31 Oct 2011 – Daily Monitoring Report
Key Headlines:
- African Union: Statement by the high representative of Somalia at China-Africa Think Tank forum
- MSF treats wounded after camp for displaced is hit by bombardment in Lower Juba
- Somali PM meets Kenyan officials
- Alleged Eritrean plane carrying arms for al Shabaab lands in Baidoa Bay region
- Iranian ship carrying aid docks at Mogadishu seaport
- UPDF suffers heavy losses in Somalia
- Al-Shabaab press to recapture Mogadishu
- 3 killed 52 wounded in Somalia after air strike hits camp for displaced civilians
- Security beefed up at 2011 Nairobi International marathon
PRESS RELEASE
African Union: Statement by the high representative of Somalia at China-Africa Think Tank forum
31 Oct – Source: AMISOM Force HQ – 213 words
Ghana’s Former President, Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings says the world has a grand opportunity with certain world leaders in place, to exercise her moral mandate provided corrupters and warmongers can contained.
In an address delivered at the first meeting of the China-Africa Think Tank Forums in Hangzhou, China, President Rawlings said the world previously missed an opportunity because of “the historical misalignment” of the presidency of Carter and Gorbachev.
He said the political intrigues of international diplomacy mean China has to compete with major international interests on the African continent and counseled China to tread carefully in order to win the trust of a continent that has fallen victim to sweet promises of developmental cooperation in the past.
President Rawlings praised China for its contribution towards the peace and humanitarian processes in Somalia and urged China to “maintain a strong position on Africa at the United Nations Security Council, lobby its members to confront African peace initiatives in a non-confrontational manner and seek economic support to stem the tide of under-development that ignites many of the conflicts on the continent.”
The China-Africa Think Tanks Forum is a platform for exchange and dialogue between Chinese and African think tanks so that such bodies can play a more active role in promoting Sino-African relations.
MSF treats wounded after camp for displaced is hit by bombardment in Lower Juba
30 Oct – Source: MSF – 176 words
Medicines Sans Fronti�res (MSF) staff in Marere, in Lower Juba Region, southern Somalia, are treating dozens of injured following an aerial bombardment on the town of Jilib that hit a camp for internally-displaced people at around 1:30 pm on Sunday.
At the time of writing at least 3 people are reported dead and 52 injured, mostly women and children. MSF is transporting the wounded to the hospital in Marere for stabilization and treatment, and may have to refer some patients to other facilities due to limits to the surgical capacity at the hospital.
Somalia has been hit by a severe humanitarian crisis since May this year, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced due to violence and drought. Jilib houses a population of around 1500 displaced households and MSF had been providing them with medical care, including therapeutic feeding for acutely malnourished children. The organization also distributes basic relief items such as soap, cooking oil, blankets and sheltering materials. MSF urges all parties to the conflict in Somalia to respect the rights of civilians in conflict.
SOMALI MEDIA
Alleged Eritrean plane carrying arms for al Shabaab lands in Baidoa, Bay region
31 Oct – Source: Radio Bar-kulan. Radio Shabelle, Somali Radio, Gedo Online – 248 words
An alleged Eritrean plane carrying weapons and other military supplies for al Shabaab rebel group in Somalia has landed at Baidoa airstrip on Sunday, reports say. Rebel fighters sealed off the area around the landing site. Heavily armed rebel fighters were also seen patrolling along major roads leading to the airstrip.
It is not clearly known where the plane came from, but reliable sources say it was an Eritrean plane carrying a shipment of military supplies for al Shabaab. The shipment comes at a time when the militia is locked in fighting with Kenyan troops who crossed the border two weeks ago in pursuit of rebel fighters accused of abducting foreigners from Kenyan territory.
In July this year, the United Nations has accused the Eritrean government of plotting an attack on African Union summit in Ethiopia in January as well as bankrolling Al-Qaeda-inspired al Shabaab militia in Somalia through its embassy in Kenya.
The report by a United Nations Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea said the Red Sea state’s intelligence personnel were active in Uganda, South Sudan, Kenya and Somalia and that the country’s actions posed a threat to security and peace in the region, Reuters news agency has reported.
