November 20, 2018 | Morning Headlines
Al-Shabaab Comes Under Heavy Bombardment In Adaley, Hours After Clash With Galmudug Forces Near Guriel
19 November – Source: Kismaayo.com – 195 Words
Al-Shabaab bases in Adaley area of Mudug region, Haradhere District, came under heavy bombardment on Monday. News from the town, which is located between Amaara and Elhuur, indicated several vehicles belonging to the militants en route to their bases were destroyed. We were however unable to independently verify the extent of damage.
A section of the local people told an FM station in Adado, they saw several vehicles belonging to members of Al-Shabaab going up in flames. It was not immediately clear who carried out the raids. The US has, however, previously carried out aerial offensives against Al-Shabaab in Haradhere and its surrounding areas. The district remains a key Al-Shabaab stronghold and is the second one in the hands of the militants in Galmudug State. Elbuur in Galgaduud is also under the control of Al-Shabaab.
Elsewhere, Al-Shabaab fighters attacked Galmudug forces in an area known as Dhagaxyaale, 50 kilometers South East Guriel. Elbur Deputy DC Mohamed Sheikh Mohamud told a local radio station that four Al-Shabaab fighters were killed while the government forces lost two officers and two others were injured. According to the administrator, the clash follows Friday’s fight between the two sides in Galagoole settlement.
Key Headlines
- Al-Shabaab Comes Under Heavy Bombardment In Adaley Hours After Clash With Galmudug Forces Near Guriel (Kismaayo.com)
- Somaliland Says ‘We Will Not Be Cowed’ Amid New Diplomatic Pressure (Hiiraan Online)
- Former Somali President Arrives In Kismayo City (Radio Shabelle)
- Al Shabaab Still A Threat To Kenya New UN Report Says (The Star)
- Minnesota Writer Launches ‘First Of Its Kind’ Magazine Packed With Somali Stories And Art (Star Tribune)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somaliland Says ‘We Will Not Be Cowed’ Amid New Diplomatic Pressure
19 November – Source: Hiiraan Online – 436 Words
The breakaway northern Somalia territory of Somaliland says its national flag is now flying over a diplomatic mission it has allegedly opened in Djibouti. This is in defiance of reports that the enclave faces a new diplomatic pushback from several countries in the Horn of Africa region following last week’s regional integration summit in Ethiopia.
Several countries, including Ethiopia and Eritrea, have reportedly “come to the conclusion to disengage from diplomatic ties with Somaliland” following the recent meeting by the leaders of Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea. During the meeting, the leaders agreed to cement a new regional integration policy, following intense pressure from the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) for the nations to break with what President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo’s administration regards as a “province of its territory”.
If confirmed, Ethiopia’s break with Somaliland now leaves the enclave without close partners as Ethiopia has been the only nation which has maintained a consular mission in Hargeisa, Somaliland’s capital. Despite maintaining informal relations with Somaliland, other countries have avoided establishing any diplomatic presence in Somaliland: “Our flag is proudly flying over our embassy in Djibouti, and in our possession is everything that every other country has,” said Abdifatah Said, Somaliland’s representative to Djibouti.
Hiiraan Online cannot independently verify the veracity of the claims or whether or not Somaliland has formal diplomatic relations with Djibouti. There are however reports that relations between the two sides remain strained after Somaliland signed a port deal with United Arab Emirate’s global ports operator, DP World, a move which allegedly angered Djibouti. However, Djibouti officials were not available for comment on the development.
“Just like any other country in the world, Somaliland receives official invitation for all international conferences and events around the world, and our ambassadors are usually seated alongside their counterparts from other nations at international events,” reiterated Said in remarks believed to be in response to the new regional policy shift led by the new reformist Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed.
Responding to the new diplomatic maneuvers by Somali President, who is reportedly working behind-scenes to convince regional allies to turn down attempts by Somaliland to maintain relations with them and recognize it only as a Somali province, Mr. Said warned that Somaliland will not be cowed in the face of attempts to isolate it from the region.
For years, Somaliland which declared a unilateral independence from the rest of Somalia in 1991 has maintained informal diplomatic relations with neighboring countries including Ethiopia and Djibouti. But according to analysts, a new regional politics’ shift by regional leaders threatens to isolate the enclave, which is struggling to get international recognition.
Former Somali President Arrives In Kismayo City
19 November – Source: Radio Shabelle – 137 Words
Former President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who on Monday started his tour of the regions arrived in Kismayo, the interim capital of Jubbaland where, where he was received by state leader Ahmed Madobe and other top regional officials.
Some members of the federal assembly, who are allied to his newly registered political party, travelled to the port city ahead of the former President to organize his welcome party. A political analyst believes Sheikh Mohamud’s tour is linked to his political ambitions to recapture the presidency in the 2020 presidential elections.
