April 29, 2016 | Morning Headlines
Somalia, AU Forces Face Resurgent Al-Shabaab
28 April – Source: Voice of America – 451 Words
The Islamic State militant group claimed its first ever attack in Somalia earlier this week, though the claim has not been verified. Meanwhile, Al-Shabaab militants have stepped up their attacks as Somalia gears up for elections later this year. The situation has led to growing frustrations among Somalia’s Western backers over the country’s slow progress in establishing its armed forces to bring security, after 25 years of chaos.
Somali authorities say they are countering a resurgence from Al-Shabaab rebels after years of progress in driving back the militants. Abdihakim Mohamoud Haji-Faqi, the country’s defense minister until 2014, attributes this to strategic changes on the part of the militant group: “Al-Shabaab has changed strategically their operations, from face-to-face fighting to targeting military bases, or targeting civilians, such as hotels, so they can terrorize the civilian population,” Haji-Faqi said.
That has included a series of suicide attacks in recent weeks, many of them targeting government figures in the capital, Mogadishu. Analyst Cathy Haenlein of Britain’s Royal United Services Institute says Al-Shabaab has been extending its reach across East Africa as it has lost territory in Somalia.
“So we have seen it exert a much greater level of influence in Kenya for example, there are much higher levels of recruitment and fundraising going on in Kenya,” Haenlein said. Kenya recently marked the first anniversary of the Garissa university attack, when Al-Shabaab gunmen killed 148 people. Kenya is one of the main contributors to the African Union peacekeeping force, known as AMISOM.
Somalia’s Western backers, including the United States, have been effectively paying the wages of Somali government troops. The European Union recently cut the monthly stipend it pays to AMISOM soldiers. Former defense minister Haji-Faqi says it is vital the support continues.
“They need support by the international community because the government financially is not in the position to pay their salaries and to arm their military. And also to lift the arms embargo against the Somali national army,” Haji-Faqi said. The United States has carried out a series of drone strikes against Al-Shabaab militants. The Somali government has welcomed the intervention and warns of a growing threat in the run up to elections scheduled later this year.
Key Headlines
- Somalia AU Forces Face Resurgent Al-Shabaab (Voice of America)
- Controversial Trials Of Somaliland Journalists Delayed (Mareeg Online)
- Puntland President Eyes Arab Investment (Garowe Online)
- Military Offensives And Al-Shabaab Threats In Lower Shabelle Force Families To Flee To Mogadishu(Goobjoog News)
- ISIL Is Competing With Al-Shabaab For Recruits In Somalia And Appears To Be Gaining Traction (Quartz Africa)
- International Maritime Agency Urges Vigilance Despite Drop In Somali Piracy (Xinhua News)
- Struggling For Survival In Drought-hit Somaliland (Reuters)
- Strong Bonds Grow With Bellies At Program For Pregnant Somali Women (Seattle Times)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Controversial Trials Of Somaliland Journalists Delayed
28 April – Source: Mareeg Media – 426 Words
The controversial trials of three journalists in a breakaway province of Somalia have been postponed amid criticism of recent legal action by authorities against the press, the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders said. At issue are two separate trials due to start April 23 in Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia after former dictator Siad Barre was toppled in 1991.
One case before a court in the capital Hargeisa concerns Muuse Jaambiir, a former chairman of the newspaper XogOgaal–one of three newspapers ordered closed by Somaliland’s government within the last year. In December, Jaambiir was charged with producing false information and insulting President Ahmed Mohamud Silanyo and the First Lady for articles he wrote in 2015 about the privatization of a government-owned oil storage facility, according to the Human Rights Centre in Somalia. XogOgaal has continued to publish while it appeals the closure order, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The second case involves the defunct newspaper Hubsad. Cabdirashiid Nuur Wacays, its former chairman, and Siciid Khadar Cabdilaahi, the paper’s former editor-in-chief, were both accused of running newspaper without a license, according to Horseed Media, a Somali news site operated from Europe. Both cases were delayed because the judge was in mourning and the prosecutor was ill.
