July 19, 2016 | Morning Headlines
African Union To Pull Out Its Forces From Somalia By 2018
18 July – Source: Xinhua News – 385 Words
The African Union (AU) is set to start withdrawing its standby force from Somalia in 2018, a senior AU official has said. Smail Chergui, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, said on Monday that the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces withdrawal will allow Somalia to take charge of their country.
“We are planning to train and equip the Somali forces before pulling out from the country,” he said in a press conference during the closing of the 27th AU summit in Kigali, Rwanda. He said that the AU is also helping Somalia with its Presidential and parliamentary elections that are due later in the year.
“We need a peaceful Somalia and respect for human rights for all citizens,” Chergui said. Chergui noted that the Heads of States set up a special fund to help combat terrorism in the continent. The fund will be funded by AU governments, the international community and other partners and will take effect once the model governing it is unveiled. “This fund will help African governments respond with speed in taming an upsurge of terrorism activities that is blamed for massive deaths of people,” he added. According to the commissioner, the fund will be operated from a special centre based at the AU with its focal points in all countries.
He revealed that the AU’s peace and Security Council were in Burundi last month and finalized humanitarian observer’s situation and the possibility of sending military experts in the country: “We are hopeful that an all inclusive dialogue between the government and the opposition to find a lasting peace will be convened in the next couple of weeks,” he revealed.
Key Headlines
- African Union To Pull Out Its Forces From Somalia By 2018 (Xinhua News)
- Somalia To Acquire First Warships Since The Fall Of Government In 1991 (Goobjoog News)
- Puntland And Somaliland Troops Clash In Sanaag (Hiiraan Online)
- Soldier Killed In Bomb Explosion In South Somalia (Goobjoog News)
- AMISOM Police Trains Somali Police Force On Biometric Data Management (AMISOM)
- AMISOM Commends Outgoing Nigerian Police Contingent (AMISOM)
- Is Somalia Ripe For Mass Returns From Dadaab? (Newsweek)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia To Acquire First Warships Since The Fall Of Government In 1991
18 July – Source: Goobjoog News – 284 Words
Somalia is set to acquire its first warships since the collapse of government over two decades ago to protect its territorial integrity and ward off illegal fishing, the country’s envoy to European Union has said. According to the Somali government, the warships will also be used to combat foreign ships disposing wastes onto the Somalia’s waters.
Somalia’s ambassador to the European Union Dr. Ali Saed Faqi, who visited Atlantic Marine Offshore company (AMOC) the manufacturing center for warships to oversee the process, said that establishing warships for the Somalia government will play a very important role in the protection the country’s territorial waters.
“Getting these warships will help Somalia protect its sovereignty as well its territorial waters. It will also protect any threat to Somalia from the sea that includes illegal fishing, illegal importation of firearms and pirates among others,” said Faqi. Somalia has suffered from illegal unregulated fishing owing to inability to man its waters. A report last year by the US based campaign group Secure Fisheries warned of resurgence of piracy due to foreign illegal fishing.
Foreign industrial fishing boats have resulted in “depleted stocks, a loss of income for Somalis, and violence against local fishers” the report read, adding “it also has threatened to ignite local support for a return of piracy.” Foreign boats are hauling in three times more than Somali fishermen — an estimated 132,000 metric tonnes of fish each year compared to Somalia’s catch of 40,000 metric tons, according to the report, based on multiple interviews and satellite evidence.According to Somali National News Agency, Atlantic Marine are expected to manufacture 6 warships in phase one of the agreement and others expected to follow suit after the first dispatch.
Puntland And Somaliland Troops Clash In Sanaag
18 July – Source: Hiiraan Online – 166 Words
Forces from Somaliland and neighbouring semi-autonomous Puntland clashed on Monday over the disputed Sanag region that has been the source of conflict for years.
According to witnesses, fighting erupted at Bodda-Cadde area in Sanaag Region and later spread to nearby areas of Dahar region. Both Puntland and Somaliland accused each other of starting the clashes. So far the number of casualties is yet to be known as the fighting is still going on. The clashes erupted a day after Puntland Security Minister vowed not to allow Somaliland conduct voting registration in the Sanag Region.
Speaking to the BBC, the commander of the Somaliland army, Ismail Shaqalle Isman said his troops captured three armored vehicles from Puntland forces. He added that they had also taken six captives from Puntland including Mohamed An-Jeeh, who is member of Puntland Parliament. Both Somaliland and Puntland are in the north of Somalia and have enjoyed relative peace, as compared to the south of the country that has been experienced anarchy since the 1991.
Soldier Killed In Bomb Explosion In South Somalia
18 July – Source: Goobjoog News – 75 Words
One soldier was killed and another one injured in a bomb blast in Afgoye town of Lower Shabelle region, southern Somalia on Monday.
Ahmed Adow, an eye witness, said the explosion happened at an army checkpoint: “There was a loud bang at the checkpoint resulting in the death of a government soldier.” The injured were rushed to hospital for medical attention. By the time of going to the press, no group had claimed responsibility for the explosion.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
AMISOM Police Trains Somali Police Force On Biometric Data Management
18 July – Source: AMISOM – 364 Words
The Somali Police Force is now fully trained on biometric data collection and compilation, for effective management of its human resources. The training conducted by the police component of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), enables the Somali Police Force to capture all data of its personnel in the federal and regional police units.
