February 16, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somali Premier Called On Security Forces To Bring The Assassins Of Former Defense Minister To Justice
16 February – Source: Goobjoog News – 237 Words
Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid has vowed to do everything possible to bring to justice those responsible for the murder of former Somali Defense minister Muhudin Mohamed who was killed in car explosion on Monday “Everything will be done so that the organisers and perpetrators of the murder get the punishment they deserve,” he said. He called on Somali Security Forces to immediately bring the assassins of former Defense minister before the justice court.
The premier has strongly condemned the assassination attack, calling it a barbaric act, which has nothing to do with religion. “On behalf of the Federal Government, I extend condolences to the family of Muhudin who was killed in the bomb explosion,” said premier Omar. He added “The deceased was a patriot who served his country, his target was to see peaceful and united Somalia which recovered from the destruction caused by the civil war, he was also an energetic citizen.” According to Reuters, Al-Shabaab militants planted the car bomb that eliminated the minister.
“We are behind his killing,” Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, Al-Shabaab’s military operations spokesman said. Mohamed was born in 1954 in Mogadishu and attained his primary and secondary education in Mogadishu. He equally made significant contributions in the ministry for education during the reign of Siad Barre. Mohamad Haji served under the Transitional Federal Government led by the late President Abdullahi Yussuf in 2008. During this period, he briefly served as defence minister.
Key Headlines
- Somali Premier Called On Security Forces To Bring The Assassins Of Former Defense Minister To Justice (Goobjoog News)
- Puntland President Names Election Commission (Garowe Online)
- Somali Federal Parliament Started The Constitutional Review Process (Goobjoog News)
- More than 8000 Somali Refugees Deported From Kenya (Xinhua)
- Al-Shabaab Claims Car Bomb That Killed Somalia’s Former Minister (Newsweek)
- Cholera Kills 12 Affects More Than 1500 In Kenya Refugee Camps (Xinhua)
- Wagalla Massacre: Premeditated Act Of Genocide? (The Star)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Puntland President Names Election Commission
16 February – Source: Garowe Online – 118 Words
The President Puntland Abdiweli Mohamed Ali has announced the lineup of Interim Puntland Election Commission (IPEC) late on Monday. Presidential spokesman Abdullahi Mohamed Jama has read the Electoral Board members by name before reporters at Puntland State House.
Among the five-member committee are former Puntland State TV Director Ahmed Mohamed Ali (Kismayo), Abdullahi Ali Nur, Mohamed Abdulle Farah, Naimo Abdirahman Gulled, Mohamed Hassaan Soofe and secretary Mohamed Saed Omar. Five of the nine nominees for Puntland Electoral Board are constitutionally named by the President whereas the remaining four members are picked by parliament. Puntland is seeking to transcend into direct elections by 2019 in a process strongly backed by EU and the US.
Somali Federal Parliament Started The Constitutional Review Process
16 February – Source: Goobjoog News – 111 Words
Federal Parliament started the review process of the Somali Provisional Constitution. The Independent Constitutional Review Commission presented 10 out of the 15 chapters of the provisional constitution to the parliament for review. Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid, representatives of federal states parliaments and heads of emerging political parties attended the meeting.
Mariam Arif Qasim the chair of constitutional review commission acknowledged a delay in review process caused by the political tensions in the respective governments of the country. Sensitive chapters of the constitution like the powers of the president, resource sharing and status of the capital will not be subjected to review at this particular stage.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
More than 8,000 Somali Refugees Deported From Kenya
16 February – Source: Xinhua – 368 Words
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it has also resumed repatriation of refugees by road after a few months of suspension, noting that its convoy comprising of five buses carried 218 individuals to Baidoa and Luuq in southwest Somalia in January. “This was also the first road convoy since the movement by road was suspended in October 2015 due to rainy season,” the UN refugee agency said in its Bi-Weekly report released in Nairobi.
During the reporting period, the UNHCR said eight road convoys carried 1,902 refugees to Somalia via Dhobley way station. “The voluntary return flight movements were still suspended, however, preparations to resume the flights to Mogadishu on Feb. 1 were undertaken. As of Jan. 31, 8,003 Somali refugees returned home since 8th December 2014, when UNHCR started supporting voluntary return of Somali refugees in Kenya,” UNHCR said.
The UN agency said the Return Help Desk (RHD) which is jointly managed by UNHCR, Kenya’s department of refugee affairs (DRA) and Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) were quite busy attending to over 1,700 individuals who have expressed their interest to return or make enquiries about the voluntary return process.
Returning refugees are assisted with transport to their places of origin, mostly in Kismayo, Mogadishu, Baidoa and Luuq in South and Central Somalia. They also receive a cash grant, food and basic domestic items such as sleeping mats, mosquito nets, a solar lantern, hygiene supplies and kitchen utensils to help them start a new life.
Al-Shabaab Claims Car Bomb That Killed Somalia’s Former Minister
16 February – Source: Newsweek – 302 Words
Al-Shabab says it was behind the car bomb that killed Somalia’s former defense minister in the capital Mogadishu on Monday. Muhayadin Mohamed, who served as defense minister in 2008 in Somalia’s transitional federal government, was killed when the bomb exploded on Monday, blowing out the passenger-side doors of the car he was traveling in. Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, Al-Shabab’s military operations spokesman, told Reuters that the Al-Qaeda affiliated group was behind Mohamed’s killing.