Once considered a democratic beacon in East Africa despite the fact that its government has not been formally recognized internationally, President Silanyo’s government has stepped up efforts to silence critical news reporting and dissenting media in recent years. Somaliland, a former British colony, joined with Italian Somaliland in the 1960s to form the country of Somalia. After Siad Barre’s government collapsed during a civil war in 1991, Somaliland emerged as an autonomous and stable region of the country even as southern and central Somalia remain plagued by conflict and banditry.
In a separate incident, journalist Mohamed Omar Jaray was detained in the city of Borama by the police April 13 according to the news site Borama News. Jaray had recorded video of the city’s residents singing Somalia’s national anthem instead of the national anthem of Somaliland. It is considered a crime to express any support of Somalia, according to Mogadishu’s Dalsan Radio.
Jaray’s arrest came on the heels of the March closure of the newspaper Codka Shacabka, or The Voice of the People, for alleged licensing violations: “Somaliland should strive for a diverse and open media environment, beginning with dropping all legal charges against journalists for their work, and releasing Mohamed Omar Jaray immediately,” said Kerry Paterson, a research associate for the New York-based CPJ.
Puntland President Eyes Investment Opportunities In Saudi
28 April – Source: Garowe Online – 289 Words
The President of Somalia’s Puntland Government, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, is seeking investment from Saudi tycoons in various sectors, Garowe Online has reliably established. Ali met with Saudi Prince and multi-millionaire media mogul Al Waleed Bin Talal and Emir Sultan Bin Nasir Bin Abdiasis Al Saud in Riyadh in a visit aimed at forging business ties with rulers of the wealthy kingdom.
Saudi monarch is wooing the East African country with investment promises to sidestep the growing Iranian influence in Africa. Ali has invited Saudi tycoons to explore attractive investment opportunities in stable Puntland that escaped much of the country’s bloodiest internal strife. Saudis pledged to cooperate with Puntland on reinvigorating livestock exports to the Gulf. They also expressed interest in investment in production, economic infrastructure and water sectors during discussions which focused on ways of enhancing business relations. Saudi business delegation is set to pay a visit to Puntland in the near future according to Presidency sources.
Military Offensives And Al-Shabaab Threats In Lower Shabelle Force Families To Flee To Mogadishu
27 April – Source: Goobjoog News – 383 Words
Renewed military offensive against Al-Shabaab fighters by Somali government forces backed by African Union AMISOM troops has sparked another influx of civilians to the capital Mogadishu in the last two months. Some 250 families have arrived in Mogadishu fleeing the fighting or the fear of fighting in their home areas especially Lower Shabelle region in the last two months.
The families are now housed in internally displaced persons, IDP camps in Tabelaha area in Daynille district in Mogadishu. Most of these people came from Janaale in Lower Shabelle region where AMISOM and SNA launched new offensives to liberate the areas under the control of Al-Shabaab fighters in the last few months.
Shariifo Siidow, a mother of five, came to Mogadishu a month ago from the Lower Shabelle region with nine other families: “We left our home near Janaale town because we were afraid. There are so many planes flying low and Al-Shabaab is forcing people to join the fighting,” said Siidow. She said they had to sneak out of town at night because Al-Shabaab “does not allow anyone to leave but I am sure many more will leave because everyone is afraid of what is coming”. Al-Shabab still controls some parts of southern Somalia, despite pressure from SNA troops African Union.
So far, the displaced are staying in a temporary camp in the south of the city, said Siidow: “There is likelihood that more displaced people would be coming to Mogadishu in the next few weeks if the conflict in Lower Shabelle region escalates,” says Abdi Mohamed director of a local non governmental organisation operating in Mogadishu. As drought conditions ease out in the country, many of the displaced have begun to return home but the renewed fighting in parts of southern Somalia is likely to complicate their return,” said Mohamed.
