May 27, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Over Thirty People Arrested In Security Operation In Burdubo Town
27 May – Source:Goobjoog News – 169 Words
African Union peacekeepers and Somalia’s government forces on Friday have arrested over thirty people in a joint security operation in Buurdhubo town.A government official, Abdi Osman, confirmed the swoop was carried out on Friday morning.
“Somali National Army with support from AMISOM conducted a joint security operation to flush out Al-Shabaab fighters here in Burdubo town today. Thirty suspects were arrested, while a number of weapons were recovered weapons during the operation. We believe that those netted are Al-Shabaab fighters,” Osman said.
He said the suspects, who are being held in custody, will be questioned with a view to getting more information from them which could lead to the arrest of their colleagues who are still at large. Al-Shabaab group has over the years engaged the AU soldiers and the SNA in near daily battles, especially in remote areas of the regions bordering Kenya.Although the group has lost key towns in the south and central Somalia in the past three years, it still carries out deadly bomb attacks in main towns, including the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu.
Key Headlines
- Over Thirty People Arrested In Security Operation In Burdubo Town (Goobjoog News)
- Government Ministers Start Mediation Efforts To Stop Beledweyne Conflict (Shabelle News)
- Afgooye Children Get Their School Back As Army Leave (Radio Ergo)
- Somali Traditional Elders To Forge Unity Vow To Be Proactive In Peace And development Efforts(Goobjooge.com)
- Uganda Police Commended For Role In Somalia (New Vision Uganda)
- Nothing to Go Back to – From Kenya’s Vast Refugee Camp (Human Rights Watch )
- One Woman’s Mission To Promote Traditional Music In Somalia (CCTV)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Government Ministers Start Mediation Efforts To Stop Beledweyne Conflict
27 May – Source: Shabelle News – 152 Words
Several ministers from the Somali Federal government are holding talks with local elders in Beledweyne, in a mediation bid to end the deadly clan fighting in the town. The Ministers of Youth & Sports and Petroleum & Minerals are reportedly spearheading the Government’s peace mission in Beledweyne, the provincial capital of Hiiraan region.
The ministers have started mediation efforts to stop the conflict between members of the Galje’el and Jajele clans, who have been fighting for control of pastureland at Howlwadag neighbourhood in western Beledweyne town.The two warring clan militiamen have engaged in a five-day-long deadly battle that has left scores of people, including unarmed civilians, dead. Hundreds of others have been forced to flee their homes.
The ministers separately paid a visit to the families hit by the flash flood at El Jalle area, east of Beledweyne, to assess the scale of the humanitarian crisis and strategise on ways of delivering aid food to the displaced families.
Afgooye Children Get Their School Back As Army Leaves
26 May – Source:Radio Ergo – 301 Words
Children are back in class in Afgoye after the Somali National Army troops that have been using their school as a military base were finally kicked out of the learning institution. Ismail Sheikh Mohamed Yusuf, the school principal, told Radio Ergo that the Ministry of Defence had finally ordered the troops to leave after four years.
“We repaired, renovated and equipped the school, because the building was badly damaged owing to the fighting between government troops and Al-Shabaab,” he said. More than 140 children have registered to join the school and are expected to attend primary and secondary classes from next week.The school is free for the children from low income families in the town, as well as those who have been displaced.
Other schools in Afgoye charge a tuition fee of between $8 to $15 a month per child.Osman Mohamed Noor, 18, had his education disrupted when the soldiers took over the school four years ago. “It was 12 noon on Monday 25th May 2012, when the soldiers came in and ordered the teachers and students out. We were having an Arabic lesson,” Osman recalls. As Osman’s parents were unable to afford school fees to transfer him to another school, he has remained out of the school ever since: “I was demoralised somehow, but never lost hope,” he said. He is now enrolled in class seven and dreams of becoming a doctor.The school has eight teachers. The NGO, Concern Worldwide, supports the learning program by paying teachers’ salaries and providing learning materials based on the Somali curriculum.Fahmo Ahmed Ali, 16, told Radio Ergo she is happy to resume her studies in class five after a four year absence. Her parents could not afford the fees at other local schools.There were 480 children attending the school four years ago. Some proceeded to other fee-paying schools in Mogadishu and Afgoye.
