October 30, 2015 | Morning Headlines
Al-Shabaab, Pastoralists Clash In Hiiraan Over Taxation
29 October – Source: Garowe Online- 102 Words
Al-Shabaab militants and Nomads have clashed in deadly battle in Afad area in central Somalia region of Hiiraan on Thursday, officials said. Mohamed Abdulle Fidow, Jalalaqsi District Commissioner told VOA Somali Service that four Al Shabaab militants were killed in the fighting over Zakat collections. Militants adopted monthly Zakat that obliges every nomadic family with 10 heads of livestock to give away at least one, while those rearing as many as 20 are needed to contribute three in alms. The battle flared up after pastoralists refused to comply with the Al-Shabaab order. Afad is located 33 km off Hiiraan regional district of Jalalaqsi.
Key Headlines
- Al-Shabaab Pastoralists Clash In HiiraanOver Taxation (Garowe Online)
- Puntland Bans Broadcasts Of Voice Of America Somali In The State (Goobjoog News)
- Puntland:Ministry Of Health Distributes Treated Bed Nets In Bosaso (Wacaal Media)
- A Hand-over Ceremony Held In Garbaharey Town (Shabelle News)
- DOD Denies Americans On Plane Downed In Al-Shabaab-Controlled Territory (Breitbart News)
- Man To Serve 10 Years In Jail For Travelling To Somalia (Daily Nation)
- World Bank Takes Innovative Action to Support Remittance Flows to Somalia (World Bank)
- Milton Keynes Man Jailed For Two Years For Attempting To Smuggle Somali Woman Into UK (One MK News)
- Somalia’s New Pirates (Korea JoongAng Daily)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Puntland Bans Broadcasts Of Voice Of America Somali In The State
29 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 100 Words
The administration of Puntland has banned the American Broadcaster, VOA and all local affiliates from broadcasting in the state with effect from today. In a statement to the media, Information minister for Puntland Mohamud Hasan said all broadcasts and rebroadcasts of Voice of America Somali must cease forthwith failure to which the police will take necessary action.The minister did not however state any reasons why the state was banning the broadcaster but the relations between the broadcaster and Puntland have been frosty with two journalists arrested and charged in May.The Federal government has not commented on the matter.
Puntland:Ministry Of Health Distributes Treated Bed Nets In Bosaso
29 October – Source: Wacaal Media -179 Words
The Semi –autonomous State of Puntland’s Ministry of Health yesterday launched an anti-Malarial campaign in Bosaso by distributing treated bed nets to area residents. The event, which was held at the local university’s College of health sciences, was attended by officials from the ministry, officials from both the district and provincial administration, NGOs and members of the public. Assistant minister of Health Amina Mohamed Abdullahi reiterated the government’s determination in eradicating malaria from the State through both preventive and curative measures. She said the government has availed treated bed nets in all health centers and hospitals in the area. Head of the Ministry’s Malaria programs Dr. Abdiakarim Hussein Hassan said that they have trained a group of officers who will distribute the nets which will help in curbing the spread of diseases such as malaria in this rainy season. Deputy provincial administrator of Bari region Ahmed Abdullahi Irro on his part assured the health team that both the district and provincial administration will work with them to ensure the exercise was a success.
A Hand-over Ceremony Held In Garbaharey Town
29 October – Source: Shabelle News – 113 Words
A hand-over ceremony was held on Thursday in Garbaharey city, with a new district commissioner officially taking office from Iman Addow Kaarshe.In his speech at the ceremony, Interim Jubbaland administration deputy leader Abdullah Sheikh Ismail said the hand-over power was a sign to an end of the long-running violence and deadlock in Garbaharey town. On his part, former Garbaharey district commissioner Iman Addow Kaarshe said he was pleased to see the transformation and promised to work closely with his successor.However, the sacked governor of Gedo region, Mohamed Abdikalil, remains defiant to hand-over power and join in the newly established interim Jubbaland administration led by Ahmed Madobe.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
DOD Denies Americans On Plane Downed In Al-Shabaab-Controlled Territory
29 October – Source: Breitbart News – 297 Words
A cargo plane with ten passengers that crash landed in Somalia in a territory controlled by Al-Shabaab Islamists on the outskirts of the capital Mogadishu had no American on board, the US Department of Defence has said. A spokeswoman for the DOD acknowledged that there had been a plane crash in Somalia, but said that the aircraft was carrying no U.S. soldiers or American civilians.
