January 5, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
UN Envoy Reaches Beledweyne Town
05 January – Source: Garowe Online – 204 Words
A delegation led by the Special Representative of the United Nations for Somalia, Michael Keating, has arrived in Beledweyne town, the administrative headquarter of Hiiraan region on Thursday. Michael Keating was cordially welcomed by high-ranking regional administration officials and national-flag waving residents, who turned out in large numbers to receive the envoy and his entourage.
The UN envoy to Somalia, Keating left Mogadishu, on Thursday morning for the central Somali town of Beledweyne to meet with clan elders, local community leaders and AMISOM commanders. Sources told Garowe Online that SRSG’s trip is part of the ongoing efforts to foster dialogue and reconciliation between the newly established HirShabelle administration and Hiiraan clan elder Ugasa Hassan Ugaas Khalif. On Wednesday, a high-level delegation led by HirShabelle State President Ali Abdulahi Osoble has arrived in Beledwayne town for talks with local clan elders.
Key Headlines
- UN Envoy Reaches Beledweyne Town (Garowe Online)
- Presidential Candidate Sheikh Sharif Receives Warm Welcome In Kismayo (Jowhar.com)
- Outgoing Somali Prime Minister meets Somaliland MPs in Mogadishu (Puntlandi.com)
- US ‘Gravely Concerned’ By Reports Of Intimidation In Somali Elections (Sputnik)
- Baidoa Residents To Benefit From A Well Rehabilitated By AMISOM Troops (AMISOM)
- Somali Camps: Places Of Desperation (Business Live)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Presidential Candidate Sheikh Sharif Receives Warm Welcome In Kismayo
05 January – Source: Jowhar.com – 175 Words
Former Somalia President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who is among candidates eyeing the country’s top seat in the upcoming presidential elections this week visited Kismayo in a bid to woo the Jubbaland vote.
Top Jubbaland officials led by President Ahmed Mohamed Islaan received Sheikh Sharif upon arrival at the interim Jubbaland headquarter city.The two leaders later met at the presidential palace where they held lengthy discussions.
Speaking to the press after the meeting, President Ahmed Islan of Jubbaland noted Sheikh Sharif is remembered for his development record during his reign before losing to the incumbent outgoing President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
Sheikh Sharif on his side thanked the Jubbaland administration and officials for the warm reception. He noted the tremendous development recorded by the coastal city since he last visited in 2006.
The visit comes after local politicians and professionals spearheaded reconciliation efforts between Sheikh Sharif and Ahmed Islan after differences emerged between the two leaders. Getting the backing of Jubbaland will tremendously boost the former president’s chances of making it back to Villa Somalia.
Outgoing Somali Prime Minister Meets Somaliland MPs In Mogadishu
04 January – Source: Puntlandi.com – 95 Words
The outgoing Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke met with the Lower and Upper Houses of Somaliland in Mogadishu to discuss his political proposal as a presidential candidate. The meeting is said to be part of a campaign geared towards the MPs to elect him.
The prime minister said the country needs political stability, unity and genuine reconciliation. In regards to the Somaliland’s secessionist agenda, the prime minister said he would consult with relevant stakeholders. Presidential elections are due to happen in the coming month after speaker and deputies of the House are elected.
INTERNATIONAL
US ‘Gravely Concerned’ By Reports Of Intimidation In Somali Elections
05 January – Source: Sputnik – 113 Words
Washington is concerned by allegations of intimidation in Somalia’s election process, State Department spokesperson John Kirby said in a press release. Kirby said Wednesday that the United States expresses “grave concern over alleged reports of intimidation and malpractice in the electoral process thus far.”
Somalia’s Parliament, Kirby added, must prioritize timeliness in the election of house speakers “to ensure credibility and momentum in Somalia’s state building agenda.” The US government called upon the National Leadership Forum to respect the efforts of the electoral bodies to uphold transparent and integral practices as the remaining seats in Parliament were filled and to ensure that seats reserved for women were actually filled by women, Kirby added.
