January 9, 2012 | Daily Monitoring Report.
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Somali PM in Nairobi to attend Roadmap session08 Jan – Source: Radio Mogadishu, SONNA, Radio Bar-kulan – 280 words Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali is in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi to attend a UN session that will address the Somali crisis and monitor the implementation of the UN-sponsored political Roadmap. The Roadmap is United Nations-backed and spells the ways on ending Somalia’s transitional period as well as prioritising measures to be implemented before the current governing arrangements end in August next year. The principles include Somali ownership of the process. The current Transitional Federal Government is called upon to lead the process of the implementation of the Roadmap, working with the Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP), regional entities, and all sectors of society, including women, the business community, religious leaders, elders and youth. The Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) and the international community are called upon to provide timely support for the implementation of the Roadmap in line with a “Resource Mobilization Plan” with milestones to be agreed within 21 days, according to the document. “Financial support by the international community shall be on a results basis and contingent upon the implementation of the priority tasks in the Roadmap”. The statement also notes that the Roadmap’s implementation shall be monitored on a continuous basis and appropriate measures taken to ensure compliance with the benchmarks and timelines in accordance with the Kampala Accord, the pact reached in the Ugandan capital in June under which the terms of the country’s President and Speaker of Parliament were extended for one more year. The Somali Premier’s delegation includes Somali Planning and International Relations minister alongside several Somali lawmakers. The Somali PM will also tour Djibouti to honour an official invitation by his Djiboutian counterpart, H.E Deleyta Mohamed Deleyta. |
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PRESS STATEMENTAMISOM and Somali Police Force hold Joint Review Meeting08 Jan – Source: AMISOM – 340 words The Deputy Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (DSRCC) for Somalia Honorable Wafula Wamunyinyi has re-emphasized the need for continued relationship between the Somali Police Force (SPF) and AMISOM Police to ensure sustainable peace and security in the country. Honourable Wamunyinyi was speaking in Mogadishu, Somalia while closing the Joint Review Meeting between AMISOM Police and the Somali Police Force (SPF). The Deputy AU Special Representative said; “I therefore think that it is important to build and maintain strong confidence among partners and I hope this meeting will strengthen the good relationship between AMISOM Police and the Somali Police Force (SPF) in order to meet our target of ensuring security not only in Mogadishu but also other regions.” The Commander-in-Chief of the Somali Police Force (SPF) Brigadier General Sharif Shekhuna Maye appealed for continued support from the Police Component of the African Union Mission for Somalia (AMISOM) in its endeavor to extend its operations beyond Mogadishu City in 2012. He said; “With the liberation of Mogadishu, it is important to prioritize the expansion of SPF activities beyond Benadir region in order sustain the security situation created by the withdrawal of al Shabaab terrorist group”. The meeting which pooled senior police officers from the Somali Police Force on one hand and AMISOM Police Senior Leadership Team and Training experts on the other sought to review police activities undertaken in 2011 and plan for 2012. AMISOM Police Commissioner Dr. Charles Makono assured the Somali Police Force (SPF) of African Union’s continued support in 2012 and beyond saying it was AMISOM’s mandate to train, mentor and provide capacity building support to the SPF to attain international policing standards. “Through this meeting we hope to review the activities undertaken in 2011, plan for 2012 as well as fostering the relationship between the Somali Police Force (SPF) and AMISOM Police. At the end of the day, we shall come up with priorities for 2012 and strengthen the already existing working relationship between ourselves and the Somali Police Force (SPF).” Said Dr. Makono. SOMALI MEDIAIntelligence agency seizes explosive devices in a public vehicle09 Jan – Source: Radio Mogadishu – 154 words The Somali National Security Agency has in the past few days seized people with explosive devices in several districts of Mogadishu. On Sunday, Somali intelligence officials seized a man laden with explosive devices aboard a public transport vehicle after intercepting the PSV at Ex-Control Afgooye, a strategic junction that links Mogadishu and the rest of Somalia and is a clear sign that al Shabaab plan on causing havoc to the innocent people of Somalia. The security forces say that the man carrying the explosive was a teenager or maybe in his early twenties and was used by al Shabaab to ferry the explosives into the government-manned districts of the capital. Somali PM in Nairobi to attend Roadmap session08 Jan – Source: Radio Mogadishu, SONNA, Radio Bar-kulan – 280 words Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali is in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi