January 17, 2018 | Morning Headlines

Somali National Army Conducts Operation In Middle Shabelle

16 January – Source: Somali National News Agency (SONNA) – 100 Words

Somali National Army on Tuesday conducted an operation against Al-Shabaab militias at the key road joining Mogadishu and Jowhar, the administrative capital of Hirshabelle State where the militants disrupted the movement of the transport early this week, SONNA reported.

SNA Commander in the area, Gen. Mohamud Mohamed said the operation was carried out in between Bal’ad and Jowhar towns in middle Shabelle region. He said the army is  now stationed in the area.  The commander dismissed claims of the terrorist militant group of Al-Shabaab that it was controlling  some villages near Bal’ad town.

Key Headlines

• Somali National Army Conduct Operation In Middle Shabelle (SONNA)
• Somaliland President Abdi Arrives In Ethiopia (Radio Dalsan)
• Conference On Durable Solution For Refugee Returnees And IDPs In HirShabelle State Held Today In Mogadishu (Goobjoog News)
• Somali Forces Kill Al-Shabaab Militants In Southern Region (Xinhuanet)
• What Is Happening To Africa’s Pirates? (The Economist)

NATIONAL MEDIA

Somaliland President Abdi Arrives In Ethiopia

16 January – Source: Radio Dalsan – 131 Word

The newly elected President of breakaway region of Somaliland Muse Bihi Abdi on Tuesday arrived in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa for an official state visit. He was received at the Bole International Airport by Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu Ethiopia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs. Speaking to reporters President Abdi said, his visit is aimed at strengthening the longstanding ties between Ethiopia and Somaliland.

In his visit, President Abdi is expected to meet with Ethiopian Prime Minister Haile Mariam and other top government officials. Somaliland and landlocked Ethiopia share close economic ties. Large percentage of goods imported by Ethiopia enters through Somaliland’s Berbera Port, which Addis Ababa obtained a 19% partial share in May 2017. Ethiopia becomes the second country, after Djibouti that President Abdi is visiting since his election in November 2017.

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Conference On Durable Solution For Refugee Returnees And IDPs In HirShabelle State Held Today In Mogadishu

16 January – Source: Goobjoog News – 328 Words

A one day conference on Durable Solution for Somali refugee returnees and internally displaced person (IDPs) in HirShabelle State was held today in Mogadishu funded by UNHCR. The event organized by National Commission for Refugees and IDPs (NCRI)  discussed on how to get durable solutions to the recurrent problems faced by the refugee returnees and IDPs in HirShabelle State.

Speaking to Goobjoog News, the chairperson of the NCRI Mr. Ahmed Dahir noted the significance of the event for his national organization by knowing the unique needs of every region, sharing regional progress and gathering information gained from various attendants in the conference. “Every region has its own consideration. Banadir region has the most IDPs in the country, followed by HirShabelle and Galmudug States.

The other states like Jubbaland and Southwest also have large numbers of refugee returnees from Dadaab camp. Puntland has passed the phase of emergency humanitarian assistance and has implemented official resettlement” said chairperson Dahir. He highlighted the need for seeking advice from different regions on the population of the IDS converged in their areas. He also pointed out the necessity of sharing the information his commission has gathered with the government, and the international humanitarian organizations in the course of this month. “We need to consult with every region on their quota. We shall carry out a meeting announced Tuesday for government departments and the international organizations to display to them” he added.

Commissioner Dahir has made clear that the program will also be finally shared with the Somali cabinet ministers before it is forwarded to IGAD for final endorsement. “We also need to present to government ministries and ultimately the federal cabinet ministers and similarly with IGAD, who are the brainchild of the program at the end of the month in Addis Ababa on the extensive coverage agreed upon countrywide from the grassroots to the federal level.” The attendants included Hirshabelle State humanitarian officials, some members of IPDs in HirShabelle State among others.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somali Forces Kill Al-Shabaab Militants In Southern Region

16 January – Source: Xinhuanet – 263 Words

Several Al-Shabaab militants were killed on Tuesday in heavy fighting between Somali National Army and the militant group near Baidoa town, southwest Somalia, officials said. Security Minister of Southwest State in Somalia Hassan Hussein Mohamed told Xinhua by phone that the militants’ attempt to capture two areas was thwarted. “The terrorists attacked SNA and Southwest State forces’ bases in Daynuney and Gof-gudud, north and east of Baidoa town, but their attempt to capture the two areas were foiled,” Mohamed said.

