January 26, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
Al-Shabaab Amputates Hands Of Two Men Accused Of Theft
26 January – Source: Hiiraan Online – 175 Words
Al-Shabaab militants amputated hands from two men accused of theft in Kunya-Barow town of Lower Shabelle region on Thursday evening. The group said Mohamed Hassan (54) and Hassan Mohamed Yusuf (45) were convicted of breaking into a shop and stealing Somali Shilling 17,670,000 ($883).
The right hand of the men were amputated by a dagger-wielding Al-Shabaab militant. Hundreds of locals gathered to witness the amputation which was announced on Wednesday by the militants using loudspeakers mounted on vehicles. The punishments carry out by the group include execution by fire squads, stoning to death, hand and leg amputation and flogging in public.
Al-Shabaab which was ejected from Mogadishu in 2011 by African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) wants to overthrow Somali government. The group carried out several deadly attacks across Somalia which claimed lives Somali people. Somali government accused the militants of carried out the deadliest attack in Mogadishu since the inception of the militant group in 2006. The heinous truck bomb attack on 14th October last year killed over 500 people mostly civilians.
Key Headlines
- Al-Shabaab Amputates Hands Of Two Men Accused Of Theft (Hiiraan Online)
- Prime Minister Khaire Meets With His Canadian Counterpart (Hiiraan Online)
- Somalia’s Foreign Minister Meets His Ethiopian Counterpart In Addis Ababa (Hiiraan Online)
- Human Right Group Wants KDF Withdrawn From Somalia (Baraka FM)
- Prime Minister Khaire: Somalia’s Return To Global Stage Is Inevitable (Wardheere News)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Prime Minister Khaire Meets With His Canadian Counterpart
26 January – Source: Hiiraan Online – 77 Words
Attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire met with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau. The two leaders briefly met at a dinner event held for the participating leaders.
Prime Khaire noted that he was pleased to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying they briefly discussed issues that were of common interest for the two countries. During his stay at Davos, Prime Minister Khaire also met other leaders attending the forum.
Somalia’s Foreign Minister Meets His Ethiopian Counterpart In Addis Ababa
26 January – Source: Hiiraan Online – 161 Words
Somalia’s minister of Foreign Affairs and International co-operation Ahmed Isse Awad on Thursday met with his counterpart Ethiopian foreign minister, Workneh Gebeyehu in the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. The official discussed the bilateral relations of the two countries and means to promote them. They also tackled the developments that so far achieved in the region.
Last year, Ethiopia released dozens of Somali nationals who were arrested in its jails following fruitful efforts by Somali federal government. The relations between the two countries in Eastern Africa that engaged in deadly battle in 1977 has been recovering since the formation of transitional government of Somalia (TFG) in 2004. Mohamed Siyad Barre and Mengistu Haile Mariam who were then ruling Somalia and Ethiopia respectively during 1977 war, were ousted at the same time in 1991 and fled into exile. Barre died in 1995 in Lagos Nigeria while Mariam who was sentence to death in absentia by Ethiopian government still lives in Zimbabwe.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Human Right Group Wants KDF Withdrawn From Somalia
25 January – Source: Baraka FM – 278 Words
Human rights organizations in Mombasa want the government to withdraw its troops fighting al-Shabaab terrorist in Somalia. Human rights organization Haki Afrika claims that the army has failed to deal with the terror group conclusively from carrying out continuous terror attacks against civilians, particularly in Lamu county. The rights group wants the national parliament to pass a legislation that will allow the Kenya Defense Forces to withdraw troops from Somalia, so they can guard their own porous border and prevent al-Shabab militants attacks.
Francis Auma, Haki Afrika’s Program officer, on Thursday told Baraka FM that despite the Kenyan army fighting al-Shabaab Militants in Somalia, the very same militants have been crossing into the country and harming citizens especially in Lamu county which borders Somalia. In a press conference early January, Coast region coordinator Nelson Marwa said the security officers taking part in the operation of flushing out al-Shabaab in Lamu County are well established and equipped with modern facilities to fight militants. Marwa is optimistic that Kenya Defense Forces will eventually win the fight against al-Shabaab militants.
