June 28, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
30 Foreign Al-Shabaab Fighters Reportedly Killed Near Jilib Town
27 June – Source: Mareeg – 239 Words
Somali military forces have launched fresh attacks on targets held by Al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab group in south of Somalia, killing dozens of foreign fighters. The military forces’ raid targeted on Wednesday a house inhabited by foreign Al Shabaab fighters, according to Sonna News Agency.
According to the news agency, Somali military forces killed at least 30 foreigners from Sudan and Kenya, who were fighting alongside Al-Shabaab. A group’s senior leader, whose name identified as Bashir Mohamed Mohamud, and who had a cash reward placed on his head, was among those injured in the attack. It is remains unknown if Mohamud escaped with the injuries or was captured alive during the raid.
The attack came hours after Somalia’s Jubaland State announced war on targets held by Al Shabaab in the region. The group’s fighters still hold large swathes of land in the region, where they launch fresh guerilla style attacks against Somalia and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces backed by US especial troops.
Earlier this month, a US especial soldier was killed and four others injured in mortar and ambush attack by Al Shabaab near the coastal town of Kismayo. The US military confirmed the casualties, saying the victims had already been airlifted to a hospital in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. There has been no comment from Al-Shabaab group in response to the latest reports on its foreign fighters killed in south of Somalia.
Key Headlines
- 30 Foreign Al-Shabaab Fighters Reportedly Killed Near Jilib Town (Mareeg)
- Al-Shabaab Fighter Defects to Somali Army in Southern Somalia (Halbeeg News)
- Banadir Regional Administration Demolishes Illegal Buildings (Goobjoog News)
- Senior AMISOM And UNSOS Officials Visit Kismayo And Baidoa On A Fact-Finding Mission (AMISOM)
- How Not to Engage With Ethiopia (Hiiraan)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Al-Shabaab Fighter Defects to Somali Army in Southern Somalia
27 June – Source: Halbeeg News – 189 Words
An Al-Shabaab fighter on Wednesday surrendered himself to Somali National Army (SNA) in Jubbaland State, a military official said. Since the defection of former Al-Shabab deputy leader, Sheikh Mukhtar Robbow, dozens of the group’s fighters have turned themselves in. Abdi Ibrahim Abdalla, the SNA commander in Barsanguni village, who spoke to Halbeeg News, said the fighter defected from Al-Shabaab.
The defector, identified as Hussein Mohamud Ramadhani, was taken into custody according to Abdalla. Ramadhani reportedly handed over his rifle and magazines to the Somali forces. Dozens of Somali soldiers and Al-Shabaab fighters died in Barsanguni village last month following hours of fierce fighting between both sides. Since then, Somali military has established a military base in the village.
Jubbaland authorities and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) early this month agreed to step up operations to annihilate Al-Shabaab fighters in Jubbaland areas. Al-Shabaab, which wants to overthrow Somali government, controls Middle Jubba and parts of Lower Jubba and Gedo regions. The group lost large swathes of land in South and Central Somalia after its fighters engaged in years of deadly gun battle with Somali forces backed by continental forces.
Banadir Regional Administration Demolishes Illegal Buildings
28 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 220 Words
The Banadir regional administration last night conducted a patrol operation between the Black sea and Bakara market in the capital of Mogadishu. The operation resulted in the destruction of commercial buildings built around the road. The Banadir administration had sent out a warning signal to traders who had built the roads.
Banadir’s regional governor for security and political affairs, Mohamed Abdullahi Tuulax, who was present at the scene of the operation, said he would not allow the road to be constructed in the area: “In the last few days we have been trying to re-open the streets of the city, but the people — believing our officers will not return to the scene — have always resumed construction and this time we are warning them of dire legal consequences,” said Tuulax.
The buildings earmarked for destruction were built in the middle of the public roads with no space allocated for the public to use. There have been numerous allegations of corruption regarding the sell of public land with claims of fake title deeds finding their way into the official system.
Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo early this year halted the selling, leasing and allocation of public land. Land and property ownership in Mogadishu remains an emotive and complex issue dating back to the collapse of the government in 1991 and even before.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Senior AMISOM And UNSOS Officials Visit Kismayo And Baidoa On A Fact-Finding Mission
28 June – Source: AMISOM – 438 Words
The African Union Special Representative for Somalia, Ambassador Francisco Madeira, has completed a three-day visit to Kismayo and Baidoa to assess ongoing preparations for transfer of security responsibilities to the Federal Government of Somalia. The preparations are part of a complex plan to increase the involvement of federal and state governments in the affairs of the country as per the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2372 (2017) which authorized condition-based transfer of security responsibilities to Somali national security forces.