Asmara has repeatedly denied any involvement in funding rebel groups in the region. The U.N. has earlier slapped an arms embargo on the Red Sea state, as well as a travel ban and an assets freeze on Eritrean political and military leaders who it says are violating an arms embargo on Somalia.
Plane carrying arms for al Shabaab said arrives in southwestern Somalia
31 Oct – Source: Radio Galkacyo – 131 words
A Somali member of parliament has said that a plane “carrying weapons for al Shabaab Islamic Movement has landed at Baidoa airport”, southwestern Somalia.
MP Muhamud Abdullahi Waliye aka Waqa said the plane, which was carrying “various types of weapons came from Eritrea”, saying that those weapons were “meant to assist the radical Islamist group in fighting against Transitional Federal Government, AU peacekeepers and the Kenyan troops” who recently entered Lower Jubba regions, southern Somalia, adds the radio.
Waqa further said that the plane also delivered “different types of missiles, explosive devices and ammunition”. He called on the international community to take urgent measures against Eritrea for supporting al Shabaab.
The move comes as fierce fighting between government forces backed AU peacekeepers and Kenyan troops and al Shabaab continues in Mogadishu and southern Somalia.
Iranian ship carrying aid docks at Mogadishu seaport
30 Oct – Source: Radio Mogadishu, Shabelle and Garowe Online – 138 words
An Iranian ship carrying aid food on Sunday arrived and docked at Mogadishu international harbor to give famine victims in Somalia. The ship was carrying food aid weighing 5000 tones and the contents included rice, flour, spaghetti, cooking oil and tents to help the famine displaced people.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohmoud Haji and Somalia’s National Disaster Agency were handed over the aid from the Islamic Republic of Iran. The minister said the aid will be distributed to needy people in Mogadishu IDP camps.
The ambassador of Iran to Somalia talked to the media on the eve of the aid being handed over to the government officials and said it is the first aid Iran sent Somalia through the sea. He said that 17 airplanes carrying aid from Iran landed at Mogadishu to support famine victims.
http://www.shabelle.net/
Al Shabaab kills five teenagers
30 Oct – Source: Somalia report – 96 words
Al Shabaab fighters killed five teenagers in Makokori village near Mahaday in Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region for trying to escape forced recruitment, according to relatives who spoke to Somalia Report. Pastoralists in the rural area informed the residents of Mokokori that they had found the bodies of Ibrahim Hussein and Kamil Bilal, both 15 years, Tahlil Mohamud 14, Dahir Yakub 16, and Ayanle Risaq 17.
Barni Harun, mother of Ibrahim Hussein, said she is extremely worried about her other children because al Shabaaab is continuing to recruit children to fight their “Jihad” against the Somali government and its supporters.
Somali PM meets Kenyan officials
31 Oct – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 112 words
Somalia’s Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali is meeting Kenyan officials in Nairobi after jetting in the country on Sunday afternoon. The PM will be meeting Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Foreign and Defense ministers as well as other top government officials.
The PM is accompanied by several cabinet ministers including Interior and national security minister, defence minister and Somali military chief. The two countries are expected to discuss bilateral relations and military corporations in their fight against al Shabaab.
Meanwhile, a team of Somali delegation led by defense minister is set to visit government held areas in Lower Juba. The delegation will also tour Kenyan troops’ positions in the region.
Former parliament speaker: I welcome the military operation against al Shabaab
31 Oct – Source: Radio Shabelle, Kulmiye – 65 words
Sheikh Adam Mohamed Noor known as Madobe, former Somali parliament speaker has warmly welcomed Kenyan military operation inside Somali territory. Former Somali parliament speaker, Adam Madobe told that he did not see harm in the Kenyan operation into Somalia if they (Kenya) battling with rebel group of al Shabaab. “I welcome (anyone) who fights against al Shabaab, either Ethiopia or Kenya if they don’t harm our independence”, Madobe added.
Somaliland remembers victims of October 29, 2008 terrorist attack
30 Oct – Source: Somaliland Press – 252 words
Somaliland is honoring the third anniversary of the memory of the 30 innocent citizens who lost their lives on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 at 10:30am. The terrorist organization al Shabaab has attacked Somaliland on this day with three coordinated suicide car-bombs that exploded at the Presidential Place, United Nation’s office, and at the Ethiopian Embassy in Hargeysa.
