July 24, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
Military Operation Underway In Lower Jubba Region
24 July – Source: Shabelle Media – 162 Words
The Somali National Army (SNA), alongside Jubbaland and Kenyan troops are reported to have kicked off a military operation in parts of Lower Jubba region, according to residents. The allied forces are conducting joint operations in the areas around Kismayo city, the interim administrative capital of Jubbaland administration, in a bid to flush out Al-Shabaab members from the region.
The move comes after Al-Shabaab carried out deadly truck bombing and gun attacks on a military base in Sanguni, a small town situated some 50 kilometers north of Kismayo city, killing 27 soldiers on Monday.
Local residents say tension is still high following Monday’s attack, as the joint forces prepare a final offensive against the militants, who have been trying to seize control of the areas near Kismayo. Since Kenyan army crossed into southern Somalia in 2011, Al-Shabaab has stepped up attacks in the Jubba and Gedo regions, as well as staging border raids targeting Kenyan police and residences living in northeastern Kenya.
Key Headlines
- Military Movement Underway In Lower Jubba Region (Shabelle Media)
- Puntland Business Women Forum Kicks Off In Garowe (Garowe Online)
- UN Special Envoy Michael Keating Joins NUSOJ-led Discussion On Role Of Media In Somalia (Jowhar News)
- Somalia Says 87 Al-Shabab Fighters Killed In Foiled Military Base Attack (Xinhua)
- Book Fair Turns The Page For Literature In Somaliland (Daily Mail)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Puntland Business Women Forum Kicks Off In Garowe
24 July – Source: Garowe Online – 202 Words
Puntland Business Woman Forum kicked off on Monday in the state capital of Garowe, with high-ranking government officials and entrepreneurs in attendance. Puntland state’s Vice President, Abdihakim Abdullahi Haji Omar, members of the Cabinet and other top officials of the regional government, attended the conference slated for July 23rd and 24th.
The forum is organized by Puntland Business Women Umbrella (PBWU), which was founded by Halima Mohamed and Ijabo Sheikh Hassan. PBWU aims to inspire Puntland women entrepreneurs in the business sector. Ms. Hassan, who is also the deputy Chairperson of PBWU, said the forum gives participants a platform to discuss their working conditions, by sharing their experiences and learning from one another. She added that the event, which is the first of its kind to be held in Puntland, seeks to find a solution to the challenges faced by small businesses run by women. .
Puntland ministers for Women’s Affairs, Trade, and Fisheries, who addressed the meeting, pledged to support the women entrepreneurs and thanked the PBWU for organizing the forum. The VP observed that women are the backbone of the society and highlighted the importance of promote their businesses so that they too can contribute to the economic development of Puntland.
UN Special Envoy Michael Keating Joins NUSOJ-led Discussion On Role Of Media In Somalia
23 July – Source: Jowhar News – 448 Words
The United Nations Secretary-General Special Representative for Somalia Michael Keating took part in a civil society panel discussion held in Mogadishu on Monday. The meeting was organized by the National Union of Somalia Journalists (NUSOJ), and discussions focused on the role of media in enhancing good governance, peace and democracy in the country.
The purpose of the meeting was to promote free press as a cornerstone for democracy and establish a strong interaction between the media and the UN to discuss key issues on state building. The event was attended by both private, public Somalia media and civil society groups.
Mr. Keating was joined by panelist Professor Hassan Sheikh Ali, a university lecturer. After a brief introduction of the topic about the role of media in peace, development and democracy in Somalia, moderator Abdirahman Koronto, a former BBC Somalia journalist, both panelists were bombarded with questions by participants. Participants sought to find out how the UN and the Somalia government can support and maintain a free media.
Keating said the Somali media plays an important role in educating, informing and helping shape the country’s future albeit in a challenging environment since 1992 whereby, dozens of journalists have been killed on duty. For the media to perform better, he advised, they must be protected and defended and in turn the media must also act responsibly and professionally. He reiterated UN’s support to NUSOJ efforts at professionalizing the Somalia media.
“Democratic institutions can only flourish with a robust and free media that contributes to the overall peacebuilding effort, as well as contributing to good governance and reconciliation. And for the media to flourish, there must be respect for freedom of expression and press freedom,” Mr. Keating said.
Professor Ali observed it was important to have a professional media and authorities should accordingly provide security to the media. Abdirahman Dinari from the Somalia Think Tank Group thanked the UN for supporting the discussions and providing the platform to civil society to share such insights. He said the media plays a huge role and needs support. “The Somali media has gone through a lot of challenges in Somalia. There was a time when the media personnel were killed, arrested and/or harassed. However, the situation is much better because the country is experiencing change. The media plays a key role in peace building, development and democracy but it needs much more support to professionalize it,” Mr. Dinari added.
