April 13, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Five Arrested In Beled Hawo Town For Car Bomb Explosion
13 April – Source: Shabelle News – 130 Words
Five people have been arrested during a manhunt for the masterminds of Tuesday’s bomb attack that targeted Balad Hawo district commissioner Yusuf Mohamed. Police in Balad Hawo town near Kenyan border launched the manhunt following the blast that left at least three soldiers wounded.According to an army colonel in the city, Nuh Osman Hajji, the security authorities “are questioning five people arrested during the operation in connection with the bomb attack at the city’s police station”. Col Hajji told Shabelle Media Network in an interview. The arrest comes a day after Balad Hawo district commissioner Yusuf Mohamed survived an assassination attempt on his life. A bomb fitted into his car exploded, injuring three of his bodyguards.So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Key Headlines
- Five Arrested In Beled Hawo Town For Car Bomb Explosion (Shabelle News)
- AMISOM Hails Agreement On The Implementation Of The 2016 Electoral Process (AMISOM)
- Internal Affairs Minister Officially Opens Second Phase Of Jowhar Conference (Hiiraan Online)
- International Community Concerned Over Delay Of Somaliland Elections Extension Of Siilaanyo’s Term(Geeska )
- Key Federal Witness In Minnesota ISIL Investigation Is Arrested After Gun Incident (Star Tribune)
- Prejudice Facing Migrants In South African Townships (Anadolu Agency)
- Somalia: Hope Springs (News Week)
PRESS STATEMENT
AMISOM Hails Agreement On The Implementation Of The 2016 Electoral Process
13 April – Source: AMISOM -440 Words
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), has welcomed the agreement reached by Somalia leaders on modalities for the implementation of the 2016 electoral process.The Somalia National Leadership Forum (NLF) which began on April 9, concluded yesterday in Mogadishu and was attended by various leaders from the federal government as well as those from the existing and emerging interim regional administrations.The forum hosted by Somalia President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, was attended by the Presidents of the regional states of Puntland, South West Administration, Galmudug, and Jubbaland. Ambassador Francisco Madeira, the Special Representative of the African Union Commission Chairperson (SRCC) for Somalia said, “We are very happy with this communiqué. It’s a clear expression of the growing consensus and cohesion between the leadership of this country and a clear vision of how they want the future Somalia to be governed.”
The SRCC described the forum as a milestone in guiding Somalia to an inclusive, all-encompassing and democratic state. Ambassador Madeira added that AMISOM would continue to support Somalia, for its leadership to take full charge of the country’s affairs and also become an active member of the international community.The leadership forum agreed on the structure for the 2016 electoral process, both at federal and state levels, and election of Members of Parliament for the bicameral parliament.
In a communique read at the conclusion of the forum, the leaders agreed to establish uniform Election Implementation Teams at federal and state levels, to organize the upcoming elections.The leaders also agreed on the composition of the Election Implementation Teams and promised to formulate their terms of reference. A dispute resolution mechanism will also be established for the upcoming elections.Another conference is due to be held next month in the Puntland capital, Garowe, to discuss contentious political and constitutional issues that may require review. The leaders also resolved to table the 2016 electoral model and implementation mechanism to the federal parliament for final endorsement.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said Somalia has made gradual progress and the decision to have 13,750 people elect the Parliament, is a step forward for Somalia and demonstrates that more people will be able to participate in the 2020 elections.President Hassan Sheikh also noted that time was of the essence and urged international partners to support the Federal Government of Somalia in order to fast-track implementation of processes that are yet to be fulfilled.“I would like to appreciate the role and continuous commitment from our international partners who have been standing with Somalia on the difficult days and the good days. I salute them and say thank you,” President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said.
NATIONAL MEDIA
Internal Affairs Minister Officially Opens Second Phase Of Jowhar Conference
12 April – Source: Hiiraan Online – 257 Words
The much expected second phase of the State making conference for Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle region that was underway in Jowhar was yesterday officially opened by the Federal Minister for Internal Affairs Abdirahman Mohamed Hussein after several months of inactivity. Delegates from both regions were in attendance although several clan elders from Hiran region failed to show up. In his address, Minister Odowa urged delegates to fast track the process saying there was an urgent need for an administration for the two regions. “The Federal government is committed to the successful conclusion of this process and its stand remains the same as announced by President Hassan Sheikh. The headquarters of the administration will be Buulo-burte and we have already prepared the center from where the proposed administration will operate,” said the Minister.
