June 20, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
Opposition MP’s Met President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo
20 June – Source : Midnimo Information Center – 143 Word
At least 15 MPs who are against the government of Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Kheyre met President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo in order to settle their differences with the Prime Minister. The rebel MPs who are said to be numbering about 40 held a consultative meeting at the SYL Hotel on Saturday night. They agreed to select 15 MPs who met President for an Iftar dinner last night.
A Villa Somalia source says that majority of the MPs opposed to the government are those who previously supported Farmaajo’s candidature who did not make it to the Cabinet. He said among them are very influential MPs whose support is very critical to the government. Reliable sources have also told Dhacdo.com that the demand of the MPs is to be included in the Cabinet in the forthcoming Cabinet reshuffle.
Key Headlines
- Opposition MP’s Met President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo (Midnimo Information Center)
- City Streets Blocked For Security Alteration Says Federal Minister (Goobjoog New)
- Villa Somalia Donates $20000 To A Children’s Orphanage In Afgooye (Jowhar.com)
- Ethiopia Somalia To Get £90m UK Humanitarian Aid (Africa News)
- Somali Women Call For The Swift Enactment Of Sexual Offences Bill(UNSOM)
- Africa’s Terror Challenge (The Pioneer)
NATIONAL MEDIA
City Streets Blocked For Security Alteration Says Federal Minister
20 June – Source : Goobjoog News – 237 Words
The Federal Government of Somalia explained in details as to why unpaved streets are blocked around Mogadishu city for the past few days.This move indicates major changes in security steps to ensure tranquility according to the Federal Minister for Security Mohamed Abukar Islow who also advised the city dwellers to be patient for the short period of transforming the general security of the country.
It is a safety strategy by the Ministry of Security to prevent and capture the trouble makers in Mogadishu who are avoiding the main streets and opted for the unpaved backstreets as a gateway.“For the past couple of months we have been engaged in wide operations in the country to stabilize the security of the city and we succeeded to thwart many attempts by the enemy” said Minister Islow.“In order to strengthen the security, the soldiers will utilize whatever is possible. Some of the streets have been blocked that were accessible before. The reason is to make the Somali people safe. Every day we lose precious lives due to explosions by the militants. In order to stop this, we have to fortify the security of the city and request people to foster working relationship with the security officers in the operations” added Minister Islow.Big efforts are in progress to stabilize the safety of the city by the Federal government of Somalia especially during the last 10 days of Ramadan.
Villa Somalia Donates $20,000 To A Children’s Orphanage In Afgooye
20 June – Source : Jowhar.com – 111 Words
President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo’s administration has donated $20,000 to a children’s orphanage in Afgooye for their Eid shopping. The orphanage which is managed by the prisons forces will see each child receive $110 dollars.The money was presented to the Head of Prisons forces, Husein Hassan Osman by the Director of Communications at Villa Somalia, Abdinoor Mohamed Ahmed.The commander of the Prisons thanked the government for the kind gesture saying the donation will be very helpful for the kids in the orphanage. He said the President himself was once in an orphanage and he understand the needs of the children in such place and that he cares for them.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Ethiopia, Somalia To Get £90m UK Humanitarian Aid
20 June – Source:Africa News-423 Words
The United Kingdom (UK) has earmarked £90 million in humanitarian aid to Somalia and Ethiopia. The funds are meant to ease the pinch of a biting drought that has hit the Horn of Africa region.Somalia is to get two-thirds of the amount (£60 million) whiles Ethiopia gets the remaining £30 million. The aid package was announced by the UK’s Development Secretary, Priti Patel who was in Somalia on June 19 after visiting Ethiopia.
The donor package is expected to help more than 2 million people in desperate need of clean water, food, and basic medical supplies in the two countries. Nearly 16 million people in the Horn of Africa are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance as drought continues to ravage the region.“The situation is terrible. We are in dire straits here in this location in Ethiopia. Which is why I have come here to really see the extent of the drought and the famine that Ethiopia has faced and of course Britain and the United Kingdom we stand tall with the support we’ve been giving to Ethiopia and the work we’ve been doing with the Ethiopian government as well in terms of famine relief,” Patel is quoted to have said during her Ethiopia visit.
The conference convened Heads of State and Government from across East Africa and other key partners, along with senior figures from international organisations to discuss mainly security and humanitarian assistance for the country. It was the third edition of the summit after two editions were held in 2012 and 2013.Ethiopia also recently raised red flags over the depletion of its emergency food aid stocks which were due to run out by June 2017. The effect according to the government was that some 1.7 million people risked sliding into starvation if international donors did not come to their aid.The UK’s donation will thus be seen as a timely intervention for Ethiopia – which enjoys relative stability and spiking economic gains as compared to Somalia.
