March 17, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
20 Al-Shabaab Militants Killed In Somalia’s Puntland State
17 March – Source: Xinhua News – 307 Words
At least 20 Al-Shabaab militants were killed and several others injured by Puntland forces in heavy fighting in Nugal region in northern Somalia on Wednesday. Puntland Information Minister Mohamud Hassan said two of the Puntland forces were injured during the battle with the insurgents who stormed the region early Wednesday. “We are in heavy battle with Al-Shabaab terrorist group in the two regions. Our defense forces are fighting with them and have killed 20 of the militants. Some are hiding in holes but we will end the on-going battlewithin 72 hours,” Hassan said.
“We also call on Al-Shabaab leaders and the youth who have been misled to join the group to surrender to our forces. We will give them amnesty,” Hassan added. The insurgents seized the port town of Garaad before they were overpowered by Puntland forces. About 200 militants arrived in boats in Garaad and immediately took over the town before cutting off communication lines. Governor of Nugal region in Puntland State Omar Abdullahi Faraweyne told reporters that Puntland forces would ultimately defeat the terrorists.
“Puntland Security and Defense forces responded to the attacks by a group of Al-Shabaab who stormed Garmal and Suuj areas in Dangoroyo district in Nugal region. We will definitely defeat the terrorists,” Faraweyne said. However, the Al-Qaida allied militant group said their forces are advancing and expanding to new areas in Puntland State in northern Somalia after hundreds of their fighters reached coastal areas with boats on Sunday.
Key Headlines
- 20 Al-Shabaab Militants Killed In Somalia’s Puntland State (Xinhua News)
- President Hassan Sheikh Lauds The Contribution Of Burundi As He Hosts Vice President (Wacaal Media)
- Calm Returns To Nugal Region After Deadly Fight (Shabelle News)
- Somalia On Alert Over Possible Attacks On Ports (Hiiraan Online)
- Burundi Reaffirms Its Support To AMISOM (AMISOM)
- 30 Al-Shabaab Killed In Two Clashes In Somalia Say Officials (New Vision)
- Metro Transit Police Use Somali Language Lessons To Break Down Barriers (MPR News)
- No More Pirates: Mpls. Actor Barkhad Abdi Lands The Good Guy Role (MPR News)
NATIONAL MEDIA
President Hassan Sheikh Lauds The Contribution Of Burundi As He Hosts Vice President
17 March – Source: Wacaal Media – 196 Words
President of the Federal Government of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has lauded the contribution of Burundi towards seeing a stable Somalia. Speaking after hosting the first Vice President of Burundi Gaston Sindimwo who is in the country for a two day official visit on Wednesday Burundi will make history as one of the countries who stood with Somalia during its hour of need. The Somali president expressed confidence that the government of Burundi will find a lasting solution to the political crisis recently witnessed in the country adding that the best way to solve such conflicts was through dialogue and other local solutions.
“One of the key objectives of our meeting is to form a steering committee that will oversee implementation of bilateral agreements signed by our two countries,” he said. The two countries are expected to collaborate in security, infrastructure, education, agriculture and trade among other areas. Burundi has also pledged to train the Somali Police Force. The meeting was also attended by the acting Prime Minster of Somalia who is also the minister of Justice Abdullahi Ahmed Jama, Assistant foreign affairs minister Ali Kadiye among other high ranking officials from both sides.
Calm Returns To Nugal Region After Deadly Fight
17 March – Source: Shabelle News – 136 Words
Precarious calm has returned to coastal Suuj village in Nugal province on Thursday morning following a deadly combat between Al shabaab fighters and Puntland forces. Local residents said the forces from both warring sides are still stationed at its defesive postion in the village and the fight could erupt at anytime.
On Wednwsday, Puntland armed forces attacked Al-Shabaab barracks in the Nugal Province’s village of Suuj, along the Indian Ocean shores to prevent militants to seize more towns in the region. The minister of information of Puntland Mohamoud Hassan Socade said in a press confrence in Garowe that at least 10 militants were killed and wounded three soldiers in the clashes. Mr Socade has specified that the ongoing combat is as part of continuing clean-up operation against Al-Shabaab militants in Nugal region, north east of Somalia.