Minister Odowa reiterated the Federal government had no preferred candidate adding that the head of the upcoming State will be elected by members of Parliament to be selected by the delegates as scheduled. Speaking at the same venue, Governor of Middle Shabelle region, Abdullahi Guud-laawe as well as the Deputy Governor of Hiiraan region Sheikh Hussein Osman Ali updated delegates and took them through expected timetable of the conference. Others who addressed the conference were Ministers for Internal Security, Fishing, Petroleum and Finance. Clan elders led by Ugas Abdirahman Ugas Abdullahi, Sultan Ahmed Rashid Sheikh Shueyb also addressed the conference which first opened its doors in January 2016 but was later thrown into disarray after disagreements emerged between delegates over sharing of slots and positions.
International Community Concerned Over Delay Of Somaliland Elections, Extension Of Siilaanyo’s Term
12 April – Source: Geeska – 189 Words
Several countries that used to support Somaliland’s democratization processes by funding the registration of voters and organization of elections have expressed concerns over delays in the 2017 elections which could necessitate another term extension for the incumbent, President Ahmed Mohamed Siilaanyo.Sources indicate representatives of these countries in Kenya have been holding meetings over the development and have sent a representative from the European Union (EU) to Hargeisa to share their concerns with the Somaliland government. The concerns raised were occasioned by the suspension of the voter registration exercise, disagreements and rifts in Ucid party as well as amendment to the laws governing the voter registration exercise, which may take long to be approved by Parliament.
Reports also indicate that members of the international community held talks in Nairobi with Speaker of Parliament and head of the Waddani party Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi Irro. It is believed the group will soon send a high level delegation to Hargeisa to jointly share their concerns with President Siilaanyo and other concerned parties. The delay in holding elections in 2015 and the resultant extension of Siilanyo’s term has to date dented Somaliland’s foreign relations and image.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Key Federal Witness In Minnesota ISIL Investigation Is Arrested After Gun Incident
12 April – Source: Star Tribune -930 Words
A key informant in the government’s case against a group of young Twin Cities men accused of conspiracy to support ISIL was arrested last week on probable cause of illegally possessing a handgun, according to court documents filed this week.He was released the next day, pending the filing of charges.
Abdirahman Abdi Rashiid Bashiir, 20, was at a Minneapolis apartment visiting friends late Friday evening when a semiautomatic handgun discharged accidentally as he attempted to modify it, according to a source familiar with the investigation. One bullet lodged into the wall and no one was injured.
Police were notified and placed Bashiir under arrest. He was released from Hennepin County jail by 4 p.m.Saturday pending a criminal complaint, jail records show. According to a police report, officers recovered a firearm, magazines, shell casings, other rounds and a holster.Reached by phone Tuesday, Bashiir said he couldn’t comment on the incident but characterized it as “some kind of misunderstanding.” “It doesn’t have anything to do with the other case or my involvement,” Bashiir said, referring to the ongoing ISIL recruit case in which he has cooperated with federal authorities. “I’m still a U.S. citizen. Whatever I do, I don’t get no special treatment.”
FBI and U.S. attorney’s office spokesmen declined to comment on the arrest.Originally a co-conspirator along with a half-dozen friends who allegedly attempted to travel to Syria to fight with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Bashiir instead turned informant in early 2015.Bashiir moved with family to Minnesota from San Diego in 2012 and was reportedly seen back in California last summer. He said Tuesday he “was just kind of [in Minneapolis] on a little visit. I might not be here long.”
Prejudice Facing Migrants In South African Townships
13 April – Source: Anadolu Agency – 696 Words
Like many refugees, when Jele Abdi arrived in South Africa from war-torn Somalia he thought the bulk of his troubles lay behind him. When he finally scraped enough money together to open his own store in a township outside Johannesburg after three years of hard work he thanked his good fortune and the chance he had to carve out a life for himself and his family.
