August 28, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report.
AMISOM Hands Over Somalia National Stadium
28 August – Source: Shabelle Media – 303 Words
The Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) has officially handed over the Somali National Stadium to the Government of Somalia as part of the transition plan of the African Union’s Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Mogadishu Stadium is located in Warta, Nabada, Wardhiigley District and borders with Yaagshiid District to the east, Howl-Wadaga to the west and Bodhere to the south. During the hand over function, the President of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmaajo thanked the UPDF for their “sacrifice and patriotism” that led to the defeat and driving out of the Al-Shabaab militant group from Mogadishu city.
Deputy Special Representative of the Chairperson of African Union Commission (D/SRCC) Hon. Simon Mulongo, said the handover of Mogadishu stadium was a major step in the AMISOM transitional plan. According to AMISOM’s Uganda Contingent Commander, Brig. Gen Paul Lokech, the handover of the stadium to the Somalia Government is to allow the Government rehabilitate it and put it to its proper use.
In 1973, Mogadishu stadium hosted the ‘All African Games’ of which Uganda was represented by Kampala City Council (KCC FC) football Club (now Kampala City Council Authority-KCCA). Brig. Gen Lokech said the stadium was very useful in pacifying Mogadishu city and promised to continue carrying out joint operations with Somali National Army(SNA) to ensure the city remains peaceful.
The stadium was liberated from Al-Shabab on 6th September 2011 by Uganda’s Battle Group VII, VIII and the SNA during offensive operations that were aimed at liberating Mogadishu from the Al-Shabab. UPDF was effectively deployed at the stadium making it AMISOM’s forward base in an effort to pacify the City and its outskirts. The stadium has also been a base for both Uganda and Nigeria Police serving under AMISOM. The handover function was also attended by Uganda’s deputy ambassador to Somalia, Maj.Gen. Nathan Mugisha.
Key Headlines
- AMISOM Hands Over Somalia National Stadium (Shabelle Media)
- Peaceful Demonstrations As AMISOM Vacates Mogadishu Stadium (Dhacdo.com)
- HRW And ONLF Welcome Arrest Of Ex-leader Of Ethiopia’s Somali State (Halbeeg News)
- Troubling Trend Sees Evictions In Somalia Double (Norwegian Refugee Council)
- AMISOM Announces Changes In Security Protocol And Access To The Halane Base Camp (Kmau Updates)
- Transformation Euphoria In The Horn Of Africa (LSE – Centre for Africa)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Peaceful Demonstrations As AMISOM Vacates Mogadishu Stadium
28 August – Source: Dhacdo.com – 119 Words
Peaceful demonstrations were this morning witnessed at Mogadishu’s main stadium as the final part of the AMISOM troops exited from the sports facility. A number of people gathered at the Mogadishu stadium to welcome the move.
The peaceful demonstrations were staged as AMISOM forces were seen transporting their weapons and equipment. A section of Somali police forces has moved to the stadium to take charge of security in the vicinity.
For nine years, Amisom troops have used the stadium as a sector command post and their exit is a positive step towards freeing of recreational centres in the country. The President of Somalia Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo visited the stadium yesterday and officially announced the withdrawal of the Amisom troops.
HRW And ONLF Welcome Arrest Of Ex-leader Of Ethiopia’s Somali State
28 August – Source: Halbeeg News – 304 Words
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has welcomed the arrest of the former President of the Somali Regional State, Abdi Mohamoud Omar. Mr. Omar was arrested by Ethiopian security agencies at his home and is locked up at a police station in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In a statement, HRW called for a transparent and fair trial: “Hopefully, today’s arrest of Abdi Illey is a start to justice for victims of serious crimes in Ethiopia’s Somali region. The federal authorities should ensure that prosecutions are transparent, rigorous and fair and that victims and witnesses can testify without fear of reprisals.”