Somalia On Alert Over Possible Attacks On Ports
17 March – Source: Hiiraan Online – 180 Words
Somali government has beefed up security around ports in the country, in an effort to thwart possible attacks by the Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab group, officials said on Wednesday. The militant group had earlier targeted Mogadishu port, however, most of the attacks were foiled by security forces who shot dead the attackers before being able to enter the port.
Officials at the Somali intelligence agency told the state-run media that the agency had received information about an Al-Shabaab plan to attack several ports in the horn of Africa nation. Ports are major revenue sources for the western-backed government which largely relies on donors funding to maintain its existence. The officials who requested anonymity declined to give further details about the development.
However, Al-Shabaab has carried out multiple deadly attacks across large parts of Somalia as parts of guerrilla attacks it stepped up since the ouster of its fighters from the capital Mogadishu and surrounding regions by allied Somali and African Union forces. Most of the attacks targeted Mogadishu which is recovering from decades of war.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Burundi Reaffirms Its Support To AMISOM
17 March – Source: AMISOM – 332 Words
The Burundi government has reaffirmed its commitment to continue being part of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to help Somalia achieve peace and stability. Burundi’s First Vice President, Gaston Sindimwo, assured the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Francisco Madeira, that Burundi troops will continue serving under AMISOM command along with other troop contributing countries.
“The First Vice President told me that they are determined to be with Somalia and to fight side by side with them come what may,” Ambassador Francisco Madeira said in an interview shortly after the meeting Burundi’s First Vice President. The meeting focused on Burundi’s participation and AMISOM’s agenda in helping secure a peaceful and stable Somalia.
“We discussed the situation of the Burundi contingent here, their operations, the need for them to obtain more equipment and the position of the Burundi Government with regard to the future of its contingent,” Ambassador Francisco Madeira said. Present at the meeting was Burundi’s Ambassador to Somalia Brig. Gen. Joseph Nkurunziza; Chief of the Military in the Office of the President, Brig. Gen. Ildephonse Habarugira and the Counselor in charge of Security and Defence in the office of the First Vice President, Madam Francoise Niyonzima.
30 Al-Shabaab Killed In Two Clashes In Somalia, Say Officials
17 March – Source: New Vision – 531 words
Thirty insurgents in Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-aligned Al Shabab jihadist group were killed Wednesday in heavy clashes in the south and northeast of the country, Kenya’s armed forces and local authorities said separately. In the first incident, the Kenya Defence Force (KDF) said it had thwarted an assault on a military camp at Afmadhow in the Lower Juba area in southern Somalia, killing 19 rebels and seizing a haul of weapons.
Kenyan troops operating under the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) mission “foiled a planned attack” near the camp, operated by the Somali National Army (SNA) and AMISOM, the KDF said in a statement. “The… terrorists had approached the camp at night with the intent to attack and cut off the SNA from the AMISOM KDF camp,” it said.
“KDF soldiers on patrol identified the militants and engaged them in a fierce battle. They attempted to fight back, but were swiftly repulsed by the KDF soldiers on patrol and those at the camp,” it said, quoting army spokesman David Obonyo. “Following the incident, 19 militants were killed and one technical vehicle destroyed. Some of the arms and ammunition recovered include 10 AK 47 rifles and three rocket-propelled grenades.”
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“The class is only seven weeks long, so fluency is not the goal. The idea behind the course — taught by Minneapolis Community and Technical College — is to make Metro Transit officers more understandable.”
Metro Transit Police Use Somali Language Lessons To Break Down Barriers
16 March – Source: MPR News – 544 Words
Twenty Metro Transit officers sit in a classroom, carefully taking notes. They slowly try to pronounce every word instructor Ali Warsame says, from simple greetings like “hello” to more tricky phrases like “Show me your ticket” or “Put your hands where I can see them.” In late February, Metro Transit police began offering a Somali language class to some of its officers. The cops say they want to connect with the growing Somali community in the Twin Cities who ride buses and light rail. Metro Transit Police Chief John Harrington sat in the front row during a recent class and tried over and over to say, “How is the family?”
