December 14, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
Suicide Bomber Kills At Least 15 At Police Academy In Somalia’s Capital
14 December – Source: Reuters – 296 Words
A suicide bomber disguised as a policeman blew himself up inside a police training camp in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Thursday and killed at least 15 officers, officials said. Police spokesman Major Mohamed Hussein said the attacker had explosives strapped to his body and infiltrated the General Kahiye Police Training Academy during an early morning parade. “So far 15 have died and 17 others were injured,” Abdullahi Nur, another police official, told Reuters.
Earlier, the head of a local ambulance service said they had moved the bodies of 13 victims as well as 15 injured people. The militant Islamist group al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack and gave a higher death toll. “We killed 27 police (officers) and injured more,” Abdiasis Abu Musab, the group’s military operations spokesman, told Reuters. Al Shabaab carries out frequent bombings in Mogadishu and other towns.
The group, which is allied to al Qaeda, is waging an insurgency against the U.N.-backed government and its African Union allies in a bid to topple the weak administration and impose its own strict interpretation of Islam. The militants were driven out of Mogadishu in 2011 and have since been steadily losing territory to the combined forces of African Union peacekeepers and Somali security forces.
Al Shabaab’s attacks come at a time when the African Union is finalizing plans to trim its peacekeeping mission called AMISOM. The force of 22,000 deployed a decade ago but is set to lose 1,000 soldiers this month as part of a long-term plan to pull out of the country and hand security to the Somali army. The peacekeepers were deployed to help secure a government that has struggled to establish central control in a country that plunged into civil war in the early 1990s.
Key Headlines
- Suicide Bomber Kills At Least 15 At Police Academy In Somalia’s Capital (Reuters)
- Meeting With Federal Member States Speakers Unconstitutional Senate Tells Jawari (Goobjoog News)
- Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Meets Jubbaland President Ahmed Madoobe In Kismayo (Radio Dalsan)
- Galmudug And ASWJ Parliaments Set To Be Integrated (Radio Muqadishu)
- Shabaab Head Flees Jilib In Lower Jubba As US Drops Bombs (Daily Nation)
- Emir Meets Somalia President (Gulf Times)
- The Challenges Facing Young Entrepreneurs In Somalia (Hiiraan Online)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Meeting With Federal Member States Speakers Unconstitutional, Senate Tells Jawari
14 December – Source: Goobjoog News – 246 Words
The Senate has protested a planned meeting between the Lower House speaker Mohamed Jawaari, and speakers of the Federal Member States assembly terming as an affront to the principles of federalism. Senate Speaker Abdi Hashi Abdullahi in a letter addressed to Federal Member State (FMS) presidents, and copied to President Mohamed Farmaajo said the meeting scheduled to take place in Baydhabo is not only unconstitutional, but will also impede the working relations between the Senate and the FMS. “In executing its Constitutional responsibilities of protecting federalism as stipulated in articles 61 (3) and 71 of the Constitution, the Senate makes it clear that the meeting is not in line with the constitution,” said Abdullahi.
The meeting, Senator Mr. Abdullahi said, it serves to weaken and disempower the representation of the FMS in the Federal Parliament, and negatively impact the working relations between the Senate and the FMS assemblies. The Senate leadership, the statement reads, calls on the Presidents of the FMS to take cognizance of the effect the meeting will have on the federal system, and execution of functions by the Upper House in representing the interests of the FMS.
Additionally the Senate observed the constitution now distinguished the roles of the two Houses of Parliament, reiterating that prior to the coming into being of the Senate the Lower House undertook functions which now belong to the Senate, and the distinction must therefore be noted. The dates of the meeting have not been made public yet.
Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Meets Jubbaland President Ahmed Madoobe In Kismayo
14 December – Source: Radio Dalsan -119 Words
Sheikh Mukhtar Robow who travelled to Kismayo yesterday evening met the President of Jubbaland State Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Madoobe) today. The meeting between the two which was not disclosed in advance was said to have addressed the fight against Al-Shabaab, which Jubbaland administration has planned before.
