August 23, 2016 | Morning Headlines
AMISOM, SNA Partnership Key To Securing Somali Electoral process – Force Commander
22 August – Source: AMISOM – 278 Words
Tighter collaboration between the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the Somali National Armed Forces (SNA) will be key to securing the upcoming electoral process and countering Al-Shabaab, the regional body’s Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Osman Noor Soubagleh said Monday.
Speaking at a planning conference in Mogadishu, Soubagleh said the meeting would facilitate the planning, preparation and coordination of security efforts and cross-section operations directed at degrading Al-Shabaab.
“We must be decisive in our action together in order to degrade the capabilities and influence that Al-Shabaab currently own.., we must undertake joint operations to fulfill the mandate given to us,” Gen. Soubagleh said.
Top AMISOM army officers from the Force Headquarters and all sector commanders are attending the four-day meeting and will be joined by their SNA counterparts and international partners. The Deputy Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (DSRCC) for Somalia, Lydia Wanyoto, asked AMISOM military commanders to develop a robust security plan to help Somali security forces secure the forthcoming electoral process scheduled for year end.
“With the task force in place, we will now be able to know what to do and how to move, to ensure that we deliver on elections security, which is one of our key deliverables,” Ms Wanyoto observed. The DSRCC was referring to the elections security task force established by the Federal Government of Somalia to help secure the electoral process. AMISOM will be represented in the taskforce, which will be relied upon to coordinate security matters and ensure the electoral process is successful.
Key Headlines
- AMISOM SNA Partnership Key To Securing Somali Electoral process – Force Commander (AMISOM)
- Spokesman: AMISOM Kills 8 Militants Near Baidoa City (Shabelle News)
- Puntland Speaks 24 Hours After Twin Blasts In Galkayo (Garowe Online)
- Somaliland Forces Intervene In Deadly Somali Clan Fight In Northern Somalia (Goobjoog News)
- Additional Funding For Kenya And Somalia (US Dept of State)
- 7 Al-Shabaab Suspects Arrested In Security Swoop In Beledweyne Town Hiiraan Region Central Somalia(Intelligence Briefs)
- Security At Mandera Border Enhanced To Deter Al-Shabaab Incursion (The Star)
- UNSOM Launches Training Workshops For Journalists On Election Reporting (UNSOM)
- Former Somalia Envoy To Kenya Mohamed Ali Nur To Face Incumbent Mohamud Hassan Sheikh In Presidential Race (The Standard)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Spokesman: AMISOM Kills 8 Militants Near Baidoa City
22 August – Source: Shabelle News – 120 Words
The spokesman of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) Col Joe Kibet said on Monday that AU troops had killed 8 militants in an attack near Baidoa city. Speaking to Radio Shabelle via phone, Kibet said Al-Shabaab fighters had laid an ambush on AMISOM convoy at Goof-Gaduud area, 30 kilometers north of Baidoa town.
“AMISOM troops repulsed Al-Shabaab in a surprise attack at Goof-Gaduud area and killed 8 fighters, while four were wounded during the counter-fire,” Kibet said. The AMISOM spokesman said three AU and Somali soldiers suffered minor injuries in the attack which took place near Baidoa, Baay regional capital. By the time of going to the press, Al-Shabaab had not issued a statement on the attack or reacted to claims by the AMISOM spokesman.
Puntland Speaks 24 Hours After Twin Blasts In Galkayo
22 August – Source: Garowe Online – 150 Words
Puntland Vice President Abdihakin Abdullahi Haji Omar has finally spoken 24 hours after Al-Shabaab suicide bombers killed up to 27 people in central Galkayo city by Sunday.
Omar visited sites of suicide bombings before addressing reporters on surging number of casualties of the terrorist blasts. He said the critically wounded victims would be airlifted outside the country for further treatment. President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, who was due to land in Galkayo following the terror attacks, is expected to continue his trip in Turkey where Somali regional presidents are attending a conference.
Al-Shabaab immediately claimed credit for the Sunday suicide attacks. The death toll in the bombings is said to have risen to 31, while the wounded are reported to be 61 as of Monday.
Somaliland Forces Intervene In Deadly Somali Clan Fight In Northern Somalia
22 August – Source: Goobjoog News – 120 Words
The forces of Somali Moderate Islamist, Ahlusunna on Monday reportedly intervened to quell a deadly inter-clan confrontation in central Somalia. The clashes erupted a few days ago after members of two rival clans engaged in a dispute over drilling of a borehole.
Abdullahi Bentay, who spoke to the media , said that Ahlusunna deployed troops to the area in a bid to stop fighting between the clans: “We deployed troops who quickly intervened in the situation and we expect both clans to accept our call for peace.”
Traditional clan elders, led by area chief, were also reported to be trying to mediate between the warring sides. Somali clans often fight over control of power and resources and the cycle often gets worse owing to revenge attacks.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Additional Funding For Kenya And Somalia
22 August – Source: US Dept of State – 380 Words
Today, Secretary of State John Kerry announced in Nairobi that the United States is providing more than $146 million in additional U.S. humanitarian assistance to support refugees, voluntary returnees, and drought victims in Kenya and Somalia.
This new funding includes a significant new contribution of more than $59 million for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to protect and assist refugees in Kenya, and support voluntary refugee returns to Somalia. In addition, the funding includes new humanitarian assistance of more than $87 million in food and non-food support for refugees and drought victims in Kenya and Somalia. This announcement brings the total of U.S. humanitarian assistance in Kenya and Somalia to nearly $265 million in fiscal year 2016.
