June 6, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somali President Visits Dadaab Camp In Kenya
06 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 192 Words
For the first time in history, Somali President Hassan Sheikh and delegates from his government visited the Dadaab Refugee Camp; the largest in the world less than two months after Kenyan government threatened to close the camp. Somali Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdisalaam Hadliye and Somalia’s Ambassador to Kenya, Gamal Hassan together with Kenya’s Interior Minister Joseph Nkaisary had reached Dadaab camp prior to the arrival of the president.
Mohamud accompanied by other delegates including ministers and humanitarian workers met hundreds of Somali refugees at the camp in northern Kenya which hosts about 500,000 refugees according to UNHCR. Kenyan government said the refugee camp will be closed by November. Kenya’s Interior Minister Joseph Nkaisserry said Kenya would work closely with the UN and the Somali government to repatriate the refugees. Kenya says it wants to close the camp over security concerns, saying attacks on its soil have been planned there. In the early 1990s the Dadaab Refugee Camp became a safe haven for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing civil war in Somalia. At its peak, Dabaab grew to almost 600,000 people.
Key Headlines
- Somali President Visits Dadaab Camp In Kenya (Goobjoog News)
- Kenyan Forces Launch Massive Security Operation In Mandera County (Goobjoog News)
- More Than A Dozen Dead In Sool Clan Fighting (Garowe Online)
- Detainees Receive Food Quran For Ramadan (ICRC)
- KSA To Support 20000 Yemenis Somalis With $10m Fund (Arab News)
- Justice Or ‘Conspiracy’? Terrorism Trial Divides Somalis In Minneapolis (The New York Times)
PRESS RELEASE
AU Special Representative For Somalia Extends Message Of Goodwill To Somali People During The Holy Month Of Ramadhan
06 June – Source: AMISOM – 187 Words
The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia (SRCC) and Head of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Ambassador Francisco Madeira, extends his best wishes to the people and the government of Somalia during this holy month of Ramadhan.
“This is a period of sacrifice, contemplation, humility and expression of kindness to one another and especially to the needy. May this period of Ramadan be fulfilling to our Somali brothers and sisters. May Allah bestow his blessings upon you all,” Ambassador Madeira says. As Muslims renew their commitment to obey Allah during this period, the SRCC also urges them to take time and pray for peace and stability in the country.
He appeals to all members of the public to work together with the security agencies in identifying and reporting elements of terror seeking to disrupt peace and tranquillity and impede citizens from going about their day to day activities freely during Ramadhan. The SRCC says AMISOM will continue working closely with the Federal Government and the people of Somalia to make peace and stability a lasting reality in the country.
NATIONAL MEDIA
Kenyan Forces Launch Massive Security Operation In Mandera County
06 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 195 Words
Kenyan security in collaboration with the military launched massive operations in Mandera County and surrounding localities after the deadly attack on police convoy injured three police officers. The operation was conducted to hunt down the attackers believed to be hiding near the Kenya/Somalia border. The forces are in hot pursuit of the perpetrators, Al-Shabaab fighters who attacked Kenyan police officers.
One of the locals in Mandera says heavily armed forces are seen patrolling the villages of Mandera district and conducting searches in the suspected areas. Senior security officials noted that the security forces are vigilant to put to stop similar deadly attacks in the region. This operation comes a time when three police officers were injured after a vehicle they were travelling in was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED).
The two were part of a team patrolling LafeyFino Road when one of their two vehicles ran over an IED. North Eastern regional coordinator Mohamed Saleh said the incident happened on Saturday morning in Lafey as the officers patrolled the common border. “Those injured were treated and discharged. They (Al-Shabaab militants) seem to be trying to come back with such explosives.” he said.
More Than A Dozen Dead In Sool Clan Fighting
06 June – Source: Garowe Online – 195 Words
More than a dozen clan militiamen have been killed in heavy clashes in northern Sool region, Garowe Online reports. The fighting entered its second day in the village of Dharkayn-Genyo, 70km west of Sool regional capital of Lasanod, leaving 20 fighters from the opposing clans dead and many more wounded, local elders told GO on Sunday. Ten people have been reported killed in Sunday clashes alone, with residents reporting that technicals are part of fierce battle triggered by recurrent clan revenge attacks in Sool region.