Somali Traditional Elders To Forge Unity, Vow To Be Proactive In Peace And development Efforts
26 May 2016 – Source: Goobjooge.com – 200 Words
Somali traditional elders will now play proactive roles in both traditional and political matters affecting the lives of the community wherever they are.
In a joint statement they released after a two-day Traditional Leaders Consultative Forum held in Qardo town of Puntland, the elders made several resolutions that seek to cement their roles in the society and help in fostering brotherhood and development. The elders agreed to form an umbrella body that brings them together and base all their actions and judgments on the tenets of Islam in collaboration with religious leaders.
“Since tribalism has destroyed our country and is widespread among members of this community, we urge the Somali people to be wary of this vice and instead hold on firmly to the teachings of Islam for their success, both in this world and there hereafter,” read in part a statement they released.
The group expressed gratitude to members of the international community for standing with Somalia and urged for more support to the Federal government to ensure the government earns its rightful place on the International Map. The two-day forum was officially opened by the traditional king of the Darood clan of the Somali community, Boqor Burhan Boqor Muuse.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Uganda Police Commended For Role In Somalia
27 May- Source: New Vision, Uganda – 578 Words
The deputy inspector general of police Okoth-Ochola has commended the Ugandan police contingents in Somalia and described them as doing a “remarkable job” to help pacify the Al-Shabaab- riddled country.
The deputy inspector general of police, who spoke at a pass out of 89 persons in uniform — mainly at the rank of ASP and SP — at the forces senior command and Staff College at Bwebajja, said the Uganda forces performed well to maintain some order in the war-torn country, stressing the intensity of the forces’ training and discipline.
Uganda signed the African Union pact in 2006 to contribute troops and police officers to restore order in the country rundown by the Al-Qaeda backed Al-Shabaab militants. Since the inception of the peacekeeping mission AMISOM in the country in 2007, Uganda, alongside other troop and police contributing countries(Djibouti, Ghana, Kenya, Burundi, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone), has continued to send its forces to try and cause peace in the horn of Africa country.
Reports indicate the joint forces have uprooted most of the Al-Shabaab and taken control of what used to be their strongholds.
Last year, the Ugandan Chief of Defense Forces General Katumba Wamala said only remnants (of the Al-Shabaab militias) remained in the country and they (AMISOM forces) were weeding them out and “currently helping the Somalis to build their capacity and infrastructure”. The Ugandan forces are largely in charge of the capital Mogadishu.
Nothing to Go Back to – From Kenya’s Vast Refugee Camp
26 May-Source: Human Rights Watch -1816 Words
How did Dadaab become the world’s largest refugee camp?
The camp, in the northeastern Kenya desert not far from the Somalia border, was set up in the early 90’s when the Somali state collapsed. It has been a refuge for generations of Somalis fleeing conflict in their own country. Initially they fled fighting between clans, which led to massive displacement and killings of civilians. Over the last 10 years, civilians have primarily been fleeing the repressive and abusive rule of the Islamist armed group Al-Shabab, which continues to control large parts of Somalia, particularly rural areas. Then, five years ago, famine hit Somalia, and a new wave of people arrived in Dadaab, swelling the numbers in the camp further.
At the moment, about 360,000 people live in the camp. The majority are Somalis, but there are also many Ethiopians and South Sudanese who have arrived over the years, seeking refuge from political persecution and conflict.
How well have these refugees been integrated into Kenyan society?
