20 Sept 2011 – Daily Monitoring Report
Key Headlines:
- TFG prioritizes aid to al Shabaab-held territories
- In Mogadishu an enemy retreats but fear remains
- Militant-run radio station gives kids guns bombs as prizes in Quran contest
- WFP delivers humanitarian aid in parts of Lower Juba
- Kenya launch investigations into ‘al Shabaab’ training
- IDPs in Bay region receive humanitarian aid worth $2000
PRESS RELEASE
TFG prioritizes aid to al Shabaab-held Territories
19 Sept – Source: TFG – 268 words
The TFG has emphasized the need to get aid delivered to al Shabaab-held areas where the needs of the population are the greatest.
With both aid and aid workers well established in Mogadishu, the government, through the Somali National Disaster Management Agency and in collaboration with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) office in Mogadishu and UN OCHA, is looking for ways to step up effective delivery.
Together, they will brief and advise all aid workers in the city on how this can be done through local NGO staff and without placing international aid workers in unnecessary danger.
The Minister of Information, Posts & Telecommunications, H.E. Abdulkadir H. Mohamed Jahweyn, said: “We thank those who come to our country to help and we admire and applaud their courage and determination. We share their desire to help people as quickly as possible and will work with them to find the best ways. Our people have suffered most under al Shabaab, and in areas under al Shabaab control, they continue to be deprived of the basic needs for survival. Helping these people in particular is our priority. However, aid workers who end up killed or kidnapped by al Shabaab in their efforts to support us, are no use to those they came to help. We must work together to ensure that aid is delivered quickly and effectively without exposing the aid workers to unnecessary risks and dangers that threaten their ability to do good work. It is a fine balance, but one we must achieve.”
SOMALI MEDIA
Minister: We are committed to dislodging al Shabaab from Mogadishu
20 Sept – Source: Mareeg Online, Shabelle – 89 words
The TFG said it will soon dislodge al Shabaab completely from Mogadishu.
Speaking to reporters in Mogadishu, Somalia’s minister of defence said his government plans to fully assert its control over Mogadishu.
The minister says that Somalia and AMISOM’s recent successes came as a result of support and efforts Somalia is getting from the international community.
He indicated that the government will continue its battles against the al Shabaab fighters who struggle to dethrone the internationally recognized Somali transitional government.
The minister of defence spelled out that what is needed to give technical support to Somali forces by giving them good military equipments.
http://www.mareeg.com/fidsan.
TFG defense minister acknowledges the secret airstrikes in Southern Somalia
19 Sept – Source: Radio Mogadishu, Somali report – 65 words
The Somali defence minister, Hussein Arab Isse declared that his government is aware of the airstrikes in Southern Somalia and added that the shelling is apart of the efforts to eradicate the extremist group from the country. He added that the government will soon resume their operations to get rid of the extremists and that the movement have a new plan for them.
A sight of relief as down pours reported in parts of Sool region
20 Sept – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 150 words
Several herders in Sool region have begun moving with their livestock to parts of the region and Togdher, where the long seasonal rain has begun in the last few days.
Herders confirmed that the first set of the long rain has begun in the areas of Yogori, Yeyle, Egag, Hadh-wanag, Shuluh and several other areas in these regions.
The herders began moving with their livestock in efforts to save them from the severe drought that has hit the Horn of African country.
The rain brought happiness to the faces of the people as they have been faced with ravaging drought and famine crisis. The rain comes at times when there is dire need for it.
Somaliland Vice President welcomes notable delegates from UAE
19 Sept – Source: Somaliland Press – 204 words
H.E. Abdirahman A. Ismail, the vice-president of Somaliland met prominent delegation from Sharjah, UAE in his office. The envoy, representing UAE-Sharjah Red Crescent Society delivered and distributed humanitarian relief food to drought-stricken regions of Somaliland. The vice-president and the chair person of Somaliland’s drought emergency relief committee, in his remarks to the media expressed his great appreciation and gratitude to his guest of honour and their imperative assistance during these difficult times Somaliland and its neighbouring countries are facing.
