15 Nov 2011 – Daily Monitoring Report
Key Headlines:
- TFG, al Shabaab claim victory in southern Somalia fighting (Source: Radio Mogadishu Shabelle and Kulmiye)
- Fresh fighting reported in Mogadishu (Source: Mareeg Online Shabelle Hiiraan Online and Bar-kulan)
- Lower Shabelle residents warned to vacate al Shabaab strongholds (Source: Radio Mogadishu SONNA)
- Battle shells in Mogadishu kill 5 injures 10 others (Source: Radio Shabelle)
- Kenya gets backing against al Shabaab (Source: the Standard)
- Israel pledges support for Kenya’s operation against terror group al Shabaab (Source: Daily nation SONNA)
- Corrected – Britain to host conference on Somalia next year (Source: Reuters)
- Kenya’s political gamble in Somali border regions (Source: AP)
- -Senior al Shabaab leaders rumored dead in 13 Nov air strike (Source: Somalia Report)
SOMALI MEDIA
TFG, al Shabaab claim victory in southern Somalia fighting
15 Nov – Source: Radio Mogadishu, Shabelle and Kulmiye – 213 words
The Transitional Federal Government of Somalia and al Shabaab have both claimed victory over fighting in Hawin town in Lower Jubba region, southern Somalia on Tuesday.
Mohammed Dahir, a spokesman for the TFG forces said in an interview with the media that TFG forces have been battling al Shabaab just outside of Hawin. He added that al Shabaab have run away with three bodies of their soldiers at the battle zone. Mr. Dahir stated 3 government forces were injured, one of them critically and died later for his wounds.
For his part, Sheik Abdi-aziz Abu Mus’ab, the spokesman for al Shabaab told local media that they ambushed a convoy of TFG forces from Dhoblay town near Hawin. He alleged that they had killed a number of Somali government soldiers and burnt down a number of military vehicles during the battle.
Lower Shabelle residents warned to vacate al Shabaab strongholds
15 Nov – Source: Radio Mogadishu, SONNA – 138 words
Residents who live near al Shabaab strongholds in the Lower Shebelle region have been requested to immediately vacate f their homes.
Speaking to journalist at a press conference held recently, the Regional Head of Lower Shabelle, Abdikadir Mohamed Nur said that the residents in these areas are at risk because the Somali national army is advancing deeper into the rebel groups stronghold.
The Regional Head of Lower Shabelle added that there were possibilities of airstrike from other countries that are fighting al Shabaab militants. He also warned the al Shabaab not to use civilians as human shield while escaping from the air strikes.
Britain to host Somalia conference next year
15 Nov – Source: Radio Bar-kulan, Radio Mogadishu, and Reuters – 207 words
Britain on Monday announced that it will host an international conference next year on tackling instability in Somalia and protecting ships from pirates in the Gulf of Aden. Prime Minister David Cameron said Somalia is a “failed state that directly threatens British interests,” citing attacks on tourists and aid workers, and radicalisation of young Britons by militant Islamist groups with roots in the region.
In a speech at a banquet to honour the new Mayor of the City of London Cameron said Somali pirates aren’t invincible and it is time Britain need to properly stood up to them. But the exact date of the conference has not been made clear.
He said there is pressing need to pull together the international effort and that is why Britain will host a major conference in London next year.
The Somali conference was to “focus attention on protecting merchant ships passing through the Gulf of Aden, tackling pirates, pressurising the extremists, supporting countries in the region and addressing the causes of conflict and instability in Somalia.
Cameron announced last month that British merchant ships sailing off the coast of Somalia would be able to carry armed guards to ward off pirate attacks, bringing it into line with many other countries.
Fresh fighting reported in Mogadishu
15 Nov – Source: Mareeg Online, Shabelle, Hiiraan Online and Bar-kulan – 93 words
Heavy fighting between al Shabaab and TFG forces backed by AMISOM has been reported in Daynile district in the northwest of Mogadishu. The number of casualties in the ongoing battle remains unknown.
http://www.mareeg.com/fidsan.
