September 11, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
Several Dead As Al-Shabaab Storms Border Town
11 September – Source: Garowe Online – 211 Words
Heavy fighting erupted on Monday in the Somali border town of Beled Hawo near Kenya after Al-Shabaab detonated a suicide car bomb and then stormed the military base there, the spokesman of the al-Qaeda-linked group told Reuters news agency. Al-Shabaab, which wants to impose its strict interpretation of Islam in Somalia, has carried out frequent past attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere in its bid to topple the Western-backed government and drive out African Union troops. “First, a mujahid with a car bomb rammed into the military base and then we stormed it,” the spokesman, Abdiasis Abu Musab, said.
The group also said 24 Somali soldiers were killed in the raid, but a Somali military official put the figure at about 10 dead soldiers.”We were awoken by a suicide car bomb this morning and then fierce battle followed,” Major Mohamed Abdullahi told Reuters news agency from the town.We lost at least 10 soldiers. We chased al-Shabab out of the town. We killed seven militants,” Abdullahi said. The death toll on both sides could still rise, however, he added. Residents said the fighting was continuing.”First we heard a huge blast at the military base and then heavy exchange of gunfire followed,” Suleiman Nur, a shopkeeper in the town, told Reuters.
Key Headlines
- Several Dead As Al-Shabaab Storms Border Town (Garowe Online)
- Senate Postpone Qalbi Dhagah Case Pending Lower House Debate (Goobjoog News)
- Somali Army Troops Complete Nine-month Infantry Course (Somali National News Agency)
- Mandera On High Alert After Al-Shabaab Attack Just Four Kilometres Away In Beled Hawo Somalia (The Standard)
- Somalia Keen To Cement Ties With Pakistan In All Fields Says Ambassador (The News International)
- Rein In Rogue States (US News)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Senate Postpone Qalbi Dhagah Case Pending Lower House Debate
11 September – Source: Goobjoog News – 277 Words
The Senate has voted to hold back debate on the extradition of ONLF senior leader Qalbi Dhagah pending debate by the Lower House barely a day after Senate Speaker Abdi Hashi promised dispose off the matter Monday. In a seating on Monday morning which was expected to debate the extradition of the ONLF official, the Senators voted 21-11 in favour of staying the debate until the Lower House completes debate on it while four Senators abstained from the vote. A total of 36 Senators out of 54 attended today’s session. Senators who spoke to reporters on Sunday were upbeat on the issue noting they would ensure the members turn up for today’s session. Senate Speaker Abdi Hashi speaking to reporters said that the Senate will debate and determine the legality of the extradition by today.
The Lower House failed to kick start the debate of this issue on Saturday after MPs among them Ministers stayed away from the proceedings because of the divisions among the lawmakers following the government’s strong push for approval of its decision last week. The government denounced Qalbi Dhagah as a terrorist following public uproar in the wake of his extradition to Ethiopia. ONLF spokesman Abdikadir Hassan Hirmoge expressed hope Monday Senate would take up the challenge noting the group was dismayed by failure of the Lower House to debate on this matter.
Somali Army Troops Complete Nine-month Infantry Course
11 September – Source: Somali National News Agency – 382 Words
A total of 105 Somali National Army (SNA) troops today concluded a nine-month long infantry course on combat skills and landmine clearance. The training was as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the capacity of Somali security forces to take over the security of their country. The light infantry company course which began in January 2017, was conducted at the General Dhegabadan Training Centre in Mogadishu, by trainers from the European Union Training Mission (EUTM) in Somalia. “During this course, we experienced some difficulties; but by working together we have been able to successfully complete this course thanks to your commitment, the motivation of the soldiers and the overall outstanding performance of EUTM trainers,” Brigadier General Pietro Addis, the Commander of the EUTM in Somalia said, during the official closing of the course. “EUTM will continue day after day to prepare new troops to secure Somalia, trained, motivated, capable and an accountable army to ensure the country’s security responsibility,” Brig. Gen. Addis added.
