November 19, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report
Bomb Under Car Seat Wounds Three, Including Senior Government Official In Mogadishu
19 November – Source: Shabelle News – 123 Words
At least three people, including a district official have been injured when a bomb planted under a car exploded on Wednesday evening in Mogadishu’s Dharkenley district, witness and district commissioner said. Confirming the bomb attack, Omar Mayre Ma’aw who is in charge of Dharkenley district administration told Radio Shabelle by phone that Mohamed Abdullahi Omar, who was an official in the Dharkenley district was among the wounded.
Afterwards, security force members have cordoned off the area and launched an investigation to find out the culprits. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the evening’s bomb attack. Mogadishu, the capital of the horn of Africa nation has witnessed numerous assassinations of security and government officials carried out by unknown gunmen, with Al-Shabaab claiming part of the attacks.
Key Headlines
- Bomb Under Car Seat Wounds Three Including Senior Government Official In Mogadishu (Shabelle News)
- Four Siblings Die After Failed Self Medication In Yakshid District Mogadishu (Goobjoog News)
- UN Envoy Meets Former Puntland President (Garowe Online)
- White House Backing Program To Curb ISIS Recruiting In Minnesota (CBS Minnesota)
- Nkaissery Says More Al-Shabaab Youth Defect (The Star)
- Four Women Accused Of Being Al-Shabaab Members Have Links With Jihadists (Daily Nation)
- Kenya’s Somali North East: Devolution And Security (International Crisis Group)
PRESS STATEMENT
Federal Republic Of Somalia Re-opens Embassy In Washington
19 November – Source: U.S. Department of State – 154 Words
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield represented the United States at the historic re-opening of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Somalia in Washington, D.C. on November 18. His Excellency Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia Abdusalam Omer also attended the event hosted by Somali Ambassador to the United States Ahmed Issa Awad.
In her remarks, Assistant Secretary Thomas-Greenfield warmly welcomed Somalia’s official return to Washington after a nearly twenty-four year absence. Assistant Secretary Thomas-Greenfield emphasized that this was yet another step towards normalizing the U.S.-Somali relationship, including official recognition of the Somali government in January 2013, welcoming the first Somali Ambassador to Washington in July 2014, and U.S. Secretary of State Kerry’s historic visit to Mogadishu in May 2015. Assistant Secretary Thomas-Greenfield affirmed the United States’ commitment to work with Somali government officials to bring stability, security, and prosperity to all Somali people.
NATIONAL MEDIA
Four Siblings Die After Failed Self Medication In Yakshid District, Mogadishu
19 November – Source: Goobjoog News – 139 Words
Four siblings died and one hospitalised in critical condition this morning following a failed self medication by their mother last night in Yakshid district, Mogadishu. A family relative told Goobjoog News some neighbours had advised the bereaved mother to use an ointment to heal skin rashes which her children developed but the three children were found dead in the morning with the fifth one in bad condition.
The ointment, which is a concoction of several drugs is normally used to treat skin diseases for goats and camels but occasionally finds use among humans, a source told Goobjoog News. Drugs dispensation and regulation in Somalia is still a major challenge and cases of expired human medicine are also common. The situation is made worse by the fact that many people opt for self medication increasing the risks of drug abuse.
UN Envoy Meets Former Puntland President
19 November – Source: Garowe Online – 214 Words
United Nations envoy to Somalia, Ambassador Nicholas Kay has visited former Puntland President, Abdirahman Mohamed Farole’s residence on Thursday morning. Farole and outgoing UN envoy’s discussions centred around national politics and their candid cooperation since June, 2013, when Kay took over from his predecessor, Augustine Mahiga. Speaking at a joint press conference in the state capital, Garowe, both Farole and Kay expressed delight with their cooperation on comprehensive frameworks towards a better Somalia. Former Puntland President praised Kay for his strong presence on Somalia soil as the first foreign diplomat whose efforts set example for the rest of international diplomats covering the East African country.
“As you know, [Kay] arrived in Somalia in June, 2013. He closely cooperated with us, Puntland especially during Local council elections that risked violence,” said Farole. “We thank him for his vital presence in the run-up to and over the course of [Puntland Presidential Elections]”. Former Puntland leader said, he would like Kay stay through 2016 when elections will be held. On his side, Ambassador Kay commended Farole for overseeing substantial progress under his incumbency. Outgoing Somalia UN special envoy served as former British Ambassador to Sudan, Afghanistan and Congo. On Wednesday evening, President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali hosted dinner for Kay at Puntland State House.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
White House Backing Program To Curb ISIS Recruiting In Minnesota
19 November – Source: CBS Minnesota – 290 Words
A quarter of ISIS recruits from the United States have come from Minnesota, as the state’s large Somali community is often targeted by terrorist recruiters. At least 15 Somali-American men from Minnesota have left home to enlist with ISIS. Five are awaiting trial right now. It’s left their families and the Somali community reeling. That’s why the White House is backing a public-private pilot program which has raised nearly $1 million to help at risk Somali youth in Minnesota.
The nonprofit Youthprise has an after school program. Ten percent of the students at Minneapolis Public Schools are Somali, and they struggle to fit in. “Some people they make fun of it, because I have a scarf on,” student Sabrina Abdulkadir said. “It’s our culture, and we need to respect our culture and don’t make fun of it.” New American Academy tutors students and finds them jobs.
