May 25, 2016 | Morning Headlines
Somalia: UN Security Council Commends Advancements, Urges Accelerated Peace- and State-building
24 May – Source: UN News Center – 302 Words
The United Nations Security Council has welcomed the political and security progress in Somalia during a mission to the capital, Mogadishu, on 19 May, where representatives of the 15-member body met with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, regional leaders, Somali civil society and women’s groups.
In a press statement following up the mission, they underlined the advances made since the transition ended in 2012, while underscoring the need to accelerate the country’s peace- and state-building process, saying: “Holding a peaceful, transparent electoral process in 2016 will mark a historic step forward for all Somalis, and will be fundamental for the country’s continued progress towards democracy and stability.”
In the context of Security Council resolution 2232 (2015), which laid out that there be no extended electoral process timelines in Somalia, the members welcomed the electoral mechanism in the decree issued by President Mohamud on 22 May 2016, noting that it should “enable necessary technical preparation and implementation without further delay.” They also acknowledged that Somali leaders had worked hard to achieve agreement on the modalities of the electoral model and commended President Mohamud and the Government for ensuring that the electoral process timelines were upheld.
“The challenge now is to prepare and implement the elections and renew their call on all Somali stakeholders to work constructively to that end, without delay,” the members emphasized. The Council members called it “a historic opportunity” to deliver more representative governance to the people of Somalia.
They commended the Government’s commitment to reserve 30 per cent of seats in the upper and lower houses for women and emphasised the importance of adhering to the political road map to 2020 – in particular to reach one-person, one-vote elections by 2020. The Security Council members further underlined their determination to play a constructive and active role in the months ahead.
Key Headlines
- Somalia: UN Security Council Commends Advancements Urges Accelerated Peace- and State-building(UN News Center)
- Kenyan Forces Repulse Al-Shabaab Ambush In Dhobley Southern Somalia (Goobjoog News)
- Mogadishu Police Chief Resigns As Election Approaches (Hiiraan Online)
- Hundreds Flee Floods In Beletweyne (Radio Ergo)
- US Citizens Should Avoid Travel To Somalia Due To Ongoing Terror Threat (Sputnik News)
- Responding To Sexual And Gender-based Violence In Crises And Conflict (ICRC News)
- A Total Of 198 Somali Police Officers Graduate In Kismaayo (AMISOM)
- Somali Informant Says FBI Paid Him $100K (Kare 11 News)
- For Many Somali Refugees This Industry Offers Hope — Then Takes It Away (The Washington Post)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Kenyan Forces Repulse Al-Shabaab Ambush In Dhobley, Southern Somalia
24 May – Source: Goobjoog News – 69 Words
A Kenyan military convoy in Dhobley, Lower Jubba repulsed Al-Shabaab ambush on Tuesday but there are no reports of any casualties. Goobjoog News correspondent in the area said the convoy was travelling from Afmadow to Dhobley when it came under attack but the soldiers fought back and proceeded with their journey. The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has not commented on the matter, but Al-Shabaab operatives confirmed the attack.
Mogadishu Police Chief Resigns As Election Approaches
24 May – Source: Hiiraan Online – 150 Words
Mogadishu’s police chief has resigned as the country gears up for presidential elections due later this year. Gen. Ali Hersi Barre gave no reason for his resignation, however, Somali officials hinted to Hiiraan Online that his resignation comes amid an internal strife among the city’s security chiefs.
Barre, who once served as the country’s traffic police chief ,was tasked with the city’s security at a time the Muslim holy month of Ramadan approaches during which the Al-Qaeda linked Al Shabab group often steps up attacks against Somali government and African Union forces.
Concerns about security have been raised ahead of the elections, which would be the second national polls to be undertaken in the horn of Africa since the ouster of Islamist insurgents from the capital and surrounding regions. It is feared that members of the Al-Shabaab militant group may intensify their attacks with the intention of disrupting the elections.
Hundreds Flee Floods In Beletweyne
24 May – Source: Radio Ergo – 294 Words
Hundreds of families have been forced to flee their homes in Beletweyne after the river Shabelle burst its banks. The people moved to higher ground on the outskirts of town after flood water began to floods through many neighborhoods. Some families are stranded and have not been able to move out with their belongings.
Ali Abdi Hassan said his 11 member family is being hosted by a family in Bundoweyn neighborhood. Their own house was flooded leaving food stocks and household items destroyed: “I left everything at home except these clothes I am wearing now, everything else is either wet or carried away by the water,” Ali said.
The floods have brought business and transport to a standstill. The town has had no electricity for more than a week. Omar Mohamed Ma’alim, 32, said he and his family of four were hosting six displaced families in his home in Radarka area. The floods carried away his water pump and people are being forced to drink from the river.
