August 6, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somali Foreign Ministry Denies Accusations Against Deputy FM
06 August – Source: Halbeeg News – 162 Words
Somali Foreign Ministry denied accusations against the Deputy Foreign Minister, Mukhtar Mahad Da’ud, barely two days after the police raided his office. On Saturday, Attorney General Ahmed Ali Dahir accused Mr. Da’ud of “stealing public funds”. Mr. Da’ud was blamed of using public funds for personal use. Attorney General Dahir said, that they carried out a 4 month long investigation, into alleged corruption against Mr. Da’ud.
A statement released by the Somali Foreign Ministry labelled the allegations against Mr. Da’ud as “far from the truth” and “slanderous”. The Foreign Ministry condemned the raid by the police officers, “The anti-terror police unit had stormed and raided the building of the ministry, and such act had destroyed the trust and cooperation primarily”, the statement reads in part.The statement comes two days after Mr. Da’ud was summoned to appear before a court in Mogadishu. Mr. Da’ud earlier failed to appear in court after the prosecutors levelled charges corruptions against him.
Key Headlines
- Somali Foreign Ministry Denies Accusations Against Deputy FM (Halbeeg News)
- Government Says Killers Of Young Entrepreneur Mohamed Sheikh Have Been Gunned Down (Hiiraan Online)
- Al-Shabaab Executes 4 Including Soldiers In Jilib Town (Shabelle Media)
- Car Bomb Blast Kills 4 In Somalia’s Capital (Anadolu Agency)
- Camels Join Police In New Border Patrol Unit (The Standard)
- The Short Life Of An Inspiring Entrepreneur Will Keep Giving Hope To The Troubled City He Loved (Quartz)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Government Says Killers Of Young Entrepreneur Mohamed Sheikh Have Been Gunned Down
06 August – Source: Hiiraan Online – 166 Words
Somalia’s Information Ministry said, security forces gunned down the suspected killers of the recently slain young entrepreneur, Mohamed Sheikh, who was killed on August 2. Minister Dahir Mohamud Gelle, stated the security forces shot dead the suspected assailants responsible of the recent drive-by shooting incidents in the capital.
Minister Gelle said, they have enough evidence that the slain suspects were indeed the perpetrators of Mohamed’s murder, and added the police seized the vehicle they were driving and weapons. Two occupants of the vehicle were killed and the driver escaped unharmed. A government soldier was also shot dead in the exchange of gunfire.
Separately, the minister condemned an incident in Mogadishu where a member of the police force was killed inside a mosque by suspected Al-Shabaab militants – terming the killing horrific. The development comes amid a public outcry over the rise of the number of assassinations in Mogadishu recently. Protesters yesterday took to the streets to condemn the killing of Mohamed Sheikh and demanded justice for him.
Al-Shabaab Executes 4, Including Soldiers In Jilib Town
05 August – Source: Shabelle Media – 114 Words
The Al-Qaeda-affiliated – Al-Shabaab militants have publicly executed at least four men, including three soldiers, reportedly captured alive during a recent attack near Kismayo city. The execution was carried out by a firing squad by Al-Shabaab, in an open area in Jilib district in Jubba region, which is under the control of the militants, sources said.
A woman was amongst those shot dead by Al-Shabaab. The mass killing was the latest in series of public executions, against soldiers and alleged spies for the government, in the militant held Jilib town. The fourth man whose name has been identified as Mohamud Abdi Abshir, 32, was convicted of murder and was sentenced him to death by the Al-Shabaab court.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Car Bomb Blast Kills 4 In Somalia’s Capital
06 August – Source: Anadolu Agency – 115 Words
At least four people were killed and seven others wounded when a car bomb blast hit a busy restaurant in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Sunday night, said an official. “The blast targeted our innocent citizens, we condemn this horror act from the enemy of our people,” Mogadishu Municipality Spokesman Salah Dhere told reporters after the blast that happened at the busy street of Maka.
All casualties were civilians, said Dhere, adding that the security agencies were investigating the incident. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack comes hours after another car bomb blast in the town of Afgoye, in Lower Shabelle region, which left four people dead including three soldiers.
Camels Join Police In New Border Patrol Unit
06 August – Source: The Standard – 595 Words
A new police unit has been unveiled to patrol remote sections of the Kenya-Somali border in efforts to combat banditry. The pioneer camel patrol unit under the Border Patrol Unit of the Administration Police Service will be based in Isiolo County and will involve 50 camels that are currently being trained.
Sources say creation of the unit was informed by rising cases of terror attacks targeting security personnel on patrol in far-flung areas. Police statistics show up to 70 police officers have been killed in the last two years in separate attacks by terrorists using Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
The officers are usually targeted while driving through harsh terrain that makes their vehicles vulnerable to attacks by bandits and terrorists. The camels will be used to patrol parts of North Eastern region as well as areas prone to cattle rustling. The concept has been borrowed from India, Australia and New Zealand, where thousands of camels are deployed to police borders.