Mohamed said several militants were killed and others wounded during the early morning fighting. “There are no casualties on our side and we remain at our bases while continuing operations against terrorists in the region now,” Mohamed added.  Other sources said at least five militants were killed in the attack on Daynuney, while one government soldier was injured in Gof-gudud. Both bases locate in the Bay region of Somalia. Residents also confirmed the militants launched simultaneous attacks on the two regional military bases. Residents said the militants briefly seized Gof-gudud Burey before regional forces retook it, noting that troops at Daynuney held their positions, repulsing attack.

OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE

“After scores of kidnaps and hijackings, the world launched a huge naval anti-piracy effort in 2008.  For the first time since the second world war, all five permanent members of the UN Security Council deployed forces together, with the aim of countering the threat and patrolling the Somali coastline.”

What Is Happening To Africa’s Pirates?

16 January – Source: The Economist – 541 Words

Modern African pirates prefer machetes, machine-guns and ransoms to cutlasses and parrots. They can make millions of dollars from one captured ship.  Ten years ago Somalia’s coast was the centre of the maritime-hijacking world. The country lacked a coast guard or functioning state machinery, which allowed heavily armed pirates to sail up to huge cargo vessels in speedboats before boarding and taking crew and ship hostage. But 2017 was not a good year for buccaneers.

According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), which monitors crime at sea, global piracy and robbery at sea dipped to their lowest points in over two decades. So what is happening to Africa’s pirates?  The peak years of the Somali piracy crisis were 2007 to 2012. Attacks across the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea took place nearly daily. In 2011 there were 237 attacks in the region, reportedly costing businesses and insurers $8.3bn (£5.1bn). Recently, however, Somali piracy has plummeted.

According to the IMB, just nine vessels were hijacked off the Somali coast last year. This is in part because regional security has improved dramatically. The Gulf of Aden leads to the Suez canal, through which roughly 10% of global trade flows. After scores of kidnaps and hijackings, the world launched a huge naval anti-piracy effort in 2008.  For the first time since the second world war, all five permanent members of the UN Security Council deployed forces together, with the aim of countering the threat and patrolling the Somali coastline.

Along with the introduction of armed guards, barbed wire and evasive-manoeuvre training on merchant ships, this campaign has slashed the number of successful boarding incidents off Somalia, according to Henry MacHale at Aspen Insurance. Somali pirates may have hung up their Kalashnikovs for now, but on the other side of Africa, piracy off the Nigerian coast is increasing. In 2017, 33 incidents of piracy and robbery at sea, successful or otherwise, were reported within 12 nautical miles of the coastline.

In 2011 there were ten. Ultra-violent Nigerian pirates armed with heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades are often behind the attacks. Somali pirates usually board vessels, then drop anchor and hold them until they get ransom money.  Nigerian pirates are different. They move fast, take part in ferocious gun-battles and snatch victims off ships before retreating into the Niger Delta’s maze of rivers, where it is very difficult for security forces to find them.  The number of kidnappings is also sky-high. According to the IMB, 65 of the 75 crew members kidnapped in 2017 were taken in or around Nigerian waters.

Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, which stretches from Gabon to Liberia, has not reached the levels it did off Somalia. But Cyrus Mody from the IMB suggests that the figures underplay the danger. The IMB’s data do not include attacks on fishing craft or ferries, which are certainly being terrorised by the pirates. Additionally, it seems likely that operators are not reporting some incidents.  “Over the years [the Nigerian pirates] haven’t been arrested or prosecuted it seems,” says Mr Mody. “Ship owners have lost trust in the system.” By reporting an incident they risk suffering violent attacks on their ships in future. So they stay quiet.