This attack caused the death of 30 innocent lives and inflicted serious injuries on 48 others. We pray to Allah to bestow his mercy on the victims and give their family and friends the strength to deal with this difficult time to deal with the memory of losing loved ones.
Al Shabaab attacked Somaliland to disrupt the democratic progress in Somaliland; in particularly they were opposed to the Voter Registration efforts that began in Somaliland the week of October 27th, 2008. Al Shabaab attacked Somaliland every time there was an election in Somaliland and when the National Election Commission was conducting the Voter Registration in Somaliland. Al Shabaab attacks were successful on October 29, 2008, but there were many more times that their attacks failed and Somaliland security forces foiled their attacks.
http://somalilandpress.com/
Mogadishu elders condemn the kidnapping of Danish workers
30 Oct – Source: Shabelle, Somaliweyn and Bariga Afrika – 188 words Mogadishu’s Hawiye traditional elders strongly condemned the kidnappings of two foreigners working with Danish Aid Group in central Somalia town of Galka’yo. In an interview with Shabelle Media Network, Ahmed Diriye Ali, the spokesman of Hawiye elders said that it is deplorable that Somali gunmen still holding captive American and Danish citizens. He said they are very sorry for that bad action. He added that gunmen kidnapped aid workers who had come to help their brothers and sisters in war decimated horn of African nation.
He called on those armed men to release the abducted workers soon and unconditionally. American Jessica Buchanan, 32, and Danish Poul Thisted, 60, were both working for the Danish Aid Group when they were seized Tuesday by gunmen in central Somalia’s Galmudug region, in a statement.
http://www.shabelle.net/
Kenyan MP urges Somalis in Nairobi not to panic
31 Oct – Source: Radio Bar-kulan, Star FM – 183 words
A Kenyan legislator has on Sunday called on Somalis in Nairobi’s northern suburb of East Leigh not to panic as he was assured by the Kenyan government that they will not be illegally targeted.
Yussuf Hassan Abdi, a Kenyan ethnic Somali member of parliament, said Somalis in his Kamakunji constituency in which East Leigh falls under, have nothing to worry about as he has already talked to Kenyan security apparatus over the current security operation in the city, saying that they will not be solely targeted.
Yussuf who was recently elected to Kenyan parliament assured the Somali people in Nairobi that they will not be victims of ethnicity. He threatened to set down if the Kenyan government violates the rights of Somalis in his constituency by deliberately targeting them during security operations in the city.
He however appealed to the Somali people in East Leigh to single out elements causing trouble in the city and respect the Kenyan rule of law. This sentiment comes a time many Somalis in Nairobi fear that Kenyan security officers may take advantage of their fight against al Shabaab and deliberately target them.
REGIONAL MEDIA
UPDF suffers heavy losses in Somalia
30 Oct – Source: Daily Monitor – 468 words
Two al-Shabaab suicide bombers yesterday blew themselves up at an Amisom base in Mogadishu and conflicting accounts indicate anywhere between 3 and 80 Ugandan soldiers were killed.
The militant group, which withdrew from the Somali capital in August, leaving a queasy security situation, claimed in a press statement that “the Mujahideen stormed an Amisom compound, killing 80 Ugandan soldiers.”
UPDF Land Forces Commander, Lt. Gen. Katumba Wamala, last night confirmed to Sunday Monitor a lunch-hour suicide attack on AU troops, but said only three soldiers perished and two were seriously injured. “Eighty soldiers dead? Are they nsenene (grasshoppers)?” Gen. Katumba asked when informed of al-Shabaab’s claims. The General is in charge of the UPDF deployment in Somalia.
UPDF spokesman Felix Kulayigye returned this newspaper’s telephone call at 10pm last night to say preliminary details show three soldiers died and an equal number injured; two seriously. “Those injured have been flown for treatment in Nairobi Hospital,” Col. Kulayigye said. “An investigation is being carried out to know exactly how this attack happened.”
The UPDF declined to name the dead, and or injured soldiers, saying it needs to first notify their relatives. Sunday Monitor could not independently verify the disproportionately varied claims about fatality figures. While al-Shabaab puts the figure at 80, the Uganda army puts it at three and the African Union ambassador based in Nairobi said only four were killed.
