February 9, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Landmine Explosion In Kismayo Hits Jubbaland Police Vehicle
09 February – Source: Goobjoog News – 64 Words
Landmine explosion hit a Jubbaland police vehicle near Kismayo Airport on Tuesday. No casualties reported so far, but the explosion destroyed some parts of the car, the driver and other soldiers on board survived the incident, according to Goobjoog News correspondent. Eye witness told Goobjoog News that Interim Juba administration forces immediately reached the scene and launched operations to pursue those behind the explosion.
Key Headlines
- Landmine Explosion In Kismayo Hits Jubbaland Police Vehicle (Goobjoog News)
- Djibouti’s Guelleh Receives Somali-British Athlete Mo Farah In Djibouti (Hiiraan Online)
- Interior Minister Holds Talks With Elders In Hobyo Town (Goobjoog News)
- Somalia-Kenya Maritime Row On (The Star)
- Kazakhstan To Bring Back Two Nationals From Somalia After Plane’s Emergency Landing (Kazinform News Agency)
- ‘Suicide Bomber’ On Somalia Plane Was Meant To Board Turkish Flight (The Guardian)
- AMISOM Military Operations Coordination Committee Meets In Nairobi (AMISOM)
- Why You Need Somalia More than Somalia Needs You (Bosaaso.com)
- Somalia’s Path to Recovery is Not Just About Elections (Garowe Online)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Djibouti’s Gelleh Receives Somali-British Athlete Mo Farah In Djibouti
09 February – Source: Hiiraan Online – 173 Words
Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Gelleh has welcomed the British Somali-born athlete Mo Farah who won the 10,000m and 5,000m double at world championships into his presidential palace in Djibouti on Monday. Djibouti is set to host International Half Marathon with Mo Farah is among the athletes expected to attend it. During their meeting, Mr. Gelleh asked the international athlete’s help in improving local athletics as well as furthering the athletes’ talent by way of sharing his expertise with them.
“I am delighted to be invited for the upcoming athletics race which will be held in Djibouti.” Farah said at a press conference in the presidential palace. Mohamed Ahmed Shikho, Djibouti’s athletics chief described Farah’s visit to the tiny horn of Africa nation as ‘remarkable.’ Despite having top athletes, Djibouti failed to win any athletic medals since 1988 when the country’s athletes competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea, the first ever medals the country has ever won. Hussein Ahmed Salah who had won bronze medal remains Djibouti’s all-time top medalists
Interior Minister Holds Talks With Elders In Hobyo Town
09 February – Source: Goobjoog News – 167 Words
The Interior and Federal Affairs Minister of Somalia Abdirahman Mohamed Hussein Odawa who is in Hobyo town under Interim Galmudug administration has started holding talks with the traditional elders and civil society in the town. The minister and his delegation have discussed with the politicians and traditional elders of the town on security and the upcoming formation of the local administration of the town, according to Goobjoog News correspondent, Ali Ayn.
Later today the minister is expected to hold talks with traders and some members of civil society. Meanwhile president of Galmudug state who is also in Hobyo town is holding talks with traditional elders of Hobyo district on the formation of admin for the town. This comes amid regular supremacy fights between the new Galmudug State and the moderate Islamist group Ahlu Suna which has from the onset opposed the formation of Galmudug state. This has led to clashes and loss of lives in the last year with Ahlu Suna still in control of the state capital Dhusamareeb.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia-Kenya Maritime Row On
09 February – Source: The Star – 299 Words
Somalia has rejected Kenya’s bid for an out-of-court settlement of a maritime dispute currently at the International Court of Justice at The Hague. In documents submitted on Friday, Somalia Attorney General Ahmed Dahir said his government will only “seek justice” at the court, ruling out dialogue with Kenya. Somalia had until last Friday to explain why the case should proceed at the United Nations-backed court.
This latest move paves the way for a gruelling international legal battle between the two friendly nations. If the court agrees with Somalia, a full hearing is expected mid this year. The court is expected to give its final ruling by the end of next year. In October last year, Kenya submitted a request seeking an out-of-court bilateral agreement, which Somalia has vehemently opposed.
“We believe we can only get justice in the court. We will therefore continue and argue our case. We will not turn back,” Dahir said. He spoke to state-owned Radio Mogadishu from the Netherlands, where he and other lawyers submitted files dismissing Kenya’s withdrawal bid. Dahir said Kenya has violated his country’s territorial integrity and shoved off potentially lucrative oil and gas reserves in the Indian Ocean.
