October 4, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
HirShabelle Deputy President Declares Fresh Offensive Against Al-Shabaab
04 October – Source: Jowhar – 166 Words
Deputy President HirShabelle Ali Abdullahi Hussein on Wednesday announced a fresh offensive against the militant group Al-Shabaab in parts of the state. Speaking at a press conference in Jowhar upon returning from a trip to Mogadishu, Mr. Hussein vowed that his administration will spearhead the renewed military operations against the militant hideouts in HirShabelle.
Mr. Hussein further stated his work trip to Mogadishu ended successfully, noting that his administration and the federal government had agreed to lead the operations, aimed at liberating HirShabelle residents from Al-Shabaab. He was accompanied by the regional assembly speaker Osman Barre Mohamed.
He lauded the self-organized armed group called (Ma’awisley), who stood up to resist the militants in parts of Middle Shabelle. While sending condolences to the families and friends of the Ma’awisley gallant leaders Mr. Hibal Ali Dasar and his deputy, who were both killed recently fighting Al-Shabaab, he called on the HirShabelle people to take up their arms and support their administration in the new fight against the militants.
Key Headlines
- HirShabelle Deputy President Declares Fresh Offensive Against Al-Shabaab (Jowhar)
- SNA Conduct Military Operations In Lower Shabelle Region (Goobjoog News)
- Somalia And Saudi Arabia Ink Deal On Civil Aviation (Halbeeg News)
- Kenya Defies Austerity Buys 12 US Helicopters (Daily Nation)
- The Forgotten Lessons of Black Hawk Down (New York)
NATIONAL MEDIA
SNA Conduct Military Operations In Lower Shabelle Region
04 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 133 Words
Reports from Lower Shabelle region stated that the Somali government forces have been conducting major operations in Leego, and other suburbs in the area. Witnesses stated that the Somali National Army early Thursday, conducted a heavy operation in the area, after they have been targeted yesterday with an IED attack.
The officers who are leading the operation have declined to comment on their operations. The situation of the area remains calm and no casualties were reported. SNA backed with AMISOM has managed to drive out Al-Shabaab from key towns in Somalia.
Lower Shabelle which once used to be Al-Shabaab stronghold, is an agricultural and strategic town, that is located in the southwest of Somalia capital city, Mogadishu. The group is carrying out hit and run attacks in major towns under government’s control area.
Somalia And Saudi Arabia Ink Deal On Civil Aviation
04 October – Source: Halbeeg News – 219 Words
The Somali government on Wednesday signed a civil aviation agreement with Saudi Arabia. A delegation was led by Minister of Civil Aviation, Mohamed Abdullahi Salad, who negotiated with officials from Saudi Arabia’s Civil aviation ministry. The sides discussed ways and prospects of improving bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the field of air transport.
The deal was signed by the Minister for Civil Aviation, Mohamed Abdullahi Salad, and his Saudi counterpart Nabel Al Amoudi. Speaking to the media, Minister Salad said, the agreement with Saudi Arabia will improve Somalia’s air transportation sector. “The agreement is part of the government’s efforts to improve the country’s civil aviation. We will continue with such agreements, which in turn will help rebuild Somalia, and the government encourages Saudi bid to fund Somalia to boost the economy for job creation in the country,’’ he said.
In 2016, Somalia inked a memorandum of understanding and initialed bilateral agreement with Saudi Arabia. The memorandum of understanding was stating that, air operations between the two countries, “from” and “to” 4 international destinations to be determined at a later time by the two authorities. The MoU was also articling the principle of multiple appointments of the national carriers on each side, as well as an agreement on the mode of transport, including code sharing and additional operations.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Kenya Defies Austerity, Buys 12 US Helicopters
03 October – Source: Daily Nation – 721 Words
Kenya is set to acquire six new US-made light attack helicopter gunships in a multi-billion shilling deal that is being closed in the middle of severe austerity, an international arms magazine has said. The planes are part of the $253 million (Sh25 billion) arms deal that Nairobi signed with Washington and got the United States Congress approval in May last year.
UK-based defence magazine IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly says in its latest edition that the six MD Helicopters Inc (MDHI) MD530F Cayuse Warrior scout and light-attack platforms will be delivered between April and August next year. The contract, which Arizona-based manufacturer MD Helicopters announced last Thursday, covers half the 12 helicopters that were approved by the US State Department in May 2017.
The Kenya Army said it plans to use the choppers against Somalia-based Al-Shabaab militants and in support of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). The deal includes 12 MD530F Cayuse Warrior light attack helicopters, machine gun pod systems, rocket launcher systems and assorted ammunition.