Welcoming the UAE delegates, the vice-president said “UAE and Somaliland relations and cooperation have advanced well since the two countries share the same religion and culture; your generosity towards the people of Somaliland during these arduous times simply illustrats the fruitful and successful collaborations that has been, for the past 20 years, developing stronger. And so on behalf of Somaliland citizens and its government, I would like to once again thank you.”
http://somalilandpress.com/
IDPs in Bay region receive humanitarian aid worth $2,000
19 Sept – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 147 words
Over 270 needy families camping in Gasaar area in between Baidoa and Daynunay, Bay region have received humanitarian relief food worth $2,000 from diaspora people from the region. The relief food including rice, flour, beans, sugar and cooking oil was donated by well-wishers in the UK who are natives of Gasaar area.
The donors appointed local elders in Bay and Bakol regions to ensure the distribution of the relief food on their behalf.
Malaq Amin Barawani, one of the local traditional elders in the region told Bar-kulan that a local cleric in the UK representing other donors has handed them the relief aid for distribution. He said they distributed the aid to the destined needy people in the area, as anticipated. People in Gasaar have been in dire need of humanitarian assistance since they are facing the worst drought and famine related crisis that has hit southern Somalia for six decades.
US drones kill 17 al Shabaab fighters
19 Sept – Source: Diirad Online – 168 words
Seventeen al Shabaab fighters have been killed in drone attacks by the US military that targeted their bases in southern Somalia.
On Friday, three high-ranking members and 14 fighters of the al Shabaab militant group were killed when the US military used remote-controlled unmanned aerial vehicles in an attack on Dhobley town, which is located near Kismayo, the capital of the lower Juba region and a port city about 500 kilometres (310 miles) south of the Somali capital Mogadishu, Diirad correspondent reported on Saturday.
On Thursday, nine civilians were killed and 30 others wounded in US airstrikes on the outskirts of Kismayo.
Somalia is the sixth country where the US military has used remote-controlled aircraft to conduct deadly airstrikes. The United States has also used drones in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Iraq, and Yemen.
http://www.diirad.com/news-in-
Somalia’s National Security Committee meets in Mogadishu
19 Sept – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 107 words
The Somali National Security Committee on Sunday afternoon met inside the presidential palace in Mogadishu to deliberate on the current security situation in the capital and the entire country.
The meeting which was chaired by President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed focused on bolstering Mogadishu’s security and doubling government’s efforts against al Shabaab.
The committee also discussed ways to keep the government military in specific barracks and handing over the security mandate to the Somali police. The curbing of illegal firearms in the capital was also discussed during the security committee meeting. The government controls much of the capital following the reported withdrawal of the rebel group from all positions in July this year.
WFP delivers humanitarian aid to parts of Lower Jubba
19 Sept – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 184 words
The U.N World Food Programme has on Monday delivered desperately needed food rations in Dif, a village situated along the Kenyan-Somali common border.
Abdullahi Mohamed, who is one of the area local elders who spoke to Bar-kulan, said the WFP has distributed the food ration including sorghum, maize, biscuits and cooking oil to drought and famine-hit people in the area.
The elder said the WFP’s aid was the only of its kind for the last five years, adding that majority of the inhabitants are people who fled their homes due to the current drought and famine situation in southern Somalia. He noted the worsening drought crisis in the region, with local herders bearing the worst.
He said if not swiftly moved in with humanitarian assistance, the situation will dramatically worsen in the coming few days.
Locals welcomed the aid delivery, calling it a ‘timely response’ to the growing concern of humanitarian catastrophe in the region. Earlier, the WFP promised to scale up humanitarian aid reaching the needy people in the worst-hit regions of southern Somalia, where millions of people are said to be on the brink of starvation.
Health condition of Briton held Somali pirates reportedly bad
20 Sept – Source: Shabelle, Mareeg Online – 146 words
The health condition of abducted British woman held captive by Somali pirates in central Somalia is bad. Reliable sources told the media that Somali pirates removed ear-device from the British captive, Judith Tebbutt, who is believed to be in her fifties.
The sources added that the Briton demanded to be allowed to talk to her relatives in the United Kingdom though it is not known if the communication was granted. However, Iman Omar Moallim Abshir, an elder from central Somalia said it is regrettable that the British citizen is being held captive inside Somalia by pirates.
He said more efforts are needed to secure the release of the British woman, whose husband was killed by the armed men in Somalia-Kenya border last week.
http://www.shabelle.net/
REGIONAL MEDIA
Uganda defence minister in Somalia for talks
19 Sept – Source: New Vision – 158 words
Uganda’S Minister of Defence, Dr. Crispus Kiyonga is in Mogadishu where he is expected to meet the Somalia president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and other senior government officials, according to the army spokesperson, Felix Kulaigye.
