February 22, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Sixth High Level Partnership Forum To Kick Off In Turkey Tomorrow
22 February – Source: Goobjoog News – 163 Words
Participants from 51 countries and 12 international and regional organizations are expected to attend the 6th High Level Partnership Forum that kicks off in Turkey’s Istanbul citytomorrow. A huge delegation of Somalis from all of works of life including business people, members of the civil society, youth and government officials, are set to participate in the conference.
The meeting will be co-chaired by Turkish President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his Somali counterpart, President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud and Deputy UN Secretary General Mr. Jan Eliassoin. The conference is set to review the deal compact achievement for last three years and establish the process and principles that will guide identification of the post 2016 aid architecture. Two other side events will be included in the main program of the Istanbul conference. One focuses on gender and empowerment and the other on the youth.
Key Headlines
- Sixth High Level Partnership Forum To Kick Off In Turkey Tomorrow (Goobjoog News)
- Puntland President Will Not Attend Istanbul Conference But Will Instead Head To Washington (Jowhar Online)
- Galmudug Commends Herdsmen Who Confronted Al-Shabaab In Mudug (Goobjoog News)
- Somalia Marks International Mother Language Day (Garowe Online)
- Amisom To Rely More On Air Strikes As EU Reduces Funding (Daily Nation)
- How KDF Raid Took Out Shabaab Chiefs (Daily Nation)
- Global Unity Crucial To Eradicate Piracy Off Somali Coast – Experts (Coastweek Online)
- Fact Check: How Somali Names Are Chosen (St. Cloud Times)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Puntland President Will Not Attend Istanbul Conference, But Will Instead Head To Washington
22 February – Source: Jowhar Online – 199 Words
Latest reports indicate that Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas will not be attending the Istanbul conference. He is instead heading to Washington DC, where he lived for more than 20 years and taught at a local university. Gaas, who is currently in Addis Ababa, held talks with Ethiopian Foreign minister and other officials. Sources close to the Puntland presidency in Garowe say it was improbable for Gaas to attend the Istanbul conference on Somalia during this week.
Puntland head of state had earlier rejected the decision from National Consultative Forum in Mogadishu which arrived at the electoral model for the country. Gaas maintains Puntland won’t accept to take part in elections using the 4.5 power sharing model. Though there was no official statement from Puntland on the Istanbul conference, the much-discussed issue is the Gaas’ heading to Washington.
The Istanbul conference is destined to discuss a host of electoral-related issues. It will be attended officials from the Somali federal government, civil society members and officials from the international community. Recently, an International Community delegation visited Garowe to convince the northeastern administration to accept the outcome of the Mogadishu consultative forum, but the meetings ended without fruitful results.
Galmudug Commends Herdsmen Who Confronted Al-Shabaab In Mudug
22 February – Source: Goobjoog News – 156 Words
Interim Galmudug Administration has applauded the quick response and bravery of the local herdsmen in quelling reprehensible attack from Al-Shabaab fighters in a statement by ministry of information. The administration said the herdsmen confronted Al-Shabab fighters after the group asked the local herdsmen to pay livestock of camels and goats as forced tax usually taken by Al-Shabaab militias. According to the administration, 20 Al-Shabaab fighters were killed in the clash.
The fight between Al-Shabaab and the herdsmen broke out on Saturday and displaced over two hundred people from their homes after local herdsmen rejected the demands from Al-Shabaab and started gathering light weapons to resist the fighters. “Three of the local herdsmen were killed and two others were wounded as the fighters of Al-Shabaab fled from the area.” said Farah Abdi a local resident who spoke to the media.
Somalia Marks International Mother Language Day
22 February – Source: Garowe Online – 182 Words
Somalia’s Federal Government (SFG) marked this year’s International Mother Language Day, with a big event in Mogadishu on Sunday. Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Gen. Abdullahi Ahmed Jama (Ilka Jiir) has led Mother Tongue Festival, with other cabinet members, security officials, women and youth groups as well as Banadir regional administration in attendance. The Minister for Justice, Jama has initially congratulated Somali people everywhere on the Mother Tongue Day, pledging that his government will give further prominence to Somali language in every aspect of social life in the country.
“Mother tongue is enriched with history, culture and heritage we should be proud of, or target for progress. When you look at developed nations worldwide, one finds out that it’s not because of foreign language. We must be proud of our language and use it as a medium,” he stressed on the occasion of Mother Language Day. Banadir Governor Yusuf Hussein Jimale conveyed similar message, saying all billboards gracing government offices will be written in Somali.International Mother Tongue Day has been commemorated under the theme: “Stand by Mother Tongue,” in Somalia.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Amisom To Rely More On Air Strikes As EU Reduces Funding
21 February – Source: Daily Nation – 626 Words
The African Union Mission in Somalia may have to concentrate more on air strikes than ground attacks in its war against Al-Shabaab militants to minimise expenses after one of its main donors reduced funding. The European Union said it reduced the budget to the mission because of financial constraints.
On Thursday, AU officials met with Amisom partners in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to see how to avoid “duplication and waste” of functions in Somalia. When the question of financing came up, the EU said its budget drop had been forced by realities. The partners included representatives from the EU, the UK, France, the US, China and the United Nations. But even with this challenge, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Smail Chergui said Kenya and Ethiopia accepted to use their aircraft to increase attacks against the terrorists.