Mediating elders are said to have been caught in the exchange of gunfire while Islamic scholars embarked on an endeavor to secure immediate ceasefire between the warring militias. Sources tell GO that Somaliland deployed troops in the areas where the fighting has raged over the last 24 hours. Puntland has made no comment on the clan fighting so far despite calls for calm by lawmakers hailing from Sool region. Nugal traditional leaders on their side offered their readiness to step in anytime and initiated efforts regarding an end to the renewed hostility. Moreover, the fighting forced hundreds of villagers already ravaged by months of El Nino-induced drought to flee homes.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Detainees Receive Food, Quran For Ramadan
06 June – Source: ICRC – 154 Words
The International Committee of the Red Cross is distributing food and other items including copies of the Quran during Ramadan to more than 5,000 detainees throughout Somalia.”The holy month of Ramadan is significant for all Muslims and gives us an opportunity to remember that this period is also important to detainees in Somalia,” said Ahmed Zaroug, the ICRC’s Protection Coordinator in Somalia. “We hope this assistance will help detainees observe the fast with dignity.”
Goat meat, milk powder, tea leaves, sugar and dates are being distributed. Some detainees will also be receiving a copy of the Quran. The Ramadan distribution, now in its third year, is happening in 29 places of detention. ICRC teams visit prisons, police stations and state security agencies in countries around the world in an effort to secure humane and dignified treatment for persons deprived of liberty. Between January and March 2016 more than 3,000 detainees were visited across Somalia.
KSA To Support 20,000 Yemenis, Somalis With $10m Fund
06 June – Source: Arab News – 290 Words
The Kingdom will support 20,000 Yemeni and Somali refugees and returnees with a $10 million fund through a joint relief program. The bodies involved in the work are the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). A government source was quoted as saying by a local publication here that the UNHCR and IOM is coordinating with the Somali government and local and regional authorities to provide protection and urgent aid to both the returnees and refugees.
“Providing protection to thousands of war-affected people who have fled Yemen and took refuge in Somalia since March 2015 is a priority for UNHCR and IOM, as well as the international community,” said the source. More than 32,000 people escaped the escalating war in Yemen and moved to Somalia during the past months, said the source. “The project includes distribution of urgent relief material and health and educational services, in addition to providing technical support to the local authorities to ensure the safe and decent return of the individuals.”
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“I have to respect the government and I have to respect my son,” she said. “My culture is a culture of silence. You cannot speak your rights.”
Justice Or ‘Conspiracy’? Terrorism Trial Divides Somalis In Minneapolis
06 June – Source: The New York Times – 1,334 Words
The day after his oldest son was convicted of conspiring to join and kill for the Islamic State in Syria, Abdihamid Yusuf just wanted to go home and rest. But bills were stacking up, so on Saturday morning he and his wife visited the jail and then reopened Hooyo’s Kitchen, the small Somali restaurant where they serve plates of chicken, rice and bananas. “We try to survive,” Mr.
The trial of his son and two other young Somali-American men splintered families and opinions here in the country’s largest Somali community. Former friends testified against one another, describing how they had watched propaganda videos, bought fake passports and plotted their paths to Syria. Family members squabble in the halls of the courthouse. Some said they had been threatened or shunned.
When the jury came back on Friday afternoon, Mr. Yusuf did not even get word in time to reach the courtroom to see his 22-year-old son, Mohamed Farah, and the two other defendants, Guled Omar, 21, and Abdirahman Daud, 22, declared guilty. A total of nine men — including another of Mr. Yusuf’s sons, Adnan — have been convicted in the case.
Federal prosecutors say the case shined a light on the persistent problem of terrorist recruiting here. Law enforcement authorities have said that more than 20 young men from Minnesota have left to join the Shabab militant group in Somalia and that more than 15 have tried or succeeded in leaving to join the Islamic State. But it also opened wounds among families, and at the end of the trial, some in the community praised justice served, while others pointed to what they called another injustice. Deqa Hussen said she had learned the price of cooperating: “They’ve been
calling me snitch.”
TOP TWEETS
@MofaSomalia : FM H.E. Dr. Abdusalam Hadliye Omer arrives in #Dadaab refugee camp to meet with #Kenyan officials.
#Somalia #Kenya
@Vatescorp : #Somalia: Federal MP Maryam Arif expresses concern over women’s quota in 2016 elections
@EUNAVFOR : Co-ordinating counter-piracy: #OpAtalantaFCdr in discussion with #Somalia Dep PM, Mohamed Omer Arteh, during #CGPCS
@WhoseinMoulid: Nkaissery and his delegates arrive #Dadaabairstrip ahead of President Hassan visits #DadaabShutDown#Somalia
@franckelbers : .@ReilaOdinga wants Kenyan citizenship for#Dadaab #refugees instead of repatriating them #Somalia#DadaabShutdown
@US2SOMALIA : #VOA Reports Female Journalist Killed in#Somalia http://goo.gl/K3yQgw
@IFJGlobal : #Somalia Killing of #journalist Sagal Salad Osman must be immediately investigated
@SRSGKeating: W Min of Planning & Int’l Cooperation Abdi Aynte – energising #Somalia‘s development incl by attracting investment
IMAGE OF THE DAY
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud visits Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, making him the first Somali president to visit the camp.
Photo: Radio Kulmiye