The funding announced today will support UNHCR and other international humanitarian organizations as they provide for basic survival of thousands of vulnerable people and durable solutions for refugees, and as they help assist with efforts to improve conditions for return inside Somalia. This contribution is available to support UNHCR’s enhanced plan for the voluntary return and reintegration of Somali refugees from the Dadaab camps and to ensure that any returns that take place from Kenya are truly voluntary, safe and dignified, consistent with international law, and within the framework of the Tripartite Agreement among UNHCR, Kenya and Somalia.
In addition, U.S. assistance will help address humanitarian needs and support efforts to improve conditions across Somalia including hard to reach areas of south-central Somalia.
7 Al-Shabaab Suspects Arrested In Security Swoop In Beledweyne Town, Hiiraan Region, Central Somalia
22 August – Source: Intelligence Briefs – 126 Words
Somali police on Monday 22nd August 2016 conducted a major security swoop in Beledweyne town, Hiiraan region of central Somalia.
During the operation seven suspected Al-Shabaab terrorists were arrested. According to Beledweyne district Police Commander Ali Dhuh Abdi the operation was intelligence led from information gathered from the locals.
Corresponding OSINT reports indicate that the dawn operation was carried out in Beledweyne town with Police searching houses suspected to be hiding dens of Al-Shabaab and their sympathizers.
Police said the arrested will undergo a thorough interrogation. The Monday operation was aimed at flushing out Al-Shabaab elements reported in the Beledweyne town and the nearby localities.
Police commander Abdi noted that the counter-terrorism operations across the country will continue to flush and neutralized Al-Shabaab remnants to their last one
Security At Mandera Border Enhanced To Deter Al-Shabaab Incursion
22 August – Source: The Star – 234 Words
Security patrols along the Kenya-Somalia border have been enhanced to prevent Al-Shabaab from targeting communication infrastructure, Kenya’s northeastern regional coordinator Mohamud Saleh said on Monday.
Saleh said Al-Shabaab militants’ bombing of two Safaricom masts in Lafey and Fino in Mandera was meant to sabotage communication infrastructure and frustrate security operations in the area: “We have permanent ground security operations on hotspots along the border after we realised that out desperation Al-Shabaab were out to sabotage our communication infrastructure by making incursions on border towns on Mandera,” he said.
He spoke when he received the Auditor General in his office on Monday. The regional coordinator said few attacks have been reported for the past 14 months: “They were also planning to bomb water pipelines in these towns but we managed to secure them,” he said
Saleh said his security team is working closely with the lower Juba administration under Abdi Madobe to ensure the militants are defeated: “Our AMISOM troops inside Somalia have secured huge tracts of land. I am optimistic that within no time Al-Shabaab will be defeated.
UNSOM Launches Training Workshops For Journalists On Election Reporting
22 August – Source: UNSOM – 423 Words
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) has embarked on a countrywide series of training workshops for local journalists on the forthcoming electoral process in Somalia.
The first of the two-day workshops ended in Mogadishu today. Similar trainings are scheduled to be carried out in Baidoa, Kismaayo, Cadaado, Belet Weyne and Garowe. UNSOM spokesperson Joseph Contreras described the 2016 electoral process as one of the most complicated elections in recent years and said the workshops are designed to help explain the unique process.
The spokesperson said the United Nations views this year’s electoral process as a vital stepping stone towards one-person, one-vote elections in 2020 and a major improvement over the process held in Somalia in 2012.
Topics addressed during the inaugural training included tips and techniques for covering the electoral process, the electoral calendar, the UN role in the process and a draft code of conduct for journalists. Contreras said the UN is providing logistical and technical support and political expertise to the Federal Indirect Electoral Implementation Team (FIEIT) and the State Indirect Electoral Implementation Teams (SIEITs) at their request to facilitate implementation of the electoral process.
Some of the participating journalists discussed the challenges they expect to face in covering the electoral process. Bishara Abdirasahid Ahmed asked about a central location where media personnel could obtain information when the voting for members of parliament and the president commences.
The training is being organized by the Strategic Communications and Public Affairs Group of UNSOM with the support of consultants to equip journalists with the needed skills to report on the electoral process.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Recently, the Ambassador made headlines in Somalia when he publicly forgave a man who confessed to him that he had killed his 18-month old baby in 1992 when the Somali central government fell apart and the country descended into civil strife.”
Former Somalia Envoy To Kenya Mohamed Ali Nur To Face Incumbent Mohamud Hassan Sheikh In Presidential Race
22 August – Source: The Standard – 1,110 Words
As neighbouring Somalia heads for crucial presidential and parliamentary polls next month, the immediate former Somali Ambassador to Kenya Mohamed Ali Nur “Americo” sees himself as the best bet to lead the country to greener pastures amid an on-going violent conflict with Al Shabaab.
The 54 year old father of eight, who served as a diplomat in Nairobi between October 2007 and April 2015, is now seeking to unseat the current President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud from power. The long-time diplomat, who served his term during President Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta, sees the current Somali Federal government as lacking in focus in combating the threat of Al Shabaab to Somalia and regional countries, as well as fixing the unemployment crisis among Somali youths and building genuine reconciliation in the grassroots.
“I fully understand the frustrations of Somali nationals in Somalia and in the diaspora and Somalia’s neighbours regarding the continued instability in the country despite many efforts to restore peace. But I have a clear strategy to return the country to normalcy within a few years,” he said.
The former envoy is expected to fight it out for the top seat with other political heavyweights in the Somali politics including former President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, former Prime Ministers Mohammed Abdullahi “Farmaajo” and Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed among others in what promises to be a tight race.
As an envoy in Nairobi, Amb Nur was central in easing tensions between Kenya and Somalia following the devastating Al-Shabaab attack in Westgate Shopping Mall (September 2014) and Garissa University college (April 2015) that claimed hundreds of lives.