Sheikh Mohamud was in August this year installed chairman of a new party, the Union for Peace and Development (UPD), which brings together all the main opposition political parties. UPD is set to challenge President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo in the forthcoming elections.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Al Shabaab Still A Threat To Kenya, New UN Report Says
19 November – Source: The Star – 1,013 Words
The terrorist group Al Shabaab still remains a real security threat to Kenyan and East African security agencies, according to the latest report by the UN Monitoring Group. It warns of pitfalls that cloud concerned states’ commitment to rid not only Somalia but also its neighbours of threats by the group.
Al Shabaab remains a threat to the peace, security, and stability of Somalia and its effect is felt across the hinterland’s borders, calling for the need for extra vigilance. The report sent to the UN Security Council casts a pale shadow on the way forward in dealing with the militants. It cites a worrying presence of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) faction in Somalia.
The Monitoring Group says the conflict between Somaliland and Puntland, misappropriation of financial resources, and maritime piracy remains a major hurdle. The experts also cite loopholes in the handling of arms seized from Al-Shabaab as well as those donated by supporting missions like Amisom and the US. The team also said its investigations exposed cases of violations of international humanitarian law, including obstruction of humanitarian assistance on the side of Al-Shabaab. The Monitoring Group led by James Smith also warns of violations of the ban on charcoal trade, being the main source of al Shabaab funding.
Other members of the group include Mohamed Babiker (Humanitarian), Jay Bahadur (Armed groups), Charles Cater (Natural resources), Nazanine Moshiri (Arms), Brian O’Sullivan (Maritime/Armed groups) and Richard Zabot (Arms). They reveal in the November 7 report that Al Shabaab is moving loads of charcoal to Oman: “The charcoal is transported by road from the interior of Middle Juba and Lower Juba to the stockpiles and ports at Buur Gaabo and Kismayo. While en route, as with other commodities charcoal is subject to checkpoint taxation by al Shabaab,” the report says in part. The Monitoring Group had estimated the rate of taxation at Sh257 per bag, generating Al Shabaab over Sh1 billion from four million bags of charcoal per year.
The report adds that the stockpiles located in Kismayu and Buur Gaabo may continue to be the source of illicit charcoal exports. More worrying in the findings is that several rounds of ammunition seized from al Shabaab had markings of the Federal Government of Somalia. Despite being denied the chance to take photos of seized weapons, Smiths team says it obtained information that most of the military equipment seized by Amisom and other forces fighting Al- Shabaab, originated from Yemen.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Farah wants them looking forward and out, as well. She knows how writing opened her world, how getting paid to write gave her self-confidence. Sometimes she dreams of starting an incubator space that Somali artists could use for free or discounted rates.”
Minnesota Writer Launches ‘First Of Its Kind’ Magazine Packed With Somali Stories And Art
19 November – Source: Star Tribune- 1330 Words
Safy-Hallan Farah wasn’t seeing the words and images that reflected the bright, beautiful Somali people she knew. So she created 124 pages of them. Flipping through a digital proof of her new magazine, 1991, which launches Friday, Farah paused on the soft, richly hued photographs of Cherrie, a Somali-Swedish R&B singer whose “sound crosses and transcends borders, existing in the liminal spaces of the diaspora.”
“It was kismet,” Farah said of matching that cover story to its writer, Aamna Mohdin. “I had thought of the wrong people before her — who didn’t have her skills but also didn’t have her love. “She’s just a very brilliant individual that I am indebted to so much.” With each story and each photo spread, Farah heaped similar praise: “This is an amazing LGBTQI writer whose career I’ve been following for ages.” “She’s super, super generous with her time.” “I love this dude.” The dozens of Somali writers and artists who contributed to the inaugural issue reflect Farah’s growing global pull.
Farah, 28, has written trend pieces, profiles and personal essays for publications ranging from the local art-lit magazine Paper Darts to Vogue. In September, the New York Times published her essay “License to Not Drive,” about the complicated cultural reasons she hasn’t gotten her driver’s license. That piece is funny, too, with references to “Clueless” and the Milo Ventimiglia GeoCities fan page that, as a teenager, Farah faithfully maintained.
“I know the tightrope balance of chasing banal firsts in a quest to liberate myself from cultural FOMO,” she writes, “while keeping my sharaf — honor — passably intact.” So when Farah announced last year that she was working on a zine celebrating Somali youth across the diaspora, her online and IRL communities buzzed, pitching ideas and contributing $5,000 to a crowdfunding campaign. The project swelled until, suddenly, it looked much more magazine than zine, and more designed than DIY.
“It’s a magazine on a zine budget,” Farah said. She hopes to publish twice a year, but it’ll depend on funding. That budget has an uphill battle. When a trio of 20-something creatives published Paper Darts in 2009, “we got a lot of, ‘What are these crazy girls doing?’ ” said co-founder Meghan Lionel Murphy. “I think it’s worse now. I’m positive it’s worse now.” A decade ago, publications big and small confronted a crumbling media landscape, effectively leveling the field, she said. Today, with Facebook requiring payment for eyeballs, it’s tough to get a reader’s attention. Murphy laughed, then downgraded her forecast: “I actually think that it’s the worst time ever to start something like this.”
ADDITIONAL SOMALIA NEWS WILL APPEAR IN THE AFTERNOON REPORT
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