Somali Women Call For The Swift Enactment Of Sexual Offences Bill
19 June- Source: UNSOM -597 Words
Somalis today marked the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict with a call for the swift enactment of the Sexual Offences Bill that was recently tabled in the federal parliament.The appeal was made at an event organized in Mogadishu to raise awareness about sexual violence and discuss ways of reducing its incidence, which is on the rise in some parts of Somalia.Top government officials from various ministries, members of parliament, civil society organizations, religious leaders, students and internally displaced persons attended the function that was jointly organized by United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) and Haweenka Horseedka Nabadda Iyo Nolosha (HINNA), a local non-governmental organization which supports victims of sexual and gender-based violence.
Speaking at the event, Fartun Hassan Ali, a Case Manager at the Somali Women’s Development Centre, noted that the current laws on gender violence are archaic and urged members of parliament to quickly approve the Sexual Offences Bill to punish perpetrators of the crime, which has left many victims traumatized and stigmatized.“There is a draft Sexual Offences Bill now before parliament which needs to be passed into law to deal with sexual violence in the country. If passed into law, it will help curb sexual violence and there will be a reduction in the crime. Unless we get that law, there will be no change,” Ms. Ali observed on Monday at the event that sought to raise awareness about the need to urgently tackle sexual violence.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Somalia has, in fact, seen a long history of bloodshed since it faced civil war. With the establishment of a federal Government, things worsened. The country saw a rise in extremist terror groups like the Islamic Courts Union, which have come to challenge Government supremacy and have also taken control of large swathes of territory,”
Africa’s Terror Challenge
20 June – Source: The Pioneer – 526 Words
Somalia must rise and become militarily strong to fight rising threats from Al Shabaab.The recent spate of terrorist attacks that has engulfed parts of Somalia is not an isolated event. The east African country has been at war since decades. But given the frequency of such terror strikes, it seems there can be no limit to the extent of brutality for Al Shabaab, the Somali jihadi group, which wants to take control of the country and impose its form of extremism on the Somalis.
With about 4,200 killings to its ‘credit’, the Al Shabaab became the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa last year. The recent attacks — one at a popular Mogadishu restaurant and the other a suicide bomber hit, where militants blew off a car, which claimed the lives of more than 30 people — are one of the deadliest. While the motif of the attack is difficult to comprehend, what is evident is that they have come close on the heels of a new military offensive against the extremist group by the newly elected Government and also the recent decision of the Trump Administration to launch a war to root out the Al Qaeda affiliate at the roots. It was only early this week that the US military launched an air strike in the southern part of the country and killed eight Islamic extremists at a rebel command and logistics camp.
What is questionable though is the group’s modus operandi — to selectively target non-Muslim people in high-profile places like hotels, malls, military checkpoints and also presidential palaces. The recent attacks that took place at a eating joint and the June 8 strike at a military base, are reminiscent of the Nairobi mall attack in 2013, which followed a similar pattern of events. Though the Government was able to bring the city back to normalcy and restore national unity then, the repercussions have come to jolt the city time and again. Long-term measures are needed to effectively contain the menace of terrorism.
TOP TWEETS
@UNSomalia: Somali women call for the swift enactment of Sexual Offences Bill. http://bit.ly/2skRG3i
@Ahmedsiyat: Under the new Administration #Somalia is rising on almost all fronts; Diplomacy, Security, Judiciary public engagement MashAllah @dahirisska
@golfyare: In a reprisal military operation, #Puntland forces shells #Galgala heights where the #AlShabaab hideout.#Somalia
@adancabdulle @HarunMaruf
@AbdirahmanCumar: Breaking: Loud explosion reported to be from an explosion near Wadajir district HQ in #Mogadishu #Somalia, More info to follow soon
@Vatescorp:#Somalia: UN decries increasing sexual violence, particularly in some settlements for IDPs http://ow.ly/rOq030cJp7R
@omabha:Somalia: Military court sentences soldier to death for killing Minister – Garowe Online http://dlvr.it/PNZHtS #Somalia
@HarunMaruf:President Farmajo brings smile to orphans by sending $20,000 Eid gift to Afgoye orphanage centre. #Somalia
@ICRC_Africa :What does $100 mean? For Isaaq, it’s a chance for feed his family today, and for years to come. #Somalia http://ow.ly/Ke2S30cJl85
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Custodial Corps Commander, Hussien Hassan Osman receives cash donation from Villa Somalia Communications Director, Abdinoor Mohamed Ahmed. Photo: Jowhar.com