While Kenya has welcomed an enormous number of refugees, the government has been less than willing to integrate these communities. In fact, Kenya has denied refugees their right to free movement. To leave the camp, they needed permission from the Department of Refugee Affairs, which the government just disbanded, claiming that its days of hosting refugees are over. Some of the more established communities have shops and networks of traders who come into the camps. They sell goods or run small cooking places in the camp or spaces where people can come and watch football in the evenings. However, many other camp residents don’t have access to these networks. Those who arrived during the famine in 2011 have virtually nothing and depend on food rations. They cannot leave the camps and can’t seek employment. The rations are their only means of survival.
What struck you the most about the refugees’ plight when you visited the camp in April?
The desperation of these people who fled conflict or hunger and who now feel they may be forced to return to Somalia. Since the World Food Programme cut rations by up to a third for larger households earlier this year, due to limited funding, several families told me they run out of food halfway through the month and some said they have to beg for food. Others are trying to find ways to make a little bit of money on the side by washing clothes for other families in the camp.
This situation is especially difficult for the newcomers, who are not very well-connected in the camps and struggle to even find menial jobs to make up for the ration cuts. They feel caught between a rock and a hard place. Many said: If we are going to die of hunger, we’d rather die at home. But they often lost their goats or their cattle, or had to stop farming because of attacks and harsh taxes by Al-Shabab. They have nothing to start with or to go back to. And they would be going back to areas that the United Nations refugee agency says are dangerous, including places where Al-Shabaab is still present or in control.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“In Somalia, political violence in recent years has stifled local culture. But citizens are rallying to restore the country’s rich traditions of music and poetry. We meet one of them now — a musician who has created one of the hottest venues on the Horn of Africa,”
One Woman’s Mission To Promote Traditional Music In Somalia
27 May – Source: CCTV – Video: 3:37 Mins (Text: 381 Words)
Welcome to this nation of poets and to the Hiddo Dhawr Center in Hargeysa, Somaliland’s capital.Here, lovers of traditional Somali music gather to celebrate their shared culture, surrounded by traditional chairs and even thatched houses.It’s the brainchild of Sahra Halgan.
A legendary Somali musician, her mission is to promote Somali culture while providing entertainment:”We boast a rich culture in arts, poetry, and music. It has brought us together and created love among the Somali people. We play music using guitars and not machines. This rich culture is what we want to bring back. We want the culture to remain intact and not be overtaken by technology.” .
The center is mostly booked for the weekend. Abdi Yusuf is one of the visitors here. A lover of Somali culture, he comes here with his friends every weekend.”Rebuilding the culture of the Somali people because it’s been lost, and we turned it into a musical one. Now we used traditional guitar. We are very happy to come to Hiddo Dhawr and have this kind of entertainment, and it’s very important for foreigners to come here and see our culture,” said Yusuf.
It’s a culture that stretches back into the ages, and the Hiddo Dhawr Center here in Hargeysa wants that beautiful culture preserved, nurtured into something that can be used to portray the richness of the Somali cultural heritage.The center is also a draw for foreign researchers, including frequent visitor Christina Wolner.”I come to Hiddo Dhawr very often, because it’s the only place you can see live music in Hargeysa. I like coming here for the same reason that many of the people that I’ve talked to here like coming. It’s a place you can relax, you can be yourself. There is a different kind of energy both from the performers and the audience,” Wolner said.
TOP TWEETS
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@MarkC_Anderson:If #Kenya forced refugees to return to#Somalia it would be a serious violation of intl law,@LaetitiaBader says http://buff.ly/1sSF80J
@NHBranson:”#Mogadishu is seeking to claw back authority over its territorial waters” & they have reason! #ICJ #Somalia#Kenya
@Real_Nabaddoon:The assumption that aid can alleviate systemic poverty and bring stability is profoundly misguided development policy. #Somalia @daudedosman
@AliHoshow:International Court of Justice will hold hearings in September into a #maritime border dispute between #Somaliaand #Kenya.#ICJ #Oil #Gas
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Somalia’s President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud receives credentials from the new Uganda Ambassador to Somalia.
Photo: @engyarisow