August 15, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somalia Faces Security Challenges From Local Politicians, Says President
15 August – Source: Shabelle News – 135 Words
The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has blamed local politicians and members of his government for the current insecurity gripping the country. Mohamud said local politicians, including MPs are obstructive to the security measures that have been put in place as some have released seized Al-Shabaab suspects from prisons.
“Al Shabaab fighters have no clan background and borders, they are global fanatics, so we should deal with the insecurity and the militants,” the president said. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud also called on government officials to stop releasing Al-Shabaab prisoners from jails and help security forces maintain law and order. The Somali Federal Government has been accused of failing to protect its citizens and tackle the insecurity and lawlessness in the country due to the growing insecurity caused by Al-Shabaab attacks.
Key Headlines
- Somalia Faces Security Challenges From Local Politicians Says President (Shabelle News)
- AMISOM And Government Soldiers Launch Operations In Lower Shabelle (Goobjoog News)
- Nasteho Indho’s Upcoming Concert In Hargeisa Cancelled (Hiiraan Online)
- AMISOM Nigeria Police Contingent Undergo Induction Course (AMISOM)
- Yemeni Refugees Caught Up in Somaliland’s Struggle for Nationhood (News Deeply)
- America’s Shrinking Small Towns See Hope In Refugees (The Seattle Times)
NATIONAL MEDIA
AMISOM And Government Soldiers Launch Operations In Lower Shabelle
15 August – Source: Goobjoog News – 171 Words
Somali forces backed by the African Union troops launched a security operations between Balidoogle and Leego localities in Lower Shabelle region barely a day after remote control bomb targeted an AMISOM convoy passing in Balidogle village.
Hundreds of soldiers were seen on the roads that connect the two villages while more soldiers will be deployed most parts of both localities.One the commanders leading the SNA troops who decline to be named said the operations which are intended to tighten the security of the areas around both villages will be conducted by SNA in collaboration with AMISOM troops.“This operation is aimed at securing the areas. To achieve this, the Government has also developed and will implement an elaborate relationship between the forces and the public,” he said.
According to the commander, the operations which were launched early in the morning are expected to go on for several days and will continue till criminal elements who disturb the peace are completely flushed out.
Nasteho Indho’s Upcoming Concert In Hargeisa Cancelled
15 August – Source: Hiiraan Online – 245 Words
Security forces in the breakaway Somaliland have cancelled a much anticipated concert by popular singer Nasteho Indho at the behest of The Somaliland Ministry of Religious Affairs. Nasteho Indho planned to put on a music concert with other musicians from Hargeisa at Crown Hotel before a directive from the Ministry of Religious Affairs ordered the concert to be cancelled.
Nasteho’s music has drawn the ire of religious bodies in Somalia; a previous show scheduled to be performed in Garowe was cancelled by clerics in Puntland who criticized her videos and her dress. Many speculate that the decision by Somaliland’s Ministry of Religious Affairs to cancel the concert may have been spurred by the earlier refusal by clerics in Puntland.
Sources indicate that Nasteho tried to circumvent the ban by attempting to contact the Interior Minister, Ali Waran Adde and the commander of the police but her efforts were fruitless. Would-be concert goers were shocked at the announcement. Hargeisa residents say this is the first time that a show has been called off in their city at the request of religious leaders. Similar shows have been put on by different artists without any disruption.
Barely a week ago, musicians Ahmed Biif and Mohamed BK entertained crowds at a similar function in Hargeisa. The summer holidays usually brings thousands of diaspora vacationers to Hargeisa who enjoy concerts and other forms of entertainment.There has been no further comment or statement by Somaliland’s Ministry of Religious Affairs.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
AMISOM Nigeria Police Contingent Undergo Induction Course
15 August – Source: AMISOM – 270 Words
Seventeen Nigerian police officers recently deployed to serve on the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) yesterday began an intensive seven-day induction course to orient them with the functions of the Mission. The police officers recently arrived in Somalia to replace their colleagues who rotated out in July.
The induction course was officially opened by AMISOM Deputy Police Commissioner, Christine Alalo, who urged the officers to work hard in their duties and maintain high level of discipline to enable the Mission achieve its mandate.“Even if you are very hard working but lack discipline then you will be considered as having failed in your duties. We expect maximum discipline and maximum respect for human rights,” Ms Alalo told the officers.
Present at the function were the AMISOM Police Chief of Staff, Rex Dundun, and the AMISOM Police Coordinator for Training and Development, Francis Aryee. Ms Alalo noted that the arrival of the new contingent is timely, given the fact that Somalia’s approved policing model is similar to that of Nigeria.