to attend a UN session that will address the Somali crisis and monitor the implementation of the UN-sponsored political Roadmap. The Roadmap is United Nations-backed and spells the ways on ending Somalia’s transitional period as well as prioritising measures to be implemented before the current governing arrangements end in August next year. The principles include Somali ownership of the process. The current Transitional Federal Government is called upon to lead the process of the implementation of the Roadmap, working with the Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP), regional entities, and all sectors of society, including women, the business community, religious leaders, elders and youth. The Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) and the international community are called upon to provide timely support for the implementation of the Roadmap in line with a “Resource Mobilization Plan” with milestones to be agreed within 21 days, according to the document. “Financial support by the international community shall be on a results basis and contingent upon the implementation of the priority tasks in the Roadmap”. The statement also notes that the Roadmap’s implementation shall be monitored on a continuous basis and appropriate measures taken to ensure compliance with the benchmarks and timelines in accordance with the Kampala Accord, the pact reached in the Ugandan capital in June under which the terms of the country’s President and Speaker of Parliament were extended for one more year. The Somali Premier’s delegation includes Somali Planning and International Relations minister alongside several Somali lawmakers. The Somali PM will also tour Djibouti to honour an official invitation by his Djiboutian counterpart, H.E Deleyta Mohamed Deleyta. Somali president calls on security agency to secure the country09 Jan – Source: Shabelle, Radio Mogadishu – 151 words TFG president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed today called on the Somali National Security agency to assure the security of all Somali regions. While speaking at a ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the foundation of Somali National Security agency held in the capital, Mogadishu, the president urged the agency to take part in assuring the peace and stability of the country as well as the war on al Shabaab militants. “We should continue our struggle tirelessly to achieve regaining control of the all regions of Somalia. We already put great effort in Mogadishu’s stability, in which TFG troops backed by AU forces managed to drive the militants out of it” said the Somali president. The president lastly praised during his address towards 40th anniversary the National Security Agency of Somalia for stabilizing Mogadishu and protecting several attacks and explosions aimed to target government installations and bases in the capital. Thousands donated to victims of recent tragedy in Mogadishu09 Jan – Source: Radio Kulmiye – 290 words A fundraising program sponsored by the Banadir administration in Mogadishu in cooperation with independent radio Kulmiye took place in the compound of the Banaadir administration yesterday. The program aims to support those victimized by the recent incident which happened in Mogadishu’s highway of Debka junction collected about 11, 800 thousands of dollars that will be directed to the victims of the tragic incident in Mogadishu. The families of the people who died in the incident will be delivered part of the money which is now still being raised, the two agencies he said. Leaders from the Banaadir Administration, radio Kulmiye and also chairmen of Mogadishu districts including Dharkenley, Wardhigley, Hamarweyne, Yaaqshiid, Karaan, Shibis, Hodan and many others also attended today’s event and contributed to the donations. Mohamed Ahmed Nuur (Tarsan) the current mayor of the capital Mogadishu has made his presentation to the people who were listening to the program live through the frequencies of radio Kulmiye in Mogadishu. “We aim this to show our solidarity for our brothers who were hurt in the recent tragedy which happened in Mogadishu,” he said. “These funds are meant for those people who were injured or families who lost their boys or girls,” he added. Somali MP disappointed by Somali Premier speech09 Jan – Source: Shabelle, Mareeg Online – 107 words Salad Ali Jelle, member of the Transitional Federal Parliament expressed his disappointments to the speech of Somali PM Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali against the lawmakers’ verdict. Speaking to the media in Mogadishu, Mr. Salad Ali Jelle joined a group of MPs who were very concerned about the reaction that Mr. Gas had against the MPs decision last week, saying that he disapproves it “It was better for him to be silent, he is not able to ignore a legally approved issue or decision by Somali lawmakers,” Salad said. This comes as the conflict inside the TFP grows rapidly without mediation. Somali immigrants killed in Yemen09 Jan – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 136 words One person was killed and three others wounded in Yemen after armed Yemeni gangs attacked a group of Somali immigrants trying to enter the country, reports say. Reports say the gang opened fire on a group of 12 Somali immigrants along the Yemeni coast killing one of them and injuring three others before kidnapping six women immigrants. The injured immigrants are reportedly being