A second person in the car survived without any serious injuries, a police official confirmed to Reuters. Mohamed was also an adviser to the speaker in the Somali parliament, Mohamed Osman Jawari. The transitional federal government in which Mohamed served was backed by the United Nations and worked with African Union (AU) peacekeepers to remove Al-Shabab from the capital and other major cities. Al-Shabab left Mogadishu in 2011 but continues to carry out attacks on the capital. The group claimed responsibility for an attack in January when gunmen killed 20 people at a restaurant on the Lido beach in Mogadishu.
The Somali militant group has also carried out attacks against the interests of countries sending troops to the AU mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Al-Shabab fighters claimed to have killed more than 100 Kenyan soldiers in an attack on the AU base at El Adde, in the Gedo region of Somalia, in January, though the Kenyan military has refused to provide a definitive death toll.
Cholera Kills 12, Affects More Than 1,500 In Kenya Refugee Camps
At least 12 Somali refugees have died and more than 1,500 fallen sick with cholera at the world’s largest refugee camp complex Dadaab in east Kenya over the past two weeks, the UN said on Monday. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that together with other aid workers, it was working to stop the spread of the outbreak by setting up four cholera treatment centres with more than 200 beds to respond to the outbreak.
“As of Jan. 31, the outbreak has affected over 1,535 people and resulted in the loss of life for 12 refugees,” UNHCR said in its Bi-weekly report released in Nairobi on Monday. The UN refugee agency said a cholera outbreak control team of aid workers including officials from Kenya’s government agencies was formed immediately after the first cholera case was reported.
“In addition, refugee leaders, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and health committees and community at large have been actively engaged in these efforts and working alongside agencies in mitigating and controlling Cholera,” UNHCR said. Cholera is transmitted through contaminated drinking water and causes acute diarrhoea, and the outbreak has been exacerbated by weeks of heavy rains in Kenya.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“This week marks the 32nd anniversary of the the gruesome killing of 5,000 Somalis, most from the Degodia sub-clan. Writer and researcher Salah Abdi Sheikh argues that the massacre was a premeditated act of genocide, not a military operation gone wrong.”
Wagalla Massacre: Premeditated Act Of Genocide?
16 February – Source: The Star – 2,399 Words
The official government reports available show that Wagalla massacre was a military operation gone wrong. According to a report prepared by Etemesi Committee, there was no clear “operational order” given to the junior commanders of the army and the police. The District Security Committee panicked and made terrible errors and the methods of interrogation they used was unusual and unprofessional.
The acting DC and the OCPD demonstrated clear lack of leadership and tact and in their cowardice left the situation to junior military and police officers. Etemesi Committee reached one damning conclusion that threw a spanner in the works of all the official truths about the massacre. The District Security Committee members were “to date unwilling to state the truth regarding the incident. The credibility of the officers is hence doubtful”.
Despite its damning conclusion, there is one problem; Etemesi inevitably relied on doctored reports and explanations of those who perpetrated the massacre that the incident was as result of operation gone wrong. The more plausible explanation is it was planned that way. To understand Kenya’s policy towards Somalis of Kenya, one must look beyond the borders in the politics of Somalia and Ethiopia. Kenya and Ethiopia have a security pact that is intended to put up a defense against Somalia.
In all the massacres that took place in North Eastern Kenya, there was instigation of some cross-border activity. When people were killed in Malka Mari, Ethiopian forces or militias had burned a Kenyan military vehicle. Kenya ended up killing its own citizens because of the policy of not differentiating Somalis wherever they may live. The idea of “they all look alike” exists to date. When Garissa town was burnt by the military in 1980, the idea was to flush out one Abdi Mathobe who went to Somalia, armed himself and came back for revenge.
TOP TWEETS
@TerrorFreeSomal : Seven people + 2 police officers were killed in deadly #AlShabaab attacks on police station in#Afgoye town #Somalia situation getting worse
@HassanIstiila : #Somalia #UPDATE Less than 24 hours, former Somali’s defense #minister, a man & his mother and popular #official were killed in #Mogadishu.
@SJEastAfrica : Room is packed w defenders and journalists from #Somalia who have survived attacks, threats says@Hassan_shire at launch of @EHAHRDP report.
@dirshejunior : SORRY NO FOREIGN LANGUAGE! Mogadishu mayor is already making his presence felt #Somalia
@OpenDoorsUK : Pray that a strong government will be formed in #Somalia that will stand against extremism #prayerdiaryhttp://bit.ly/1ThIUHN
361Security : U.S. denies reports that 1 of its #drones crashed in #Somalia http://ow.ly/YmXsL http://fb.me/60U3t7mEb
@Dahirkulane : .@TheSomaliPolice Chief Gen.Hamud deploys Special trained force to safeguard #Mogadishu Airport’s#security #Somalia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
The Somali Police Chief Gen.Hamud deploys Special trained force to safeguard Mogadishu Airport
Photo: @Dahirkulane