“We should not be talking about resettlement in the midst of conflict but rather emergency assistance to those who are coming daily.” Mohamed says humanitarian agencies are concerned about the impact of movements of people from the Janaale town and the fragile humanitarian situation in Mogadishu where displaced people are already living in precarious conditions.” Mogadishu is already home to more than 250,000 internally displaced people, most of whom were displaced by the 2011 famine which killed over 200,000 people.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
ISIL Is Competing With Al-Shabaab For Recruits In Somalia And Appears To Be Gaining Traction
28 April – Source: Quartz Africa – 355 Words
The Islamic State may be gaining a foothold in East Africa. The militant group took responsibility for an IED attack on a convoy of African Union peacekeepers traveling outside of Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu on April 25.
African Union officials have said that ISIL may not have been behind the attack, which left no casualties. Still, there are worrying signs that the group is gaining traction in war-torn Somalia, where another extremist group, Al-Shabaab, could serve as a ready pool of recruits for ISIL.
ISIL, which has been competing with Al-Shabaab for recruits in “the little emirate” since last year, appears to be ramping up its efforts. It released a propaganda video on April 14 in which a group of fighters trains in an undisclosed location in Somalia and pledges allegiance to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.
One of the fighters featured in that video is ex-Al-Shabaab leader Abdiqadir Mumin, a cleric who defected to ISIL last year, reportedly taking 20 fighters with him. While the group’s following is likely still small, its appeal may be growing among disenchanted Al-Shabaab members who have seen their territory in Somalia taken back by African Union forces, supported by the United States and other African nations. (Al-shabaab, whose name means “the youth,” aims to oust the government and turn Somalia into an Islamist state. It declared allegiance to Al-Qaeda, ISIL’s rival, in 2012.)
Earlier this month, a previously unknown group called Jahba East Africa, or the East Africa Front, came out in support of ISIL and called on fighters to desert Al-Shabaab. “We are telling the mujahideen in East Africa that al-Shabaab has now become a psychological and physical prison,” it said in a propaganda video released on April 7.
Analysts believe that younger Al-Shabaab supporters might be attracted to a mission that goes beyond just Somalia. ISIL has pockets of support in northern and western Africa. When Boko Haram pledged allegiance to ISIL last year, it called on all sub-Saharan jihadists to join its forces. For ISIL, Somalia’s attraction may be that it borders key US allies in East Africa like Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti.
International Maritime Agency Urges Vigilance Despite Drop In Somali Piracy
28 April – Source: Xinhua News – 398 Words
A global maritime agency has called on foreign ships sailing through the coast of Somalia to remain vigilant amid drop in piracy attacks in the Horn of Africa region. A report released by the International Chamber Commerce (ICC) International Maritime Bureau (IMB)’s global piracy on Thursday said there was no piracy attack off the coast of Somalia between January to March 31 due to preventive measures deployed by the foreign warships to thwart such attacks.
“The combined efforts of the navies in the region, along with the increased hardening of vessels and best management practices (BMP4) compliance, employment of privately contracted armed security personnel (PCASP), and the stabilizing factor of the central government within Somalia has resulted in this positive sign,” IMB said.
Despite in lull in piracy activity off the coast of Somalia, the global anti-piracy watchdog warned that Somali pirates still have the capability and capacity to carry out attacks: “The IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC believes that a single successful hijacking of a merchant vessel will rekindle the Somali pirates’ passion to resume its piracy efforts,” it said.
IMB said suspected Somali pirates continue to hold 29 crew members for ransom as at March 31. The menace of piracy in the larger Gulf of Eden that reached a crescendo five years ago triggered an international military response. Foreign nations in the West as well as China, India and a number of countries in the Far East dispatched their naval forces to help protect ships from pirates. Analysts say the combined military onslaught and a host of economic incentives targeting jobless Somali youth have dealt piracy a fatal blow. The latest report highlights growing violence off the coast of West Africa, where 44 seafarers have been captured so far this year.