The ceremony was attended by senior military officers and commanders from the Somali National Army (SNA), the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the European Union Training Mission (EUTM) in Somalia. Commander of the EUTM in Somalia lauded the synergies created by the cooperation of various players that are working toward the creation of the Somali National Army. He hailed international partners that include the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), United Nations and Bancroft Global Development, who worked alongside EUTM to conduct the training of the troops.
General Ahmed Mohamed Jimale, Somalia’s Chief of Defence Forces saluted the various partners for the support to train the local army. “My word of advice to the SNA soldiers that have completed training and graduated today. I encourage you to please apply the skills you have acquired in order to help SNA and the Federal Government to stabilise our country,” Gen. Jimale remarked. Colonel Ali Nouhou, the AMISOM Chief Training Officer spoke on behalf of the AMISOM Force Commander Lt. Gen. Osman Noor Soubagleh. “I take this opportunity to applaud the AMISOM mentoring team from Sector One for a good job. The major part of this training was conducted by the European Training team. I am humbled by the support extended by EUTM towards achieving this milestone,” Colonel Nouhou said.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Mandera On High Alert After Al-Shabaab Attack Just Four Kilometres Away In Beled Hawo, Somalia
11 September – Source: The Standard, Kenya – 198 Words
Security agents were Monday put on standby to act in Mandera town over fears of spillover from Al-Shabaab attack on a Somali military base in neighbouring Beled Hawo town in Somalia. Seven Somali Army officers and 12 civilians injured in battle with Al-Shabaab militants were treated in Mandera hospitals. Beled Hawo is just about four kilometres away from Mandera Town and there are fears of spill over of the fighting between the Somali army and the terrorists who want to take over. Locals in Mandera said they could hear explosions and gunshots from the Somalia side with many troops being put on standby to act.
North Eastern regional coordinator Mohamud Saleh said they feared there will be a spillover but by 7.30amnothing had happened in Kenyan side. The fighting started at about 5am. “They have not come to Kenya but we fear they may spill over there. We have a standby force to counter the fighting,” he said. Other witnesses in Beled Hawo said a Somali military base had been overrun and the attackers used explosives in their mission. Somalia has not had a stable government for more than a decade and many parts are controlled by the terrorists.
Somalia Keen To Cement Ties With Pakistan In All Fields, Says Ambassador
11 September – Source: The News International – 767 Words
Ambassador of Somalia Khadija Mohamed Almakhzoumi has said her country wanted to further strengthen relations with Pakistan in all fields.She said, relations between Somalia and Pakistan are good, because we uphold the principle of mutual respect and trust and we have a reciprocal consideration. The ambassador of Somalia who has recently arrived in Pakistan expressed these views in an interview with this agency. She said that the two countries have been developing a fruitful and close cooperation since 1st of July 1960. In 1969, Pakistan and Somalia were among the founding members of the OIC.
Somalia’s relations with Pakistan remained strong in the following years and through the ensuing civil war period, when the Pakistani military contributed to a UN peacekeeping operation in southern Somalia.In 2010, Pakistan tabled a proposal for United Nations Security Council seats for OIC and Arab League states, the latter of which Somalia is also a member. The Federal Government of Somalia was later established on August 20, 2012, representing the first permanent central government in the country since the start of the conflict. She said, the development was welcomed by the Pakistani authorities, who reaffirmed Pakistan’s continued support for Somalia’s government, its territorial integrity and sovereignty, as outlined in the Islamabad Declaration adopted by the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers (ICFM).