The biometric data management will also allow storage of critical information, including officers’ fingerprints, ranks, stations of work and academic qualifications: “Now that we have the bio-data, the report that will be generated will help in terms of managing the personnel, in terms of rank, promotion, in terms of crime prone areas, where to send more personnel. By a click of a button you will be able to know all the data about a particular station,” Assistant Commissioner of Police Samwel CP Winful explained.
The data will also guide human resource management decisions on personnel transfers, promotions and identity verification. The database provides details of officers in all ranks by seniority, in all police stations. The process of collecting the data began in November 2015 and has been introduced in all police stations across Somalia. The data system was formally handed over to the Somali Police Commissioner Major General Mohamud Sheikh Hassan Hamud, by the AMISOM Police Commissioner Anand Pillay on Sunday.
“I would like first to thank our partners, AMISOM Police. What we have launched today is our Human Resources Department’s new equipment on biometrics and registration system. As you are aware, after two decades and a half of civil war and lawlessness in this country, we are trying to recover what we had lost in the previous years. It will help to know the exact number of Somali Police Forces wherever they are and as you can see, when we want to know an officer’s situation, we will just click on his figure print or date of birth, so it easy to work with,” Somali Police Commissioner Major General Mohamud Sheikh Hassan Hamud said.
AMISOM Commends Outgoing Nigerian Police Contingent
18 July – Source: AMISOM – 319 Words
The African Union Mission in Somalia has commended an outgoing contingent of the Nigerian Individual Police Officers (IPOs) for their exceptional work in mentoring Somali Police Officers. AMISOM Police Commissioner Anand Pillay praised the officers for their resilience at work, which saw them achieve significant results despite working in a challenging environment.
“There is no increase in police officers and the numbers we have are the numbers we will work with, to achieve much more than was previously expected. The Somali Police have decided on the model, which will be used at federal and state level. This means we have to develop the structures both at federal and state level and ensure they are functional,” Commissioner Anand Pillay stated in his address to the outgoing officers.
AMISOM Police Training Coordinator Assistant Chief of Police Francis Aryee explained the critical role Individual Police Officers play in executing the Mission’s mandate. He urged them to use the knowledge and experience gained in Somalia to improve policing standards in their home country.
“I salute you for the contribution you have made, every single day, as you performed your duties, in the face of often enormous challenges and risks. I applaud your efforts in supporting the goals of the African Union Police and contributing to seeing a better future for the people of Somalia,”ACP Aryee said. Nigeria is one of the Police Contributing Countries to AMISOM. The country first deployed police officers in Somalia in 2010.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“More than 16,000 people have chosen to go back to areas in Somalia that the U.N. has identified as safe; thousands more have said they are interested. Kenya has bemoaned the slow pace, but finding a safe home for hundreds of thousands of people isn’t easy.”
Is Somalia Ripe For Mass Returns From Dadaab?
18 July – Source: Newsweek – 1,077 Words
Refugee camps are not supposed to be permanent, but for a long time, in eastern Kenya, the world’s largest refugee camp has looked like a city, not a refuge. Over the last quarter of a century, hundreds of thousands of mostly Somali refugees and asylum seekers have been living in Dadaab, a sprawling complex the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, set up in late 1991 that has effectively become one of Kenya’s largest cities. Today, more people live in Dadaab than in Newark, New Jersey.
In May, the Kenyan government announced it would shut down Dadaab, which sits about 62 miles from the Somali border, citing national security interests. That means many of the roughly 326,000 registered Somali refugees at the camp will eventually return to Somalia, a country that has suffered through more than two decades of civil war, famine and environmental crises. With more than a million people already internally displaced in Somalia, the U.N. has warned that prematurely closing Dadaab could have “potentially devastating consequences.”
Kenya has agreed that the repatriation of Dadaab residents will be voluntary, safe and dignified. But to do it too quickly would be worrying. Moving hundreds of thousands of people back into a conflict zone without their cooperation is not just difficult, it could also be also illegal—a breach of international and Kenyan law. Aid workers say refugees who don’t want to go back could seek shelter in camps in neighboring countries or join the flow of people making the dangerous journey to Europe.
The main problem with Dadaab, Kenyan officials say, is that it is a hub for militants: Al-Shabab—the Al-Qaeda affiliate in Somalia—has been using Dadaab to recruit, train and plot attacks in Kenya, including the 2013 Westgate shopping mall siege that left more than 60 dead. (The U.N. has noted that “clear information” is not available on the presence of terrorist elements inside Dadaab, and critics accuse the Kenyan government of scapegoating refugees to score political points by looking tough on terrorism ahead of next year’s scheduled national elections.)
It’s not the first time Kenya has threatened to shut down its refugee camps. After gunmen killed 148 people in an attack on Garissa University in April 2015, the government said the UNHCR had three months to close Dadaab and move the refugees, or Kenya would “relocate them ourselves.” Kenya held off the forced repatriations after high-level diplomatic interventions by several governments, including the U.S., Somalia and Canada. But a year later, the proposal resurfaced. “Kenya cannot look aside and allow this threat to escalate further,” Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery said after the May announcement. “There comes a time when we must think primarily about the security of our people.… That time is now.”