The German DPA news agency reported Wednesday evening that the cargo plane was a U.S. aircraft carrying 12 military personnel and that Al-Shabaab had taken the survivors hostage. But Pentagon has denied the presence of U.S. citizens aboard the plane. The aircraft reportedly had departed from Nairobi and was heading to Ballidogle, an air base 60 miles west of Mogadishu, carrying supplies for peacekeeping forces in Somalia.
The accident took place Wednesday in the village of Omar Bere, 30 miles south of Mogadishu, and according to reports, the downed aircraft was surrounded by Al-Shabaab gunmen and is now in their possession. Unidentified sources told Voice of America that the plane had been chartered by contractors working with security operations in Somalia. The deputy commissioner of the Afgoye district, Abdullahi Hassan Abdi, said he did not know if the passengers are dead or alive.
“We have confirmation that a plane crashed in an area controlled by Al-Shabaab in the province of Lower Shabelle,” said Mohamed Hussein, a government official. “We assume that the wreckage of the aircraft and any possible survivors are in the hands of the militants,” he added. No information has been provided regarding the cause of the crash. Abdulkadir Nor Sidi, mayor of the region of Lower Shabelle, confirmed that the plane had crashed in an area controlled by the Al-Shabaab jihadist group with ties to al-Qaeda.
Man To Serve 10 Years In Jail For Travelling To Somalia
29 October – Source: Daily Nation – 705 Words
A 24-year-old man who claimed he intended to join Al-Shabaab after failing to get admission to university despite scoring an aggregate of A-minus is to serve 10 years in jail. Richard Baraza Wakachala, 24, of Kitale, Trans Nzoia County, was on Thursday jailed by a Mandera court after admitting he intended to join the terror group. He was charged that on October 27, at around 1 pm in Mandera Town, he was found travelling to a terrorist-designated country without passing through a designated point.
He was further charged with failure to report his departure to an immigration office as required by law. He pleaded guilty to both charges. Mandera Resident Magistrate Duncan Mtai noted that the accused, by his own admission, intended to join Al-Shabaab: “I have duly considered the accused person’s mitigation together with submission by the prosecution.The accused, by his own admission, not only harboured the intention of joining Al-Shabaab, but also actualised his intentions by travelling into Somalia.”
Mr Mtai said the accused’s conduct not only posed a danger to himself but also to national security and by extension to the lives and property of Kenyans: “To protect our national security and deter our youths from harbouring such intentions, I hereby sentence the accused to serve 10 years’ imprisonment,” ruled Mr Mtai.Baraza has 14 days to appeal the ruling. The prosecution, led by State Counsel Allen Mulama, told the court that the accused left Kitale Town on October 8 and proceeded to Mandera by road aboard a Tawakal bus. He arrived in Mandera on October 10.
World Bank Takes Innovative Action to Support Remittance Flows to Somalia
28 October – Source: The World Bank – 420 Words
The World Bank has taken an important step today to help support the flow of remittances to Somalia, to ensure they continue to reach people who depend upon them as a critical source of income. Over the last 18 months, money transfer businesses in Somalia have faced difficulty in maintaining access to bank accounts to continue their business operations. The World Bank has been working alongside the Central Bank of Somalia (CBS) to implement a number of activities aimed at tackling key deficiencies in the Somali financial sector affecting remittance flows to the country.
Today, in partnership with the CBS, the World Bank is initiating a process to build the capacity of the Supervision Department, to ensure effective oversight of licensed money transfer businesses in Somalia. The World Bank is seeking applications from potential firms to apply to become the “Trusted Agent” to the Central Bank of Somalia to assist the authorities in comprehensively regulating and supervising money transfer businesses.
“This is a very important initial step toward improving supervision and formalizing the money transfer business sector in Somalia,” said Bella Bird, World Bank Country Director for Tanzania, Burundi, Malawi and Somalia. “We anticipate these measures will build confidence in the international community with regard to the Somali financial sector.”
In addition to the contracting of a “Trusted Agent”, the World Bank has been assisting the CBS in drafting and implementing new regulations and guidelines for the money transfer business sector. The World Bank’s work in Somalia is being generously supported by the Government of the United Kingdom, including through funding by the Department for International Development (DfID). The World Bank began working with the UK last year to develop mechanisms in case of severe disruption of remittance flows between the UK and Somalia. This work has since evolved to address fundamental issues affecting remittance flows to the country. The current activities are focused on improving the formalization, transparency, and compliance of the money transfer business sector in Somalia.
