June 6, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somalia To Speed Up Force Training Ahead Of AMISOM Exit
06 June – Source: Halbeeg News – 274 Words
The Somali government will fully equip its forces to take charge of the country’s security after the African Union troops pull out of Somalia, top leaders said on Tuesday. A three-day national security conference attended by the country’s top leaders, regional leaders, security officials and ministers, was concluded on Tuesday evening in Baidoa town.
In a communiqué, the leaders agreed to extend training and sharpening the skills of the security forces, to restore peace in the country. The National Security Council (NSC) has unanimously passed the Transitional Plan, which will facilitate the transferring of security responsibilities from AU to Somali forces, within four years. “After hearing (and assessing) the security threats to Somalia posed by terror groups, the National Security Council emphasises, the implementation of military equipping of the forces and enhancing their skills,” reads the communiqué. Al-Shabaab fighters have blocked main routes to Somali capital city and several other towns surrounding the city.
In the latest deadly ambush by Al-Shabaab on Tuesday evening, after heavily armed Al-Shabaab fighters stormed a convoy carrying lawmakers and high-ranked officials near Balad town, about 30 kilometres north of Mogadishu. The attack claimed the lives of five people, among them two regional lawmakers.
The leaders at the National Security Conference condemned the heinous attack and called for swift action. The communiqué called on Somali forces to secure and reopen the main supply route linking Baidoa and other towns. The operations will be conducted by Southwest Paramilitary Police forces, backed by Somali national army. “The leaders agreed Southwest State Darvish Forces take part in the operations to reopen the main road linking Baidoa town to Mogadishu,” said the leaders.
Key Headlines
- Somalia To Speed Up Force Training Ahead Of AMISOM Exit (Halbeeg News)
- HirShabelle MPs Worried About Rising Jowhar-Bal’ad Road Insecurity (Shabelle News)
- Two Al-Shabaab Suspects Arrested ver Failed Assassination In Beled-Hawa Town (Halbeeg News)
- Five GSU Officers Killed In Liboi IED Attack (Daily Nation)
- Flooded Somaliland Receives Help From Canada (Relief Web)
- Investors Are Putting Somaliland On The Map (OZY.com)
NATIONAL MEDIA
HirShabelle MPs Worried Over Rising Jowhar-Bal’ad Road Insecurity
06 June – Source: Shabelle News – 152 Words
The lawmakers of Somalia’s southern Federal Member State HirShabelle, have expressed concern over the growing insecurity at the main road linking Jowhar to Bal’ad. Speaking to Radio Shabelle, MP Abdiweli Sheikh Ali said, Al-Shabaab has intensified attacks targeting convoys of army personnel, state lawmakers and other government officials.
MP Ali has called on the Somali Federal Government to secure the street and wipe out Al-Shabaab militants from the entire region, in a bid to end the frequent deadly attacks. This comes after two lawmakers alongside their ten bodyguards were killed on Tuesday in an Al-Shabaab attack on their convoy near Bal’ad district in the Middle Shabelle region.
The ambush killed the MPs named Ismail Mumin Hilowle and Moallim Dahir Mukhtar, as well as and Deputy District Chairman Rage Elle. Al-Shabaab has claimed the responsibility for the attack, which was the latest in a string of ambushes on both Somali and AU forces.
Two Al-Shabaab Suspects Arrested Over Failed Assassination In Beled-Hawa Town
06 June – Source: Halbeeg News – 284 Words
Two suspected members of Al-Shabaab hit squad have been arrested in Beled Hawa town after their attempt to kill an elder failed, a security official confirmed on Wednesday. Several traditional and security officers were killed in the border town in recent past months. Security forces have apprehended two men at Golan-height neighbourhood in Beled-Hawo town, following tips off by members of the public.
Hassan Osman Ali, security officials in Beled-Hawa town said, the suspects attacked a residential house of a famous elder. “The two who were armed with pistols raided the house of the elder Mr Musa Ali Garad, fortunately, the elder was not around. Recently the elder has reported the threat cases against him,” Ali said, “The security forces arrested after a tip-off by members of the public.”