NUSOJ Secretary General Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu thanked all the participants for taking part in the discussions and in particular the UN chief in Somalia for his active role in fighting for media rights, as well extending technical and financial support to the Somalia media.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Says 87 Al-Shabab Fighters Killed In Foiled Military Base Attack
24 July – Source: Xinhua – 212 Words
Somali National Army (SNA) said Monday its soldiers killed 87 al-Shabab militants during heavy fighting at a military base in Bar-Sanguni, about 50 km north of Kismayo in southern region. Adam Isak, Deputy Information Minister of Somalia, said the militants launched an attack at the military base with suicide car bomb but were repulsed. “Somali National Army killed 87 al-Shabab militants at Bar-Sanguni location this morning after the terrorists failed to ambush our army. The government forces are in full control of the base now,” Isak said.
SNA commander in the area Mukhtar Abdi Mohamed confirmed four government soldiers were killed and five others injured during the heavy fighting with al-Shabab fighters, while denying militants’ claims that they captured the base and killed 27 soldiers. Independent sources say that some Jubaland and SNA soldiers who were wounded in the attack were hospitalized in hospitals in Kismayo town.
The militant group, which said it was behind the blast, frequently stages bomb and gun attacks in the capital and others in southern region in its bid to topple Somalia’s government, which is trying to rebuild the nation after two decades of conflict and chaos. The latest deadly attack comes as African Union forces have started a conditions-based draw-down from the Horn of Africa nation.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“Somaliland and Somalia have a long oral storytelling tradition that celebrates poets like Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame, known as Hadraawi, who is considered by some to be the Somali Shakespeare.”
Book Fair Turns The Page For Literature In Somaliland
24 July – Source: Daily Mail – 785 Words
Aged just 16, Abdishakur Mohamed confidently presented his latest work to the Hargeisa book fair, an event that has transformed Somaliland’s literary scene over the past decade. Abdishakur spent four years writing “Ab-ka haleel” (“In the footsteps of our ancestors”), intended as a rebuttal of friends who he says were not “embracing their culture”. “Instead they see it as unimportant, and their Somali identity is in danger,” he told AFP. At the first annual event in 2008, organisers only exhibited a handful of books borrowed from friends and attracted just 200 visitors.
Ten years on and literature has taken a prominent place in Somaliland’s culture. New writers have emerged, volumes are being edited, book clubs formed and public libraries opened. The book fair, being held from Saturday July 21 to Thursday July 26, has been a key factor in Somaliland’s embrace of literature. The fair now has international appeal and attracts exhibitors from across the world while helping to raise awareness of the self-proclaimed country’s relative stability in contrast to Somalia.
Somaliland broke away from the rest of the troubled Horn of Africa country in 1991 — but has gone without international recognition since: “I come because it’s a space that really allows people from all walks of life, from ambassadors, to politicians, to artists, to thinkers; different people to just come here and share ideas about the future of Somaliland — as well as looking back at the past,” said filmmaker Khadra Ali.
“We are here to encourage the young people and tell them the value of writing, whether it’s books, poetry or things related to art,” said author and playwright Yasmin Mohamed Kahin, whose work was exhibited at this year’s fair. It was only in 1972 that the Somali language was codified by the military government of Siad Barre in an effort to strengthen national identity.
But armed resistance to Barre’s increasingly authoritarian rule slowed the momentum of the language’s formalisation. The Somali army subsequently bombed Hargeisa, pushing Somalilanders into exile in Europe and the Gulf as well as to refugee camps in Ethiopia. One visitor to the fair is activist Edna Adan, the 80-year-old former foreign affairs minister and wife of Somaliland’s second president, Mohamed Ibrahim Egal.
TOP TWEETS
@DeputySomaliPM: It was an honour to open the 2nd Annual International Conference on Higher Education in post conflict societies in #Mogadishu #Somalia today. Investment in Education is key to Somalia’s development. Education is light. #HEC2018
@Goobjoognews: FGS has deployed new military forces between Mogadishu, Afgoye road.
@RAbdiCG: Rashid Abdi Retweeted Mohamed Farmaajo Great message from Prez @M_Farmaajo congratulating the Hargeisa International Book Fair @hibf and leading cultural figure behind the festival @JamaMusse. Not a political message, but in the light of recent tensions between S/Land and Somalia a definite welcome change of language.
@mpfsomalia: “A reality that is too familiar with Somalis is that we import most products, when we should be producing them”#ShaqoAbuur
@VPsomaliland: It was great honour to open in #DubaiSomaliland Trade Office in the presence of Dubai Chamber of commerce officials, Dp World, #Somaliland officials and Investors. The trade office will serve as a platform for promoting bilateral ties & businesses between #UAE & Somaliland.
@WallsMJ: Great to see another good audience for presentation tackling one of the big political topics. Clan vs national federalism#SSIA18 #SSIA2018 #HIBF2018 @hargeisaunivers @HargeysaCC @hibf @SomaliStudies
@DConcar: Shocking reminder of the heartbreaking impact of#FGM. Somalia can’t rewrite its history of conflict but its people & leaders (religious & political) do have the power to criminalise FGM. How many 10-year-old girls must die before they choose to use it?
@EUCAPSOM: EUCAP Somalia representatives participated in the Puntland Business Women Forum:
https://www.garoweonline.com/
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Panelists air their views at the Puntland Business Women Forum held in Garowe.
Photo: @abdikadir_dubat