March 8, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Jubbaland Plans Anti-Al-Shabaab Offensive
08 March – Source: Shabelle News – 103 Words
Jubbaland has unveiled a new military plan to drive Al-Shabaab fighters entirely out of the their strongholds in Jubba and Gedo regions. Southern Somalia.Minister of information for Jubbaland state Abdinur Ali Aden said their forces, with the support of the African Union troops, will retake towns from Al-Shabaab militants.“Jubbaland is committed to fight Al Shabaab and force them out of their bases,” Aden told reporters in Kismayo city on Monday. Al -Shabaab controls large swathes of territories in southern Somalia, despite losing key towns, including Mogadishu and Kismayo to the allied troops comprising of Somali National Army (SNA) and AMISOM.
Key Headlines
- Jubbaland Plans Anti-Al-Shabaab Offensive (Shabelle News)
- Senior Government Officials In Somalia Urged To Minimize Trips Within Mogadishu (Somali Current)
- Poor Women Eclipsed In Parity Discourse In Somalia says ‘Act For Somalia’ Organization (Goobjoog News)
- Somali Intelligence Cooperated With US For Al-Shabaab Hit (Associated Press)
- Somalia’s Al-Shabaab: Toll Of US Airstrikes Exaggerated (Al Jazeera English)
- 4 Single Mothers On Love Loss And Finding Strength (The Star2)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Senior Government Officials In Somalia Urged To Minimize Trips Within Mogadishu
07 March- Source: Somali Current – 161 Words
Following rampant insecurity in the capital Mogadishu over the last two months, Somalia’s interior ministry has laid down a plan that will see the city government take charge of security in the city. Speaking in Mogadishu when he unveiled the plan, the spokesman of the interior ministry, Abdikamil Shugri said the police force would be in charge of major roads and streets. He also called on government officials to minimize trips within the city.
He added that activities across the city would be monitored:“We would like to urge the presidential security detail and senior government officials to refrain from using some of the roads and streets in the city.“As a security measure, most city estates will be monitored,” he said.“There are a number of operations ongoing in Mogadishu as we speak to ascertain the security situation in the city,” Mr. Shugri added. This latest measures come a week after a twin blast in Mogadishu killed more than two dozen people.
Poor Women Eclipsed In Parity Discourse In Somalia, says ‘Act For Somalia’ Organization
08 March – Source: Goobjoog News – 442 Words
Women in the lower echelons of society face the prospect of being overshadowed by established women movements in Somalia, a Somali based organisation, Act for Somalia has said. In a statement to mark the International Women’s Day, Act for Somalia has called for fair representation of women not only within the broader context of society but also among women groupings and movements.
The organisation noted women in influential positions in the country have in the past benefited from opportunities in government, the business sector and society at large but have not been committed to empowering fellow women who are less endowed. “Within the women’s movement the voices of poorer women and those whose voices are overshadowed by more connected women must be heard. There must be fairness and common purpose within the women’s movements and narratives,” read the statement in part.
While acknowledging the gains made towards mainstreaming women participation in the national discourse, Act for Somalia said there was still much to do to ensure policies and legislations on inclusivity are transformed into a reality. The organisation observed the 30% quota for women in parliament under the Provisional constitution was a step in the right direction but called for concerted efforts especially by women to not only actualise these provision but champion for greater representation in many other sectors of society. “Somali women need to organise effectively, unite behind common causes, create coalitions and advocate for their interests as a unified force,” the organisation observed.
The role of men in championing for women rights is critical and must be entrenched, Act for Somalia stressed. “Men must advocate and fully support the inclusion of women in all aspects of Somalia’s journey towards peace, progress and prosperity. If we can trust women to bring up the next generation of societal leaders, we can certainly trust them to lead society,” the statement added. Meanwhile UN Secretary General has called for increased efforts by government to achieve gender parity in line with the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by world governments September last year. “Let us devote solid funding, courageous advocacy and unbending political will to achieving gender equality around the world. There is no greater investment in our common future,” said Ban. The first National Woman’s Day was observed in the United States on February 287 1909 but the UN started the United Nations began celebrating International Women’s Day on March 1975. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. This year’s theme is is “Planet 5050 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Intelligence Cooperated With US For Al-Shabaab Hit
08 March – Source: Associated Press – 229 Words
Somalia’s intelligence service cooperated with the U.S. in airstrikes that killed more than 150 Al-Shabaab members on Saturday, an intelligence official said Tuesday. The airstrikes targeted a forested military training camp run by the Islamic extremists 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of the capital Mogadishu, the official said, adding that the camp was Al-Shabaab’s main planning base. He said Somali officials helped the U.S. to pinpoint the location of the militants’ training base but did not give details.
Another intelligence official said Al-Shabaab members training there were planning to attack a drone base in the region.The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press on this matter. The Pentagon said Monday that the airstrikes killed fighters who were preparing to launch a large-scale attack, likely against African Union or U.S. personnel.