“Helicopters offered by Ethiopia and Kenya to Amisom will the be game-changer; details are currently being finalised with the UN,” the Algerian diplomat said on Thursday. Under the 2012 UN Security Council Resolution 2036, Amisom can have up to three attack helicopters, usually from troop-contributing countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda or Burundi. The UN then recompenses every country based on equipment used.
The announcement followed revelations by the Kenyan military that it killed Al-Shabaab senior commander in charge of intelligence, Mohammed Karatey alias “Mahat Karatey”. Karatey is said to have been killed in an airstrike earlier this week and was suspected to have been a key player in the attack on a Kenya Defence Forces camp in El Adde on January 15. However, EU ambassador to the AU Gary Quince told the Nation that he did not expect the budget cut to affect Amisom operations even as he added that the union recommended alternative financing for the mission.
How KDF Raid Took Out Al-Shabaab Chiefs
22 February – Source: Daily Nation – 477 Words
Details of the devastating raid by Kenyan troops against Al-Shabaab in Somalia in which the terrorist group’s deputy leader was killed can be revealed Monday. Mahad Karate, also known as Abdirahim Mohamed Warsame was Al-Shabaab’s deputy emir, placing him as the second in command and head of its intelligence wing, the Amniyaat.
He was killed alongside 52 other terrorists, including a dozen middle level commanders. The raid happened on February 8, but details of the attack at an Al-Shabaab base between Buale and Sukow were delayed to allow for forensic confirmation to ascertain its leader was among those killed. Special Forces of the Kenya Defence Forces were deployed to the area in advance and took positions around the camp.
They lay in wait for hours while hiding in the bush before the Air Force was called in to begin the operation with airstrikes. The airstrikes scattered the fighters who survived the bombs. But the fleeing terrorists were shot and killed by the camouflaged snipers. Karate had survived the airstrike and his bodyguards were spiriting him away in a vehicle, but he was felled by sniper bullets.
The small team of special forces then retreated from the area within minutes and are already engaged in training, ready for the next raid. This is a tactic KDF has adopted since the attack at its base in El-Adde, Gedo region, in which there were massive casualties on both sides. After the operation, informers were sent to the area to carry out battle damage assessment and after days of spying, confirmed that Karate was among the fighters killed.
KDF was back at it again on February 18. Ground troops raided an Al-Shabaab camp in Sidimo, killing 20 other terrorists, among them explosives expert Maalim Sheriff. They found 16 AK-47 rifles, six improvised explosives, two pistols, eight rocket propelled grenades and assorted ammunition.There are several special forces teams scattered in Southern Somalia, where the African Union Mission In Somalia has assigned KDF to operate.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“By a young age, Somali children can recite their grandparents’ names back many generations, Somalis are often identified by their first and second names, which can be confusing to Americans who are accustomed to using first and last names.”
Fact Check: How Somali Names Are Chosen
22 February – Source: The St Cloud Times – 332 Words
How are Somali children named? We’ve gotten this question from several readers who wonder why babies with Somali-sounding names listed in the birth announcements don’t share the same last name as their parents.
We consulted two sources: Culture Care Connection, an online learning and resource center by the nonprofit Stratis Health to help healthcare providers understand cultural beliefs of patients in Minnesota; and REL Northwest, one of 10 regional educational laboratories funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences.
We also talked with Ahmed Abdi, a Somali native and Times staff reporter who works as an interpreter. Here’s what we learned: “Somali children are usually given a three-part name. The first name is a chosen name. The middle name traditionally is the first name of the child’s father. The last name is the child’s paternal grandfather’s first name.”
Women usually do not change their last name when they marry, so married parents often will have different last names than each other and their children. For example, a father named Omar Elmi Dihoud and a mother named Waris Abdi Duale could have a son named Ali Omar Elmi, and a daughter named Roda Omar Elmi.
Retaining their grandparent’s name is a way to maintain their affiliation with the tribe of their birth. By a young age, Somali children can recite their grandparents’ names back many generations, Abdi said. Somalis are often identified by their first and second names, which can be confusing to Americans who are accustomed to using first and last names.
As with American names, the same name can also be spelled in different ways. Mohammed also can be spelled Mohamed or Muhamed, for example. Abdi said that’s sometimes because errors were made on forms when the person arrived in the United States, or because a name written in the Somali language might be translated into English using different letters. Naming practices do vary among Somalis, so while these are general naming conventions, there are exceptions.
TOP TWEETS
@Adan_Seed: #Somalia: 6th High Level Partnership Forum to kick-off in #Turkey Tomorrow #HLPF #2016http://goobjoog.com/english/?
@JustinTBrady : #Somalia humanitarian bulletin highlights response to drought & food security situation http://bit.ly/1L4Nl9u
@CapitalFMKenya : KDF kills 20 Al Shabaab terrorists in#Somalia http://goo.gl/QiHYwd
@addisstandard : KDF raid takes out Shabaab chiefshttp://www.nation.co.ke/news/
@updiow : #Somalia, should, re-build the National airline, to avoid the security embarrassment, associated to flight interlinks,@Aynte @mofasomalia
@SKNataliaH: #AllAfrica Somali Army Unleashes Sweeping Crackdown in Mogadishu http://ift.tt/1mS6HDA #Somalia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
In the HLPF held in Mogadishu in July 2015, the Federal Government of Somalia was commended for accelerating activities and planning for sustainable economic recovery. #HLPFIstanbul will look at creating an enabling environment for economic recovery.
Photo: UNSOS