June 26, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somali Militants Attack African Union Peacekeepers’ Base
26 June – Source: Reuters – 393 Words
Al-Shabaab militants battled with African Union (AU) troops in Somalia on Friday after exploding a car bomb at a peacekeepers’ base south of Mogadishu at dawn, military officials and a rebel spokesman said. The attack in Leego, some 130 km (80 miles) south of the Somali capital, came as residents gathered for morning prayers. It was the latest of several assaults since the Islamic holy month of Ramadan began a week ago. The Islamist militants fighting to overthrow the Western-backed Mogadishu government have often launched attacks during Ramadan and officials had deployed additional security because of the heightened security risk. “A car bomb rammed into the AU base,” Somali Major Nur Olow said. “AU forces opened fire at the speeding car bomb (but) the car forced its way in.”
“AMISOM confirms there is an ongoing attack at their Leego Somalia base that started this morning,” the African Union Mission in Somalia peacekeeping force (AMISOM) said on Twitter. The fighting was still raging three hours after the assault began, said Abdikadir Mohamed Sidi, governor of the Lower Shabelle region where Leego is located on the main road connecting Mogadishu and the inland city of Baidoa. “There is still heavy fighting between Burundian forces and Al-Shabaab at the Burundi base in Leego town,” he said, adding it was “too early to know casualties.” The peacekeeping force is made up of troops mainly from Kenya, Uganda and Burundi. Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, a spokesman for the al Qaeda-aligned group, said the militants had rammed the car bomb into the base and that “heavy fighting goes on inside the base.” He said the militants had killed 35 soldiers. The group often gives higher death tolls than officials do.
Last week, Al-Shabaab attacked an African Union convoy with Ethiopian soldiers along the same route. It also launched two attacks in Mogadishu in the past week. On Sunday, militants stormed a national intelligence agency training site and on Wednesday targeted military instructors from the United Arab Emirates with a car bomb. No Emirates citizens were killed but at least three Somali soldiers died in that attack. An AMISOM and Somali army offensive last year pushed Al-Shabaab out of its major strongholds. But the group still controls some rural areas and stages regular attacks in Somalia and neighbouring Kenya.
Key Headlines
- Somali Militants Attack African Union Peacekeepers’ Base (Reuters)
- Government And AMISOM Forces Repel Al-Shabaab In Qoryoley Attack (Wacaal Media)
- Jubbaland President Concludes His Visit To Ethiopia (Goobjoog News)
- Efforts To End Tensions In Puntland As Renegade General Threatens Government (Goobjoog News)
- Puntland Bashes Federal Parliament Speaker Galmudug Not Recognized (Garowe Online)
- MPs Sign Move To Table Motion Of No Confidence Against Somali President (Dalsan Radio)
- Somalia’s Journalists Are Under Al-Shabaab’s Gun (The Daily Star Lebanon)
- How Britain’s Khat Ban Devastated An Entire Kenyan Town(The Guardian)
- Security Council Condemns Attack On Diplomats In Somalia (Business Standard)
- Stakeholders Keen To Resolve Somalia Differences – Official (Star Africa)
- In Search Of Recognition (Buenos Aires Herald)
- ‘Becoming Chinese’: Meet The First Somali With A Home Return Permit (Post Magazine)
- Hell Hath No Fury Like A Professor Scorned (Wardheer News)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Government And AMISOM Forces Repel Al-Shabaab In Qoryoley Attack
26 June – Source: Wacaal Media – 111 Words
Al-Shabaab militants yesterday launched simultaneous coordinated attacks in Qoryooly, Lower Shabelle region. The militants lost the town’s control to the Federal government and AMISOM forces in March 2014. Confirming the incident to the local media, Qoryoley District commissioner Mohamed Sheikh Osman said that the militants attacked the local police station and the regional administration’s offices in the 10pm raid. He added that a gunfight that lasted for several hours but he did not give the exact figure of casualties. Local residents have started coming back to the town after fleeing last year as the operation to liberate it from the militants intensified.