Puntland forces conduct security operations in Bosaso
14 Nov – Source: Shabelle – 114 words
Police forces of Somalia’s regional administration of Puntland conducted search operations in parts of Bosaso, officials said on Monday. Eyewitness said 15 people were arrested including teenagers. Police forces have reportedly been searching cars on the streets and public transport buses are not allowed to park alongside many streets. Security officials told the media that the operations were aimed at maintaining the security in the city.
http://www.shabelle.net/
Battle, shells in Mogadishu kill 5, injures 10 others
15 Nov – Source: Radio Shabelle – 126 words
At least 5 people were killed and 10 others wounded in heavy shelling and fighting between TFG forces backed by AMISOM and al Shabaab in Mogadishu, residents said. Three of dead were killed in Suka holaha village after a shell landed on their house during the battle last night according to residents.
The District commissioner of Hiliwa district stated that Shabaab had failed in their attempt to fight back AU and TFG forces there saying they left 3 dead fighters in the area.
Senior al Shabaab leaders rumoured dead in 13 Nov air strike
14 Nov – Source: Somalia Report – 344 words
Unconfirmed reports say that senior al Shabaab members, Shaykh Hasan Dahir Aweys, the group’s spokesman Sheikh Mohamud Rage (Ali Dheere) and the overall leader Ahmad Godane, may have been killed the on one of the biggest al Shabaab training camps in Afgoye District in Lower Shabelle region.
Witnesses in Hawo-Tako village which is not far away from the targeted camp told Somalia Report they could see smoke and a blaze at about 9:30 p.m. local time. The position, called Lanta-Buro, is known as an al Shabaab training camp and is also close to a checkpoint the group uses to tax vehicles travelling in the city and neighbouring areas like the capital city of Mogadishu.
“We first thought it was like a passing plane over the city, minutes later we have heard explosions then saw the blaze,” the witness said. (…) On Monday morning, heavily armed al Shabaab fighters who warned bus drivers not stop by the roadside denied residents in Afgoye access to the bombed area.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Kenya gets backing against al Shabaab
15 Nov – Source: The Standard – 1062 words
Kenya’s diplomatic efforts to build a coalition of countries behind its ongoing military action against al Shabaab insurgents in Somalia is bearing fruit as more countries voice their support.
Efforts to strengthen the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia have also intensified. Countries contributing troops to the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) were meeting on Monday alongside regional nations to discuss the future of the mission. African Union spokeswoman Lulit Kebede said defence ministers from Uganda and Burundi, which both has troops in Somalia, and “interested countries” Djibouti, Kenya and Ethiopia will attend the closed meeting.
“The meeting should address the matters relating to the political, security and military operations in Somalia and to Amisom … and the way forward on the situation in Somalia,” according to a statement. The ministers, meeting in the Ethiopian capital, also discuss a UN resolution on maintaining the mission until October 2012.
Amisom is made up of 9,000 troops from Uganda and Burundi. Djibouti and Sierra Leone have pledged to contribute additional soldiers, which would bring the total number of troops to 10,700.
Israel pledges support for Kenya’s operation against terror group al Shabaab
15 Nov – Source: Daily nation, SONNA – 269 words
Kenya got the backing of the Israeli Government in its war to rid its territory of fundamentalist groups. Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared they will help Kenya in its struggles to secure its borders.
The two countries will later today sign a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on homeland security.
At separate meetings in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Raila Odinga and his delegation which includes Internal Security minister George Saitoti, the two Israeli leaders emphasized that Kenya is an important ally whose stability was critical for the region.
Prime Minister Netanyahu accepted Mr Odinga’s invitation to visit Nairobi early next year as a statement of Israel’s readiness to stand with Kenya. Mr. Netanyahu promised to help build “a coalition against fundamentalism” that brings together like-minded regional states.
He expressed concern that threats from militants threaten Kenya’s tourism, adding that her frustration with fundamentalists is similar to Israel’s and the two countries must therefore stand together.
