December 6, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
President Ali Lashes Out At Federal Government, Vice President Amey For Attempting To Undermine State Elections
06 December – Source: Kismaayo.com – 168 Words
Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gas, whose term in office is ending soon, has lashed out at the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and his Deputy, Abdihakin Haji Amey for their alleged attempt to undermine the upcoming elections.
The president on Wednesday, issued a strongly-worded statement accusing his deputy of aligning with the Federal Government in its bid to destabilize regional state elections. “As we have brought to your attention several times in the past, the FGS is engaged in a dangerous mission aimed at undermining the electoral processes in the regional states including Puntland. Regrettably, Puntland Vice President Abdihakin Amey ignored his obligations and has opted to collude with the FGS mission to undermine the political stability and elections in Puntland,” read statement.
Vice President Amey has in recent past issued several statements dismissing agreements and decisions made by his boss. This week, he dismissed the formation of Vetting and Conflict Resolutions Committee appointed by president. He is yet to comment on the accusations levelled against him.
Key Headlines
- President Gaas Lashes Out At Federal Government Vice President Amey For Attempting To Undermine State Elections (Kismaayo.com)
- Somali Mental Health Patients In Buhodle Sent Home From Clinic Over Unpaid Bills (Radio Ergo)
- Mogadishu Mayor Hands Over Two Of The Qatar-donated Buses To His Garowe Counterpart (Kismaayo.com)
- Japanese Reactionaries’ Aim In Joining In World Campaign Against Pirates (KCNA Watch)
- Somali Media Associations Strongly Condemn The Wounding Of A Journalist (KMAUpdate)
- Bloody Rivalry Erupts Between Al-Shabaab IS Group In Somalia (Daily Mail)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Mental Health Patients In Buhodle Sent Home From Clinic Over Unpaid Bills
05 December – Source: Radio Ergo – 414 Words
Dozens of patients suffering from mental disorders have been sent home from Buhodle Mental Hospital because their families in the drought-hit region of northern Somalia failed to pay the medical bills. Jama Ahmed Salad took his brother and his nephew to the hospital after they became ill. They were diagnosed with a form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder caused by their experiences during the severe drought that killed almost all their livestock. Both patients underwent treatment with medication for five months, when they were abruptly taken off the drugs because the bill was unpaid. “We cannot manage to pay the monthly charges,” Jama said. “I used to depend on the remaining few livestock but now we have no money, so we have been forced to bring them home. We are concerned that one boy is violent, and he may harm others. He already broke the chains to meant strict his movement.”
It is common for people suffering signs of mental disorder to be kept chained up at home in Somalia unless they can get treatment at an institution. Such hospitals also use restraints such as chains. According to the hospital records, 37 patients out of the 58 who are admitted have been taken off their medication and sent home since June. Their families had run up a bill for the hospital charges of 150 dollars per month. Jama’s family used to have a large herd of 350 livestock including goats and 30 camels before the severe drought hit their area in 2016. “I sold 15 goats and a camel to settle the medical charges. For the last three months we spent 900 dollars to treat them,” Jama said.
Abdisalam Farah Ismail son Abdifatah, 22, is also suffering from a mental disorder. Abdisalam took his son to the hospital four months ago after managing to raise some money to pay for his treatment. However, Abdifatah has now been sent home by the hospital after his father was unable to pay for the continuing course of treatment. “I am now worried that my son’s condition could worsen due to lack of medical attention,” Abdisalam said. The director of the hospital, Dr. Guleid Mohamed Noah, told Radio Ergo that the hospital needed the fees paid by the relatives of the patients in order to function. “We do not get any support from outside, so the hospital relies on what we get from families of the patients. This means the hospital cannot financially support these patients,” Dr. Guleid said.
Mogadishu Mayor Hands Over Two Of The Qatar-donated Buses To His Garowe Counterpart
06 December – Source: Kismaayo.com – 139 Words
Mogadishu Mayor and Banadir Governor, Abdirahman Omar Osman handed over two buses donated by Qatari government, to his counterpart in Garowe, Ahmed Said Muse. A press statement released from the mayor’s office made the announcement. The handover of the buses took place at the headquarters at Mogadishu’s Municipal office after a meeting between the two mayors on Wednesday.
During their meeting on improving cooperation between the two municipalities, the two leaders also discussed how to unify the municipalities across the country, in a bid to broaden the delivery of basic services to the people.
Mayor Muse, thanked his Mogadishu counterpart for the warm reception and stressed the urgency to enhance cooperation. The donated two buses were among 30 buses the Qatari-government gave to the Government of Somalia in April this year as part of its developmental projects in Somalia.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Japanese Reactionaries’ Aim In Joining In World Campaign Against Pirates
06 December – Source: KCNA Watch – 236 Words
Japanese Reactionaries’ Aim in Joining in World Campaign against Pirates Shortly ago, the Japanese authorities decided to prolong the stationary period of the Maritime “Self-Defense Force” dispatched to Somalia until next November.
They also made remarks that they would take the best measure in ensuring safety of sailing in extremely important sea lanes and make a contribution to ensuring “peace and stability” of the international community under the pretext of the “threat from pirates”. The Japanese reactionaries are mulling making a condition favorable for realizing their militarist ambition for overseas invasion by joining in the world-wide campaign against pirates.
It is their ambition to remove the judicial and institutional mechanism limiting the military action of the “Self-Defense Forces” in other countries and go into free military action for overseas invasion anytime and anyplace.