Jubbaland President Concludes His Visit To Ethiopia
26 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 191 Words
Jubbaland President Ahmed Madobe has been on an official visit to Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa following an official invitation from the government in Ethiopia. He met Ethiopian foreign minister Dr.Tedros Adhanom and discussed a number of issues including security with the Ethiopian part. Jubbaland president Ahmed Madobe has thanked Ethiopian government on its efforts to mediate between Jubbland State and Federal government of Somalia. He also stressed the State’s determination to fight and dismantle Al-Shabaab calling them terrorist organization that never understands the interest of Somali people and that of neighbors.
Ethiopian foreign minister Dr.Tedros Adhanom stressed the strong will of Ethiopian government to uproot Al-Shabaab by all means necessary. Is not yet clear why, but the Ethiopian government has been inviting recent weeks a number of Somali State’s heads including Somaliland president, Southwest president and this time Jubbaland president. Ethiopian has been active player in Somali retail politics and this time it has strong military presence as part of African Peacekeeping Mission.
Efforts To End Tensions In Puntland As Renegade General Threatens Government
26 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 158 Words
Prominent elders, civil society and members from the state government have convened a meeting to discuss security crises created by what they call a renegade general who rebelled against the president and who was replaced a few days ago. The aim of the meeting was to adapt appropriate steps to end the situation before it turns into violence. The elders said they are planning to send a delegation consisting of 25 people to Qarxis village to meet the rebel commander and then come back to Growe. They also warned that they won’t accept anyone to destabilize the well being and security of Puntland. The rebelled General Ahmed Muhadin and his unit stationed at Qarxis Village in Nugal Region where his clan-mate members live. He justified the reasons why he defected from Puntland state because of favoritism by Puntland president and months of unpaid salaries.
Puntland Bashes Federal Parliament Speaker, Galmudug Not Recognized
25 June – Source: Garowe Online – 232 Words
Puntland Government in northern Somalia has blamed Federal Parliament speaker Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari for disregarding the constitution, announcing it will not recognize forthcoming Galmudug administration, Garowe Online reports. The Presidenct said in a statement shortly after a weekly cabinet meeting presided over by Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali that federal parliament speaker is accustomed to battling existing federal member states: “Puntland Government calls the parliament speaker’s moves astonishing. He is accustomed to blatant disregard for the constitution and constant sabotage of existing federal member states of Puntland and Jubaland,” read the press release seen by Goobjoog Online.
Puntland also accused some international community representatives of losing neutrality, and embroiling themselves in breach of federalism principles. “Puntland announces that it doesn’t recognize the so-called Galmudug administration, it’s not pondering co-operation and would rather prevent attempts at dividing Puntland,” unveiled the northeastern state. Meanwhile, Puntland said it considers the newly-formed independent commissions ‘unconstitutional’. Puntland cut off relations with Mogadishu-based Federal government on the inclusion of Mudug in central state On July 31, 2014, however precarious ties were restored. Debates heated after Adado Conference delegates approved a controversial constitution in a move hailed as a step forward in the country’s federalization endeavor by Somali Interior Minister. On June 15, in a speech to the parliament, Puntland President threatened that everything will be reconsidered if federalization process maligns existing federal states.
MPs Sign Move To Table Motion Of No Confidence Against Somali President
25 June – Source : Radio Dalsan – 202 Words
Radio Dalsan has learnt that more than 139 members of Somali national assembly have signed a document aimed to table motion of no confidence against President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The move which is reported to be secretly driven by members for the past few days is gaining momentum, according to reliable sources. According to the constitution the motion needs the support of 80 members to be presented to the speaker and tabled in the house for debate.Two third majority is also needed which is in this case is 184 members of parliament for the motion of no confidence against the president to pass.