“Camels, if and when trained well, are intelligent animals that can see far and alert their riders of incoming danger. This is a good move,” said another source. A visit to the unit’s base in Isiolo showed up to 100 officers currently taking care of the first team of camels ahead of the launch of the new unit. From here they are expected to trek to the Kenya-Somalia border.
Plans are underway to have some of the trained camels participate in next year’s Madaraka Day celebrations in Nairobi. The unit will join other animal units in the police service, including dog and horse units. “Just like the other animals in the service, they will be taken care of well,” said the source.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“Through Mohamed’s loss, Mogadishu has been deprived of one of its best advocates, one who knew that it was more than the sum of its occupants, businesses, and new structures. Mogadishu has lost an icon.”
The Short Life Of An Inspiring Entrepreneur Will Keep Giving Hope To The Troubled City He Loved
05 August – Source: Quartz – 853 Words
The news of the attack was revealed first on Twitter. On Aug. 2, Mohamed Mohamoud Sheik, 31, an entrepreneur and youth activist, was assaulted by unknown gunmen near the Benadir junction in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. He was later pronounced dead after undergoing surgery at a local hospital.
Mohamed’s death dealt the country and its people a big blow. He was a pioneer, a believer in a better Somalia, a passionate advocate for Mogadishu, and a rebel determined to create a better future out of the rubble of a devastating civil war. His story, his work, and his ultimate killing represent the tragic fate of a city struggling between a brutal past, an uncertain present, and the urgent need to redefine its future.
In 2012, aged 25, Mohamed came into the limelight when he opened Somalia’s first dry cleaner in decades. Forever curious, he got the idea after noticing businessmen and government officials taking their suits abroad to get them cleaned. A year later, he opened the city’s first flower shop—a much-needed, hopeful, and romantic injection into a nation taking baby steps out of over two decades of war.
To boost local businesses, he founded Startup Grind Mogadishu, an affiliate of the Google-powered global startup community aimed at encouraging entrepreneurs. He was also a judge on the Inspire Somalia television show, which gave budding entrepreneurs the chance to pitch and bring their dreams to fruition. Through his actions and ambitious business plans, Mohamed was an exemplar of a buoyant city, showing those in and out what could be done to revive war-torn Somalia.
As he said during his TEDx Mogadishu talk in 2013, for him it wasn’t “only about opening up a business, it’s about bringing something that people need.” Mogadishu is a dense city: 91 square kilometers (35 square miles) with a population of over 2.5 million people, according to urban city index Demographia. Shaped like the head of an ax, it hugs the waters of the Indian Ocean even as it arcs back into dozens of tiny, sand-filled alleys, several tarmacked roads, 17 districts, numerous open-air markets, before offering itself up to the rest of mainland Somalia and the Horn of Africa.
With its white and gray architecture hemmed in by the blue horizon of the ocean, it was once described by the renowned Somali author Nuruddin Farah as “one of the prettiest” cities in the world. But the capital and its cosmopolitan culture became unmoored after 1991: after 20 years under the grip of a tyrant, looting militias, marauding tribespeople, and most recently terrorists, left it dispossessed for another three decades.
TOP TWEETS
@HornDiplomat: The first #OROMO refugees fleeing Violences in Jigjiga reached #Ethiopia–#Somaliland border town #Wajale.
@Eye_on_Somalia: #reliefweb Somalia: Somalia Drought Crisis – Water Price Monitoring Somalia, May 2018https://ift.tt/2LUWmYV #Somalia
@HarunMaruf: BREAKING: Suspected militants driving this car (pictured) shot and killed a Govt soldier, injured two others near Sei Piano, Mogadishu, a short while ago. Soldiers returned fire killing two occupants who were armed with AK47s; a third person has escaped, witnesses.
@adancabdulle: Adam Retweeted Abdifatah Hassan Ali Proud of all the organizers and everyone that took part in mobilizing for@Moesheikali who was unjustly killed in Mogadishu. Proud also of Mogadishu’s youth who mobilized in demanding justice for Mohamed who was a beloved son of Mogadishu.
@osmando: Where are we heading? The man who murdered thousands of innocent Somalis can run political office #ONLY in Somalia #SHABAB @AbdirizakOm @mukhtarainashe@SomaliPM @Abukar_Arman @BareElias @ThabitMhd@Siad_A
@Vatescorp: #Somalia: Mogadishu youth protest failing security, demand action from government.
@AbdulBillowAli: Meanwhile in #Kenya, 50 camels are set join police in new border patrol unit along the border it shares with#Somalia.
@Goobjoognews: #BREAKING: Foreign Affairs Ministry@MofaSomalia dismisses graft allegations by Auditor General and DPP as ‘far fetched and baseless’. Statement follows CID attempts to arrest Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Mukhtar Daud Saturday.
@engyarisow: I was glad to witness a historic moment for Somali farmers as the Ministry of Agriculture and @WFPSomalia sign an agreement to revive the farming sector. #WFP also brought locally produced maize.
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire with regional leaders in Sudan, Khartoum, attending the signing of South Sudan peace agreement.
Photo: @DalsanFM