treated in Adan Hospital. Somali consul in Adan, Hussein Hajji Ahmed, told Bar-kulan that the body of the deceased immigrant and the injured ones were found along the Yemeni coast. He said such incidents where Somali immigrants are targeted have been on the rise in the past few weeks. Over 16,000 Somali refugees are believed to be in Yemen’s Al-Kharaz refugee camp after fleeing their country since the fall of Somalia’s central government in 1991. Puntland Islamic scholars hold conference on al Shabaab08 Jan – Source: Garowe Online, Radio Mogadishu – 260 words Islamic scholars in Puntland State of Somalia have held a conference in the commercial capital Bossaso, blaming al Shabaab for spilling the blood of many Somalis, Garowe reports. The Islamic scholars held the meeting in al Rowda mosque in Bossaso where hundreds gathered to hear Sheikh Abdulkadir Nur Farah speak about al Shabaab’s ideology and how their thinking is detrimental to Puntland’s society. Sheikh Abdulkadir told the audience that if al Shabaab were fighting for Somalis then they would not kill most prominent scholars. Sheikh Abdulkadir was speaking about the killing of Sheikh Ahmed Haji Abdirahman who was gunned down near his home in Bossaso on 5 Dec. 2011. Puntland officials said police have arrested seven al Shabaab suspects for killing Sheikh Ahmed Haji Abdirahman. Somali rebel group threatens Djibouti09 Jan – Source: Radio Shabelle – 141 words Officials of Somali rebel group, al Shabaab have on Sunday condemned the killing of religious men at Al-Hidaya mosque in the Somali capital Mogadishu and sent threat message to the Djiboutian people. Al Shabaab’s representative in Banadir region attending funeral of a cleric killed in Mogadishu, Sheikh Mohamed Abu Abdirahman said that Djibouti was part of the shelling of Al-Hidaya mosque that killed the religious men. “Djibouti joined the enemy and is part of those massacring us, it knew the role that Somali people played in search of its independence from the French, but it rewards us with bombarding”, Abu Abdirahman said. He urged Djibouti to withdraw their soldiers from Mogadishu or else would face painful revenge. Government soldiers exchange fire in Mogadishu08 Jan – Source: Mareeg Online – 79 words At least 2 soldiers were killed and 7 others wounded after TFG forces exchanged gunfire in Dharkenlay district south the capital Mogadishu yesterday, residents say Two of the dead are soldiers while most of the injured were also said to be government soldiers. The reason is not yet clear. Puntland gov’t calls for new approach after NATO releases 9 pirates08 Jan – Source: Garowe Online – 186 words A group of Somali pirates hijacked a trading dhow on 2 January 2012, moments after the dhow left the Port of Bossaso in the Puntland State of Somalia. The dhow, Al-Safina Al-Salam, was transporting 3,620 heads of livestock to Salalah Port in the Sultanate of Oman when it was hijacked by Somali pirates some 60 nautical miles from the Port of Bossaso. Puntland government officials contacted NATO and shared information to coordinate the release of the hijacked dhow and to ensure the safety of 20 persons on board (16 crew persons and 4 passengers). NATO contacted Omani Coast Guard, Omani Royal Navy HQ and all the international task forces operating off the coast of Somalia. On 5 January 2012, the pirates became aware of the activities of international warships. The pirates moved over to another dhow (Al Qashmi) heading to the Port of Bossaso, where the pirates were surrounded and captured by U.S. Navy under NATO command. Puntland officials requested that the captured pirates, which included a pirate leader named ‘Mursal’ who is suspected for the kidnapping of a Danish family in February 2011, be transferred over to Puntland authorities. Puntland leader: We assured the overall peace, security09 Jan – Source: Shabelle – 138 words The president of Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland, Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud Farole said today that his administration has successfully achieved to restore the overall security and stability of Puntland regions. At a ceremony marking the third anniversary of Mr. Farole’s taking office as president, he urged the people and the security forces of Puntland state to be more vigilant and alert on possible al Shabaab attacks threatening peace and security in the major cities of Puntland state of Somalia. “Our security forces have secured the cities of Bosaso, Garowe and Galka’yo, after conducting successive security operations. After al Shabaab militants were driven out from Mogadishu, they poured into Puntland regions and began stirring up insecurity, including blasts that killed soldiers and senior officials of the Puntland administration.” Somaliland police arrests television journalist in the town of Borama08 Jan – Source: Markacadeey, NUSOJ – 228 words The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) condemns the arrest of the Television journalist by the Somaliland Police in the town of Borama on Sunday around 11:30 local time. Journalist Yusuf Ali, better known as Indho-Qurux, who is the correspondent of the Royal Television in the town Borama, was arrested on Sunday without warrant by Somaliland police in Borama, according to local journalists. The arrest of the journalist has been confirmed by a colleague journalist, Mohamed Abdi Boosh, who also reports for the Royal Television by phone from