The drivers of the motion have based their argument on three key points which they believe is enough to send the president out of Villa Somalia. To start with, members say the president and his inner circles are mismanaging national assets by selling government land and building for selfish gains. Secondly, lack of salary and remuneration for the civil servants especially armed forces for the past few months and finally lack of allowances for the members of parliament which they claimed is diverted to other parts of the country for political support of the established central regional state.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia’s Journalists Are Under Al-Shabaab’s Gun
26 June – Source: The Daily Star, Lebanon – 720 Words
More than 50 journalists have been killed in Somalia since the civil war began in the country in 1990. It is the most dangerous place for journalists to operate on the African continent. The terrorist group Al-Shabab has attacked military and civilian targets and has routinely used intimidation of the press as a tool through which it seeks to control the narrative of its conflict. Six years ago, the leaders of Al-Shabab invited journalists – myself included – to a news conference in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital city. It was a trap to assassinate the journalists who attended, but we didn’t find out until it was too late. I witnessed Al-Shabab shoot my colleague, Said Tahlil, right in front of me. I could not even rush him to the nearest health center to save his life because all roads were closed due to the fighting between the Al-Shabab gunmen and members of the government militia. Although Al-Shabaab has been pushed back into rural Somali towns and no longer controls major cities in Somalia, it continues to carry out attacks and bombings in the region. Al-Shabab is allied to Al-Qaeda, and as a result of this it is fighting for the establishment of a fundamentalist Somali Islamic state. Despite the peril we face as journalists, independent Somali media aren’t aligned with the government or with Al-Shabab. Instead, we are non-partisan and time and again have to take a neutral stance in the stories that we report.
Last month, the Somali government put further constraints on our editorial freedom. It did so by banning journalists in the country from using the word “Al-Shabab” in their coverage when referring to the Islamist insurgent group. “Al-Shabab” is an Arabic word that means “the youth.” Instead, the government memo asked that media outlets now refer to Al-Shabaab as “the group that massacres the Somali people.” Al-Shabab has threatened to take strong action against any journalist or media group that agrees to follow the order that was issued by the government. Since top daily news stories often involve Al-Shabaab as a key player, this creates a dilemma for Somalia’s journalists and puts them in a state of perpetual fear. Al-Shabaab is believed to have around 8,000 combatants and has drawn radical militants from countries across the globe. This month, for example, a 25-year-old man from the United Kingdom is believed to have been killed while storming a military base in northern Kenya along with Al-Shabab fighters. As Kenya has been sending troops to battle Al-Shabab in regions of Somalia, Al-Shabab has retaliated by carrying out several attacks in Kenya. In April, it murdered 147 people in an attack at Garissa University College, their intention being to wipe out the university’s Christian students.
How Britain’s Khat Ban Devastated An Entire Kenyan Town
26 June – Source: The Guardian – 1, 066 Words
In a quiet and unassuming town tucked away in a hilly part of eastern Kenya, the British home secretary Theresa May’s name is spoken with barely concealed anger. Since her role in the ban of the town’s most valuable export, she’s become a universally vilified figure. For more than two decades, Maua enjoyed booming business propelled by the growth and sale of khat, known locally as miraa, a popular herb whose leaves and stems are chewed for the mild high they offer. But last year the UK, home to one of khat’s biggest markets, declared the stimulant a class C drug and banned all imports, prompting Maua’s rapid descent into economic purgatory. Since the early 1990s, Britain has imported between 2,500 to 2,800 tonnes a year, according to the Home Affairs committee. Although in its initial findings the committee could not find a compelling health or social reason to ban khat, May’s argument – that continuing to allow trade in the UK would spawn off an illegal export corridor to other European countries where it is banned – won out in what became a controversial cultural debate.
Now that people are no longer making money from miraa, they do not have money to buy food. Now, a year after the legislation was signed, residents in Maua have been hit hard by a shrinking local economy that has left many facing poverty. Edward Muruu is one of the earliest pioneers of the khat export trade. A retired headmaster at a local primary school, he says he has experienced unprecedented losses since the ban came into effect. “I used to ferry miraa (khat) from Maua to Nairobi four times a week using 27 Toyota Hilux trucks, where it was repackaged for export. I used to make around £2,100 a month. Now I am lucky if I bring in £250 per month,” he says. With the European market gone, the only place left for Muruu to sell his stimulant is Somalia, where consumers now dictate how much they pay – and it’s not much. “The other issue with the Somali market is that the only people who can transport miraa to Mogadishu are Kenyan Somalis, meaning that the rest of us drivers have been put out of work,” says a former worker of Muruu’s, who only identified himself as Kanda.