Mr. Wafula Wamunyiyi, while condemning the attack, said by telephone from Nairobi that four Amisom soldiers were killed in a “suicide attack by Somalia insurgents dressed in Transitional Federal Government uniform”. He said: “They approached the frontline and then exploded their bombs. Four Amison soldiers died on the spot and seven were injured.”
The AU in a press statement said the midday attack was executed by armed terrorists, including two suicide bombers disguised as Somali Army troops, who attempted to recapture an area near German Steel Factory, which they lost two months ago.
It is understood the suicide bombing triggered heavy fighting for control of the gateway to Industrial Road, an important city artery at Mogadishu’s northern border. Amisom troops repulsed the militants, AU said. However, al-Shabaab’s version of events is that two suicide bombers infiltrated the Amisom compound and blasted themselves in a crowd of Ugandan soldiers on parade. It claimed to have killed 80 soldiers, including the commander, through the suicide attack and subsequent two-hour firefight.
A fortnight ago, the al-Qaeda-affiliated militants claimed to have killed 87 mainly Burundian forces in Mogadishu. Amison spokesperson, Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda, in a telephone interview last night declined to put figure to number of soldiers lost in yesterday’s battle. “We sustained some casualties but I do not have the figures yet because fighting was still going on,” he said.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/
Al-Shabaab press to recapture Mogadishu
31 Oct – Source: Daily Monitor – 475 words
The UPDF was last evening preparing to receive bodies of its soldiers killed by two al-Shabaab suicide bombers in Mogadishu on Saturday as it emerged the militants’ onslaught to recapture Mogadishu had been repelled after a bloody fight.
Details of the Saturday attack remained scanty more than 30 hours after the midday blast and Ugandan military officers serving under Amisom in Somalia yesterday declined to divulge the battle-front losses. “The truth is that we suffered some casualties and fatalities but I’m afraid I cannot give you any figures,” Amisom Spokesman Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda told this newspaper by telephone from Mogadishu.
He described as “empty propaganda” claims by al-Shabaab Spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamoud Raghe, that they killed between 80 and 100 Ugandan troops, which otherwise would be the worst UPDF loss since deploying in the restive Somali capital in March 2007.
According to Lt. Col. Ankunda, the army has no intention to conceal details of numbers and identities of its dead or injured soldiers, but needed to notify their relatives before making the particulars public. It was not clear why, if UPDF records are computerized as officially reported, families of the affected soldiers had not been informed more than 30 hours after the fatal weekend incident.
Two highly-placed security sources separately told us that five Ugandan soldiers died in the attack, including a commander identified only as Maj. Lumumba. However, Lt. Col. Ankunda said Maj. Lumumba is alive in Mogadishu.
Al-Shabaab’s version of events is that two suicide bombers, one of them an American-Somali, infiltrated the Amisom compound – the former metal factory – situated on Industrial Road , near Mogadishu Stadium, and blasted themselves in a crowd of Ugandan soldiers on parade. “Progressing from the Dayniile massacre of the Burundian forces to the heart of Mogadishu, the Mujahideen stormed an Amisom compound, killing 80 Ugandan soldiers,” al-Shabaab wrote in a press statement.
Those who tried to escape were shot by standby fighters who scaled over a perimeter wall, the militant group said. In Kampala, Military Spokesman Col. Felix Kulayigye, however, said only three soldiers perished when two militants wearing suicide vests concealed under army fatigue blew themselves up at the contingent’s base.
None of the dead or injured Ugandan soldiers was at the rank of a Lieutenant Colonel as earlier reported, he said. Other sources told Daily Monitor that a Captain and another UPDF soldier at the rank of a Lieutenant are among casualties airlifted to receive treatment at Nairobi Hospital. All were reported to be in “stable medical condition” and the Amisom spokesman said “they should be able to recover soon”.
Lt. Col. Ankunda said they repulsed the insurgents who planned to recapture Industrial Road which they lost in August. The location is strategic because anyone in charge gains tactical advantage to overrun Bakara Central Market, the previous source of revenue for the al-Shabaab.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/
Somali traders caution Al Shabaab crackdown
30 Oct – Source: Capital FM – 531 words
Kenyan Muslim leaders and the business community have pledged to support the government’s security operation against Al Shabaab insurgents in the country but are warning against police using the initiative to harass their people.