Baidoa Residents To Benefit From A Well Rehabilitated By AMISOM Troops
04 January – Source: AMISOM – 342 Words
AMISOM troops from the Ethiopian National Defense Forces have inaugurated a rehabilitated well, that will supply clean water to communities living in close proximity with the troops in Baidoa town, the administrative capital of South West state.
The inauguration ceremony presided over by ISWA Minister of Agriculture Mohamed Hassan Fiqi, was attended by military officials from AMISOM Sector 3, led by contingent commander Brigadier General Gabremeskel Gebrezigabe, the local administration and community leaders. “With the dry season biting hard, the rehabilitation of the well could not have come at better time for the people of Baidoa,” Minister Fiqi said.
In his remarks, AMISOM Sector 3 Commander Brigadier General Gabremeskel Gebrezigabe said AMISOM planned to drill 15 wells in Bay region to alleviate the suffering of populations living there. “I wish to thank all those who took part in the rehabilitation and maintenance of the well,” he stated.
“This well will cater for 50% of the demand. Although this is commendable, we are still far from achieving our goal, which is to meet the demand for water for our troops as well as for the neighboring communities,” Brigadier General Gabremeskel noted. The well, drilled in 2013 broke down due to technical challenges.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“The land grabbers ordered us to vacate the camp. One day they came with armed men and told us to move and beat me, but where do I go? Nowhere. I cannot afford to rent a house, I told them. Some of my neighbours fled, fearing to be killed or arrested. But I stayed.”
Somali Camps: Places Of Desperation
05 January – Source: Business Live – 703 Words
Deero Ismail, a mother of five, fled her home town of Baidoa in southern Somalia in February, 2011 after her husband was killed by the militant group which controlled the town. With her children, she lives in a hut, made of dried tree branches and covered with plastic sheeting, in the Rajo camp for internally displaced people west of Mogadishu. Established in early 2011, at about the time that Ismail sought shelter, Rajo camp is now the largest settlement for the internally displaced in the area around Somalia’s capital.
Rajo — which means “hope” — is the home of 5,000 families mostly from southern parts of the country, which was hit by drought in 2011. A quarter of a million people died during the ensuing famine, the first in the Horn of Africa region for more than three decades. Drought isn’t the only problem. The UN Office for Humanitarian Co-ordination estimates that more than 1.1m people are internally displaced in Somalia as a result of two and a half decades of conflict, as well as droughts that have affected up to a third of the country’s population.
Ismail is struggling to survive. Assistance in the form of aid from the UN World Food Programme and Turkish nongovernmental organisations has dwindled. “We had a farm and cows. [Before his death] my husband was our breadwinner,” she says. “First the drought was severe and we lost our cows. Then there wasn’t rain to grow the farm so life became harder to us, so I fled with my kids to Mogadishu.”
TOP TWEETS
@Tarrahson : #JubbalandState forces to liberate the remaining areas frm the grasp of terrorists beheading men, women & Children on the streets.#Somalia.
@Abdi_AlSheikh : US welcomes Somalia parliament, concerned over “malpractice” in electoral process – Kuwait News Agencyhttp://dlvr.it/N2VZB1 #Somalia
@HassanIstiila : #BREAKING UN Special Representative for#Somalia @SRSGKeating reached at Baledweyne town, the capital of Hiraan region in central of Somalia
@Absharmarke : The African Union Mission in #Somalia, AMISOM has said that 136 police personnel from Nigeria were awarded medals
@HassanIstiila : Watch The Full ’17 Minutes’ Interview With#British Ambassador to Somalia @HarrietLMathews .follow linkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?
@UNSomalia : Election of #Somalia President is by secret ballot. Find out about the eligibility criteria to be a presidential candidate. #Doorashada
IMAGE OF THE DAY
UN Special Representative to Somalia, Michael Keating meeting with key leaders after arriving Beletwayne.
Photo: @SRSGKeating