Hargeisa. “It is really disappointing, Yusuf Ali was arrested without a warrant and he staying in custody tonight” journalist Mohamed Abdi Boosh told NUSOJ by phone from Hargeisa. REGIONAL MEDIATerror alert as al Qaeda pair enters Kenya08 Jan – Source: Daily Nation – 386 words Two most wanted al Qaeda terror suspects have entered the country, sparking a state of high alert within security agencies. The suspects, who are also said to be linked to al Shabaab, the Somalia rebel group, are among five on the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) most-wanted list. They are planning terror attacks in Nairobi and other major towns, according to intelligence reports. The five on the FBI list have been identified as Jehad Serwan Mostafa, Ahmed Mohammed Hamad Ali, Anas Al-Liby, Abdallah Ahmed Abdullah and Saif Al-Adel.It could not be established which two are in Kenya. But their presence is said to be the reason the British government on Saturday warned about a possible terror attack in Nairobi. Police have also stepped up security around vital installations likely to be targets of attacks. The al Qaeda men are being linked to 15 al Shabaab members police said left Kismayu recently headed to Kenya. The group comprises of nine Kenyans, two Asians and four Somalis aged between 24 and 32 years, according to police spokesman Eric Kiraithe. Mr Kiraithe, who also released the pictures of the suspects on the eve of the New Year, said some of the Kenyans are known to have resided in Majengo area in Nairobi and Mombasa before leaving for Somalia about a year ago. Kenya, TFG forces thwart al Shabaab attack09 Jan – Source: the Standard – 451 words Al Shabaab militants tried to attack Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) base in Fafadun town in Somalia, which KDF and Somalia Transitional Federal Government (TFG) troops captured on Tuesday. KDF repulsed the unknown number of militants at about 1.18am on Saturday. The attempted attack came as it emerged all Shabaab leaders in Mogadishu have chosen Sheikh Mohamed Bishaar to replace slain commander in Gedo, Sheikh Hussein Hassan. He is said to be consolidating al Shabaab militants who fled Fafadun on Tuesday at Taraqa, 15 kilometres outside the town and gathering reinforcements from Bardheere to attempt to recapture al Shabaab’s former stronghold. The militant was killed during the capture of Fafadun. Locals in the battered but strategic highway to al Shabaab stronghold of Bardheere town hailed Sheikh Hussein’s killing, terming it a relief from years of extortion, executions and floggings. Reports from Fafadun indicate that hundreds of al Shabaab fighters are being transported to block advancing KDF and TFG forces in El Ade, which was captured on Thursday. Sheikh Hussein was born in Bardheere in 1952. He received Islamic training in Mogadishu and also trained with the Taliban in Afghanistan in 1994, according to TFG’s military intelligence reports, which also allege he is a close aide to key al Shabaab leaders Hassan Aweys, Ali Dheere and Ali Godhane. Reporters from Standard Group were the first journalists to visit Fafadun following its capture. The town remains insecure and it is believed to be full of al Shabaab sympathisers. Major Nathan Ndiema, the officer in charge of Kenyan forces said, “they will never push us from this town”, referring to al Shabaab as he announced that the attackers must have been a reconnaissance team of al Shabaab trying to test KDF’s defence capabilities. According to Major Ndiema, al Shabaab performed on Sunday’s act to “create an impression that they can attack KDF”. Al Shabaab forcing youth to join army08 Jan – Source: Daily Nation – 202 words Reports from Afgoye town, 30 kilometres south of Mogadishu, a stronghold of al Shabaab, the radical Islamist group opposing the Transitional Federal Government in Somalia, indicate that militia leaders are forcing the youth to join their fighters in thejihad (holy war). Residents in the town confirmed that al Shabaab loyalists were moving around in battlewagons fitted with loud speakers on Friday, urging the youngsters to register for war. “The Wilaya (authority) in Afgoye is urging you (the youth) to report to the offices of the movement (al Shabaab),” announced the notice. The message specified that the jihad is against the TFG forces and the peacekeepers serving the African Union Mission in Somalia, AMISOM. The obligatory conscription by al Shabaab is also taking place in parts of Middle Shabelle region, north of Mogadishu. The affected areas include Runil-goud, Eel-ba’ad and other coastal settlements, northeast of Mogadishu. “Any youth who do not report to the authority will be traced home,” said the announcement in Afgoye town. “A defiant will face appropriate measures,” warned the militants without specifying the actions likely to be taken. On Saturday, the National Security Agency put on display a man and a woman said to have been apprehended while handling explosive devices in Mogadishu. Al Shabaab dismisses Kenya air raid toll claim08 Jan – Source: Al Jazeera, dpa – 495 words Somalia’s Islamist al Shabaab group has denied claims the Kenyan military killed at least 60 fighters in an airstrike, the German news agency dpa reported. Senior al Shabaab commander, Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Ali, known as Abu Mansour, on Sunday confirmed an attack had taken place in Garbaharey town in southern Somalia’s Gedo region, but accused Kenya