-teenager wrote for an online jihadi magazine. The agents supplied a fake car bomb, and Mohamud pressed a button on a cellphone he believed would trigger it. Mohamud’s attorneys argued in court that he was entrapped by the FBI, guided every step of the way by the agents, even when he grew reluctant to follow through.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“All nations, whether coastal or landlocked, are to a greater or lesser extent dependent on the sea for the continued success of their economies and hence the well-being of their peoples. The freedom of nations to use the highways provided by the oceans to ply their trade to all the corners of the earth is the basis for this dependence. In the case of Africa, the importance of maritime trade for economic development and regional integration cannot be over-emphasised. About 90% of the total trade of our continent is seaborne. Ships remain the means to trade between continents and islands.”
Shift To Training Regional Forces As Somali Piracy Decreases
28 May – Defence Web – 775 Words
The three task forces of NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM), together with allied forces, are helping Somali and neighbouring countries patrol their own waters as piracy incidents decrease following naval patrols and the adoption of best management practices. Nevertheless, anti-piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden and Mozambique Channel continue. “The efforts of all involved has seen not even one serious attack attempt since January 2014,” Vice Admiral Bruno Paulmier said, warning conditions that first caused the outbreak of piracy still exist. “MARCOM is now focussing its efforts, in close co-ordination with CMF and EU NavFor on increasing Somali and neighbouring countries’ abilities to successfully patrol their own waters and deter piracy without outside assistance.
“There is still much to be done before that goal is achieved,” he said. Paulmier made the remarks at a meeting in the United Kingdom attended by US Naval Force Central Command/US Fifth Fleet/Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), the European Union Naval Force Somalia (EU NavFor) and the United Kingdom Amphibious Forces. The meeting centred round maritime security and counter-piracy. The three flag and general officers who attended represent operational command of the counter-piracy task forces CTF-151, headquartered in Bahrain; CTF-465, headquartered in Northwood, United Kingdom; and CTF-508, the NATO counter-piracy Operation Ocean Shield task force. The officers present were Vice Admiral John Miller, Major General Martin Smith and Paulmier.
TOP TWEETS
@NationFMKe : Most wanted #AlShabaab commander with Sh300m bounty on his head #SheikhHassanTurki dies in#Somalia aged 73
@MattBryden:Somalia May Pay 90% of Oil Revenue to Explorer Under Draft Deal #Somalia http://bloom.bg/1d2l2IZ via @business
@unicefsomalia:Fed. Gov. of #Somalia launched 1st population data since 1975. Stunning findings: 3/4 Somalis below 30, 50% below 15!
@PuntlandWatch: #Puntland citizens are donating funds to their Government so that Somali returnees & foreign refugees are properly cared for #Somalia
@Inside_Som: BREAKING #Kenyan forces with bulldozers and armored vehicles invades #Somalia border town of Balad Hawo, destroying houses. tension is high
IMAGE OF THE DAY
A university student makes a point during the dialogue on federalism and good governance held in Mogadishu on 26 May 2015. The dialogue was organized by Ministry of Interior and Federal Affairs (MOIFA) and UN officials.
Photo: UNSOM