He said his government does not believe the matter can be resolved diplomatically.
Kazakhstan To Bring Back Two Nationals From Somalia After Plane’s Emergency Landing
09 February – Source: Kazinform News Agency – 153 Words
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan is trying to get back two nationals of Kazakhstan Sergey Severin and Nikolay Bochkarev who are in Somalia. Severin and Bochkarev were on board of Airbus A321 operated by Daallo Airlines when it made an emergency landing in Mogadishu due to a hole in its fuselage. Currently, according to the ministry, the two Kazakhstanis are staying at the UN base in Mogadishu.
“They are safe and sound. At the moment we are working on bringing them home from Somalia,” the ministry’s spokesperson Anuar Zhainakov told Kazinform. Severin and Bochkarev who happen to be specialists of the aircraft repair plant №405 in Almaty city provided helicopter repair services to the UN Mission in Somalia. Recall that the flight D3 159 of the Daallo Airlines made the emergency landing in Mogadishu after the apparent onboard explosion. At least two people were injured in the incident.
‘Suicide Bomber’ On Somalia Plane Was Meant To Board Turkish Flight
09 February – Source: The Guardian – 477 Words
A suspected suicide bomber who blew a hole in the fuselage of a Daallo Airlines plane last week and forced it to make an emergency landing in Mogadishu was meant to be on a Turkish Airlines flight, Daallo’s chief executive said on Monday. The bomber was sucked out of the plane through the one-yard-wide hole when the blast ripped open the pressurised cabin in flight, officials said. The pilot landed the plane in the Somali capital, from where it had taken off.
No group has so far taken responsibility for the attack but US officials suspect Islamist militant group al Shabaab, which has links to al-Qaida, was responsible for the blast. Daallo Airlines chief executive, Mohamed Yassin, said most of the passengers who were on the bombed flight were scheduled to fly with Turkish Airlines, but were flown to Djibouti by one of his planes after the Turkish carrier cancelled its flight, citing bad weather.
“That particular passenger boarded the aircraft on a Turkish Airlines boarding pass and was on the list for the Turkish Airlines manifest,” Yassin told Reuters by telephone from Dubai. Yassin said Daallo picked up the 70 stranded Turkish Airlines passengers to fly them to Djibouti, including the suicide bomber. In total, the flight had 74 passengers. Turkish Airlines spokesman Yahya Ustun confirmed the carrier had cancelled a flight to Mogadishu last week due to bad weather and said the company will not make any further comment.
AMISOM Military Operations Coordination Committee Meets In Nairobi
08 February – Source: AMISOM – 416 Words
The Military Operations Coordination Committee (MOCC) of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), convened in Kenya’s capital Nairobi today, to discuss the situation in Somalia. Attending the meeting were AU Special Representative for Somalia and Head of AMISOM, Ambassador Francisco Madeira, Commissioner for Peace and Security at the African Union Commission Ambassador Smail Chergui, Acting AMISOM Force Commander Major General Mohammedesha Zeyinu and Chiefs of Defence Staff from Troop Contributing Countries, among other high ranking officials.
In his opening address, Ambassador Madeira paid tribute to troops whom he said have made enormous sacrifices to advance the AU cause of liberating Somalia. “ I would want to pay tribute and acknowledge the efforts and dedication of all our soldiers and policemen and women in the ranks of AMISOM, who in very trying circumstances, are presently holding the Pan-African banner and fighting Al Shabaab with courage, dedication and enormous personal sacrifice. I thank these living African Heroes,” he stated.
He emphasized progress made in Somalia since the first AU troops arrived in Mogadishu in 2007. “AMISOM, through joint military operations and other interventions, has created an environment where political process, particularly reconciliation and state formation are an evolving and tangible reality,” he noted, as he enumerated the political achievements, enabled by the relative peace currently being enjoyed in Somalia.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“I know, you will whine that Somalia is too dangerous. Too much of a risk, since all you read and see in the media is horrific stories of how people are dying or starving. Bad publicity pays, and creating fear pays more. I live in Bosaaso, and since I have been here, only three people have been killed. Now, please ask yourself, how many killings have occurred in your city in the past two years? Exactly”
Why You Need Somalia More than Somalia Needs You
08 February – Soruce: Bosaaso.com – 798 Words
I have been in Somalia for almost two years now. I’ve spent the past two years breathing the unpolluted fresh air, munching on unrefined & inexpensive organic foods, and reveling on the serene scenic views of the ocean and the highlands. Growing up in the west, we tend to forget what we have is more than enough. Living in Somalia has given me the ability to control my inner needs and appreciate life a bit more.