of lying about the number of dead. “There were not 60 al Shabaaab troops killed,” he told dpa by telephone from an undisclosed location, without revealing how many deaths were caused. “The infidels of Kenya circulated false information to cover up the casualties of their own ground forces, who are facing heavy resistance from our fighters.” This came after Colonel Cyrus Oguna, a Kenyan military spokesman, said dozens of al Shabaab fighters were killed after bombing raids hit rebel positions in Garbaharey on Friday. “Levels of casualties were very high in air strikes … Provisional casualties are that al-Shabab lost 60 or more fighters, and more than 50 were injured,” Oguna said on Saturday. An elder in the town of Garbaharey, who did not wish to be named, told dpa that air strikes definitely took place on Friday, but was unable to give any casualty figures. Anti-Soviet fighters gave rise to militia08 Jan – Source: Daily Nation – 159 words Al Qaeda started emerging in Somalia in the 1990s when some of the Somali fighters who had joined the anti-Soviet struggle in Afghanistan started returning home. The returning Somali mujahidin helped to establish another militant Islamist movement called Al Ittihad Al Islamiya Arabic for “the Islamic Union” which started training al-Qaeda operatives. Al Itihaad’s former commanders would later establish the militia known as al Shabaab. According to a US Congressional report, Al-Qaeda’s initial interest in Somalia was to establish an alternative operations Al Qaeda operatives reportedly established training bases in Ras Kamboni, a Somali town near Kenya’s border, and other town, as well as in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. Reports suggest that Al Qaeda began planning for a large-scale terrorist attack against American targets in East Africa in 1993, scouting for “soft” targets and establishing a cell in Nairobi. Bin Laden’s personal secretary, Wadih el Hage, and a Comorian citizen, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed were key members of the Nairobi cell. Al Shabaab now targets security guards08 Jan – Source: Capital FM – 529 words Private security companies announced Sunday that they had intelligence that al Shabaab elements are planning to steal their uniforms to pose as guards with intention of committing terrorist attacks. A statement from the Kenya Security Industry Association (KSIA) said police had warned them to be vigilant to avoid a situation where al Shabaab can access their uniforms. “The Kenya Security Industry Association (KSIA) has received credible intelligence from the disciplined forces that the al Shabaab terror group plans to mobilize its militants to steal uniforms of private security companies and pose as private security guards, with the express intention of carrying out terrorist acts,” KSIA Chairman Tony Sahni said. He said they have taken adequate measures but cautioned the public to cooperate with private guards at designated security check points. “With this in mind, we would like to caution members of the public to be vigilant and exercise patience especially when asked to undergo security checks,” Sahni said. He added that KSIA “is working closely with the regular police and the counter-terrorism police to mitigate this threat; this includes regular intelligence: sharing and counter-terrorism training of security guards.” He revealed his association had undertaken a raft of measures which include proper vetting all their security guards. Last week, Nairobi police warned of renewed terror attacks from al Qaeda network which it said was working closely with al Shabaab to plan atrocities in the capital. Provincial Police Chief (PPO) for Nairobi Anthony Kibuchi said security had been stepped up and appealed to city residents to be extra vigilant and take security measures seriously, regardless of their status in society. OIC Secretary General receives IGAD executive secretary08 Jan- Source: OIC- 128 words The Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Prof Ekmeeddin Ihsanoglu has today 7th January 2012, received in audience at the General Secretariat, the Executive Secretary of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), HE. Mahboub Maalim. The visiting Chief Executive briefed the Secretary General on the overall situation in the IGAD region and their long term plan to address recurring drought and famine in their member countries half of which are also OIC Member States. He commended the OIC humanitarian activities in Somalia and conveyed their readiness to formalize their cooperation with the OIC. Prof Ihsanoglu on his part reiterated the importance of collaboration between the two organizations to confront the peace building and development challenges facing the region and to end the violence in Somalia. INTERNATIONAL MEDIASomalia pirates free Georgian sailors09 Jan – Source: AFP – 465 words Fifteen Georgian sailors held hostage by pirates for more than a year off the coast of lawless Somalia have been freed, officials from the ex-Soviet state said on Sunday. But there was no word on the fate of three Turkish sailors captured with them. “The liberation of the Georgian sailors hijacked by Somali pirates has ended successfully,” Georgia?s Maritime Transport Agency said in a statement. “The sailors are under armed guard on a ship controlled by the Georgian government,” it said. Armed raiders boarded the Malta-flagged cargo ship in the piracy-plagued area off the Gulf