The officer pointed out that the suspects were taken into custody and are undergoing interrogation. “The men were taken to the police station. The investigation into the case is ongoing,” he affirmed. Mid last month, Al-Shabaab defector kill a government soldier in Beled-Hawo town, before rejoining the group. Abdi Yare Hassan a former Al-Shabab commander, who was allegedly recruited as immigration officer had killed a soldier identified as Abdinasir Abdullahi Ibrahim. Abdirahman Hassan Noor, Jubbaland Security Minister said the man (the defector) returned to the group.
“The man had a covert link with Al-Shabaab. When handed himself in to the authorities in Bardhere town 4 months ago, he was moved to Kismayo before he came back to Beled Hawo town, where he killed the officer,” Mr Noor said, “He took the rifle of the deceased.” Beled-Hawa town shares border with Kenya’s Mandera city, where the government started construction of security wall to avert Al-Shabaab attacks inside Kenya.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Five GSU Officers Killed In Liboi IED Attack
06 June – Source: Daily Nation – 129 Words
Five GSU officers have been killed in Liboi, Garissa County after their vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device. Dadaab Deputy County Commissioner Harun Kamau said three others were critically injured in the attack on the security officers who were on patrol duty.
“There was an attack this morning targeting officers on normal patrol. Unfortunately, we lost five officers while three others have been injured,” Mr Kamau told the Nation phone.
The attack happened about 9am at Harar in Liboi, a few meters from the Kenya-Somalia border. Mr Kamau said the injured officers will be airlifted to Nairobi for specialised treatment. The deputy county commissioner said reinforcements have also been sent to the area to pursue members of the Al-Shabaab militia, who are suspected to be behind the attack.
Flooded Somaliland Receives Help From Canada
05 June – Source: Relief Web – 316 Words
Canada is providing clean water and sanitation support to residents in Somaliland after an entire year’s worth of rain fell in just one day. Tropical storm Sagar drenched the country with 300 mm of rain per hour and pounded the coastline with winds reaching up to 120km/h. At least 25 people died and close to 700,000 people are in need of humanitarian assistance.
“The storm affected already vulnerable populations displaced by drought and insecurity,” said Rachel Logel Carmichael from Save the Children, which, as a member of the Humanitarian Coalition, is responding thanks to funding from the Canadian Humanitarian Assistance Fund. “These funds allow us to respond quickly to the needs of these crisis-affected people and ensure we can provide life-saving aid immediately.”
The drought only exacerbated the situation, as the arid, dry terrain was unable to absorb the large amounts of water. Instead, the ground acted like a concrete floor, allowing water to accumulate above ground and causing flash floods throughout the area. Thousands of homes have been destroyed, while health facilities, schools, water sources and other public properties were damaged. In addition, estimates show 80% of livestock in the affected areas were lost.
Save the Children Canada will help survivors recover and prevent the spread of disease. With $278,340, Save the Children will rebuild and rehabilitate water and sanitation facilities and provide clean water to the most vulnerable people, particularly women and children. Staff will also distribute household and personal hygiene items.
The current situation in the country often means men migrate from rural areas to main towns to seek employment. This results in a massive increase in the number of female-headed households. As a result, Save the Children is making particular effort to target female-headed households with its response. The Canadian Humanitarian Assistance Fund is a joint mechanism financed by Global Affairs Canada, the Humanitarian Coalition and its member agencies.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“Other stumbling blocks stand in the way of the north’s economic development. Its infrastructure was largely destroyed during the civil war. And the region is prone to both flooding and drought due to climate change and degradation of pastures.”
Investors Are Putting Somaliland On The Map
05 June – Source: OZY.com – 902 Words
Hong Kong–based American business developer Robby Zirkelbach has set up small firms in South Sudan, Iran and North Korea. But Somalia was too risky even for the former U.S. Marine sniper with a stomach for adventurous investments, until he stumbled upon the country’s north, the self-declared Republic of Somaliland. There, he sees promise in a land shattered by war.
After a walk through the bustling, dust-filled market at the center of the region’s capital, Hargeisa, and a trip to the developing port city of Berbera, Zirkelbach has decided to “dip a toe” into the developing market. He has identified electronics as an area where his company would like to invest, and he isn’t alone. Prospective investors are flocking to a part of Somalia that most of the world doesn’t recognize as a separate entity, attracted by its strategic geography, relative stability and mineral wealth. Such recognition is driving its next big economic hope.