According to Kanda, if non-Somali drivers attempt the trip they are attacked along the journey. For a town of its size and location, Maua has a disproportionately large number of residents of Somali heritage, most of whom are involved in the khat trade as middlemen. They are also big consumers themselves. The effects of the London ban have reached everybody in the khat micro-economy, from the big name traders like Muraa to the small fish who depend on the trade for their survival. Although Muraa has made investments that have cushioned him against the blows of a deeply depleted income, those at the lower end of the food chain have not been so lucky. Miriti Ngozi, chairman of the Miraa Traders Association, says that many farmers and traders are no longer able to pay school fees or even buy enough food for their families. The miraa trade was the heartbeat of this town; it drove everything else “You have to understand that in this region, subsistence farming has long been overshadowed by the more prestigious miraa farming. Now that people are no longer making money from miraa, they do not have money to buy food and many families are sleeping hungry,” he says.
Security Council Condemns Attack On Diplomats In Somalia
26 June – Source: Business Standard – 167 Words
The UN Security Council has condemned an attack on a humanitarian convoy carrying diplomats from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Somalia. A car bomb targeting a bullet-proof vehicle carrying diplomats from the UAE on Wednesday killed at least 14 people, including four Somali soldiers, in Mogadishu, Xinhua news agency reported. In a statement, the members of the Security Council expressed their deep sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims as well as to the people and governments of Somalia and the UAE. They condemned acts of violence against diplomatic and consular representatives, which endanger or take innocent lives and seriously impede the normal work of such representatives and officials, the statement said. Noting that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, the Council members said any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivation, wherever and whenever and by whomsoever committed.
Stakeholders Keen To Resolve Somalia Differences – Official
25 June – Source: Star Africa – 179 Words
Jubaland President Ahmed Mohammed Islam has expressed desire to resolve the disagreements between Jubaland and South West State of Somalia, APA can report on Thursday.The president expressed his willingness to solve the differences of the two states of Somalia while holding talks on Thursday with Foreign Affairs Minister of Ethiopia Dr. Tedros Adhanom in Addis Ababa. There were recently disagreements between Jubaland and South West State in their representations in the Somali national parliament. Following the disagreements, Dr. Tedros has held separate discussions with the leaders of the two states to seek lasting solution to the problem. During the talk, the Ethiopian Foreign Minister stated that Jubaland and South West State are the sole movers of an agreement reached in Addis Ababa in 2013. Therefore, the minor differences of the parties could be resolved by no other means except dialogue, he said, adding that Ethiopia is confident that the problem would be addressed amicably. South West State President Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden also expressed willingness to mutually resolve the issues.
In Search Of Recognition
25 June – Source: Buenos Aires Herald – 1, 250 Words
With some outside help, the self-declared independent state of Somaliland is slowly making progress The self-declared independent state of Somaliland, located in the Horn of Africa, is normally off the radar of mainstream media — you mostly hear about this corner of the world when al-Shabaab Islamic militants carry out a bloody terror attack, or when a Somali pirate kidnaps a westerner. But there are underreported, positive stories which can offer a beacon of hope to a region normally plagued with violence. Somaliland is searching for self-determination and international recognition, seeking to upgrade the informal ties it holds with some foreign governments. Up until 1960, for 73 years in fact, Somaliland was a British protectorate. Following civil war in the 1980s, it ceded from Somalia in 1991 and it has enjoyed relative political stability since then.
Unlike its neighbours, Somaliland has a 24-year track record of relatively stable government, a rare occurrence in these latitudes. It has been “very successful in establishing a civilian administration with functioning court systems, Executive, Parliament and in (terms of) keeping al-Shabaab militants out,” Laura Hammond, senior lecturer at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, told the Herald in a recent interview. However, Somaliland has not been recognized by the international community, which views it as a territory within Somalia. And the African Union is afraid that if it backs Somaliland’s bid for independence, it could trigger a host of other separatist bids in the region. “The western, diplomatic community does not oppose their independence but they want that agreement to come from the ground up, instead of being imported from outside the region,” said Hammond. “Many people in south Somalia think that losing Somaliland feels like losing an arm. They feel it in a very strong, visceral way — that somehow they are not complete without Somaliland.”