of Aden in September 2010 and seized the crew of 15 Georgians and three Turks. The Georgian statement said that government efforts had achieved the seamen’s release but did not specify whether the Turkish sailors had been freed or not. The pirates had been demanding $9 million (7.1 million euros) to release the ship but the Georgian statement did not say whether any ransom had been paid, or how the sailors had been freed. UAE to host Somalia Conference in February08 Jan – Source: CRI English – 416 words The United Arab Emirates will host an experts meeting in February aimed at seeking a local solution to Somalia’s instability, Kenya’s ministry of foreign official said on Saturday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Second Counsellor in the Horn of Africa Division, Anthony Safari, told journalists in Nairobi that the one-day technical conference will target all relevant stakeholders in order to find lasting peace in Somalia. “The UAE sponsored conference will take into account the needs of local Somalis as part of plans to bring normalcy, especially in regions liberated from the al Shabaab militant group,” he said. “The resolutions will be forwarded to the Somali Conference to be held in late February in London,” Safari said. “The world has realized that an unstable Somalia poses a great danger not only to local citizens but also to its neighbours and the rest of the Horn of Africa,” the ministry official said. He added that Kenya assumed the seat to chair the African Union Peace and Security Council in January this year. “We will use the position to further lead and guide the debate in order to consolidate peace in Somalia,” he added. Safari said that Kenya is waiting for a definite decision on whether or not to be allowed to join the Africa Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in January. The remarks come as the African Union on Thursday asked the United Nations to authorize an increase of its peacekeeping force in war-torn Somalia by 5,700 to 17,700 amid mounting attacks by the rebels. Monica Juma, Kenya’s ambassador to the UN, made the announcement. The African force, called AMISOM, has been functioning under UN mandate since 2007 in the lawless Horn of Africa nation. Kenyan police close in on British woman connected to terror attacks08 Jan – Source: Telegraph – 469 words An arrest warrant has been issued for Natalie Faye Webb, who is suspected to have entered Kenya illegally with a forged South African passport. She is believed to have links to Somali Islamists who have vowed to launch fresh terror attacks since Kenya went to war to rout the radical group al-Shabaab. “We have had some positive feedback from publishing her picture, and I can say the dragnet is closing,” a senior police source in Nairobi said. “I can give no details, but suffice it to say that we believe she is not a small fish. She is among several Britons that our intelligence service is aware of in relation to terrorists’ plans to attack us.” A Newham man, Jermaine Grant, is due to appear at a Kenyan court on Thursday to answer charges of possessing explosives and preparing an attack. He was arrested in the coastal town of Mombasa last month, in an apartment where police also found chemicals, batteries and an electric switch. Kenya is on heightened alert after police warned on Friday that there was a risk of fresh terror strikes following its invasion of Somalia in October to crush al-Shabaab, which has links to al-Qaeda. The Foreign Office issued an update to its travel advisory for British tourists travelling to Kenya after the police warning last week. Somalis face ‘a hopeless situation’08 Jan – Source: The Star Tribute – 930 Words Every day, Mohamed Muse grows more fearful for his family. The Minneapolis cab driver hasn’t been able to send the $200 to $300 his wife and two children in Somalia have come to rely on each month to pay for rent, food, electricity and other basic supplies since the Somali-owned money transfer businesses in Minnesota shut down recently. “There is no way I can get them their monthly bill that I give them,” Muse, 25, said last week. “They’re really scared.” Anxiety and frustration are mounting in Minnesota’s Somali community, the nation’s largest, as people struggle to cope with the Dec. 30 shutdown of the local money service businesses called hawalas. They have been the lifeline between Somalis here and relatives in their war-ravaged homeland, a country without banks or a functional central government. That lifeline was severed, at least temporarily, when Sunrise Community Banks decided to close the accounts of the money-transfer companies for fear they might come under suspicion of funding terrorism. The decision came just weeks after a jury found two Minnesota women guilty in federal court of conspiring to support known terrorists in Somalia. Muse and other Somalis here now must figure out whether to try to use hawalas still open in other states, such as Georgia and Virginia, or find more creative ways to send money back home. Many are in disbelief, said Hassan Warsame, a Virginia-based consultant working with the Somali American Money Service Association, a coalition of money-transfer operators. “Some blame the banks. Others are blaming the U.S. government and the regulations that have led to this,” he said, referring to tougher federal banking rules enacted in recent years to cut off funding for terrorist groups. American al Shabaab fighter and