In November 2015, the government launched operation Linda Boni in Lamu county to flush out al-Shabaab militants hiding in the vast Boni Forest between Lamu and the Somalia Border. Recently when he was in Mombasa, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang told residents that the government had the situation under control and that they were deploying more security officers in the area to prevent further attacks. The al-Shabaab terror group which seeks to introduce sharia law in Somalia has been a major security threat at the coast of Kenya, prompting citizens to criticize the government for failing to provide them adequate security.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“Somalia presents a precise intersection of risks and opportunities and despite its turbulent past, remains a living example of human ingenuity, unlimited resilience and unceasing hope.” “With a youthful population,” he continued,” Somalia can be at great competitive edge if enabling conditions, including progressive policies is aggressively pursued to bring about economic transformation,”
Prime Minister Khaire: Somalia’s Return To Global Stage Is Inevitable
25 January – Source: Wardheere News – 654 Words
Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire today called for an accelerated debt relief to help Somalia to implement its ambitious reforms, noting that Somalia’s return to the global stage was inevitable. Talking today at a special session “Partnership for Peace: Focus on Somalia”, Khaire said: “Somali government’s commitment and political will to deliver its promises to the Somali people is undoubted. But we are also aware that successful implementation of our ambitious reforms and development agenda including improving security, infrastructure projects, institutional building, and economic recovery, requires resources.”
“Somalia cannot do it alone. Not with the limited resources and the inherited and over-burdened debt of about six billion dollars,” he said, underlining that accelerated debt relief and re-engagement with international financial institutions to access immediate funding were critical for development. “My government is already engaged with these institutions and is striving hard to meet the set benchmarks to normalize relations and improve financial management,” he said, noting his confidence that the ongoing efforts will be concluded successfully. Praising Somalia’s private sector for its role in the survival of the country, he said:
“Despite considerable challenges, Somalia’s private sector has continued to provide critical services in the survival and recovery of the Somali people,” he said, pointing out the remittances as key investment resource that called for effective public-private partnership. Citing World Bank estimates showing that Somalia’s GDP growing by 5 percent in 2015 and 6 percent in 2016, he emphasized the urgent need to explore Somalia’s other untapped sectors.“Somalia’s waters are home to some of the richest fishing ground in Africa and some of the only fish stocks in the world that are underfished are in the deep waters of the country’s 3,330 km coastline,” he said, noting other productive resources included 8.5 million hectares of arable agricultural land and more than 50 million livestock in addition to untapped minerals.
“If properly utilized all these resources combined will enable Somalia to attain food security, create jobs, increase government revenue, and contribute international trade,” he said. “We made our target to reduce poverty by adopting and implementing the necessary policies and the necessary regulatory frameworks and enabling environment for investment,” he said. “Somalia is ready to resume its historical role as the Gateway and Business Centre of Africa through the Indian Ocean and Red Sea corridor,” he said.
TOP TWEETS
@AbdulBillowAli:#China provides aid worth $6 million to assist vulnerable communities in #Somalia as well returnees from#Kenya #Yemen.
@HarunMaruf: Heavy, intermittent artillery fire heard in mountainous area near the Somali town of Busar, Gedo region, where Kenya military has a base. The sound of shelling has been continuing since the early hrs of Fri. Locals believe KDF is shelling Al-Shabab locations overlooking the town.
@HarunMaruf: Southwest regional pres Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden inspects the remains of IED explosion which targeted his convoy today near Bardale, 40 miles W of Baidoa, a donkey was killed in the explosion. Aden was in Bardale to attend inauguration of the 1st locally elected mayor of Bardale
@DalsanFM: HAPPENING NOW: More than 200 journalists and media workers attending a farewell party for outgoing Governor of Banaadir & Mayor of Mogadishu Thabit Mohamed@ThabitMhd
@SomaliPM: It was pleasant to meet Canadian PM Justin Trudeau @JustinTrudeau we briefly discussed issues that we commonly share and strengthening the relation amid the two nations.#WEF18 #Somalia
@SomaliPM: I had constructive dinner meeting last night with the President of the World Bank @JimYongKim and other leaders from the private and the public sector. We have exchanged views on how to prevent famine and promote inclusive growth. #WEF18
@Goobjoognews: #Somaliland : High Court swears in 31 Cabinet Ministers. http://bit.ly/2E762si .
@Goobjoognews: #BreakingNews: Report from #Yemen says at least 10 #Somali immigrants died on the waters of Gulf of Aden after their boat sank. Some of the survivors reached Al-Kharaz refugee camp in #Yemen.
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the World Economic Forum (WEF-2018), Davos, Switzerland.
@SomaliPM