Earlier on Sunday, President Peres pledged to support Kenya to strengthen security within its borders. On the ties between Kenya and Israel, Mr Odinga singled out the Israeli rescue mission that rushed into Nairobi soon after the 1998 terrorist attack on the US embassy.
President Peres said Kenya has assisted Israel in a number of its internal security challenges. “Kenya has stood on the side of Israel in its hour of need.
President Kibaki calls for continuing vigilance over terror threats
14 Nov – Source: Coast week, Xinhua – 267 words
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki on Monday urged Kenyans to remain vigilant at this time when the country has waged an operation inside Somalia to deal with militant elements.
Kibaki whose country launched cross border operations in Somalia to pursue Al-Shabaab military said the citizens must be on the lookout for persons who may seek to destabilize the nation.
“As Kenyans we must all play our rightful role in maintaining peace,” Kibaki said, “We must therefore be on the lookout for persons who may seek to destabilize our nation”. He was speaking at Ziwa in Uasin Gishu county in southwest Kenya where he officially launched the 15 million U.S. dollars rehabilitation project of the Eldoret-Ziwa-Kachibora and Kachibora- Moi’s bridge roads.
Stressing that peace and stability are the cornerstones of any development, President Kibaki appealed to all Kenyans to work closely with security forces and report any persons who are a threat to national security. The President thanked all Kenyans for their unwavering support for the ongoing military action inside Somalia.
He assured Kenyans that Kenyan security forces will complete the work and operation that they have begun inside Somalia and within the Kenyan borders.
http://www.coastweek.com/3445_
Man nabbed for selling donkeys to Shabaab
14 Nov – Source: The Star – 232 words
Police in Hullugho yesterday arrested a man reported to have sold 10 donkeys to the al Shabaab terrorists in Somalia for transporting weapons. The 30-year-old man suspected to have links with the terror group is from Bura-East in Fafi district in Garissa. An accomplice escaped and disappeared into a thicket in Kolbio.
Hullugho DC Benedict Nduva said the man was arrested after villagers reported he delivered 10 donkeys to another man who waited for him in Hullugho town. The donkeys were driven across the border into Somalia. The DC said the donkeys were given to the suspect by a businessman in Bangale division of Tana River district. Nduva added that the suspect was paid Sh6,000 by the Bangale businessman believed to have been supplying donkeys to the al Shabaab.
The price of donkeys has shot up in Somalia following Kenyan forces’ incursion into the war-torn country. A senior police officer said the suspect wore a bui bui to disguise himself. Donkeys are selling at Sh20,000, up from Sh6,000. Kenya military early this month warned against selling donkeys to the al Shabaab.
PC James ole Sereni has said that a major house-to-house search will be carried out to flush out terrorists in Garissa town. “We have mobilised the army to undertake an intensified raid in suspected houses and we expect this to bear fruit,” said the PC. He urged the public to cooperate.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Israel-Kenya deal to help fight Somalia’s al Shabaab
14 Nov – Source: BBC – 460 words
Israel has offered to help Kenya secure its borders as it tackles Somalia’s Islamist group, al-Shabaab, the Kenyan prime minister’s office has said.
It said Kenya got the backing of Israel to “rid its territory of fundamentalist elements” during Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s visit to the country.
Last month, Kenya sent troops to neighbouring Somalia to defeat al-Shabaab, which is linked to al-Qaeda. It blames the militants for a spate of abductions on its side of the border.
In a statement, Mr Odinga’s office quotes Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying that “Kenya’s enemies are Israel’s enemies”. “We have similar forces planning to bring us down,” he is quoted as saying. “I see it as an opportunity to strengthen ties.”
At least 15 people were killed in a suicide bombing on an Israeli-owned hotel in the Kenyan coastal resort of Mombasa in 2002.
Four years earlier, more than 200 people were killed in co-ordinated bomb blasts on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Al-Qaeda carried out the attacks, with some of its senior members operating from Somalia.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
EU actions in the Horn of Africa
14 Nov – Source: Relief Web – 100 words
Today, Commissioners Piebalgs and Georgieva, together with EU Development Ministers will meet in Brussels to discuss the situation in the Horn of Africa and exchange ideas about enhanced EU engagement on sustainable agriculture, food security and rural resilience in the region.