Kiyonga flew to Somalia yesterday on a four-day mission during which he would meet the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) officers. He visited the AMISOM main camp in Mogadishu’s Halane neighbourhood yesterday, according to agencies.
Kiyonga’s visit to the Somali capital is said to be for assessing the recent military achievements by both the Somali forces and AU peacekeepers. His trip is also aimed at showing Uganda’s continued support for the Somali government, according to sources there.
The minister’s visit comes days after the Ugandan infantry commander visited the capital, following AMISOM’s successes against the al Shabaab militants.
Last month, AMISOM pushed al Shabaab fighters out of their stronghold of Bakara Market in Mogadishu. The insurgents retreated and have since stayed out of the capital.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/
Ugandan Police warns of biological terror attack
19 Sept – Source: New Vision, Xinhua – 184 words
Security is alert in anticipation of a biological or chemical terrorism attack on Uganda, the Police counter-terrorism squad boss, Abas Byakagaba, has said.
Speaking at a pass-out ceremony for security officials who completed a one-week Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear awareness course at Protea Hotel, Kampala on Friday, Byakagaba warned that an imminent attack would be costly, so they were not taking any chances.
Byakagaba, who is also the Assistant Inspector General of Police, said the Police would ensure that the knowledge acquired is disseminated to all policemen so that such an attack is avoided. The one-week training was conducted by officials from the US as part of the Anti-Terrorism Assistance Programme from the US State department.
The programme seeks to increase the ability of foreign law enforcement and security officials to counter terrorism. It was initiated in 1983. Byakagaba said the biggest threat to Uganda was abandoned sources of nuclear substances lying among the public.
The US Ambassador, Jerry P. Lanier, said the training was intended to increase the proficiency of security forces to respond to and mitigate effects of nuclear incidents. A total of 76 people were killed and score of others sustained serious injuries.
A Somali militant group, al Shabaab, claimed responsibility of the attacks claiming they were in revenge of Uganda’s deployment of peacekeeping troops in Somalia.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/
Kenya launch investigations into ‘al Shabaab’ training
20 Sept – Source: Coastweek, Xinhua – 364 words
Kenya’s authorities have launched a manhunt on those involved in recruiting youths into Somalia militant group, al Shabaab and other illegal groups in Mombasa. The latest development comes days after a report was released of a suspect confessing to al Shabaab training in the coastal city of Mombasa.
According to a confession by Ally Abdulrasoul who had been arrested by the Anti Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU), 15 Yemenis, Somalis and a Pakistani were recruited into the al Shabaab, and smuggled into Kenya for training and indoctrination early in the year.
Police sources said the areas being targeted include the South Coast, Mombasa and Lamu Counties, where the recruits pass. The Coast Provincial Criminal Investigations boss, Ambrose Munyasia, confirmed that the police, in collaboration with the anti-terror unit, have been conducting a hunt to root out any suspects. “It is not that we are conducting this manhunt for the last few days, it is something we have been doing and we want to make sure that they are all smoked out,” Munyasia said in Mombasa on Monday.
The official said the police had intensified their search, and also extended it to other areas to ensure that the suspects are apprehended.
http://www.coastweek.com/3437_
Oman to send aid consignment for Somalia
19 Sept – Source: Times of Oman – 112 words
As per the Royal Directives of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, the Omani Charitable Organisation (OCO) will start dispatching the Omani aid for those affected in the Republic of Somalia through an airlift.
The first and second flight will head for Mogadishu International Airport today with 90 tonnes of various relief items, including food, medicines and tents.
The Chief Executive Officer of OCO said that the 1st batch would amount to 720 tonnes and includes, medical supplies and equipment, foodstuffs, various relief materials and tents. The Omani relief team will distribute the aid material in a number of Somali regions affected by drought, particularly the central and southern regions and Puntland.
http://www.timesofoman.com/
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Ugandan defense minister visits Mogadishu, pledges more troops
20 Sept – Source: All Headlines News – 194 words
A delegation led by Uganda’s Defense Minister landed in Mogadishu on Monday for a one day visit to witness Somalia’s security situation only weeks after al-Shabaab fled the capital. Somali Defense Minister Hussein Arab Isse welcomed his Ugandan counterpart at Mogadishu international airport.
The Ugandan delegation paid visits to refugee camps housing famine-displaced people in Mogadishu.