Unemployment among Somalis is around 21-percent, about three times the rate for the general population. Student Dahir Ali says sometimes people come up to him and call him a terrorist. “I try to show my culture through my actions,” he said. “I try to be nice, courteous, use good speech so they know I’m not a terrorist or a bad person.” Community leaders agree that stamping out anti-Muslim stereotypes is a priority.
Nkaissery Says More Al-Shabaab Youth Defect
19 November – Source: The Star – 213 words
Hundreds of youth continue to defect from militant groups and return home, Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery said yesterday. He said this follows the amnesty announced by the government in April. Speaking in his office in Nairobi, Nkaissery said the recruited youth have returned from Somalia where they were indoctrinated by al Shabaab. Although he did not did disclose the actual number of returnees, a recent report said at least 700 youth have defected from the militants and returned home.
It was issued by the International Organisation of Migration, the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims and the Interior ministry. “The amnesty call is doing very well. We continue to receive and integrate them into the society,” Nkaissery said. Supkem deputy secretary general Hassan ole Naado urged the government to provide incentives to the defectors. “There should also be a particular institution of government to deal with this matter.
It should have a mandate to make this effort a success,” he said. Nkaissery urged Kenyan youth still fighting alongside terror groups planning attacks to denounce violence and preach peace. Other returnees chose to come home after deals with al Shabaab were not as lucrative as they expected. Some defectors are in hiding for fear of reprisals, especially at the Coast, Nairobi and North Eastern.
Four Women Accused Of Being Al-Shabaab Members Have Links With Jihadists
18 November – Source: Daily Nation – 362 Words
New police reports from Kenya indicate that four women accused of being members of Al-Shabaab have international links with jihadists across the continent. State Counsel Daniel Wamotsa told High Court Judge Dorah Chepkwony in Mombasa that intelligence retrieved from the laptop recovered from the accused has the contacts of a wanted criminal, Mr Shwaib Mubarak, who is linked to the militia group.
Ms Ummulkheir Sadri Abdalla, Ms Khadija Abubakar Abdulkadir, Ms Maryam Said Aboud and Ms Halima Adan were arrested at the El-Wak border point in Mandera County on March 27 this year while trying to sneak into Somalia to allegedly join Al-Shabaab: “The new evidence we have received from the Cyber Crime (Unit) shows that the suspects have contacts from Sri Lanka, Canada, United States, United Arab Emirate, Qatar, Turkey, Sudan ,Tanzania and Rwanda. The laptop appears to have been used by a man who claims to be Rogo Junior, who is also wanted by the police in relation to terrorism activities,” Mr Wamotsa said.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“After lengthy bureaucratic infighting and knee-jerk initiatives that smacked of political score-settling and risked alienating many Kenyan Somalis, a new security approach is finally in place, led by senior national security officers who vitally have local roots (ie, Somali heritage) but are directly accountable to the national executive.”
Kenya’s Somali North East: Devolution And Security
17 November – Source: International Crisis Group – 569 Words
Devolved government in Kenya’s newly formed north-eastern counties, designed to address decades of political marginalisation and underdevelopment, has been undermined by dominant clans monopolising power and growing corruption. Violent clan competition and antipathy between elected county elites and the remaining national administrative structures have allowed the violently extremist Al-Shabaab movement to expand and operate with relative impunity across large areas of the North East. Its attacks exposed security-service disarray and caused a sharp reversal of already stretched state services in this vast and poor region that shares a porous 680km border with Somalia.
To end the violence and capitalise on devolution’s potential, county elites must be more inclusive of minorities, cooperate across local boundaries for inter-county peace and recognise the continued role for neutral national institutions. National government should recognise where pragmatism can trump convention and back new security approaches that combine national and county responses.
Rampant criminality, inter-clan animosities and small-arms proliferation stretch policing and render highly insecure the sprawling refugee camps that host more than 350,000 Somali nationals fleeing the conflict in their country. This is compounded by Al-Shabaab infiltration, radicalisation and recruitment – especially in a borderland region where the inhabitants’ national identity is historically contested and suspect. As relations between the refugees and their Kenyan Somali host communities fray, demands for the camps’ closure are becoming more strident.
TOP TWEETS
@mofasomalia: After 24 years, #Somalia reopen its embassy in#Washington, United States of #America
@AbdiruhmanAbdi: The long political instability in #Somalia is thought to be connected for its oil reserves in northern parts of somalia 1/2
@ahmedvision1: Regions split between 4.5 and district based options as regional consultative forums close #Somaliahttp://goobjoog.com/english/?
@UNSomalia: [VIDEO] #Cadaado – Conclusion of regional consultations to discuss 2016 electoral process #Somalia#Soomaaliya2016 https://youtu.be/e_F8kj8jtlU
@RT3Somalia: Kuwait, Somalia to strengthen media, cultural cooperation – Kuwait News Agency http://ift.tt/1Ln3hxd #الصومال#Somalia
@alijira : #Somalia needs big domestic policy reforms #Publicpolicies and #Firm/NGO reforms so far is it out of control@MogadishuNews @MSudaani.
IMAGE OF THE DAY
After 24 years, Somalia re-opens it’s embassy in Washington, D.C
Photo: Thabit Ab