“Our foods stocks are almost finished,” Omar said. “We are not alone, there are several other neighborhoods that are affected by the floods like Hilla’a, Hegan and Labdhere.” Qali Mire Geedi managed to flee the town and moved to higher ground, five km outside town, with her 10 children. She told Radio Ergo the water carried away 20 of her goats leaving her with only 10.
“We don’t have shelter, food or clean water. We slept under a tree,” she said. Qali said her family was depending on support from other displaced families. The chairman of the district said they started trucking fresh water on Monday from wells 15 km away to displaced families camped at Eljalle. Each household is being given 20 litres of water.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
US Citizens Should Avoid Travel To Somalia Due To Ongoing Terror Threat
24 May – Source: Sputnik News – 195 Words
Americans should avoid traveling to Somalia because of the continued threat of the al-Qaeda-linked militant group al-Shabaab and the risks of kidnapping throughout the country, the US Department of State said in a travel warning on Tuesday.
“Terrorist operatives and armed groups in Somalia continue to attack Somali authorities, the troops from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and other non-military targets,” the advisory warned. “Kidnapping, bombings, murder, illegal roadblocks, banditry and other violent incidents are common throughout Somalia, including Somaliland and Puntland.”
The advisory explained that Al-Shabaab continues to attack locations popular with westerners, including restaurants and hotels, noting that there were at least eight large attacks against hotels in the capital Mogadishu last year. Moreover, the terrorist group has successfully targeted government-controlled areas “with particular emphasis on targeting government facilities [and] foreign delegations’ facilities,” the advisory noted.
On May 19, one person was killed in a suicide bomb attack on a restaurant in Mogadishu as the Somali government hosted a delegation of the UN Security Council there. Somalia has been mired in an armed conflict with Islamist militants for two decades. The government relies heavily on the African Union’s peacekeepers for protection.
Responding To Sexual And Gender-based Violence In Crises And Conflict
24 May – Source: ICRC News – 243 Words
In the week marking World Red Cross Red Crescent Day, Omar Odeh, deputy head of the ICRC’s delegation in Somalia was in London to participate in a panel discussion entitled ‘Local to international: Responding to Sexual and Gender-based Violence in Crises and Conflict.’
The event, jointly organized by the ICRC and the British Red Cross (BRC) also included contributions from Baroness Anelay, the UK Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Fred Robarts, Humanitarian Advisor for Syria from the UK Department for International Development (DfiD) and Florence Mangwende, Gender Focal Point, Zimbabwe Red Cross.
Sexual violence is tragically prevalent in many modern conflicts, including Somalia, and Odeh reiterated the ICRC’s commitment to proactively assisting victims of this often devastating violation. “There is still a lot of sensitivity and stigma associated with sexual violence which may take decades to overcome” said Odeh, stressing the importance of the ICRC partnership with the staff and frontline volunteers of the Somali Red Crescent Society. ”
A complementary approach between local and international actors where the intimate community-level awareness is supported by a broad comparative knowledge is our best chance to address the many constraints surrounding response to sexual violence,” he added. In her address, Baroness Anelay paid tribute to the ‘extraordinary dedication’ of staff and volunteers of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement who provide help and assistance to the most vulnerable communities across the world, including the survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.
A Total Of 198 Somali Police Officers Graduate In Kismaayo
24 May – Source: AMISOM – 538 Words
Kismaayo 23 May 2016 – A total of 198 Somali police graduated in Kismaayo on Monday, after a three-month intensive course, organized by the police component of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). The new police officers will be deployed in Kismaayo to maintain law and order.
They are the first batch of 600 officers from Jubbaland, who will be trained with funding from UK’s Department For International Development (DFID). The police officers received training on basic principles of policing, arrest of suspects and public order management. They were also taught aspects of human rights law.
Jubbaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islam, the deputy Special Representative of the AU Commission Chairperson for Somalia (DSRCC) Hon. Lydia Wanyoto, Somali Police Commissioner General Mohammed Sheikh Hamud, AMISOM Police Commissioner Anand Pillay and the UN Police Commissioner Christopher Buik were among dignitaries who attended the passing out ceremony held in Kismaayo.
Speaking at the event, Somali Police Commissioner, Brigadier General Mohamed Sheikh Hassan Hamud urged the officers to be diligent in their work: “You are needed to keep the culture and discipline and to serve the people. Don’t misuse your positions and power in the community; always keep your mind focused on that. You are Somali Police, Jubbaland Police and you are serving your community and others. Endeavor to assist the vulnerable and don’t misuse your weapons,” the Somali Police Commissioner advised the new officers.