“On behalf of my country Uganda, we would wish to take of advantage this opportunity to express our sympathy with the people of Somalia because of famine has hit this country,” Defense Minister Crispus Kiyonga told reporters.
Kiyonga praised the recent achievements by Somali forces with the help of AMISOM troops, underscoring that Uganda and Burundi will send an extra 3,000 troops to the war-ravaged horn of African nation. New military camps will be opened in the Somali capital where more transitional government soldiers will be trained to help end the conflict.
Isse, added that the visit by Ugandan officials is a clear sign that the world is still ready to help Somalia. Isse said Somali forces have made huge improvements, adding that they together with AMISOM troops managed to flush out the rebel group al-Shabaab from Mogadishu.
In Mogadishu, an enemy retreats but fear remains
19 Sept – Source: Washington Post – 515 words
For the first time in three years, al Shabaab militants no longer rule Mogadishu. But the African Union troops stationed in the city are still nervous. On a desolate stretch of Bakara market, which al Shabaab used as a base, the troops walked past shuttered shops and houses pocked with bullet holes during a recent visit. Young men of fighting age stared from rooftops.
“How do you tell who is the enemy?” said Maj. Paddy Akunda, a spokesman for the A.U. force, gazing up suspiciously. “It’s difficult to know who is wearing a suicide vest.”
Al-Shabaab suddenly retreated from most of the Somali capital a month ago, leaving an uneasy calm in the city. A.U. and Somali government forces can now venture into the market, where the al Qaeda-linked militia taxed merchants to fund its operations.
But hardly anyone is declaring victory over the militia. Al Shabaab still controls large swaths of territory in Somalia and has vowed to retake Mogadishu. Many Somalis fear that the relentless civil war in their country has entered a new phase in which an urban conflict with demarcated front lines has turned into one with none, fueled by attacks by al Shabaab sympathizers who easily blend into the population.
The week Akunda’s troops visited Bakara market, there were five attempted car bombings or grenade attacks, A.U. commanders said.“The front lines are no longer visible in Mogadishu,” Akunda said. “It’s more complicated now”.
The latest chapter in Somalia’s 20-year-old civil war comes as famine — the worst here in a generation — has killed tens of thousands. Mogadishu is filled with dozens of settlements of displaced people and long food lines, and the city’s hospitals are overwhelmed by starving children in desperate need of medical care.
During the past three years, al Shabaab grew strong enough to strike targets close to the seat of Somalia’s government, paralyzing it. But why the Islamist militia, which once controlled 90 percent of Mogadishu, left the city seemingly overnight remains unclear. Some blame internal divisions; others say the A.U. forces, trained by Western military personnel paid by the United States, pushed the militia out with multiple offensives this year. Analysts say funding from al Shabaab’s Arab sympathizers had declined since the uprisings this year in the Middle East and North Africa.
Whatever the reason, A.U. officials and their international backers are hopeful that Somalia’s weak transitional government can take advantage of the power vacuum. Under pressure from international donors, the country’s political and clan leaders agreed this month to “a road map” to draft a new constitution, reform parliament and take other steps toward building an effective government.
“Al Shabaab has served as a catalyst,” said Christian Manahl, the U.N. deputy special representative for Somalia. “It has helped bring together a number of parties and clans who have been fighting each other bitterly for years.”
The militia’s decision to ban international aid from entering southern Somalia, the famine’s epicenter, also has “delivered a blow to the militia’s credibility” among ordinary Somalis, he said. Fighters have stopped people from fleeing their areas, often at gunpoint, calling the U.N. declaration of famine exaggerated.
Militant-run radio station gives kids guns, bombs as prizes in Quran contest
20 Sept – Source: The Washington Post / AP – 111 words
An Islamist insurgent-run radio station in Somalia says it is awarding guns, bombs and books to three children in a Quran recital contest. Andulus radio station is run by the al-Qaeda-linked al- Shabab militia.
he station announced Monday that the first prize winner in the contest received a rifle and $700, the second prize winner got a rifle and $500, and the third prize winner received two bombs. All three children also received religious books.
Al-Shabab is battling Somalia’s weak, U.N.-backed government. The militants have recently been weakened by famine in territory they control.
Million moms challenge: Bloggers in Somalia
19 Sept – Source: ABC News – 11 words
David Muir explains how “mommy bloggers” fight famine among Somalia’s youngest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?