“There are words there that my brain translates into an ‘ee’ when it’s supposed to be an ‘ah’ and I keep thinking I’m supposed to roll my R’s like I’m Scottish and it turns out I’m not. But Ali is very patient with us,” Harrington said. Metro Transit Police now has five Somali officers who speak the language out of a force of 208 full- and part-time police officers in the department. The department also uses the services of Somali language interpreters. “When you have a Somali victim, you can’t wait for a translator or wait for the language line to come online in order to get the description, you need to be able to get that information right away, otherwise the bad guy will get away,” Harrington said.
The class is only seven weeks long, so fluency is not the goal. The idea behind the course — taught by Minneapolis Community and Technical College — is to make Metro Transit officers more understandable. Metro Transit Police is one of several organizations to bring the training to their staff after Minneapolis Public Schools, St. Paul’s Math and Science Academy, and Fairview Health Services.
“I’m assuming a lot of people don’t know the details of drones. You hear about it but you don’t know exactly what happens and how these things work. So this movie, I believe gives a lot of insight on the drones and the modern warfare, said Barkhad Abdi.”
No More Pirates: Mpls. Actor Barkhad Abdi Lands The Good Guy Role
16 March – Source: MPR News – 524 Words
Barkhad Abdi gained international fame in 2013 with his first film appearance in “Captain Phillips” where he played a desperate Somali fisherman driven to piracy. The performance earned the Minneapolis actor an Oscar nomination. Moviegoers will get to see Abdi again this spring in an equally intense but very different role.
In his new film “Eye in the Sky” Abdi plays a CIA counterterrorism operative in Kenya trying to track down a terrorist cell using a drone flying high over the city before they can launch a suicide attack. The mission is commanded by a colonel in England, played by Helen Mirren. The drone is piloted by a U.S. crew in Nevada.
Abdi’s character is the one on the ground, in danger. He hides outside the terror cell’s house, controlling another tiny drone shaped like a beetle. It allows the drone team members around the world to see inside the building. Dozens, may be hundreds of lives are at risk. A missile strike may stop the bombers but also result in deaths of innocent people nearby.
The movie opens locally on Friday. Abdi, 30, said he was sold on “Eye in the Sky” immediately when he got a look at the script. “You can feel the intensity just from reading it,” he said in a phone interview from New York City.
TOP TWEETS
@Terror_Monitor : #SOMALIA
#AlShabaab Claims To Have Killed 10 #KDF Soldiers In#Kenya–#Somalia Border. #TerrorMonitor
@Vatescorp : #Somalia: Gen Abdikadir Ali Dini- Kismayo deal is a step towards peace and unity in Jubbaland http://ow.ly/ZAEUz
@warganenews : #Somalia: #Mogadisho President Plans to Lease #Berbera Airport to #UAEhttp://wargane.com/2016/03/17/
@amisomsomalia: Burundi reaffirms its support to AMISOMhttp://goo.gl/MEAvcC #Somalia
@SomaliEmbKenya : Deputy Head of Mission Mohamed Amiin today opened a 3day workshop for Women MP’s on political engagement. #Somalia
@Bogorad_Olga: Separate conflicting reports indicate that a pro-#IS faction, not #alShabaab, was involved in the clashes in Suuj #Somalia
@AnankeGroup : #Somalia‘s Deputy PM opens possibility of sending #AMISOM to #Puntland to fight #AlShabaab.http://m.voasomali.com/a/
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission for Somalia, Ambassador Francisco Madeira met the 1st Vice President of Burundi H.E. Gaston Sindimwo on Wednesday 16th March 2016. The two met in Mogadishu, Somalia with talks focusing on the Burundi contingent serving on the mission and progress made in Somalia.
Photo: AMISOM