April 4, 2018 | Morning Headlines.
Jawari Accuses President Farmaajo Of Fueling The Political Tensions
03 April – Source: Hiiraan Online – 243 Words
Lower House Speaker, Mohamed Osman Jawari on Tuesday accused, President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, of rubbing salt into his wound barely four days, after a presidential intervention put off a session to debate on the no-confidence motion against Jawari. In a press conference, Jawari said, the President had been pleading with him to resign since Saturday, rather than resolving the crisis. “Rather than mediating the political crisis, he is asking me to resign and I will not resign. I came here through the ballot and will go through the ballot,” said Jawari.
The embattled speaker remains defiant in the face of the impeachment motion, saying that he decided to release this information to the public following what he called the President’s hidden plan to oust him. “I tell the people of Somalia that the President failed to solve the political crisis, I never thought that they would negotiate with me over my resignation,” he told the reporters.
He said the proponents of the motion have been given clearance to hold a session to unset him on Wednesday. “I agreed with the President to allow ten days in which we would find a solution for the stand-off, but the motion against me has been allowed proceed which indicates that the President is happy with it,” he criticised the President. The protracted political crisis between the Executive and Legislative branches of government will culminate in a closely-watched, politically charged motion which will be tabled on Wednesday.
Key Headlines
- Jawari Accuses President Farmaajo Of Fueling The Political Tensions (Hiiraan Online)
- Somali Force And AMISOM Recapture Villages From Al-Shabaab (Halbeeg News)
- Garowe City Council Submits Motion To Fire Mayor (Garowe Online)
- Over 500 Police Officers Sit Interviews For Jobs In Somalia (Daily Monitor)
- AP Interview: Somaliland President Defends UAE Military Deal (Associate Press)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Force And AMISOM Recapture Villages From Al-Shabaab
03 April – Source: Halbeeg News – 170 Words
Somali forces backed by African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) on Tuesday took control of several villages in Hiiraan region. The commander of Somali National Army (SNA) in Hiiraan region, Farah Ali Wasuge who confirmed the seizure of the villages said the allied forces engaged fighting with Al-Shabaab fighters in villages between Beledweyne and Mahas towns. Mr. Wasuge noted that they have taken control of villages after Al-Shabaab was overpowered.
“We recaptured villages from the enemy. These villages include Elow, Maqul, Yabarayele, Sheikh Hassan, Afar-irdood Dirim’adle and Garbo which all come under Hiiraan region,” said Mr. Wasuge. Last week, the forces recovered weapons, a vehicle and medical supplies from Al-Shabaab following fierce fighting with the group.
Somali forces have stepped up operations against Al-Shabaab in Hiiraan, Lower and Middle Shabelle regions since February when Somali President declared new offensives against the group. Meanwhile, Hiiraan Governor, Ali Jeyte Osman who has been leading the operations to re-open the roads linking Hiiraan towns since mid last month, has returned to Beledweyne town.
Garowe City Council Submits Motion To Fire Mayor
03 April – Source: Garowe Online – 279 Words
Twenty members of the council of Garowe city, the capital of Puntland, Somalia’s northeastern Federal Member State, have tabled a motion aimed at ousting Mayor Hassan Mohamed Isse Goodir, according to reports. The 27-member council has submitted the impeachment motion to the Ministry of Interior, accusing the mayor of incompetence and violating the regulation of the state’s local councils.
The alleged charges include imposing additional illegal taxes on the population, lack of sanitation services in the city, failing to collaborate with security agencies, leasing public lands, unlawful dismissal, and not holding the mandated Garowe city council Standing Committee meetings.
The motion was announced at the opening of the 24th Session of the Garowe Council, which was attended by senior Puntland government officials, state parliamentarians, regional representatives, traditional elders and members of the civil society. During his keynote speech at the event, Puntland’s Interior Minister, Mr. Abdullahi Ali Hirsi Timacadde has urged the councillors to put the motion on hold and resolve the crisis as Puntland is crossroads and heading to parliamentary and Presidential elections. The minister’s remarks sparked disorder and led the event to end in chaos, according to the sources.
Several councillors, speaking on condition of anonymity to reporters, said they have taken all legal means to file the motion aimed to fire the mayor, adding that his deputy will take office as acting till the election of a new mayor on Wednesday, April 4, 2018. The embattled mayor who has been in office since August 20, 2015, is yet to comment on the city council’s decision. The move comes weeks after Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali “Gaas” has dissolved Bosaso city council following a dispute over motion.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Over 500 Police Officers Sit Interviews For Jobs In Somalia
03 April – Source: Daily Monitor – 339 Words
A total of 587 police officers have sat interviews for African Union (AU) mission jobs in war ravaged country, Somalia. Interpol spokesperson, Vincent Ssekatte, said the officers who did their interviews at Nsambya Youth Sharing Hall on Tuesday will sit for another final set of exams in May to test their competence before they are deployed in Somalia. Police said they received a message from AU headquarters in Addis Ababa asking them to nominate officers for AU jobs in Somalia and other conflict trodden countries.