Struggling For Survival In Drought-hit Somaliland
28 April – Source: Reuters – 406 Words
In the past three months, Amina Ibrahim Shirwa and her family have lost around 25 goats, sheep and cows as a harsh drought has ravaged livestock and crops in northern Somalia. The 50-year-old, who lives outside Botor village in the semi-autonomous Somaliland region, fears for her family’s livelihood after several successive poor rainy seasons made worse by El Nino conditions in the Horn of Africa. Outside her family compound, just a few of her livestock remain. Nearby, dead sheep lie on the ground.
While rain finally arrived here this month, its intensity has flooded fields and killed frail, malnourished livestock, too weak to produce milk or with little meat: “Most of my animals have died due to the lack of rain. The weak ones left are dying now because of the rains that have come,” she said. “We have lost most of our livelihood. There is very little money to buy food or to plant crops.”
Across the Horn of Africa, millions have been hit by the severe El Nino-related drought. In Somaliland and the neighbouring, also semi-autonomous, Puntland region, 1.7 million people in are in need of aid, according to the United Nations. In Somaliland itself, the most affected areas include the northwest Awdal region bordering Ethiopia. Many families there say they are losing their last surviving animals, their livelihood, and have little money to work their fields.
More than 250,000 people died in a 2011 famine that hit Somalia, a state long plagued by poverty, recurrent drought, hunger and an Islamist insurgency. Some Somaliland residents say this drought is the worst in decades. Outside the town of Qol Ujeed, animal carcasses scatter the dry bushland landscape, one of them a scrawny camel.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“‘There’s a real sense of camaraderie, and I feel like that can be really lacking,’ says Burke, who adds that pregnancy and new motherhood can be very isolating in the United States, especially if you’re new to the country. Women realize they’re not alone.”
Strong Bonds Grow With Bellies At Program For Pregnant Somali Women
28 April – Source: Seattle Times – 634 Words
The mysterious underwater rhythm of an in-utero heartbeat is the signature sound of prenatal checkups. When I was pregnant, it was a ritual I looked forward to. Now, four months after the birth of my son, I’m hearing that amazing sound again, but in a very different setting. It’s coming from behind a folding screen in a room full of women wearing brightly colored headscarves and mingling over sweet chai tea.
I’m at a Somali “centering pregnancy” session at Neighborcare Health, a clinic for low-income people off Rainier Avenue South. It’s a new approach to prenatal care, and the first Somali-language program of its kind in the country. It’s also an attempt to innovatively address significant maternal and child health disparities in our Somali-American population.
“I thought it was fun you know? Sharing information with other women and experiencing the same thing with someone else,” says Ayan Ali, 32, who is six months pregnant and a member of the group. “You get more time than regular appointments, too; you get to ask a lot of questions and talk to other women.”
Learning from peers is at the heart of the program, which brings women together to meet 10 times over the course of their pregnancy to discuss everything from fetal brain development to domestic abuse. Though patients still consult privately with a health-care provider at the top of each session, they spend as much as an hour talking through issues and concerns in a group conversation facilitated by an obstetrician, a midwife and a Somali interpreter.
“Fewer preterm deliveries, higher rates of successful breast-feeding, lower rates of postpartum depression,” says Dr. Alson Burke, an obstetrician with UW Medicine who serves as one of the facilitators, recounting the proven results from this kind of program: “So from the science side it’s supported, and also from the community side it feels good.” That sense of community was strong during the session I visited. Things started off slowly (maybe due to the reporter and photographer in the room), but soon the dozen or so women were sharing tips on how to choose a pediatrician, and discussing how often your baby should poop.
And it’s clear the women are comfortable with each other (like when Burke asked “Where should your baby sleep?” and Ali joked “Outside!” to an eruption of laughter). The group also serves as a way to dispel the misinformation that can circulate in a community of mothers navigating a new culture — for example, that formula is better for babies than breast milk, or that women shouldn’t be physically active during pregnancy.