UAE-based DP World is redeveloping Berbera Port on the Horn of Africa to accommodate modern supertankers, a development that could open northern Somalia — or Somaliland — to the large markets of neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya. Wassim Haroun, CEO of Conser, a regional engineering and development firm, sees potential in the northern Somali desert and is currently building a road connecting Berbera and Ethiopia.
And Faiza Dubbe, a partner at regional firm SomOil Company who was born and raised in undivided Somalia and moved to Canada as a refugee in 1986, has now returned to Somaliland to invest in an oil and trading business. She chose the separated region over southern Somalia that is still controlled by the federal government, because Somaliland — unlike the south — has maintained stability and held democratic elections for years.
“Once you get over the misconception that Somaliland may be unsafe, you open your eyes to the vast potential of this country and to what its people can achieve,” says Haroun. That the peace in northern Somalia coexists with the legacy of decades of war is evident on the streets of Hargeisa as the call to afternoon prayers during Ramadan rings out. Men shutter their shops and bring their prayer rugs to the mosque, walking through row after row of building blocks festooned with barbed wire. Guards with AK47s manning checkpoints pray in the road rather than abandoning their posts.
The Somali civil war began with military resistance to the dictator Siad Barre in the 1980s. The Barre government collapsed in 1991, plunging the country into a vicious conflict. Somaliland declared its independence that year. As the crisis worsened, Puntland, a region in central Somalia, declared autonomy in 1998, though it still remains loyal to the federal government.
But while many have written off Somalia as a failed state struggling to rid itself of the terrorism and corruption that’s blighted its recent history, its north is emerging as a beacon of economic hope. Ironically, the fact that Somaliland is separated is simultaneously its boon and its bane — though the fractures between Somalia’s three regions mean that development in one doesn’t mean either unity or prosperity for all.
Somaliland’s passports are recognized by only eight countries, and it receives no bilateral foreign aid. But it’s separate governance — whether recognized or not — from the war-torn south means its mineral resources, strategic location and relative security are drawing private investment and development the federal government can’t match.
TOP TWEETS
@hildevani1: Embassy of Belgium in Nairobi is happily hosting a workshop on visa policy for Somali nationals. Gratitudes to IOM@IOM_Somalia @UNmigration and @NorwayInKenya for its contributions. @BelgiuminKenya @BelgiumInUganda@BelgiumMFA
@mpfsomalia: At today’s SDRF, chaired by @DeputySomaliPM,@MofSomalia is presenting the groundbreaking report on using country systems. Recap: https://openknowledge.
@taakulosom: The @SHF_Somalia allocated $5.2 million for education activities in 2017. With these funds, 20 organizations reached 100,000 children, especially those affected by forced displacement, with education programmes. No child should be excluded from learning opportunities #WithSomalia
@SahraCabdi: #Somalia: After 2 days of high level #Securitymeeting, bwt the Federal gov and it’s member states, with the PM & @M_Farmaajo to night they have issued their final communique. The top agenda of the meeting was the #Security, Keeping #Sovereignty, the #transition period and others
@HarunMaruf: Two MPs from Hirshabelle regional administration – Ismail Mumin Hilowle and Moallim Dahir Mukhtar – deputy district chairman of Rage Elle, and 9 bodyguards died when Al-Shabab ambushed their convoy about 45km north of Mogadishu, Security officials have confirmed to @voasomali
@DalsanFM: Final Communique from the concluded National Security Conference in Baidoa.Agreements between regional and federal govts on security operations to fight terrorism 2020 election model, resource sharing and harmonisation of the tax systems in the country.#Somalia
@Fatumaabdulahi: No official population census since mid 80s; big chunk of the country under shabaab control; majority of population without national ID cards; gov officials could not travel on road to #Baidoa, where they ‘agreed’ on 1 person 1 vote by 2020, less than 2 years away! #Somalia
@somalibulletin: Somalia and the #Gulf #Crisis The quarrel between Gulf #monarchies has spilled into #Somalia, with the fragile state now caught between the rival interests of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Federal and regional leaders pose for a photo after the conclusion of the National Security Forum in Baidoa.
Photo: @TheVillaSomalia