Commissioner Georgieva will tell EU ministers that in spite of the ongoing international aid effort the situation in the Horn of Africa is likely to remain critical for the next six months. In the long term she will stress the need for structural measures to strengthen resilience to disasters in order to avoid similar humanitarian catastrophes in the future.
http://reliefweb.int/node/
Kenya’s political gamble in Somali border regions
15 Nov – Source: AFP – 687 words
Kenya’s hopes of creating a border buffer zone in southern Somalia called Azania have been raised by its military incursion there last month, but analysts warn of high risks of such a political gamble. While the Kenyan government has said it sent its troops and tanks across the border to target Islamist Shabaab rebels, analysts say the move appears to be aimed at setting up a proxy administration and region of control.
“It is understandable why the Kenyan government would want a buffer between themselves and the chaos in Somalia in general and any spill over of al Shabaab’s militancy in particular,” said J. Peter Pham of the Atlantic Council think-tank.
Creating some stability in Somalia’s border region would also provide Kenya with a strong argument to relieve the vast Somali refugee population it hosts including Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee complex. “I think that the strategic objective for Kenya is basically to see those camps shut down and the people go back to their country,” said Rashid Abdi of the International Crisis Group. “Kenya is a signatory to the refugee convention and the humanitarian laws, so it cannot force refugees back home.”
For over two years Kenya has trained troops supposed to form the backbone of a new security administration inside Somalia, covering the southern regions of Gedo, Lower and Middle Juba, together also known as Jubaland.
The head of that administration in waiting is former Somali defence minister Mohamed Abdi Mohamed — also known as Gandhi — a French-educated academic.
“He has a very huge challenge in front of him. … Gandhi has credibility and his name has not been tarnished, but he has not done enough grass root political networking,” Abdi said. “He is very much disconnected,” he said, adding: “Now there is a security reason for that: he cannot travel as much as he wants inside Somalia.”
The declaration of Gandhi as leader and the formal establishment of Azania were announced in Kenya in April, a month after Kenyan-backed troops failed to make military headway in southern Somalia. But Ghandi, who not only comes from the Diaspora but also a minority sub-clan in the area, faces potential reluctance of neighbour Ethiopia and the Somali government to back his efforts.
“This is not someone who has blood on his hands as others have, but in Somalia, I’m not sure he carries much political weight,” said Roland Marchal of the Paris-based National Centre for Scientific Research. “The fact that he has been a member of the diaspora for many years, belongs to a minority clan and is very secular in what he says” could weaken his position in a Somali context, Marchal said.
“So Gandhi needs a helping hand from the Kenyan army,” he added. Even if he can win a partial victory over the Shabaab, Azania would face the rivalry of other powerful militias, including the Ras Kamboni fighters of Ahmed Madobe, from the main Ogaden clan branch in the region.
To complicate matters further, senior Kenyan military officials have close links with Madobe — who sees supporting minority clans, including the Tolomoge clan of Gandhi, as a potentially risky move.
Until Gandhi “actually raises a credible military force that can take control of the region’s claimed territory away from the militants, “Jubaland” remains nothing more than a fantasy played out by ineffectual Somali politicians marooned in Nairobi,” Pham said.
http://www.thenewage.co.za/
Corrected – Britain to host conference on Somalia next year
15 Nov – Source: Reuters – 323 words
Britain will host an international conference next year on tackling instability in Somalia and protecting ships from pirates in the Gulf of Aden, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday.
The prime minister described the east African nation as a “failed state that directly threatens British interests,” citing attacks on tourists and aid workers, and radicalisation of young Britons by militant Islamist groups with roots in the region.
Cameron announced last month that British merchant ships sailing off the coast of Somalia would be able to carry armed guards to ward off pirate attacks, bringing it into line with many other countries.