Yemeni Refugees Caught Up in Somaliland’s Struggle for Nationhood
15 August – Source: News Deeply – 892 Words
Asma Nibah can speak the language of the country where she has sought refuge. Growing up in Yemen, her stepmother was Somali, so as a young girl she learned the distinctive language from across the Red Sea. Now a grandmother herself, she fled her native city of Aden last year after her granddaughter died of a curable disease amid the collapse of Yemen’s health system. Many hospitals in the Gulf country have been burned down, and those still standing can be dangerous, she says, as soldiers use them for cover.
At first sight, Somaliland, a non-country, not recognized by the international community as separate from Somalia and one of the poorest places on earth, is an unlikely place of refuge. But its history and culture, intertwined as they are with Yemen, was the obvious destination for Asthma and her surviving granddaughters, just as it has been for many other Yemenis.
It is not unusual for refugees to find themselves in poor countries. More than 80 percent of the world’s refugees are hosted in developing nations. But being a refugee in Somaliland is uniquely complicated.Despite its ambitions to statehood, and the stability that Somaliland offers in sharp contrast to Somalia, the northern breakaway is no closer to winning international recognition. This statelessness affects all aspects of life and survival.
The majority of Yemeni refugees in Somaliland arrived in the ruined port of Berbera from which they must make their own way to the capital, Hargeisa. Awaiting them is the immigration department and Mohamed Ali Yusef, its general director.There are no databases, no computers, everything is done manually, he explains. “We barely have capacity for ourselves,” says Hassan Omar, a Somali-Canadian who works as a consultant for the immigration department.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Every time a refugee rents an apartment, every time a refugee shops for food, there’s some income coming in for the city and going into the tax base. There’s a new realization that refugees can be an economic engine for some of these small communities, ”said Negash, now a senior vice president of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), a network of groups that help resettle refugees around the country.
America’s Shrinking Small Towns See Hope In Refugees
15 August – Source: The Seattle Times – 1,474 Words
Mayor Christopher Louras sees trouble ahead for this small city of about 16,000 at the foot of the Green Mountains. “It’s a strong, vibrant community but unless we do something to stem the population decline, we’re going to be in big, big trouble,” Louras said. “And it’s not just Rutland. Rutland is a microcosm of the state and small towns around the country.”
But the mayor sees a quick fix. He’s asked Vermont’s resettlement agency to send refugees to Rutland and says they would help fill vacant housing and entry-level jobs to keep the economy moving. It’s an approach small towns from Montana to Georgia are increasingly considering as they grapple with shrinking and aging populations.
The mayors of Central Falls, R.I.; Clarkston, Ga.; and Haledon, N.J., joined big-city mayors last year in signing a letter saying they had accepted Syrian refugees and would take more. And as some governors and members of Congress called for a halt to the arrival of refugees from Syria, the mayors of Normal, Urbana and Evanston in Ill.; Socorro, Texas; and Clearfield City, Utah, signed a letter that noted “the importance of continuing to welcome refugees to our country and to our cities.”
Few refugees have resettled in Montana since 1991. But with Missoula Mayor John Engen’s support, a branch of the International Rescue Committee opened its doors and the group has arranged to help settle 100 Congolese refugees, who are expected to start arriving this month. The decision to seek refugees, especially Muslims from Syria, can be a political lightning rod. The mayor of Sandpoint, Idaho — population 7,800 — proposed welcoming Syrian refugees when he was sworn in, in January, but withdrew the idea the same month after raucous protests.
Top tweets
@UKinSomalia : Great news as President Hassan Sheikh signed the Nat’l Human Rights Commission bill, big step forward for #Somalia
@Eye_on_Somalia : #goobjoog Somaliland president Makes fourth Cabinet Reshuffle in less than a year: The president of … http://bit.ly/2bs7wzM #somalia
@Abdi_AlSheikh : Somalia: Soldiers Kill Al Shabaab Commander in Hiraan Region – http://AllAfrica.com http://dlvr.it/M2ST7R #Somalia
@Dahirkulane : #Hiiraan residents commend #Eth #AMISOM troops role in security Ops vs #Shabaab in #Somalia. http://bit.ly/2aVfEwa
@TheTrueSomalian : #Mogadishu hosts biggest ever event of the world of art, literature that brings #Somalia talents together @MogBF
@Moshireh : #GSD2016 Diaspora has contributed to the reconciliation and peace-building of #Somalia. Didn’t hear peace theme discussion! @GlobSomDiaspora
@MDhaaysane : Somali commandos backed by the U.S hit #alshabab targets in southwestern town of #Sakow, sources close to #Somalia army indicated.
Image of the day
President Hassan Sheikh signs the National Human Rights Commission bill.
Photo: @UKinSomalia