The leaders who spoke at a press conference on Sunday said Kenyan Somalis and even Somali refugees were being harassed by security agents and the public on grounds that they are Al Shabaab suspects.
“We fully support the government, what they are doing in terms of cracking down on Al Shabaab is commendable, but we are opposed to any form of harassment,” One of the business leaders Mahamud Khalif warned.
“As long as the operations to get Al Shabaab is done without harassment, we will not have a problem, but we will be opposed to the government resorting to harass everyone who has Somali roots,” Khalif added.
He said since the operation on Al Shabaab started, even members of the public have been ridiculing Kenyan-Somalis and genuine Somali refugees in the country and branding the, Al Shabaab.
http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/
UAE mobile hospital opens at Somali-Kenyan border
31 Oct – Source: Gulf Today – 88 words
Charity initiative to cure million child and elderly has launched at the Somali-Kenyan borders a field hospital to provide the diagnostic, curative and surgical services to sick children and elderly people at the refugee camps.
The setting up of Emirates Mobile Hospital at the Somali-Kenyan border is an extension to the humanitarian services being provided by the UAE to the victims and refugees at the camps, said Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, chairwoman of General Women’s Union, and of Family Development Foundation, supreme chairperson for Motherhood and Childhood Council.
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/
Security beefed up at 2011 Nairobi International marathon
31 Oct – Source: Coast week, Xinhua – 427 words
With the threat of Somali Islamists Al-Shabaab striking still very much alive, organizers put up a water tight security at Sunday’s Nairobi International marathon. Over 2,000 police officers were deployed across the course and at the finish point at the Nyayo National Stadium.
All participants and fans, which went to the stadium, were frisked with police dogs sniffing through their luggage for any possible explosives.
Elly Owiti Mito, the Standard Chartered Nairobi International Marathon head of security, said they took exceptional caution to ensure the race was a success. So far no incident of insecurity was reported. “Overall we had 1,000 G4S security guards at all points, another 200 National Youth Service (NYS) were also present.
“But importantly were the plain cloth police officers, who were deployed to mingle with the people on the streets and the stadium.
“We had 2,000 of them, some running, others walking while others being just fans,” said Mito. Kenya has placed its security level at optimum after its military moved into Somalia three weeks ago in pursuit of Al-Shabaab militants.
http://www.coastweek.com/3443_
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
US flying drones out of Ethiopia: paper
30 Oct – Source: Reuters – 233 words
The U.S. Air Force has been secretly flying drones from a civilian airport in southern Ethiopia as part of an aggressive campaign against al Qaeda affiliates in Somalia and Yemen, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.
The paper said in its online edition that Washington has invested millions of dollars to upgrade a remote airfield in Arba Minch from where it was now flying a fleet of Reaper drones that can carry Hellfire missiles and satellite-guided bombs.
It quoted the Pentagon as saying the drones had been unarmed and had been used for surveillance and collecting intelligence only but that it would not rule out using them to launch lethal strikes in the future. No one at the Pentagon was immediately available to comment.
The Ethiopian government denied the presence of any foreign military bases, the paper said, but added that U.S. military personnel and contractors had become increasingly visible in Arba Minch, a small city of 70,000 people.
Reapers, known as “hunter-killer” drones, have a range of about 1,115 miles (1,795 km) and Arba Minch is about 300 miles (480 km) south of the capital Addis Ababa.
Last month, the Washington Post reported that the United States was building a ring of secret drone bases in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. But it was not known where the Ethiopian base was or that it had become operational this year.
http://af.reuters.com/article/
Kenyan air strike in Somalia ‘kills five and wounds dozens’
31 Oct – Source: The Guardian – 269 words
an air strike in Somalia has killed five people and wounded 45, mostly women and children, in a camp for people displaced by drought and violence, according to an international aid agency. Kenya’s military spokesman confirmed on Sunday its jets struck the town of Jibil, where the internationally displaced persons camp is located, saying 10 al-Shabaab insurgents had been killed. He dismissed reports of civilian casualties as al-Shabaab propaganda.