President Ahmed Madoobe and Mr. Robow who were longtime friends, discussed how to tackle the issue and the opportunities that are currently available. According to reports, Mr. Sheikh Robow is scheduled to visit Jubbaland’s security forces’ camps, and thereafter fly back to Mogadishu. Last few weeks, Mr. Robow who was hosted in Baidoa, Bay region by South West State’s President Shariif Sheikh Hassan visited camps of the local security forces.
Galmudug And ASWJ Parliaments Set To Be Integrated
13 December – Source: Radio Muqdishu – 84 Words
Galmudug Parliament Speaker Mr. Ali Gacal Asir announced that the integration process of both parliaments of Galmudug and Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama’a (ASWJ) is set to be started soon, as part of the implementation of the recent historic deal signed in Mogadishu recently.
The move is vital for the implementation of the agreement, thereby uniting the people of central regions, the speaker said. The speaker also noted that the Galmudug parliament will proceed their seasonal recess this week and will resume work in February of the following year.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Shabaab Head Flees Jilib In Lower Jubba As US Drops Bombs
14 December – Source: Daily Nation – 335 Words
The overall head of Al-Shabaab in Somalia has moved with his troops to Gedo, a region in the war-torn country bordering Kenya’s Mandera County.Security sources said Ahmed Diriye aka Ahmed Umar fled the Shabaab-controlled district of Jilib in Lower Jubba region after intensified aerial strikes by international forces.
Somalia National Army General Ismail Sahardiid, the commander of Sector 43 in Gedo, was quoted as saying that captured Al-Shabaab militants had confessed that their leader had fled. “The displacement of the leadership is among many other strains facing the group,” reads a security dispatch to Kenyan security agencies. “The increase in precise air strikes against their hideouts is increasing fear and suspicion among the group’s top leadership. “This situation has led to some officials and militants defecting to the Federal Government of Somalia.”
The latest strike against the militant group was carried out on Tuesday by United States Africa Command (Africom). “In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, US forces conducted an airstrike against an al-Shabaab vehicle-borne improvised explosive device in the early morning hours, about 65 kilometres southwest of the capital, Mogadishu,” said Africom in a statement.
It added: “US forces will continue to use all authorised and appropriate measures to disable terrorist threats. This includes partnering with Amisom and Somali National Security Forces (SNSF) in combined counter-terrorism operations and targeting terrorists, their training camps and their safe havens throughout Somalia and the region.” Kenyan troops fighting there are part of Amisom (African Union Mission in Somalia). Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) are deployed in Sector 2 of Lower Jubba. Of late, more than 100 al-Shabaab militants have been killed in US-led airstrikes.
On December 11, some 23 of them surrendered to the administration of Bay. The region’s internal security minister, Mr Abdikadir Abdirahman, confirmed the surrender. Reports say al-Shabaab is also faced with a power struggle between Diriye and one of his deputies called Fidow, the lieutenant in charge of finance and administration, who is thought to be plotting a coup.
Emir Meets Somalia President
14 December – Source: Gulf Times – 94 Words
His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani met yesterday with Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the OIC summit held in Istanbul. The meeting reviewed the bilateral relations between both countries and the means to boost and develop them.
In addition, the meeting discussed topics of common interest. President Farmajo expressed his gratitude to the Emir of Qatar’s support to Somalia and its government in order to establish a safe and stable state and its efforts to achieve sustainable development through supporting several developmental projects.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“This has discouraged young people who have successful business ideas but little or no financial power to change their ideas into action. Young entrepreneurs operating in Somalia are faced with numerous challenges in their quest to pursue entrepreneurship as an option to meaningful employment. An employment route that can earn them a decent income that leads to sustainable development and wealth creation.”