Ambassador Madeira noted that the trip was aimed at preparing staff at the headquarters in Mogadishu and in the sectors for the transition which commenced last December with the reduction of 1000 AMISOM soldiers. “We are in transition, we have to prepare ourselves for the transition and I came here to see what we already have in place for the process, the needs, the possible challenges we might face and the priorities that we need to put in place in preparation for the transition,” the SRCC said in Kismayo.
Accompanied by the head of the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS), Lisa Filipetto, Ambassador Madeira assessed various AMISOM activities in the field to get firsthand information on the challenges faced by the staff. The two officials also held meetings with presidents of Jubbaland and South West states and senior AMISOM and UN personnel. “For us, the more immediate concern is to see how our forces are operating, are faring, how our police forces are doing and also what challenges they are facing and how we can address them together,” Ambassador Madeira added.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“In its efforts of Somalia trying to rise from years of violence and political instability, it’s very susceptible of being taken on a ride by various predatory nations and companies and the current leadership needs to be very cautious the true intentions of getting into any economic negotiations.”
How Not to Engage With Ethiopia
27 June – Source: Hiiraan Online – 1282 Words
The new Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s recent visit in Mogadishu marked unlikely shift in the two countries’ relations. In a joint communique statement issued by both President Farmajo and Prime Minister Ahmed have agreed to “strengthen their brotherly bilateral relations” and abolish trade barriers between the two countries, including investment of four major Somali ports.
This unprecedented bilateral negotiations between the two neighboring countries has received mixed reviews that most Somalis could only sense the sinister side of Ethiopia investing in Somali ports, which it doesn’t have the financial capital to do so and could only be interpreted as a maritime encroachment rather than economic investment.
More fundamentally, it’s hard to see Ethiopia entering fair bilateral trade agreement with Somalia on equal grounds due to its historical aggressions and political meddling within Somalia. Given the fragility of the federal government Somali and the prevaili.ng political fragmentation within its regional states, it should not rush into entering bilateral agreements with any predatory nations and companies.
No matter how friendly Ethiopia suddenly appears to be, any bilateral trade negotiation talks should be held off, scrutinized and publicly debated for due process. Unfortunately, President Farmajo conveniently forgets (or he is ignorant of the new prime minister’s background) that Mr. Abiy Ahmed, as a former intelligence officer, is none but a protégé of the late cunning Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi who sent up to 10,000 troops into Somalia to commit unprecedented genocide that has driven close to a million of Somalis from their homes, not to mention laying the grounds of the current political undermining in the federal regional states.
If President Farmajo seems to believe the century-old Ethiopian animosity towards Somalia would be overturned by a few hours’ visit of PM Abiy Ahmed in Mogadishu and chooses to fall for his gambit, he’s politically naïve, dangerously naïve. The harsh truth is that the United Arab Emirates is behind Ethiopia’s current push to invest in these unnamed four major Somali ports by promising them to loan the funds to invest in these ports.
TOP TWEETS
@BashiirMaxmud: #Breaking: Govt run Tv & Radio female journo, Farhia Mire critically wounded by pistol armed man. She was rushed to the hospital. The culprit is caught by Somalia police,
@Vatescorp: #Somalia: SONNA claims 30 foreign #alShabaabfighters killed near Jilib, say Qorgab ($5m USD Reward) injured in the raid http://ow.ly/BtXe30kHDEA
@SIPAMinstitute: Policy brief – https://bit.ly/2KmwaVz- #Somaliyouths remark that improvements to the security situation nationally would bring about an environment more conducive to job creation. @amisomsomalia @engyarisow @UNSomalia@MoIS_Somalia @SomaliaPolice @HSNQ_NISA @DalsanFM@sntvnews1
@AbdikarGabow: I began actively interested in reading Somali politics ever since I graduated from Melbourne Uni in Australia in 1990s. One thing that never eroded in Somalia is how deeply they adore in politics. What a nation of 15 mill need is not 15 mil politicians but millions of patriots.
@OCHASom: According to Somalia Child Protection cluster 81,200 people were reached through prevention and response activities. See the Child Protection Dashboard as of 31 May 2018.
@AnalystSomalia: Do #Somalis in Ethiopia ready, organized and informed how best to maximize their interests in the short term and long term or are others doing it for them?
@CrisisGroup: #Somaliand and #Puntland are sliding toward a conflict which could cause devastating destabilisation. Here is how to avoid it ⇒ http://bit.ly/AfricaB141
@HarunMaruf: A delegation from UAE arrives in Puntland’s Qardho town to meet traditional leaders and politicians; comes as Puntland leaders try to ease tensions created recent spat between UAE and federal Govt of Somalia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission (SRCC) for Somalia & Head of AMISOM, Amb. Francisco Madeira meets with South West President Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan in Baidoa to discuss ways of enhancing cooperation and improving security in the region.
Photo: @AmbFMadeira