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“The danger of Somali uranium falling into the hands of Iran or North Korea changes the calculation. The U.S. must step up its activities – diplomatic, economic and military – in order to curtail the shipments the diplomatic message indicates are ongoing,”
Rein In Rogue States
08 September – Source: US News – 725 Words
The unfolding crisis over North Korean nuclear weapons and missiles is a reminder that the world is an unstable place. Rogue states led by sociopaths and religious zealots continually threaten the peace and global stability, while free nations, led by the United States, continue to dither. For some reason, we have trouble putting it all together. It’s nearly impossible to believe Pyongyang developed its nuclear capabilities and missile program all by itself. It had to have help, mostly likely from other regimes whose stated objective is to destroy the United States. Yet policymakers and military planners within the Pentagon continue to employ the same kinds of conventional responses while indicating they are unwilling to back up any tough talk they can muster with force if necessary. Given the 17-year presence in Afghanistan, as well as the continuing commitment to Iraq, that’s understandable – but also potentially fatal. New dangers arise every day that America is ill-equipped to face, while few have the courage to propose new ways to fight the next war.
The biggest threat of all comes from the so-called radical Islamic terror groups that use – abuse, really – the religious beliefs of the poor and disenfranchised throughout North Africa and the Gulf region to recruit allies to their cause. They’re engaged in a holy war that justifies any tactic in the pursuit of victory. The use of nuclear weapons, as far as they are concerned, is not off the table. America’s efforts to prevent this, as symbolized by the deal the Obama administration and assorted European powers made with Iran, have been at best half-hearted in attempts to prevent it. How we respond to this threat may determine our future as well as the world’s. Meanwhile, the problem gets worse. At the beginning of August, Yusuf-Garaad Omar, the Somali minister of foreign affairs, wrote U.S. Ambassador Stephen Schwartz of the dangers posed by the newly-reconstituted al-Shabaab terror group which, Omar wrote, has now “captured critical surface exposed uranium deposits in the Galmudug region and are strip mining triuranium octoxide for transport to Iran.” In an accompanying intelligence brief, the Somalis indicated these materials could be extracted “fairly quickly, without the use of advanced mining equipment” and, because of its inherent stability, can easily be shipped “to Iran, and then on to Iran’s suspected customers, notably North Korea.” “The potential for nuclear proliferation is real, immediate, and pressing,” the analysis said, putting the need to stop it squarely within the zone defining the boundaries of the United States’ national security interests.
TOP TWEETS
.@Mogadishuupdate: List of media personalities marked for assassination by Shabab. Document retrieved from house of#Alshabab leader, @ShababWatch
@GuledWiliq: Replying to @GuledWiliq @NacimaAbwaan and 13 others #Mogadishu ground water contamination clean up will be extremely costly, need #Enviromrntal regulation & enforcement ASAP.
. @Goobjoognews: ONLF SPOKESMAN calls on Senate to be firm on Qalbi Dhagah case.
@ADirshe: #Somalia-Consultation on the NGO Law with NGO Consortium with participation by Deputy SRSG.@MoPIED_Somalia @PeterDeClercq1 @NGOConsortium
@SahraCabdi: #BREAKINGNEWS: Alshabab militiamen moved 2 the Kenyan town #Mandhera, where Kenyan troops are combating them, Alshabab fully controls BXawo.
@amisomsomalia: #AMISOM honours contingent of #Nigeria-n police officers for its role in securing peace in #Somalia.http://bit.ly/2xkJIuG
@mullaaxo:Who said #Mogadishu is not safe?! This is Koonis Stadium and thousands of youth gathered to watch a match tonight. #Somalia#TheAfricaWeWant
@UN_Women: #Somalia: Aisha received menacing calls because she was a Muslim girl playing basketball. Her response:http://ow.ly/kpFC30eXQbN v@NewYorker
@Roses_4_Thorns: #Somalia military official say at least 10 soldiers killed in#AlShabaab‘s dawn attack on the army base in Balad-Hawo this morning – Reuter…
@TC_Mogadishu: Glad to work with @ThabitMhd and to see tangible development of life and infrastructure in Mogadishu
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Jubbaland President, Ahmed Mohamed Islam meets the British Ambassaor to Somalia, David Concar.
Source: Dhacdo.com