commander pictured together08 Jan – Source: Long War Journal – 813 words Al Shabaab fighter recently pictured with an American citizen who serves as a senior commander in the terror group has also been identified as being an American, according to postings on jihadist web forums. Pictures of Omar Hammami, a top Shabaab leader, with the newly identified Abdullah al Amriki, or Abdullah the American, have appeared twice on jihadist forums over the past month. The images and translations of accompanying statements have been provided by the SITE Intelligence Group. The two Americans were first seen on Dec. 17, but Abdullah’s name was not disclosed in the first posting. The two again appeared on the Ansar al Mujahideen English Forum yesterday, when Abdullah was named. In the statement accompanying the Jan. 7 images, Hammami is said to have led a group of al Shabaab fighters during “battles in northern Mogadishu” to take control of an unnamed province. “When there were battles in northern Mogadishu, and Abu Mansour [Hammami] was one of their commanders who don’t leave the first [front] lines, the mujahedeen wanted to take over one of the provinces,” according to the SITE translation of the statement. “So, they planned to assassinate all the army commanders in this province, and every time they assassinated one of them, most of the army fled until the province fell in the hands of the brothers.” Abdullah’s full identity is not known. More than 50 Somali-Americans are thought to have been recruited in the US to train and fight with al Shabaab, al Qaeda’s affiliate in Somalia. MSF continuing its operations in Mogadishu despite recent killings09 Jana- Source: MSF – 342 words The international medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is continuing its medical activities in Somalia following the shooting deaths last week of two MSF aid workers in the organization’s compound in the capital, Mogadishu. While MSF reduced the number of international staff in Mogadishu following the tragedy, and heightened security measures, so far no decision has been made to close or to stop MSF medical programs in the country, including in Mogadishu. Information gathered until now indicates that the shooting was an individual act unrelated to any political interests or to the ongoing conflict in Somalia. The accused gunman is working for the organization as a logistician for 14 months, he was under internal review for suspected frauds and no decision had been taken about his future with MSF at the time. His internal review was carried out with the support of the community, whom MSF regularly involved.
SOCIAL MEDIACULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDSRappers against al Shabaab terrorism09 Jan – Source: Radio Netherlands – 490 Words “Al Shaabab are sending a bad message. We are telling al Shaabab to stop cheating the children. Fighting is not nice,” says Dikriyo Abdi. “Sometimes my parents cry when they talk to me, because they see what Somalia has become. They remember the time when they were living there peacefully.” Twenty four-year-old Dikriyo is a Somali refugee. As a young child, he and his relatives, who lived in the seaport town of Kismayu, fled to Kenya, to seek refuge from his war-torn country. Today, Dikriyo is a member of the Nairobi-based Somali hip hop group Waayaha Cusub, which started out in 2004. Waayaha Cusub is a Somali phrase that loosely translates as ‘The New Dawn’ or ‘The New Era’. The group consists of seven Somali refugees, two Kenyans, a Ugandan and an Ethiopian. Waayaha Cusub has recorded a number of songs that denounce the al Shaabab militant Islamist group, which currently controls parts of Somalia. Turkish Red Crescent teaches Somali people how to make bread08 Jan – Source: World Bulletin – 161 Words The Turkish team would open a mobile kitchen to meet food need of 10,000 people a day, Lostar also said. Turkish Red Crescent teaches Somali people how to make bread in a mobile bakery, head of the Turkish team said on Sunday. Alpaslan Safak Lostar, the head of the delegation of Turkish Red Crescent to Somalia, said Somali people had been making bread in the bakery for 40 days. “They make 10,000 bread a day,” Lostar told AA correspondent in an exclusive interview. Lostar said the mobile bakery was cooking bread under hygienic conditions, and eight Somali people were working in the bakery and they were supervised by a Turkish cook. The Turkish team would open a mobile kitchen to meet food need of 10,000 people a day, Lostar also said. Turkish Red Crescent has been in Somalia for five months within the scope of a humanitarian aid campaign. 13,000 people are taking shelter in a tent-site comprised of 2,000 tents. Somalia: the permanent battlefield08 Jan – Source: The Guardian – 685 Words On Friday Kenyan jets inflicted what its military spokesman confidently described as one of the biggest losses to al Shabaab, a Salafi jihadi group which controls much of southern and central Somalia. Kenya said it had killed 50 fighters of the group – a claim that was denied yesterday. But no one is in any doubt about the response. On Saturday, the Foreign Office said it believed al Shabaab was making its final preparations for a terrorist attack on Nairobi. A police spokesman in the capital described al Shabaab as a wounded buffalo – very dangerous. Kenya’s involvement in a war that has been raging in Somalia for the best part of 20 years is relatively recent. It sent