Multiple drones and manned aircraft launched missiles and bombs on the site, called Raso Camp, which the U.S. had been watching for several weeks, said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman. The camp was destroyed, Davis said, adding that the U.S. believes there were no civilian casualties. The al-Qaida-linked Al-Shabaab has been linked to a number of attacks, including the detonation of a bomb aboard a commercial passenger jet last month that forced the plane to make an emergency landing in Mogadishu.
Somalia’s Al-Shabaab: Toll Of US Airstrikes Exaggerated
08 March – Source: Al Jazeera English – 340 Words
Somali rebel group al-Shabab has denied US claims that 150 of their fighters were killed in air strikes late on Saturday.Washington said on Monday that it had carried out several strikes in southern Somalia that left the 150 of the al-Qaeda-linked group’s fighters dead.”The Americans are dreaming. We never gather that many of our fighters in one place. We know the security situation,” Abdulaziz Abu Mus’ab, the group’s military operations spokesman, told Al Jazeera in a phone call Tuesday.”Yes, the attack happened and it happened at the location they mentioned but the number they are telling the world is a lie,” Mus’ab added.
The armed group, which is fighting Somalia’s internationally recognised government, has recently attacked and overrun military bases belonging to African Union troops.The strikes occurred at 14:00 GMT on Saturday at a camp which is about 130km from Belidogle airport in the Lower Shabelle region – a major base AMISOM troops. American soldiers are also present at the Belidogle base.
Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said: “The fighters were there training and were training for a large-scale attack … We know they were going to be departing the camp and they posed an imminent threat to US and [African Union] forces.”It was an air operation. Initial assessments are that more than 150 terrorist fighters were eliminated.”Al-Shabaab on January 15 attacked and captured an AMISOM base home to Kenyan troops in El Adde, southwestern Somalia. The group killed dozens of Kenyan troops and captured several soldiers.The group also carried out similar dawn raid on an African Union base in September 2015 killing 20 African Union soldiers.They also overrun a Ugandan army-run base in Janaale, about 90km southwest of the Somali capital.In June 2015, the group captured another African Union base in Lego, killing dozens of soldiers and seizing weapons and ammunition.The group has lost control of most towns and cities in the country but continues to carry out attacks. They were pushed out of the Somali capital in August 2011.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Adar came to Malaysia seeking refuge from war in Somalia. Nine years later, she has made a life here. She wants to tell other women like her to “be patient, work hard, and be brave”.
4 Single Mothers On Love, Loss And Finding Strength
08 March – Source: The Star2 – 1,347 Words
Her name is Adar. She is a big woman, sturdily built, with a small, bare face; her nails are stained a reddish-orange rust from henna. The 45-year-old widow speaks softly through an interpreter, never quite making eye contact. She is a Somali refugee, and her journey here has been perilous.
“I came to Malaysia in November 2007 with three of my children. My eldest son is in Kenya,” she says, fingers on her temples. “My husband was killed earlier in 2007. I came here looking for safety.” Running from a country ripped apart by civil war, she left behind a “happy life” that was “middle-class and normal”.
In Somalia, there was a jewellery store and a big house; the children went to a good school. In Kuala Lumpur, there is a flat barely big enough to house the family. But she had to fight to get this flat, had to fight to fill it with old furniture: “When I came here, my kids were young. There were many problems: I couldn’t speak the language; I didn’t know how to start a new life in a foreign country; and I didn’t know how to find a job,” she says, clutching her UNHCR file.
Adar came to Malaysia seeking refuge from war in Somalia. Nine years later, she has made a life here. The Star/Azman Ghani. As a single mother, she already had to fend for her children by herself. As a refugee, stateless and without the protection of a government, she is even more vulnerable. Her eyes well with fresh tears as she remembers how hard it was just to survive. Now her children are teenagers – 16, 17, and 19 – attending a school for refugees.
She works as a seamstress, spending her days sewing on an old Singer machine. The UNCHR has given her a livelihood, she says, taking out a certificate for a sewing course from the file. In Somali fashion, she makes bright, patterned fabrics, and sells them to fellow Somalis and Arabs. “I make the decisions for my family. It’s not an easy job, shouldering the responsibility, thinking about how to survive.”
TOP TWEETS
@OCHASom:Maternal mortality rates in #Somalia is among some of the highest in the world. #InternationalWomensDay
@ReutersAfrica:Somali Islamists confirm U.S. strike, say casualties exaggerated #Somalia http://af.reuters.com/article/
@MinisterMOFA:#Somalia proud of the role its women have and continue to play in our national development. #IWD2016
@SRSGKeating:Honoured to be received by President of#Djibouti @IsmaelOGuelleh to discuss support for #Somalia
@Daudoo:By sending 15,000 girls to work as maids, #Somaliasells its dignity to Saudi Arabia http://huff.to/1QyVhx9 Shame!
IMAGE OF THE DAY
A poster by UNSOM .
Photo: UNSOM