The arrest was also welcomed by Former Somali rebel group, Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF): “Today’s (Monday) arrest of Iley is a step in the right direction towards accountability and justice for all those who have suffered under his brutal dictatorship. He has left a bitter legacy of pain & suffering for which the noble people of the Ogaden region must be healed,” the group said in a post in a twitter.
ONLF urged the government of Ethiopia to prosecute other generals of TPLF for crime against humanity. Omar’s arrest, said ONLF, should be followed by the rapid arrest of top TPLF generals and security officials such as Samore Younis and Abraham Wolde, including other security and military officials implicated in the destruction, and widespread horrors and abuses in the region.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who briefed reporters on Friday afternoon, indicated that prisoners in Somali region were kept in cells along with a live lion, a tiger, and a hyena to scare the inmates: “The human right abuses we heard about in this area are like what we see in horror movies, or read in fiction.” Lobby groups and individuals have been critical of Mr. Omar’s human rights violations since he took power 10 years ago.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Troubling Trend Sees Evictions In Somalia Double
28 August – Source: Norwegian Refugee Council – 457 Words
Over 204,000 people were forcibly removed from their homes this year, nearly double the same period last year, with many people made homeless multiple times. “Tens of thousands of people who fled drought and violence are being forced from their homes again, only this time from forced evictions. Many of these families were forced to leave with little or no notice. Some have been evicted multiple times, without due process. This is unjust, and violates their rights,” said Evelyn Aero, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Adviser for Information, Counseling and Legal Assistance.
Last year’s drought and conflict, plus flooding this April, led to a massive migration to urban areas. But the shelter situation was already critical, with limited public land available to establish new settlements. Many people who ended up as squatters on public or private land have been evicted in Mogadishu due to a building boom. Displaced families who occupy dilapidated public buildings also risk being forcefully evicted, as many are being rebuilt. Most evictions are done without due process, including without prior notice.
Over 204,000 people were evicted between January and July, almost double the 122,000 evicted over the same period last year, according to the Housing Land Property Sub-Cluster of Somalia. This surpassed the total evicted for all of 2017. Fadumo Noor, a pregnant mother of four, endured four evictions from Mogadishu settlements. “This is the worst eviction I ever faced. I was at my uncle’s funeral when my family was being evicted. I came home and saw all my children outside, holding pieces of our shelter and belongings. We weren’t given any prior warning.”
Similarly, Halimo Sidow’s family had no time to pack up before leaving: “I faced evictions twice before, however we expected those. This one was unexpected and it’s very difficult to come to terms with. I wasn’t home when the eviction took place, I came back to see my children on the street.” Halimo a farmer with eight children in Mogadishu, had fled drought in Lower Shabelle.
AMISOM Announces Changes In Security Protocol And Access To The Halane Base Camp
27 August – Source: Kmau Updates – 135 Words
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has announced new security protocols and access procedures for the Halane base camp. Among these changes, is the re-assessment of access routes to and from the Halane base camp. Neighbouring communities, specifically those located at the former AMISOM Outpatient Department (OPD) unit will now access the camp only through Medina gate.
This action has necessitated the closure of all previously used access points in and out of the OPD and re-direction of traffic solely through Medina gate at all times. This is in line with AMISOM reviewing its security protocols and practice. Additionally AMISOM will begin a comprehensive re-registration exercise of all civilians who have access to the base camp. All civilian staff and contractors will be kept informed of any further changes in the security protocol.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“The Horn of Africa is an emerging market with great economic potential. But to turn that potential into economic success and sustainable stability, the region’s political, business, intellectual and social leadership’s aspirations must be in harmony: no foreign power or coalition of interests could secure that.”
Transformation Euphoria In The Horn Of Africa
28 August – Source: LSE – Centre for Africa – 1769 Words
The US is being squeezed out of Djibouti by its geopolitical rival China and the Trump administration is yet to unveil a coherent policy towards the Horn. Meanwhile, China is building its first overseas base to project its ever-growing military power. China is already well established on a trade and development front across Africa. The infrastructure and political support system for its new Silk Road are already established or in progress. Despite owning nearly 800 military bases in more than 70 countries, the Chinese expansion in the region, and indeed Africa, is giving the US what I would call a strategic vertigo.