The Challenges Facing Young Entrepreneurs In Somalia
12 December – Source: Hiiraan Online – 937 Words
I was born in Somalia, but raised and educated in Kenya. It was 2012 when I came back to Somalia and decided to live in Mogadishu. The city was slowly recovering from the ashes of the civil war. However, the situation was relatively unpredictable and it was hard to imagine what the future would look like. Since then, I have been residing and working in Mogadishu. During this period, I got the opportunity to travel across all the regions of Somalia including the South Central provinces, North-West and North-East parts of the country.
I experienced the real life on the ground and realized that most of the youth have a passion for entrepreneurship, but they don’t have the platform, experience, or the mechanism to venture into new adventures to unlock their entrepreneurship talents. This has caused sensation to me because if we, the people don’t take the reins to develop our country, no matter our resources, we cannot develop the entrepreneurship talent of our youth. This has to pave the way for emboldening our upcoming generation by giving them the necessary mentorship they need so as to realize and utilize their talents and energy.
Personally, I have a passion for business, entrepreneurship and success, but my country (Somalia) is currently facing complex challenges including a pitiable economic participation of young people, which inhibits the country’s economic development and creates a high dependency on the working population. Despite youth constituting 75% of the population in Somalia as per the Population Estimation Survey of Somalia, most of the youth entrepreneurs are unable to manage successful enterprises.
Irrespective of the lack of skills and capital to manage enterprises successfully, youthful entrepreneurs have started business ventures and have gone into self-employment. Despite this some financial institutions are taking the ideas of vulnerable youth by investing in these ideas themselves. This has created a situation whereby young people no longer trust any funding institution with their entrepreneurial ideas.
The Federal Government of Somalia has instituted measures to curb the high unemployment levels among the youth in the country by employing some youth. Some youth were even given temporary contracts funded by EU/World Bank. However, these measures have not helped to reduce the underlying problem of youth unemployment in the country. It would have been ideal if it could initiate a project of rewarding youth who have the entrepreneurship spirit. Therefore, it could potentially develop solutions for the economic obstacles that are blocking the youth and the entire community from cultivating their potentiality and capabilities to make their own sources of incomes that can help improve the nation’s economy.
TOP TWEETS
@DalsanFM: Explosion In a Police Training School In Mogadishu – http://radiodalsan.com/en/
@HarunMaruf: BREAKING: At least 5 police officers confirmed dead in Mogadishu academy in suicide explosion, death toll likely to rise: sources
@Goobjoognews: #BREAKING: Upper House speaker Abdi Abdullahi appeals to Federal State leaders to stop planned meeting between L. House Speaker Mohamed Jawaari and FMS assembly speakers in Baydhabo. Says move runs counter to principles of federalism
@engyarisow: An airstrike destroyed a car bomb near Mubarak with no civilian casualties. The car was travelling 2 #Mogadishuto cause civilian casualties
@engyarisow:#Somalia: Democracy in Action as the House of the People approved the comprehensive 2018 Budget that the parliament debated it, and held public consultation prior of today’s approval of 162 out of 164 MPs present (One MP rejected while the other one abstained) #NabadiyoNolol
@TheVillaSomalia: President Farmajo “An honour to have participated in the OIC Extraordinary Summit on Al-Quds in Istanbul today. Grateful to President @RT_Erdogan & his Govt for hosting a successful Summit. Peace in the Middle East crucial for regional stability & global security.”
@DrBeileh: Thanks to @SomaliPM for his visit today to congratulate @mofinance staff on IMF SMP successes. The Ministry is determined to fulfil its mandate to support the development of our country & the progress of our people through fiscal reforms.
@Goobjoognews: MEETING WITH FMS speakers unconstitutional, Senate tells Jawari –
@DrBeileh:Thanks to Parliament for approving the 2018 budget. This budget will enable us to do more than we did in the past. We will focus on increasing it through revenue generation & fiscal reforms.
IMAGE OF THE DAY
President of Jubbaland Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Madoobe) with former Al-Shabaab deputy Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansur in Kismayo.
Photo: @DalsanFM