Despite significant progress, Somaliland is still dependent on external help. On June 17, the United Nations and the European Union launched six joint regional programmes, worth a total of US$106 million, with the aim of providing development aid toward state-building and jobs for the youth in Somaliland, Somalia and Puntland. And the help is not just coming from large international institutions. In 2014, British consultancy firm Horizon Institute started a two-year legal training course for around 60 Somalilander lawyers, to be delivered by UK legal professionals in a bid to strengthen the country’s judicial system and confront the challenges it faces. Chloé Barton, a self-employed barrister from Britain, is one of those trainers. She has visited Somaliland twice this year under the programme and she says that although there was some initial distrust from the local lawyers, they soon came to see the training as a golden opportunity. Nonetheless, she says, it hasn’t always been easy, due to the vast cultural differences between the UK and Somaliland, particularly with respect to legal cases involving rape. “It (the law) hasn’t changed in 100 years. Sometimes their way of dealing with it is to marry the woman to the rapist to protect her honour; and from our western perspective, of course, that is abhorrent,” Barton said.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“The South China Morning Post runs many op-eds calling the Hong Kong Immigration Department racist, because certain Africans and Indians are being denied visas. I say, “Look at me: I’m not Chinese, I don’t speak Mandarin. I have no relation in China. But I have a return to home permit.” I went to Canada last year and the immigration officer there was looking at my documents and at me and saying, “This is bizarre, bizarre …” Three times he said it. I was the first Somali he’d seen holding an SAR passport.”
‘Becoming Chinese’: Meet the first Somali with a Home Return Permit
26 June – Source: Post Magazine – 994 Words
I was born in Mogadishu in 1968 and my father is an optologist, who trained in Italy. Back then Somalia was a military dictatorship under Mohamed Siad Barre. We had free health care and schooling but not much freedom of speech. Compared to the chaos you have now, however, Somalia was a nice place to live. A “normal” African country. When I finished high school, I went to Delhi, in India, to study insurance. When I returned to Somalia, civil war had broken out. It was a mess. Somalia has the longest coastline on the African continent, bigger than South Africa’s, and my family had started a seafood business. We were selling live lobsters to Dubai, so I moved to the UAE. The El Nino phenomenon was causing biological and physical changes to the environment that affected fish distribution in the oceans and made it harder for fishermen in Somalia to dive down and catch the lobsters. We folded the business and I moved into logistics.
I have five sisters and four brothers and they are all over the world: London, Norway, Canada. When I visited my siblings and saw what kind of jobs they were doing – cab driver, security guard – I decided I was not interested in the West. I decided to go East; there was far more opportunity. After five years in Dubai, in 2002, Hellmann – the logistics giant I worked for – wanted a man in Hong Kong to do their African business. I snapped up that chance. They put me up in a fancy five-star hotel. I’d never meet my target clients there. So for that first year, I lived in Chungking Mansions. My clients are all ethnic Somalis living in Kenya, visiting Hong Kong and shipping Chinese-manufactured garments back home. I am the Hong Kong government’s only Somali-speaking translator. There are maybe 65 to 70 Somalis in Hong Kong, but, apart from me, the rest are mostly refugees or asylum seekers.
Since 2003, I have been helping any Somali who comes into contact with the police, the court system or immigration. Somalia is a failed state so people are just fleeing. I have to translate their story to immigration: most often they seek asylum from ethnic clan persecution or terrorism, like al-Shabab. Many people might disagree, but I think Hong Kong is a good place for refugees. Some Asian countries don’t respect the UN – Thailand and Malaysia, for example. But in Hong Kong if you show documents to the police to prove you are an asylum seeker, they respect that. And, although it’s too small, the government does give an allowance to asylum seekers. You don’t have that in mainland China. In 2009, I became a Chinese citizen. I believe I am the first Somali in the world to “become Chinese” – that’s what the Somali embassy in Beijing told me when I handed them back my passport.