Some Diasporas think Somalia is prison, a death sentence to an individual who has grown accustomed to the life in the west. They complain, that there are “no burger joints, no milkshakes, no hot baths, no internet… I’m not willing to forego my snapchat and Facebook.” Worst of all, they gripe, “there’s no Starbucks.” I’ll explain to you why living in the motherland is better than any white mocha with an extra pump of white chocolate. Here is the honest, and simple truth;
While the west boasts the best hospitals and physicians in the world, I have been leading a healthy life. I have lost weight due to eating healthy fresh foods, my skin is glowing from the unpolluted air, and I have become less needy for fat-food and sweets. I eat fresh caught fish, newly-picked vegetables, and I drink mango, guava, pineapple, and/or coconut juices daily. And guess what, everything is organically grown, nothing is genetically modified to cause my body any harm.
“Somalia has long been considered to be among the world’s foremost “ungoverned spaces,” and the international community prescribed a range of “First Aid” policy options: humanitarian interventionism in the 1990s; failed nation-building programs; and, most recently, a militarist approach to “neutralize” threats of terrorism and maritime piracy. However, no external approach solved underlying roots of the Somali conflict, a responsibility that only the Somali people—through their leaders and institutions—can shoulder.”
Somalia’s Path to Recovery is Not Just About Elections
09 February – Source: Garowe Online – 1,616 Words
With elections expected in summer 2016, questions are being raised over Somalia’s electoral record. Somalia’s political recovery will be tested in the lead-up to the 2016 national elections. It is widely agreed that the possibility of “one-man, one-vote” is both unrealistic and impractical. The war-torn, fragmented East African nation of 10 million people is not new to pseudo-democratic election processes. Since 2000, Somalia has used a strange and unfair power-sharing scheme among the country’s so-called “majority and minority clans”—an alien system known as the 4.5 formula.
At the Arta Peace Conference, held in Djibouti in 2000, Somali political leaders agreed to the 4.5 formula to distribute national parliamentarian seats. By then, over a dozen Somali “peace conferences” were held, and faction leaders sought a political solution to clan power struggles in post-war Somalia.
Three subsequent national elections—one held in Kenya in 2004, again in Djibouti in 2009 and a third in Mogadishu in 2012—used the 4.5 formula as the basis for selection of national members of parliament (MPs). Reporting on Somalia’s 2012 elections, The Guardian wrote: “The magic number is 4.5, a formula that acknowledges the primacy of Somali clan loyalties, ensuring that the spoils of power can theoretically be divided between the four main groups — the Hawiye, Darod, Dir, and Rahaweyn — and the ‘others’, an amalgamation of smaller clans.”
The formula essentially divides the Somali people into five distinct groups and distributes national MPs based on an irrational and simplistic arithmetic to supposedly balance political power. The MPs, traditionally selected by clan elders through a system of patronage, are empowered to elect the president of Somalia and perform other parliamentary obligations.
TOP TWEETS
@amisomsomalia : AMISOM re-affirms its commitment to continue working hand in hand with the people of #Somalia and with the Somali Security Forces.
@USEmbassySA : In #Somalia, hit by drought, #foodsecurityand malnutrition situation is ‘alarming’ – UN reporthttp://www.un.org/apps/news/
@Terror_Monitor : #SOMALIA #AMISOM Troops Recaptured#Marka Town From #AlShabaab Fighters. #TerrorMonitor
@Eye_on_Somalia: #goobjoog Kenyan warplanes bomb Al-Shabab camp: Kenyan military aircraft have pounded camp of Al-Shab… http://bit.ly/1T2qv3B #somalia
@Bogorad_Olga : #Somalia #AMISOM releases photos confirming its control over #Marka, which was briefly seized by#alShabaab
@omabha: ‘Suicide bomber’ on Somalia plane was meant to board Turkish flight – The Guardian http://dlvr.it/KSGyGx #Somalia
@ZusaXm : We can get free education if governmnt officials stops hesitating the education system in #Somalia and prioritizing their next of kin first
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Somali kids take part in JEEM soccer tournament in QATAR. The kids are all happy to represent their country.
Photo: @SalahOsman0