However, those dreams were vanquished in a few hours one night as a mob looted his shop. His was just one of many foreign-owned stores ransacked in Katlehong township, 35 kilometers (22 miles) east of Johannesburg, in one of the latest episodes of xenophobia that have plagued post-Apartheid South Africa.“I watched helpless as the mob looted and destroyed what I had worked so hard to build,” Jele, 31, told Anadolu Agency. The March 29 rampage in Katlehong was in response to the shooting of alleged shoplifter by a foreign store owner and is part of a series of incidents that have led to scores of deaths, mostly of migrants. It aroused little condemnation on the part of ordinary South Africans.
“South Africans seem to disassociate themselves from commenting on issues of xenophobia yet it is intolerable, just as racisms is,” Mienke Mari Steytler, head of public affairs at the South African Institute of Race Relations, told Anadolu Agency. While the country’s modern history is steeped in issues of racism — a history it was able to break free from thanks, in part, to neighboring states — discrimination against migrants from other parts of Africa often passes unremarked, she added. It is among the poor and marginalized of South Africa’s townships, where the effects of Apartheid are still clear, that such discrimination is closest to the surface. Here, accusations of foreigners “stealing” jobs, housing and opportunities are frequently heard: “People are unhappy with the government’s failure to create jobs and end inequality,” Steytler said. “Unfortunately they turn their anger by attacking African immigrants.”
In May 2008, at least 62 people lost their lives and hundreds were injured in cross-country riots that saw mobs initially target the homes of migrants from Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Abdeslam Habiballah Ahmed, chairman of the Migrant Community Board of South Africa, said incidents of xenophobic violence have fallen slightly in recent years. “My organization has been working with the government and other migrant formations to sensitize local communities to stop this hatred,” he said. Amir Sheikh, chairman of the Somali Community Board, appealed to South Africans to condemn xenophobia as they would racism. “Let’s not have selective condemnation,” he said. “We cannot condemn racism and be silent when xenophobic violence happens.”
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Drought does not mean famine, but it can lead to it. But what turns a drought from a weather incident to a massive humanitarian disaster? It generally hinges on a combination of factors, including the intensity and duration of the drought, the aridity of the land, the vulnerability of the population, the resilience of their coping mechanisms, and more recently in our times, the ability of humanitarian actors to intervene,”
Somalia: Hope Springs
13 April – Source: Newsweek – 1006 Words
Fatima Jibrell’s bleak outlook is evident. “We have no drinking water in Badhan today.” For the pastoralists of Somalia, only dirty, expensive water is for sale, brought in over dirt roads by truck in the scorching heat. Not a single one of the four boreholes in her small village are working.
There is a drought in the Horn of Africa. Four successive rains have failed.Jibrell, an award-winning environmental activist, has the wise commanding presence of an elder and the shining eyes of an idealist. She is also a date farmer in Badhan, a small village 40 kilometers away from the Gulf of Aden, about halfway between Djibouti to the west and the tip of the Horn of Africa to the east. It abuts a region claimed both by Puntland State of Somalia to its right, and by the independence-seeking region of Somaliland to its left. But at this moment, borders and politics do not matter.
We know this movie, we’ve seen this play—the imagery and narrative evoked by the word ‘drought’ in this region are uncomfortably familiar. There are miles of parched landscape, animal carcasses, emaciated children with distended bellies—and flies everywhere. But this is to misunderstand drought, or to get ahead of our story.You have to imagine we are backstage, or a few scenes earlier in this potentially tragic tale.
TOP TWEETS
@Daudoo:Enduring #Somalia drought puts hundreds of thousands at risk, U.N. warns http://fw.to/K5GaaoS
@UNDPSomalia:UNDP trains 39 staff members of #SomaliaNational Federal Parliament. Read More herehttps://www.facebook.com/
@amisomsomalia :AMISOM Conducts Police Recruitment Exercise in Baidoa http://goo.gl/H0tDMV #Somalia
@OCHASom :Did you know that #Somalia’s capital#Mogadishu has an estimated 369k IDPs? @UNHCRSom
@ThielsChristian:#Germany‘s government has decided to enlarge military mission in #Mali, prolongs anti-piracy-op off#Somalia @afp
IMAGE OF THE DAY
AMISOM conducts police recruitment in Baidoa.
Photo: AMISOM.