November 3, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
General Mukhtar Appointed As Acting Somali Police Boss
02 November – Source: Shabelle News – 115 Words
Gen Mukhtar Hussein Afrah has been appointed as the acting commander of Somali Police force days after his predecessor was sacked over deadly Al Shabaab attacks in Mogadishu. Afrah who served as the deputy Police chief will replace General Abdihakim Dahir Said who has been fired by the Cabinet during an extraordinary meeting in the capital.
The handover event was held on Thursday at the Police training academy known as General Kaahiye in Mogadishu with the presence of high-ranking Somali officials and AMISOM officers. The Federal Government of Somalia is expected to name an official chief for the Police in the coming weeks amid stiff contest for the seat by many, including previous bosses.
Key Headlines
- General Mukhtar Appointed As Acting Somali Police Boss (Shabelle News)
- Somaliland’s Electoral Commission Meets President (Garowe Online)
- Villa Somalia Press Director Denies The Appointment Of New Somali Ambassador To Kenya (Jowhar.com)
- KDF Soldiers Kill Two Al-Shabaab Militants In Lamu (Daily Nation)
- Straight Talk On Somalia Insecurity (Huffington Post)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somaliland’s Electoral Commission Meets President
03 November – Source: Garowe Online – 182 Words
The Electoral Commision of Somaliland has detailed about the election campaigns, as the state is getting ready for a general ballot on November 13. The chairman of the Somaliland Electoral body, Abdulkadir Imaan Warsame, told local media on Thursday he is optimistic about holding a fair and free poll during a meeting with President Ahmed Silanyo.
Warsame said representatives from the electoral commission had been dispatched to all polling stations in Somaliland, where voter registrations were held and people were given their voting cards last month. He has added that International and regional observers are pouring into Hargeisa city to monitor the voting process, to ensure a democratic election, with three main candidates running for Presidency.
On the other hand, the former Somaliland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed Abdullahi Omaar has warned candidates against using clan politics during their campaign rallies in the regions. Somaliland is preparing for an election slated for the Nov 13, as a deadlock over leadership struggle emerges. Three candidates, including one from Kulmiye, the ruling party, UCID and WADDANI are competing for the hotly contested Somaliland Presidency.
Villa Somalia Press Director Denies The Appointment Of New Somali Ambassador To Kenya
02 November – Source: Jowhar.com – 122 Words
The press section of the presidency has termed as fabrication a letter in social media circulation in which the President is said to have appointed a new Ambassador to Kenya. The Director of the Communications Unit, Abdinur Mohamed Ahmed has termed the letter as false.“There is no appointment made by the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo in regards to Hassan Yusuf Jamaa’s been appointed to the Embassy of Somalia to Kenya, it is a false letter, “said the Director. Recently there has been an increase in fake letters purported to be from the government officials in circulation in social media
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
KDF Soldiers Kill Two Al-Shabaab Militants In Lamu
03 November – Source: Daily Nation – 159 Words
Two Al-Shabaab terrorists were killed in battle with military troops in Lamu County. The militants were killed by soldiers on patrol in Nyatha, Lamu West, Kenya Defence Forces spokesman David Obonyo said. The soldiers were on their normal patrol of the area at around 6pm on Thursday when they came into contact with the armed militants. The incident comes barely a week after four Al-Shabaab terrorists were killed in battle with KDF troops at Mararani area in Lamu East. The soldiers raided the terrorists’ camp forcing militants to flee and abandon the camp.
Four AK-47 rifles, bomb making materials, six magazines, three grenades, three car batteries, rolls of cables, three mobile phones and assorted food stuffs were found at the camp. Last month, KDF soldiers killed five Al-Shabaab terrorists while militants escaped with injuries at Bodhei on the border of Lamu and Garissa counties. During the incident, six AK-47 assault rifles, 321 bullets, three grenades and explosives were recovered.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“In order to stabilize Somalia all pieces of the insecurity puzzle must be accounted for. In addition to al-Shabab’s suicidal vision, the ever-worsening security condition is driven by the interplay of the aforementioned domestic and foreign elements.”
Straight Talk On Somalia Insecurity
02 November – Source: Huffington Post – 1209 Words
There is a broad-based consensus that security in Somalia has been deteriorating at an alarming rate. In the past few weeks, hundreds of people have been killed by truck bombs at two prominent locations in Mogadishu. The lethal potency of the explosives and the scale of death and devastation resulting from the Oct 14th one was far beyond what Mogadishu has witnessed in over quarter of a century of violence.
These successive deadly terrorist operations combined with allegations that attackers have used intelligence services ID cards have turned the spotlight on Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA). Serious questions regarding the agency’s leadership, competence and the scope of its authority are being raised. But how does one reveal unpleasant realities and tell a traumatized nation what appeared like a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ was in fact a runaway train coming at them? How does one do that without shoving them into state of self-defeating despair? These indeed are the dicey challenges, but truth must be told.
Somalia is in an existential race against time. Much like all other critical issues facing the nation, the Somali government does not control its intelligence or security. Worse, the government does not have the political will to address the real causes and effects. The Ownership Dilemma; Somalia is the center of gravity of international predatory capitalism. Not only because of its untapped natural resources since many countries would qualify, but because Somalia is the gold standard of these three systematically destructive elements: corruption, ineptitude and disloyalty to the nation. How many nations do you know that host dozens of security and intelligence forces with various (domestic and foreign) commands and control? Here are some examples:
There is the revolving door syndrome of failed security leadership that recycles the same has-beens. Every year or so when a new commander is appointed and another is sacked. The former brings in his own clan comrades and cronies and the latter takes with him the manpower that he brought in. There are former al-Shabab leaders with long ugly record who, despite never seeking the forgiveness of their victims, been co-opted by the government, and, yes, been giving highly sensitive positions at NISA and other branches of government.
There is the cottage industry of intelligence serves ID cards. These IDs are readily available for anyone willing to pay the going rate. Apparently it is the agency’s failure when individuals in charge of issuing these IDs make little over $200 for monthly salary and the going price for a false ID is twice their monthly salary. While civilians try to possess these IDs for various reasons, the most common is the need to get through roadblocks and checkpoints since there is no logging system to verify authenticity of employment.
TOP TWEETS
@AbdiazizAbdinur: AMISOM To Work Closely With Federal States On Gender Mainstreaming In Somalia http://somaliafocus.
@Eye_on_Somalia: #Hiraan KDF soldiers kill two Al-Shabaab militants in Lamu http://dlvr.it/Pz066q #Somalia
@GEEL_Somali: GEEL’s Women in Energy aims motivate & inspire women in the engineering field in Somaliland dream big & work hard to achieve their goals.
@TheVillaSomalia: President Farmaajo chaired the National Security Council. Issues on security, Nat’l Defense Plan and rebuilding the #SNA were discussed.
@naayacaliyo: Straight Talk On Somalia Insecurity https://www.huffingtonpost.
@AbdirahmanCumar: Eminent elders call for unity and peace to realise 2020 election goal – http://goobjoog.com/english/
@HassanIstiila: #UPDATE: Eleven people are believed to be injured after a bomb fitted into a car went off near Banaadir junction in Mogadishu. #Somalia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo chaired the National Security Council where security Issues and anticipated Al-shabaab offensive were discussed.
Photo: @TheVillaSomalia