“He left Mogadishu sullen and bitter. To him, the political system had betrayed him. His position as an intellectual and an avowed northern nationalist became a liability in a political environment that favored one’s clan affiliation, rather than what one could do for the country.”
Hell Hath No Fury Like A Professor Scorned
25 June – Source: Wardheer News – 1, 028 Words
In a famous true story, a young Italian musician did the unthinkable: He challenged his mentor, the great maestro Arturo Toscanini, with an unexpected fusillade. “With regard to Toscanini, the maestro,” said the young man, “I bow my head in respect. However,” he continued, “with regard to Toscanini, the man…” The young man then proceeded to take off his shoe and started assaulting the maestro. Recently, there was a public debate about the case of Somaliland. Professor Ahmed Ismael Samatar, of Macalester College, was one of four speakers participating in the debate. Each invited speaker was allotted 15 minutes to speak. Samatar went over his time, and when the organizer politely told him his time was up, the good professor was furious and mumbled that he had yet to present the gist of his speech. What happened next was beyond comprehension. Samatar sat down in disgust and refused to participate. A gentleman implored the professor to participate in the discussion, but Samatar was indignant about the way he had been treated. “They [the organizers] invited us,” the professor protested, “and they do not know how to run the debate.” The audience was still reeling from shock when the question-and-answer session commenced. Some of the audience took clear shots at Samatar for his support of Somaliland after many years of lambasting the secessionist region. Not long ago, Samatar, who hails from the north, was a prominent unionist who had worked hard for the unity of Somalia.
Samatar’s career has been consistent and strongly nationalistic. As a young broadcaster for the BBC’s Somali Services in the 1960s, Samatar would conclude the half-hour broadcast with the proclamation, “Soomaaliya ha noolato,” (Long live Somalia), thereby breaking the journalistic code of neutrality and objectivity. However, Samatar today is singing a new tune, one of secession and the disintegration of Somalia’s territorial integrity. The professor’s firm belief in the unity of Somalia, a belief that spanned five decades, has gone with the wind. Now, many Somalis are asking themselves how someone who stood so strongly for Somali unity has suddenly converted to secessionism. What many people forget is there are two sides of Samatar: Samatar the intellectual and Samatar the politician. Unfortunately, these two sides have been unable to reconcile, and hence have led to his undoing. Political scientists do not make good politicians, just as medical doctors do not make good patients.
Samatar has been teaching politics for more than three decades, yet this extensive teaching experience did not necessarily mean the learned professor possesses effective political skills. He made a faux pas of misreading the intention of Somali legislators who were selecting the president in 2012. Before Samatar’s candidacy for office, he and his colleagues formed a political party, “Hiil Qaran.” He then ran for the Somali presidency but failed miserably to even make it to the second round of the election. Samatar once again misread the political situation, which he knew was based on an unfair political power arrangement that favored the two biggest clans in Somalia. Moreover, the eventual winner of the presidency, Hassan S. Mohamoud, had made a secret deal with Samatar: whoever wins the presidency would make the other his prime minister. Mohamoud, it turned out, had made similar promises to other candidates and instead chose an inexperienced premier like him.
TOP TWEETS
@amisomsomalia AMISOM confirms there is an ongoing attack at their #Lego #Somalia base that started this morning. More details to follow.
@Omaar_nor While #Somalia marks independence day,#Alshabab infiltrates #AU base, kills Soldiers, burns vehicles,hoists its flag
@SalahOsman0 #Somalia girl accepted to all 8 Ivy League schools dines with US President @BarackObama
http://www.myfoxtwincities.
@Zoe_Flood Fairly gloomy #longread on state of play in#Somalia by @VFelbabBrown @ForeignAffairs-polit stagnation, insecurity: https://www.foreignaffairs.
@ElmiDhigal #Somalia Celebrates the 55th Anniversary of Independance day in 26june #Mogadishu @TheVillaSomalia@SomaliPM @Aynte
@ASSIYYA It’s so beautiful to drive through the city and see flags draped literally everywhere. Happy Independence Day#Somalia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud celebrates Somalia’s 55th Anniversary of Independance at Villa Somalia.