Police leadership through Interpol asked eligible officers to show interest. 587 were selected after screening their academic papers, conduct background and health status. “We first give officers set of exams prepared by our examination body purposely to test their abilities and those who pass are presented to another team of examiners from Addis Ababa,” Mr. Ssekatte said.
Sources said, out of 587 officers who did interviews on Tuesday included eleven Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs), 22 Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs), over 40 Superintendents of Police (SP) and Assistant Superintendents (ASPs). At least 200 officers were at the ranks of Inspector of Police (IP) and Assistant Inspector of Police (AIP) whereas the rest were at ranks of Sargent, Corporal and Constable. Mr. Ssekatte confirmed that there are several senior officers at ranks of ASPs and ACPs who showed interest in AU jobs and they were part of the officers who sat for interviews. He, however, declined to give a breakdown on officers who applied for AU jobs in relations to their ranks.
“What I can say is that all officers below the rank of Commissioner were eligible for these mission jobs. It is the officer’s competence that qualifies or disqualifies him or her, but not the ranks,” Mr. Ssekatte said. Police said a team from Addis Ababa will deploy the officers who will have passed the second interview to Somalia with immediate effect. Last year, a total of 430 police officers did exams for UN mission jobs but more than 80 per cent failed.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Somaliland’s minister of foreign affairs, Saad Ali Shire, said his country’s alliance with the UAE is a sign of the growing “realization that Somaliland should be recognized.” “We feel that we have the right to be recognized.”
AP Interview: Somaliland President Defends UAE Military Deal
03 April – Source: Associated Press – 832 Words
Somalia’s breakaway northern region of Somaliland declared its independence nearly three decades ago, but despite having its own currency, parliament and military the predominantly Muslim country hasn’t been recognized by any foreign government. Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi is hoping to change that by aligning his country’s interests with energy-rich Gulf Arab states eager to expand their military footprint in the Horn of Africa along the vital shipping corridor of Bab al-Mandeb, the entryway to the Red Sea for ships from Asia and oil tankers from the Gulf heading to Europe.
Speaking to The Associated Press in the capital, Hargeisa, on Tuesday, Abdi defended an agreement that allows the United Arab Emirates to establish a military base in Somaliland. “Our government is not so strong and our zone needs to be protected,” he said. “I think we need a friendly country to have a cooperation with military security, we need it.” Securing the Horn of Africa has become increasingly important for Gulf countries since March 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition launched a war against Iran-allied rebels in Yemen. On Tuesday, the coalition, which includes the UAE, said the rebels attacked a Saudi oil tanker in the Bab al-Mandeb strait, causing minor damage.
Abdi declined to disclose how many Emirati troops would be based in Somaliland or when construction of the base will be complete. The lease for the base is for 25 years. “Yes, we are allied to the United Arab Emirates and to Saudi (Arabia),” Abdi said. “All our business, main assets, are in Dubai. All our imports depend on United Arab Emirates, their ports,” he said. “We have relations of business and economic ties with them, so we are allies with them.” Abdi, who won elections in November, spoke Tuesday from his office in Somaliland’s capital of Hergeisa, home to around 1 million people. Somaliland is far more peaceful than Somalia, where the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab group carries out frequent attacks. Except for a Coca-Cola factory outside the largely impoverished city, there are no visible signs of multinational companies. The city, which moves without traffic lights, is not home to any major international hotel chains, American fast food restaurants or bustling shopping malls.
Instead, the country is capitalizing on its strategic location near Bab al-Mandeb. Somaliland signed an agreement last year with one of the world’s largest port operators, DP World, to operate its Port of Berbera. The agreement with DP World, which is majority-owned by the Dubai government in the UAE, was signed the same year that the UAE’s plans to build a naval base in Berbera were revealed. It’s the latest example of how DP World’s business dealings in East Africa increasingly mirror the UAE’s military expansion in the region.
The UAE, which is also reportedly building up a long-term military presence in Eritrea, is not the only country with troops in East Africa. Turkey opened a military base in Somalia last year. Neighboring Djibouti is home to a U.S. base that launches drone missions over Somalia and Yemen, as well as a Chinese military base and Japan’s first overseas base since World War II. Last week, Somalia asked for the United Nations Security Council to intervene to stop the UAE from building the military base in Somaliland. Somalia said the agreement between the Gulf state and Somaliland, which it refers to as the “Northwestern Region of Somalia,” was made without the consent of Somalia’s government and is in “clear violation of international law.