The Deputy Special Representative of the African Union Commission Chairperson (DSRCC) for Somalia Hon. Lydia Wanyoto emphasized the important role played by local security institutions. She asked the new officer to uphold discipline and impact positively on the lives of the communities they serve. She made a case for recruitment of more female officers into the police force. There were only 12 women police officers out of the 198 officers who graduated.
“We would like to see more mobilization of women to join the Somali Police Force. I applaud the twelve that are already with us, to serve the community. I congratulate them in addition to their male counterparts,” said Hon. Wanyoto. AMISOM Police Commissioner Anand Pillay expressed the commitment of the Force to mentorship and training of Somali police officers.
Somali Informant Says FBI Paid Him $100K
24 May – Source: Kare 11 News – 467 Words
The federal ISIL trial in Minneapolis continued Monday afternoon with defense attorneys getting their shot at cross-examining the prosecution’s star witness, Abdirahman Bashir.
Bashir says he once believed ISIL’s messages and wanted to travel to Syria to “fight and kill.” However, he turned to the FBI after receiving a second subpoena in a related case, and from then on worked for them as a paid informant.
Under cross examination, Bashir said the FBI has paid him about $100,000, mostly cash. He says the FBI did not promise him he would never be prosecuted, although he signed a document allowing him to break laws such as obtaining counterfeit passports with his friends as investigators pursued them.
Defense attorney Murad Mohammad’s apparent strategy during cross examination is to show that the three defendants would not have attempted to leave the country and join ISIL if not for the help of Bashir obtaining fake passports and plotting the trip. Mohammad asked Bashir why, instead of working with the FBI to catch his friends, he didn’t try convincing them to change their minds. Bashir said there was no way he could change their minds, and they simply would have ostracized him if he spoke up against ISIL.
In the morning, prosecutors played several ISIL propaganda videos in court. The most gruesome showed ISIL fighters burn a caged Jordanian man alive, then pour gravel and debris on top of him. Jurors were very visibly disturbed during the playback. Prosecutors showed those specific videos, because Bashir said he and his friends watched them and they helped lead to the defendants’ radicalization.
Bashir recorded several conversations with the defendants for the FBI. During the road trip from Minnesota to California where they planned to cross the border into Mexico and fly overseas, defendant Abdirahman Doud said, “I’m going to spit on America at the border crossing. May Allah’s curse be upon you.” In a later recording, defendant Mohamed Farah says he is ready to proceed with the plan to buy fake passports and travel overseas.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Though meatpacking plants have long relied on labor by immigrants, particularly Hispanics, major companies have moved to hire Somalis, who have the dual advantage for employers of being legal and relatively cheap. In one slice of a changing low-wage America, these are the new ideal workers.”
For Many Somali Refugees, This Industry Offers Hope — Then Takes It Away
24 May – Source: The Washington Post – 3,824 Words
First a stream of newcomers started renting ramshackle homes by the train tracks, and then a two-room mosque opened on a nearby street corner, and then an African grocery store took the space of what had once been a used-car lot.
And then, one day early last year, a bus pulled up to the Greyhound station and out came the latest arrival to the growing neighborhood known as “Little Somalia.” Mohamed Ahmed, 23, held one suitcase and clutched a plastic bag with migration documents — the evidence of a trek in which he’d fled warring Somalia as a young child, lost his father and spent years living with the remainder of his family under a United Nations tent in the Kenyan desert.
His journey to America had been nearly two decades in the making, and now he was coming to its heartland — as were thousands of other Somali refugees — to take a grisly job that few others in his new country wanted to take.
Ahmed had heard from a relative that the job was hard; some workers showed up and lasted a year. Others bailed within weeks. But Ahmed figured, at least at the time, that not even the United States’ bleakest economic realities could stifle his hopes for the future: He wanted to save money and, eventually, earn a high school diploma and a college degree.
So after a two-day bus ride from Mobile, Ala., the city where he’d initially been settled as a refugee, Ahmed arrived in Liberal and headed straight to National Beef, the slaughterhouse on the edge of town. That week, he became the plant’s newest Somali employee: “I can make this work,” Ahmed recalled telling his mother, Kadija Osman, who was still in Kenya, on his phone the next time they talked. The job might be hard, Osman told him, but “it won’t be forever.”
For Ahmed, the job at National Beef meant butchering parts of 3,000 cows per eight-hour shift, a supervisor standing right behind him, using the knife so furiously he would sometimes feel like his ribs were shaking loose. But the job was also a test of the limits in America for a largely destitute, unskilled and growing influx of Somali refugees, a group that was now prevailing in the competition for grueling jobs because of the very desperation they were trying to escape.
“Go there, come back, go to sleep,” Ahmed would say months later about his factory life, when he began to worry that there’d be no school, no better America to find, no reprieve from meat. “Go there, come back, go to sleep.”