“Somali pirates aren’t invincible: they are violent and lawless men in small boats and it is time we properly stood up to them,” Cameron said in a speech at a banquet to honour the new Mayor of the City of London.
“But there is a real and pressing need to pull together the international effort,” Cameron said in the speech, traditionally a forum for setting out foreign policy priorities. “That is why Britain will host a major conference in London next year.”
Cameron has been strengthened by a foreign policy success after Britain and France took the lead in international military efforts to support Libyans who rose up and eventually overthrew Muammar Gaddafi, in power for four decades.
The Somali conference was to “focus attention on protecting merchant ships passing through the Gulf of Aden, tackling pirates, pressurising the extremists, supporting countries in the region and addressing the causes of conflict and instability in Somalia.” The date of the conference was not announced.
Student group runs for Somali famine
13 Nov – Source: The Lantern OSU – 2:06 min
The Somali Student Association at Ohio State held its first-ever 5K/ one mile run at the Oval on Sunday to help raise money for the victims of the famine in Somalia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS
Kenya army’s entry into Somalia is a game changer in the politics of the troubled country
15 Nov – Source: Daily Monitor – 553 words
The entry of Kenya’s army into the war against al Shabaab outside the UN Security Council and African Union mandate is a game-changer in the geo-politics of the troubled Somalia nation. Apparently, the military deployment is strategic and tactical – it has short and long-term objectives. This move has shifted international attention from AMISOM to Kenya. Apparently, Nairobi is positioning itself geo-politically.
For the first time, since Adam and Eve left Eden, Kenya has launched an offensive across its borders. This unique move took the world by surprise. The Somali Transitional Federal Government at first expressed displeasure at the ‘invasion’. It was not until it flew into Nairobi for talks – to establish Kenya’s intentions – that they granted a bigger mandate.
It is worth pondering the fact that while AMISOM deployed 9,000 (mainly infantry) soldiers, Kenya has heavily mobilised three branches of its military: the navy, air force and infantry.
Added to this, the French government vowed to offer substantial military hardware to the Kenyan army. It should be obvious that other big boys in the West will offer more support and money. Why did Kenya deploy? Besides the bomb attacks in Nairobi, recent incursions by al Shabaab in north eastern Kenya led to abduction of tourists. These attacks were threatening Kenya’s lucrative tourism industry.
Many cancellations by European and American potential tourists, following global diplomatic advisories, dictated that unless al-Shabaab was contained, the Kenyan economy could be brought to its knees.
Secondly, a huge Somali population lives in Kenya and it increased substantially during the recent drought season (the longest and worst drought in 60 years). Kenya now hosts the largest IDP camp in the world, mainly comprising Somalis. Their presence mounts a lot of pressure on the economy as well as a huge social and political bearing on Kenya.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/
Kenya has a dual mission in Somalia
14 Nov – Source: Business Daily Africa – 474 words
When a peaceful country engages in flexing muscles and war activities, the provocation is big and often a matter of honour. This is particularly the case when the country concerned has a reputation for not responding quickly to incidents of aggression. It avoids violent gestures and might be dismissed as cowardly.
This is the situation that Kenya found itself in. By moving troops into Southern Somalia, not as a force of occupation, but a force of liberation, it is discarding the negative image of military inability to act. It was forced to do so as a matter of national honour.
Although Kenya is one of the sub-regional powers in Africa, it has not behaved like one when compared to other African regional powers. Apartheid South Africa, for instance, used to flex its muscles in the frontline states while post-apartheid Pretoria did it in Lesotho
Nigeria repeatedly flexed its muscles in West Africa at times to restore “democracy” although people doing it, like Sani Abacha, were not democrats. But since Kenya hesitated to flex its muscles to protect its perceived interests in the region, calls for it to lead from the front and to show that it is not a country to be trifled with have been on the rise. There comes a time, however, when the country must defend its honour.
When an aggressor puts fingers in another person’s nose by getting into the home and attacking the visitors, the host has to act in defence. This happened to Kenya where repeated attacks on Kenyans and their guests was an insult to the country’s dignity.