April 5, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
At Least 4 Killed In Roadside Blast In Mogadishu
05 April – Source: Xinhua – 179 Words
At least four people were killed and nine others injured in a landmine blast in Mogadishu on Wednesday evening, police and medical sources have said. Mohamed Abdi, a police officer, told Xinhua the explosion which could have been targeting a government vehicle went off near a mosque in the northern district of Karan in Mogadishu.
“I can confirm four people died and nine others were injured. The explosion went off near a mosque in Sana’a junction in Karan,” Abdi told Xinhua. Witnesses said a government vehicle which had just passed the area could have been the target. “The blast happens seconds after a government vehicle passed by,” Omar Muhidin, a resident, said.
Aamin Ambulance director Abdilkadir Abdirrahman told Xinhua they had ferried the injured to hospitals in the city. “We have managed to take nine people to hospitals around. We also carried two bodies,” Abdirrahman said. The blast came amid increased attacks in the city in the past weeks, some of which were claimed by the militant group al-Shabab. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the latest incident.
Key Headlines
- At Least 4 Killed In Roadside Blast In Mogadishu (Xinhua)
- Jawari Dismisses Claims That He Has Taken Over The Parliament (Halbeeg)
- 46 Soldiers Arrested In Connection With Wednesday House Session Stand-Off (Hiiraan Online)
- Security Council Condemns Terrorist Attack Against African Union Mission In Somalia (UN.org)
- Self-styled Desert Republic Somaliland Emerges As Key Player In Horn Of Africa (Arab News)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Jawari Dismisses Claims That He Has Taken Over The Parliament
05 April – Source: Halbeeg News – 239 Words
Somali Lower House Speaker, Mohamed Osman Jawari has dispelled allegations against him, which claimed he had taken over the Parliament. The First Deputy Speaker of Lower House, Abdiweli Mudey accused Jawari of sending dozens of forces to block MPs, from accessing the house during Wednesday’s session.
Speaking to the media in Mogadishu, Jawari said, he was surprised by the allegations against him, noting that he left his bodyguards behind before he entered the Parliament building. “The security forces stopped me, as I was heading to the parliament in the morning and I was asked to leave behind my bodyguards. I agreed and left them there” the speaker said.
He accused the Security Ministry of directing the forces to strip off his rights to security. “I asked them the reason as to why I leave the bodyguards behind, I was told by the Security minister, who himself is a proponent of the motion against me issued the order.” he noted.
The Speaker said he wondered how it could be possible to take over the control of the parliament with only eleven security officers. “They claimed, I had captured parliament with 11 bodyguards. If that is so then, it also means that the president has also captured Villa Somalia, since bodyguards are meant for safeguarding the officials, not to seize the parliament or any other government installations,” he said. Over 100 lawmakers were reportedly blocked from accessing Wednesday’s House session.
46 Soldiers Arrested In Connection With Wednesday House Session Stand-Off
05 April – Source: Hiiraan Online – 275 Words
Forty-Six soldiers were apprehended after, they allegedly interrupted yesterday’s Lower House session, officials confirmed. Soldiers who mainly drowned from police and National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), were deployed into the Parliament building to disrupt the debate on the motion against Jawari, sources privy told Hiiraan Online.
Somali National Army Chief, Abdiweli Jama Gorod, who spoke to media said several soldiers had been apprehended in connection with Wednesday’s House session disruption. “The soldiers who entered the Parliament building with guns were arrested, the majority of them are now in our custody and we are still hunting remaining ones,” said Mr. Gorod. He noted that the army officials launched an investigation into allegations of armed force impersonation. ” We were informed that there were individuals who impersonated the forces and gained access to the House, we are probing it,” he confirmed.
A police officer who asked anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to media, said to reporters that the number of the arrested soldiers were 46, the majority from the police department. ” I can confirm the number of the officers arrested, 46 soldiers were detained, over twenty of them are police officers, though several of the bodyguards of the House Speaker, Mohamed Osman Jawari were included,” said Hanshi.
Asked about the allegations of the impersonation, the officer dispelled the report saying the forces stationed at the Parliament were all government soldiers. ” There were plain clothed officers, but the majority of them were outside the building, yes there were few numbers of officers inside the building, but I doubt if there was any individual who impersonated the forces to gain access into the parliament,” he said.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Security Council Condemns Terrorist Attack Against African Union Mission In Somalia
05 April – Source: UN.org – 145 Words
The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday strongly condemned the terrorist attack on 1 April perpetrated by the Al-Shabaab group against the Ugandan contingent of the African Union mission in Somalia. “The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security,” said a statement issued to the press.