AFRICOM still remains the floating State Department in charge of guarding US interests in the region with the same old guards – Ethiopia handling the political bidding and Erik Prince (Blackwater) and companies via the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) DP World handling all matters intended to evade scrutiny and accountability. This may offer some perspective as to how a tiny Gulf nation became the key element through which the geopolitical landscape of the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa is redesigned.
Despite the successful international business narrative it projects, clouds of suspicion still hover over dubious multifaceted maritime enterprise. The significant ‘intelligence and security risks’ associated with the company and its Erik Prince and private military partners was one of the main reasons why in 2006 the US congress rejected a DP World deal to manage six US ports, its support of neoconservative heavyweights and Vice President Dick Cheney notwithstanding.
In addition to the $700 billion trade between Europe and Asia that passes each year through Bab al-Mandab, the European Union is determined to constrict the out of Africa migration trend by promoting and investing in what it calls regional integration to improve trade, security and good governance. Ethiopia is to be the anchoring state and IGAD is to remain the institutional shepherd with international backing. The Horn model could then be extended to the entire continent. There is only one little caveat: no Turkey, no Qatar, and certainly, no China.
Ever since the eruption of the Gulf Cooperation Council feud that led to a Qatar blockade more than a year ago, neither politics nor security has been the same in the Horn of Africa. This is especially the case in Somalia, where the competing geopolitical interests of the UAE and Saudi Arabia on the one hand and Qatar and Turkey on the other intersect. Though there are other zero-sum competitions at play in Somalia, none have brought in more cash for the disjointed politics locally known as siyaasadda kala fur-furka than the Gulf monarchs.
General Anwar Eshki is the Chairman of the Middle East Center for Strategic and Legal Studies and a close advisor to Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. He is the architect of the Saudi strategic duplicity that led to the bloody Yemen war, the normalisation of its relationship with Israel despite the systematic genocide of Palestinians, and the policy to facilitate Ethiopia’s annexation of Somalia.
TOP TWEETS
@HarunMaruf: August 28, 2017: A year ago today, the Somali Govt was faced with its first major political crisis since coming to power following the handover of ONLF rebel commander Abdikarim Muse Qalbi Dhagah to Ethiopia. This program documented what happened nexthttps://www.voasomali.com/a/
@MoPIED_Somalia: @MoPIED_Somalia co organized a dialogue meeting about Towards Open Governance “to bring together difference actors who are currently involved in promoting open governance initiatives in Somalia“. @AmbGamal@UNDPSomalia @MofSomalia @MOISOMALIA @wakiilorg#egovernance
@Rooble2009: #Somaliland: President signed the Rape and Sexual Offenses Bill into a Law.
@Lattif: Somalia’s electoral commission has registered seven more parties—hopefully, a step to shift away from clan politics and towards an issue-oriented and collective-minded political reality.
@SomaliSTEM: Second day of the #STEM Awareness Week is going on now @HanoAcademy with the students from Global Schools #education #tech #SomaliSTEM #Youth #students
@Bashi_nuuh: Nazia Parveen article about UK Somali teenagers taken ‘on holiday and forced into marriage is dangerous allegations and we should do our own investigation and challenge it. @hanoolaatotv @Abdihafidunitv @Asahaaf@HarunMaruf @Abukarawale @alihwarsame
@amisomsomalia: During the tour of the Stadium, President@M_Farmaajo expressed his satisfaction with the transition process and thanked #AMISOM troops for their sacrifice and continued support towards the restoration of peace in#Somalia. #NabadIyoNolol
IMAGE OF THE DAY
President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo accompanied by DSRCC Simon Mulongo, Somali Police Commissioner and Senior AMISOM officials tour the Mogadishu Stadium ahead of today’s handover event.
Photo: AMISOM