“Remittance services are incredibly important to many people in the UK who are working hard and want to send money home to their families, and that money represents a vital lifeline for many countries, including Somalia” said United Kingdom Economic Secretary Harriet Baldwin. “That is why protecting remittance flows remains a key priority for the UK government. Today’s announcement represents an important milestone in our work to support remittance flows to Somalia, and is a key part of the UK’s Safer Corridor Initiative to bolster every step of the remittance process.”
Milton Keynes Man Jailed For Two Years For Attempting To Smuggle Somali Woman Into UK
29 October – Source: One MK News – 366 Words
A man from Fishermead, Milton Keynes, who attempted to smuggle a Somali woman into the UK through Stansted Airport has been jailed for two years. Maxammed Mascuud, 46, of Polruan Place, was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on Wednesday (October 28). He had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to a charge of facilitating a breach of the UK’s immigration laws.
Mascuud had been arrested by Border Force officers on 23 January after he had arrived at Stansted Airport on a flight from Dusseldorf. Suspicions were raised when he told officers at passport control that he had arrived from Frankfurt, a flight that had landed almost an hour earlier. While Mascuud was being dealt with, Border Force officers were also in the process of raising concerns about a woman who had presented a suspicious British passport having arrived on the same Dusseldorf flight.
Further enquiries revealed that Mascuud and the woman, identified as 33-year-old Somali woman Amina Mohamedi, had booked their flights together, checked in together and boarded the flight together. Denise Robinson, who took on the case for the Home Office Criminal and Financial Investigations Team, said: “As the investigation developed we also uncovered photographs on Mascuud’s mobile phone of Mohamedi herself and of her false passport. It was clear that he had acted as her agent from the very start and the weight of evidence against him was ultimately overwhelming.
“Make no mistake, Mascuud’s actions were not altruistic. His motivation was financial, pure and simple. “I hope the tough sentence that has been handed down sends a strong message to those who would cheat the immigration system – you will be caught and the consequences will be severe.” Mohamedi, of no fixed UK address, was charged with possessing a false ID document with intent. She has also admitted her offence, is remanded in custody and due to be sentenced on November 27.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Despite all our progress in strengthening fisheries’ management domestically, we lack the ability to police our vast waters. The international community could make a significant difference in this area, by helping my government monitor and control Somalia’s EEZ, as well as through improved sharing of the critical intelligence gathered by international naval patrols” – Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, President of The Federal Republic of Somalia
Somalia’s New Pirates
30 October – Source: Korea JoongAng Daily – 678 Words
Somalia is blessed with the largest coastline in continental Africa. Our rich marine waters are some of the most productive in the world, teeming with schools of yellowfin tuna, blue marlin, dolphinfish and sardines. For more than 30 years, however, this bountiful marine wilderness has also been a source and site of conflict, as foreign illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing vessels have plundered our waters – stealing our fish and selling their catches at distant ports.
Just a few years ago, the encroachment of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing vessels sparked a wave of piracy in Somalia that cost the global maritime shipping industry billions of dollars in lost revenue. As illegal foreign fishing vessels fled our waters, Somali pirates quickly shifted their focus toward more lucrative vessels, such as cargo ships and oil tankers. And, now that piracy has mostly been eliminated, there is growing evidence that foreign fishing vessels have returned to plunder our waters once again.
A new report by the group Secure Fisheries, titled “Securing Somali Fisheries,” unveils new satellite data showing that foreign IUU fishing vessels are now catching three times more fish than Somalis. They are targeting some of the highest-value fish in our waters, leaving their Somali counterparts to compete over lower-value fish.
The report shows that, making matters worse, these foreign fleets have contributed to overfishing our swordfish, snapper, marlin and shark populations. Foreign bottom trawlers have fished recklessly and acted with impunity, dragging heavy nets, razing the bottom of our seafloor and damaging an astounding 120,000 square kilometers (46,000 square miles) of important marine habitat. The damage is so extensive that even if trawling were stopped today, this area may need many years to recover.
This pillaging of our marine ecosystem is taking place even as Somalia has made great strides over the last 18 months toward better management of our waters. In June 2014, my government laid claim to Somalia’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), in line with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. This past December, we also passed the Somali Fisheries Law, which explicitly outlaws bottom trawling. This groundbreaking legislation calls for improved monitoring of fish landings, an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries’ management whereby the area would be managed holistically, and the protection of threatened and endangered fish species.