The new arms acquisitions signal President Uhuru Kenyatta’s resolve to continue upgrading Kenya’s military capabilities despite his recent push for austerity that last month shaved off Sh34.33 billion from the development budget. Kenya, East Africa’s largest economy, has in recent years suffered deadly gun and bomb attacks from the Al-Shabaab militants who are demanding withdrawal of Kenyan troops from the Horn of Africa nation.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“A quarter-century later, these questions have lost none of their pertinence. If anything, they have become more urgent. In retrospect, the lessons to be taken from this small but immensely instructive episode appear obvious. In retrospect, lessons always do.”
The Forgotten Lessons of Black Hawk Down
03 October – Source: New York Times – 870 Words
The disaster in Somalia offered America a glimpse of the future of warfare. No one listened. Twenty-five years ago this week, a Somali warlord named Mohammed Farah Aidid offered the American military a glimpse of its future. But neither policymakers back in Washington nor commanders in the field were attuned to what he had on offer.
A mission that had begun 10 months earlier to provide relief supplies to starving Somalis had evolved into a vastly more ambitious nation-building project. On the night of Oct. 3-4, 1993, an American military operation to capture Mr. Aidid ended in catastrophic failure, including 18 Americans dead. Soon afterward the entire mission collapsed, and the United States withdrew. Yet any lessons that might have been learned from this debacle stayed in Mogadishu, alongside the smoldering wreckage of the Black Hawk helicopter that Mr. Aidid’s fighters had shot down.
The United States did not go into Somalia expecting this kind of resistance. But Mr. Aidid took exception to the prospect of outsiders imposing a new political order on his country. From their sanctuaries in the crowded warrens of the Somali capital, his lightly armed but nimble militias ambushed and harassed American and coalition forces throughout the summer of 1993.
Casualties mounted. In response, President Bill Clinton ordered an elite commando task force to Mogadishu with the specific assignment of eliminating Mr. Aidid. By most measures — training and discipline, firepower and mobility — Task Force Ranger had Mr. Aidid’s irregulars outclassed. His forces were technologically backward while the American troops had all the best gadgets that money could buy.
In the end, little of this mattered. Mr. Aidid himself proved both frustratingly elusive and far shrewder than the Americans expected. On six “snatch” attempts, the Rangers came up empty-handed. On the seventh, the enemy forces that the Americans disparaged as “skinnies” and “sammies” were waiting. In an instant, the hunters became the hunted.
In the ensuing firefight, subsequently enshrined in a best-selling book and a hit Hollywood movie, American troops inflicted many more casualties than they sustained. Yet ultimately it was the Americans who withdrew from the battlefield while Mr. Aidid’s forces stayed put. As for Mr. Aidid himself, he not only remained at large but as a result of his bloody encounter with crack American warriors, he saw his own status enhanced.
In contrast, back in the United States, the losses suffered by American troops proved politically unacceptable. Mr. Clinton conceded defeat and pulled out the entire American operation. Somalia remained in chaos. We can choose to remember this event, coming during the grander era of American ideological triumph over the recently collapsed Soviet Union, as a minor embarrassment of little real consequence. Yet seeing the outcome for what it was — a sign of things to come — offers several useful lessons.
TOP TWEETS
@HarunMaruf: BREAKING: Former Al-Shabaab deputy leader Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansour announces his candidacy for the leadership of Southwest regional administration. The election takes place next month; Abu Mansour will compete against the incumbent Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden and several others.
@AbdirizakOm: The launch of(UPD) political party. Over 3000 people including representatives from political parties, general membership & civil society organizations attended the launch of UPD political party.This gathering underpins the role of political parties in advancing democracy.
@SomaliPM: This morning, I visited one of the schools recently handed over to the Federal Government. Investing in our children’s education, providing quality and free education is a key priority for my government.
@AbdikarimMN: New UN Envoy to #Somalia Nicholas Haysom arrives in #Mogadishu. The South-African who until his appointment to head the @UN in Somalia was the Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan succeeds @SRSGKeating whose almost 2 years tenure ended in September.
@alihwarsame: Somalia’s population is young with over 70% under age of 30 while 42% are aged between 14 & 29 years. As against this demographic dividend, we have acute shortage of skilled youth which is critical for their employability. It’s time to change course in their education.#WakeUpCall.
@GoobjoogTV: #Somalia – Parliamentarian Farhiyo Mumin has asked the government to have a special focus on the situation of the Middle Shabelle region where they are serious conditions.
#Mogadishu #GolahaShacabka.
@MariamYassinHY: First group of our sisters & brothers detained in Tanzania #BackHome. Joint effort of @MfaSomalia, my #OSE Team & #Somali #Community in TZ under the good leadership of @SomaliPM Special thanks to the Tanzanian Gov for accepting our request, @EU_in_Somalia & @IOM_Somalia.
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire visited one of the schools recently handed over to the Federal Government.
Photo: @SomaliPM