In condition that the international community watches Japan very closely, the Japanese reactionaries act craftily to realize their militarist ambition by interfering in the world campaign against pirates. For such reason, they made a “law for coping with pirates” long ago and are joining in the campaign against pirates in the African continent.
This goes to prove that the Japanese reactionaries engrossed in overseas invasion are mulling using the African continent as their theatre. They should clearly understand. Their overseas invasion will lead to the end of Japan as the Japanese imperialists met a bitter defeat in invading the continent in the past.
Somali Media Associations Strongly Condemn The Wounding Of A Journalist
05 December – Source: KMAUpdate – 113 Words
The Somalia media associations have in the strongest manner condemned the attack of a veteran Journalist and media activist Ismail Sheikh Khalifa in a car blast within the capital Mogadishu. The Journalist was injured after a concealed bomb in his car detonated in Waberi district. Currently, Khalifa is receiving treatment at a local hospital.
“We strongly condemn in the strongest term this worrying act of attempting the lives of an innocent Somali journalist.’ Read part of the statement by the SMA “We extend our prayers for his speedy healthy recovery.” SMA has called upon the country’s authorities and all the media stakeholders to fight for the protection of Journalists and freedom of expression.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Somali intelligence officials say Al-Shabaab’s new manhunt is aimed at preventing the IS-linked extremists from expanding their extortion demands into southern Somalia, where al-Shabab levies millions of dollars in taxes per year on travelers and cargo…”
Bloody Rivalry Erupts Between Al-Shabaab, IS Group In Somalia
06 December – Source: Daily Mail – 840 Words
A bloody rivalry has emerged between extremist groups in Somalia as the al-Qaida-linked Al-Shabaab hunts upstart fighters allied to the Islamic State group, who have begun demanding protection payments from major businesses, officials tell The Associated Press. The rivalry supports some observers’ suspicions that Al-Shabaab, now scrambling to defend its monopoly on the mafia-style extortion racket that funds its high-profile attacks, is drifting from its long-declared goal of establishing a strict Islamic state.
The manhunt began in October with the killing of a top leader of the IS-linked group by a suspected Al-Shabaab death squad in the capital, Mogadishu, according to several Somali intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
When the body of Mahad Maalin, deputy leader of the IS-affiliated group, was found near a beach in Mogadishu, it set off a hunt for suspected IS sympathizers within al-Shabab’s ranks, officials said. Maalin had been suspected of trying to extend his group’s reach into the capital. Last month, the Islamic State group’s Al Naba newsletter noted deadly attacks on its fighters in Somalia and warned that “when the time of response comes from the Islamic State, with God’s will, we will be excused.”
The IS-affiliated group in Somalia, largely made up of Al-Shabaab defectors, first announced its presence in 2016 with attacks in the far north, far from Mogadishu and most Al-Shabaab strongholds. Though estimated at a few hundred fighters at most, their emergence in one of the world’s most unstable countries has been alarming enough that the U.S. military began targeting it with airstrikes a year ago.
While Al-Shabaab and its thousands of fighters have hunted down suspected IS sympathizers before, they had not taken the young group’s expansion seriously until now, observers say. “Al-Shabaab miscalculated IS’s organizational capability and ambitions to extend its reach beyond the north, having judged it by its handful of fighters there, and thus missed the bigger picture,” said Mohamed Sheikh Abdi, a Mogadishu-based political analyst.
The revelation by businessmen that IS-linked operatives had begun making extortion demands took Al-Shabaab’s leadership by surprise, prompting the manhunt that has led to assassinations and the detention of over 50 suspected IS-linked extremists, including foreign fighters, two Somali intelligence officials told AP. One suspected IS-linked fighter from Egypt was shot dead on Nov. 18 in Jilib.
TOP TWEETS
@JustAwHirsi: Pooling together actors on durable solutions and resilience to discuss plans for Jubaland #
@Goobjoognews: BREAKING: AL-SHABAAB militants kill five#Jubbaland state soldiers near Doolow, Gedo region.
@US2SOMALIA: Press Release: Reestablishment of a Permanent Diplomatic Presence in #Somaliahttps://www.state.gov/r/pa/
@DSeanPaterson: Yesterday in #Mogadishu the Youth Employment Somalia (#YES) programme joined colleagues from#UN agencies to recognize the enormous contributions that@UNVolunteers make to support programming in the country. YES is a direct beneficiary of high quality #UNV programme support.
@Goobjoognews: EX-MOGADISHU Mayor and Presidential advisor Mohamud “Tarzan” Nur today presented his credentials to President Uhuru Kenyatta to start duty as #Somalia‘s ambassador to #Kenya.
@TC_Mogadishu: The new Turkish Ambassador to Somalia, H.E. Mehmet Yilmaz presented a copy of the credentials to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, H.E. Amb. Ahmed Isse Awad.
@MaxMaxSchott: Insightful meeting at Somali Women Development Center. They provide legal advice & support to survivors of #SGBV. Over 2000 cases were recorded in Mogadishu in 2018 by SWDC only. Multiyear funding is required to sustainability support survivors. #Somalia needs more#womenleaders
@unicefsomalia: “A historic day for women, children and their families.” UNICEF joins the Gov’t, @EU_in_Somalia, partners & communities in celebrating the inauguration of the new water system in Tog Wajaale. Safe, affordable water is now readily available to the town’s 70,000 residents.
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Isse Awad receiving the credentials of the new Turkish Ambassador to Somalia, H.E. Mehmet Yilmaz, in Mogadishu.
Photo: @TC_Mogadishu