The Council underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice. The attack reportedly killed and injured a number of soldiers belonging to the mission, known as AMISOM. The Council underscored its full support to AMISOM in delivering their mandate to reduce the threat posed by the terrorist group Al-Shabaab and armed opposition groups in Somalia, and paid tribute to all international actors working to bring peace and stability in Somalia.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“According to Ali Ismail Mahamoud, head of operations at DP World Berbera Port, an 800-meter greenfield container terminal expansion will be completed by 2020 allowing the port to compete with regional players in terms of capacity.”
Self-Styled Desert Republic Somaliland Emerges As Key Player In Horn Of Africa
05 April – Source: Arab News – 749 Words
The waters around it are deemed strategically vital for the GCC as they form part of the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s busiest maritime routes — also used to transport oil from Middle Eastern producers. Recently elected President Muse Bihi Abdi acknowledged the strategic importance of Somaliland.
“In today’s world we should be very strategic and cooperate with who is a friend of us and resist who is exploiting us, therefore we should make use of our strategic location in the world,” President Bihi told Arab News. His comments came as a Saudi-led military coalition thwarted an attack on a Saudi oil tanker by Houthi rebels near the Yemeni coast on Tuesday. In the Gulf, President Bihi said, Somaliland is very close to Saudi Arabia and the UAE for a number of reasons. “Firstly we are neighbors of Saudi Arabia and not neighbors of Qatar, second, our exports go to Saudi Arabia, third in Saudi Arabia there are two holy mosques that we have to visit, so consider all these reasons for us to be aligned with Saudi Arabia.”
The UAE, President Bihi said, is a key economic ally. “All our imports depend on the UAE and their ports, all our flights come through the UAE. It is our bridge to the world,” he said. In an interview with Arab News, analyst at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, Taimur Khan, said that ridding the Horn of Africa of extremists was vital for the economic and military security of GCC states.
He added that the Yemen intervention had also heightened interest in the coastal territory along the Horn of Africa “to secure military basing agreements,” said Khan. President Bihi said: “International interest in the country has been steep in the last three years.” Earlier this year a row broke out when UAE was banned from operating in Somalia after Dubai’s DP World reinforced its commitment to build a port at in Berbera, Somaliland.
Somalia does not recognize breakaway Somaliland which, in turn, refuses to take instructions from Mogadishu. Separately, Djibouti terminated a contract that allowed DP World to operate the Doraleh container terminal on its east coast. That made building up Berbera even more important for UAE. According to ambassador Bashe Omar, Somaliland’s UAE representative, in 2016 the international affairs deputy of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, Mohammad Reza Karbasi visited the country. The Iranian delegation was looking at buying land to establish a logistical hub,” he said. The Iranian delegation wanted to develop a logistical hub and use the strategic sea port for trade. Omar said that the government had refused the proposed plan. He added that in 2015 Turkey also sought to invest in Hargeisa International Airport
TOP TWEETS
@Lamamra_dz: consultations continue on financing of#AMISOM. @JGuehenno and I met today in Addis Ababa with the Permanent Representatives of key partners to the@_AfricanUnion. @AU_PSD @UNOAU_ @EUtoAU
@hodansomali: Benadir Admin houses 110 families into temporary shelters on secured land. Families displaced for nearly 3 months. Unbearable conditions. Need for early recovery process n durable solutions r urgent. @UNdeClercq@EU_in_Somalia @engyarisow @UNDPSomalia @Wayakii@DFID_UK
@Goobjoognews: CHILDREN BEAR the brunt of IEDs and remnants of war in Somalia-UN official.
@StateDept:.@POTUS: The situation w/respect to #Somaliacont. to pose an unusual & extraordinary threat to the national security & foreign policy of the US. For this reason, the national emergency declared on April 12, 2010 must cont. in effect beyond April 12, 2018.
@musebiihi: I received and welcomed young entrepreneurs and talented youth from all regions of #Somaliland in my office today. This is to encourage and recognize youth entrepreneurship and innovation.
@Goobjoognews: EU BOOSTS UNICEF’s emergency relief in Somalia with €3m donation.
@UKinSomalia: With Support from #UKaid, our partners in#Somalia: Mines Advisory Group, Norwegian People’s Aid & The HALO Trust are delivering life -saving survey, clearance & mine risk education #MineAwarenessDay #IMAD2018 #Minefree
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Scene of an IED explosion that targeted Deputy Dayniile District Commissioner Ahmed Nur Adeeroow at San’a junction in Mogadishu
Photo: @DalsanFM