troops in last October after a string of kidnappings and attacks which it blamed on the militants. They join troops from Ethiopia, a separate 10,000-strong African Union contingent made up of troops from Burundi, Uganda and Djibouti, and the forces of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Mogadishu itself. And that is not to speak of the drones and the other special forces visitors scouring the land. Kenya talks glibly about al Shabaab’s spine being broken, but the geographic reach of the war is spreading. Since its forces moved in, at least 30 people have been killed in attacks in north-eastern Kenya. This is all looking horribly familiar. In June 2006 the warlords were defeated by the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), a coalition that briefly began to bring pockets of Mogadishu to order, by popular consent. The UIC included some radicals with links to al Qaida, but had moderates, too. Ethiopia and the US viewed it as a terrorist threat and Ethiopian troops swept in six months later. In Somalia, you get what you wish for. African diplomatic beauty parade comes to Somalia08 Jan – Source: The East African – 506 Words In the past few days, rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) have killed at least 40 civilians in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The FDLR, whose members were behind the 1994 Rwanda genocide, has since been hiding out in the east of DR Congo, where it once established a mini Rwanda state. To the northeast, in Somalia, Ethiopian and Kenya Defence Forces battling the extremist al Shabaab militia continued to report progress. The events in DRC 12 years ago, and Somalia today, point to the development of a new form of consensus that has been markedly absent in the Great Lakes region. In 2000, DRC was the site of the biggest confrontation of African armies ever. The Zimbabwe and Angola forces were in the DRC backing President Laurent Kabila, and later his son Joseph Kabila after he was assassinated in January 2001. Ranged against them were the Burundian, Rwandan, and Ugandan forces that were backing various anti-Kinshasa rebels. Global media frenzy hammers Kenya over security fallout on role in Somalia08 Jan – Source: Wolfgang ht home Blog – 1101 Words Warnings by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the UK, about the possibility of an imminent terror strike on Kenya, and in particular targeting foreign nationals, especially British, has shocked the Kenyan public and the tourism fraternity and are putting a cloud over the otherwise bright prospect of an equally successful year 2012 as was 2011 which ended with new arrival and revenue records for the country. Kenya, now officially part of the African Unions AMISOM mission, three months ago entered Somalia with ground troops, naval and air support to pursue and eliminate al Shabaab militants, which had at the time made it an almost daily occurrence to cross the border into Kenya, hit refugee camps and most notoriously kill and abduct a few foreigners from resort locations between Lamu and the border to Somalia. Many in Kenyas political establishment until then seem to have believed that sitting around the proverbial campfire and singing Kumbaya would solve the problems of their troubled neighbours, only to learn at their own expense that the problem from hell was not only not going away but was in fact spreading into Kenya, threatening national security. First to go into Somalia several years ago was Ethiopia, clearly seeing the connections even then between radical Islamic militants and terrorists and their own hostile neighbours Eritrea. That isolated country is long suspected and regularly accused of aiding and abetting the Somali terrorists and the Oromo rebels, which hid in Somalia from where they perpetrated hit and run attacks into Ethiopia, similar to the killer militias in Eastern Congo were doing for long to Rwanda. Is being a Somali girl in the “west” hard?08 Jan – Source: Soobax Blog Video Is being a Somali girl hard? Perhaps it’s worth making this question more precise! Is being a Somali girl in the “west” hard? While this may be considered trivial when you take into account what it means to be a girl in Somalia, it is worth taking a look at this very light-hearted and funny take on a Somali girl’s problems. It’s good to see that at the end of the day, she’s glad to be Somali! Young Canadian-Somali Killed Himself in Somalia09 Jan – Source: Topix Somalia Forum Besides little girls being taken to Somalia for female genital mutilialation under the guise of holidays, it is also common for Westren young Somali boys to be shipped off to Somalia because their parents view that they became fully integrated within the dominant culture and have to be re-introduced to their culture in a Somali setting. The parents seize their passports, violence against them is rampant and they have no choice but to tow the line. Once such case ended in a the tragic loss of life for a Canadian Somali boy. He is the son of the interior minister of the autonomous State of Galmudug Abshir Diini Cawaale. The boy has shot himself after ednuring hardships such as beatings. When he was refused to be returned back to Canada, he shot himself. Should these types of parents be prosecuted? |
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Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohammed Ali aboard helicopter flying to liberated Somali town of Beledweyne.