“I can confirm five dead and 45 wounded,” said Gautam Chatterjee of M�decins Sans Fronti�res (MSF). “In our hospital in Marare, we received 31 children, nine women and five men. All of them of with shrapnel injuries.” Kenya moved its troops into Somalia in mid-October in pursuit of the Somali insurgents it blames for a series of kidnappings and assaults on its security forces in the border province of North Eastern.
The first serious clash between Kenyan troops and al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab insurgents occurred last Thursday. Kenya said it killed nine rebels and one Kenyan soldier wounded in the insurgent ambush subsequently died.
Chatterjee said three children, one man and one woman had been killed in the aerial attack, witnessed by MSF staff in a camp that is home to 1,500 families. He declined to comment on Kenyan military denials of any civilian casualties in Jibil, saying he could only give details of the patients his team had received for treatment.
He added that MSF had evacuated its staff from Jibil so a distribution of rations planned for Monday had been postponed.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Al-Shabaab message urges jihad in Canada, attacks against non-Muslims
31 Oct – Source: citytv, AP – 413 words
An al-Qaeda-linked Somali militant group calling for terrorist attacks in Canada and a host of other countries around the world has been “on the radar” of Canada’s spy agency. Al Shabaab issued the threat in an audio tape allegedly made by a Somalia-American who blew himself up during an attack on an African Union base in Somalia’s capital on Saturday, killing at least 10 people. In the tape, posted on the website Somalimemo.net, a young man identified as Abdisalan Taqabalahullaah, urged Muslims to carry out attacks against non-Muslims around the world.
“My brothers and sisters do jihad in America, do jihad in Canada, do jihad in England, anywhere in Europe, in Asia, in Africa, in China, in Australia,” the voice said. “Anywhere you find (unbelievers), fight them and are firm against them.
The Canadian government declared al-Shabaab a terrorist organization last year, following reports it was attempting to radicalize and recruit young Canadians. “For the Canadian authorities al-Shabaab has been on the radar screen,” said Michel Juneau-Katsuya, a former senior intelligence official at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
“They are very efficient at recruiting,” said Michel Juneau-Katsuya, who now heads a private corporate security company. “We know that they have been among us right here in Canada, they successfully recruited some young Canadian Somalians to go back to Somalia … to fight with them.” Michel Juneau-Katsuya said although it’s unlikely the group has the “intention or capability to mount an attack outside of Somalia” he suggested merely influencing people to act could pose dangers.
3 killed, 52 wounded in Somalia after air strike hits camp for displaced civilians
31 Oct – Source: AP/ Washington Post – 380 words
Nairobi Kenya — an air raid hit a camp for displaced civilians in southern Somalia, killing at least three people and wounding dozens of mostly women and children, an international aid agency said.
Doctors without Borders, which is also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres or MSF, said 52 people were wounded when bombs hit the camp in the town of Jilib on Sunday. About 1,500 families had fled to the area amid Somalia’s devastating famine earlier this year.
“MSF urges all parties to the conflict in Somalia to respect the rights of civilians in conflict,” the group said in a statement. Kenyan troops moved into southern Somalia in mid-October, backed by military aircraft. Kenya blamed Islamist militants for carrying out a string of kidnappings on Kenyan soil, and Kenyan military chiefs say they are engaging with the militants by land, sea and air.
A Kenyan military spokesman did not answer a call seeking comment concerning the air assault at the camp. “The planes targeted a bus stop. They also hit near a refugee camp and finally hit an al-Shabaab base,” said town elder Ahmed Sheik Don. Meanwhile, the Danish Refugee Council said it had made its first contact with an American aid worker and her Danish colleague who were kidnapped last week in Somalia.
“It has been some very long days as we have been waiting for signs of life. It is truly a relief that we now have received the message that they are as well as possible their circumstances taken into consideration,” said Ann Mary Olsen, the head of the Danish Refugee Council’s International Department.
Olsen said the aid agency, which falls under the Danish Refugee Council, is appealing to traditional leaders and clan elders to help release the hostages.
Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991. African Union troops have been engaged in fierce fighting in the country’s the capital to push Islamist militants out of their last base in the city. On Saturday, the Islamists launched an attack with two suicide bombers, killing at least 10 people. The militants said one of the suicide bombers was a Somali-American.
CULTURE / OPINION /BLOGS & EDITORIAL
Let us rethink our Somali intervention
30 Oct – Source: The Star (Kenya) – 986 words
Is Kenya at war or not? Assuming we are at war, is this war constitutional? What are the legal merits of this war in terms of methodology and substance, structural and economical factors relating to strategy and the challenges posed to the sustained success of the Kenyan action in Somalia? The UN Charter in Article 51 guarantees the inherent right of member states to self defense after being attacked. This must be read in tandem with Articles 1 and 132, 4(e) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and the Armed Forces Act, Cap 199 of the laws of Kenya for domestication purposes.
Article 1 of the constitution of Kenya decrees that the people of Kenya are the repository of all sovereign power of the Republic which power is delegated to state organs and office (such as those of Defense and the President) but which power must be exercised in accordance with the constitution.
Article 132, 4 (e) requires that the President must get an approval from Parliament before declaring war and commencing the aggression. The disregard of this constitutional check by the executive was a vexatious disregard of the rule of law making the war in Somalia unconstitutional. It is wise that the president’s advisors asked him not to take lead in declaring the war or publicly commanding the forces as the Commander in Chief for he would have faced the wrath of the constitutional court.
What is suspect and legally unpalatable was to have ministers such as the person in charge of internal security (who lacks jurisdiction in international warfare) declaring war. Such usurpation of power stinks of political expediency that lacks a place in post constitutional Kenya.
What is the real motive of this war and whose interests does it seek to serve? It is public knowledge that our borders are porous and have often been breached by foreign insurgents who have killed innocent Kenyans in their hundreds but also targeted genocides—the constant killings of the Turkanas and neighboring communities by the Ethiopian OLF is a case in point. Despite such attacks, the government has not been moved much. Why?
The victims have always been those from small border tribes in economically stifled parts of the country with little voting power less political significance and economically dim. Beyond the guise of national security and border integrity, the only reason we are at war is purely economic.
This is why, unlike the OLF which simply plunders Kenya to sustain its war for self determination against Ethiopia, Al Shabaab, wages jihad against “enemies of Islam”, who politically are Western powers. These western powers supply humanitarian aid, tourists, markets and other economic utilities for Kenya.
We are revenging the recent kidnappings of foreign nationals in Kenyan soil- because it threatens our tourism industry (which our economy hugely relies on) and humanitarian aid both of which employ a huge number of Kenyans and remit billions into our economy from domestic and foreign workers.
In essence, the executive is telling us that the lives of ordinary Kenyans are less significant and make less economic sense than those of three foreigners. A sore insult! By no means is this meant to insinuate that the loss of one life is not serious enough as to warrant an all out effort to protect human life!
Many have no doubt in the expertise and strength of our army (especially as we spend twice the budget of agriculture and internal security in the defense forces!). We want to rightly but cautiously assume victory in the spirit of patriotism and in light of recent advancements by the Kenyan army.
However caution must be had on the security history and geo politics of Somalia and how we intend to financially sustain our operation in Somalia, how long it will take; its cost and the rationale of our interest in Somalia at the face of insecurity within Kenyan cities and other growing socio-economic issues that now threaten our internal security.
While I am not insinuating that we might suffer a humiliating defeat like the Americans did in the 90’s we must be alive to the fact that our army suffers the disadvantage of unfamiliar terrain and belligerents who historically never fear death.
How does the government intend to fund this war when it is already cutting down spending on infrastructure and other vital expenditures of key ministries? Does the government have the capacity to guarantee security for all Kenyans and not just those who live in tourist hotels and resorts, game parks and state funded residences where the government has enhanced security in the light of the war?
How much will the operation cost and how long will it go on? The fact that the army has changed tactic from pushing the Al Shabaab further north into Somalia to wiping it out and capturing Kismayu, indicates a protraction of hostilities in terms of time and costs.
Assuming we succeed, what measures have we put in place to sustain such peace and strengthen the Somali government forces to ensure there is no re-surgence of Al Shabaab once we leave? Or are we looking at continued occupation like the US in Iraq and Afghanistan at the Kenyan tax payers’ expense?
Have we anticipated the resultant influx of refugees into the already over stretched refugee camps such as Dadaab? And why can we not send our troops to join the AU peace keeping mission there instead? Isn’t it more strategic to advance a united front with allied troops?
Apart from being unconstitutional, the war is also untimely as it happens at a time when the country is facing its worst economic hardship in history and comes barely a year before a general election. The issues of socio-economic justice stipulated in Agenda Four which precipitated the 2007 post election violence have not yet been addressed. Yet they present a bigger challenge to national security!
http://www.the-star.co.ke/
Is Kenya fighting an enemy already defeated by history?
30 Oct – Source: the Eastern African – 503 words
It will soon be a month since the Kenya army pushed into south Somalia, heading for Kismayu Port to oust the extremist Al Shabaab militants.
The Shabaab had made life hell on Kenya’s northern Coast, and pushed its luck too far recently with kidnappings, including that of two aid workers in the Dadaab refugee camp. As happens with these military campaigns, before the body bags begin arriving from the frontline, there has been widespread national support for the military action and nationalist chest-thumping in Kenya.
Despite this, there are voices that think Al Shabaab could have been defeated without firing a single shot. All it requires, according to one commentator, is for all the countries in East Africa to recognize the Palestinian state and allow it to open missions in regional capitals. And, for good measure, close the Israeli embassies in our neck of the woods.
In other words, the ultimate weapon against Al Shabaab is not in Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Kampala, or Bujumbura but Tel Aviv. And forget Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni or Kenya’s Mwai Kibaki. The man we should be calling is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
If he could offer the Palestinians a sweet land-for-peace deal, he would deal militant Islam a blow by removing the deep grievances that arise from the mistreatment of the Palestinians, and thus turn off the oxygen that keeps Al Qaeda and Al Shabaab alive.
There are also a good number of East Africanists who argue that time is against the militants, so we should wait them out.
Onyonka: attacking Al-Shabaab men was inevitable
30 Oct – Source: the Eastern African – 403 words
Or over two decades, the international community has chosen piecemeal tactics to deal with Somalia. Kenya has tacitly played along, diligently attending the almost monthly international meetings on Somalia and numerous peace negotiations.
One almost loses track of the various agreements signed by Somalis to end violence, all named after Africa’s cities where they have taken place- Sodere Agreement, Cairo Agreement , Addis Ababa Agreement , Arta Agreement, Nairobi Conference, Djibouti Agreement, Kampala Accord- just to name a few, yet peace and stability have proven elusive for the last two decades.
In a marked departure from its history, instead of hosting another Somalia Conference, Kenya was this month forced to make the difficult decision of deploying its men and women to Somalia to defend its national security in hot pursuit.
This historical decision will remain a benchmark for the nation of Kenya.
Operation Linda Nchi (Operation protect the Nation) has so far received national applause. Kenyans are simply fed up by what they see as perceptions from the Al-Shabaab of Kenya’s military in capacity to respond even to direct attacks in its hinterland.
With an economy that heavily depends on tourism, Al-Shabaab made the wrong decision in targeting tourists in Lamu; western humanitarian workers in Dadaab Camp, Kenyan military personnel have frequently been killed or harmed in ambushes executed by Al-Shabaab.
I believe that the international community has given a covert nod to Kenya’s efforts. The IGAD Council of Ministers held an extraordinary meeting on 21 October and adopted a communiqu� expressing support for the Kenyan operation. Many of Kenya’s partners have expressed their support in different ways including through technical support.
Kenya has been one of the strongest supporters of President Ahmed. Early this year, the Speaker of the Federal Parliament, launched a vicious attack against the President pushing for elections to be held by last August.
That would have seen the president’s likely ouster. It was Kenya that led the charge in convincing the international community, the UN Security Council, and Somalis to extend his mandate for one more year.
The Kenyan government felt that there was a need to consolidate the gains made by AMISOM after making early inroads in Mogadishu. It was too early to hold elections with no electoral or legal framework to guide such an exercise.
This support, was in spite of reports from reliable sources that President Ahmed was being propped up by the radical Al-Sheikh group.