January 20, 2012 | Daily Monitoring Report.
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African Union troops reach outskirts of Mogadishu for first time, fighting rages in capital20 Jan – Source: Washington Post/AP – 165 words Somalia — Residents and military officials say heavy fighting is under way in Somalia’s capital, breaking a period of calm. The spokesman for the African Union peacekeeping force said Friday that the AU troops have pushed forward to the outskirts of the capital for the first time so that they can defend Mogadishu from the perimeter. He said AU troops have captured “strategic” bases from militants. Abdirahman Ahmed, a resident, said he woke to the sound of mortars and gunfire. Hundreds of residents in Mogadishu’s northern neighborhoods fled the violence. AU troops over the last year have largely succeeded in pushing al Shabaab militants out of the capital, though contested pockets remain. Militants continue to carry out suicide and roadside bomb attacks. |
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Key Headlines
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PRESS RELEASEAMISOM forces launch a military offensive to consolidate security in Mogadishu20 Jan – Source: AMISOM Force HQ – 146 words AU Mission in Somalia troops successfully advanced to consolidate their positions in Northern areas of Mogadishu, Somalia today. The push forward enabled AMISOM, and the TFG forces, to secure the northern edges of the city. AMISOM can confirm that Mogadishu University and Barakaat Cemetery are now under the Somali government’s control. The Force Commander said that the operation started well, and the forces were able to quickly achieve their objective, “Our troops fought bravely, achieving their objective to secure the Northern frontier of the city.” Two AMISOM soldiers were injured. This is the first time AMISOM has been able to secure an area outside the parameters of the city allowing them to defend greater Mogadishu from the exterior. Recently, the African Union requested the UN Security council to increase troop levels to 17,000 soldiers and provide force enablers for them to secure the entire country. SOMALI MEDIASomali government seizes last al Shabaab Mogadishu positions20 Jan – Source: Radio Mogadishu – 200 words Pro-Somali government soldiers backed by African Union Peace keeping troops have attacked the last remaining pockets of al Shabaab militants in the capital city of Mogadishu, reports said Friday. Residents said TFG soldiers supported by AU troops flattened parts in Mogadishu, in which some al Shabaab fighters have been hiding since they were pushed back last year, resulting to fierce battle with heavy shells between two sides. Al Shabaab has admitted that a number of remnant villages of Huriwa district, Wahar Adde village in Mogadishu have been wrestled off control by Somali government and AMSIOM troops during the fighting, a sign of success for the African Union mission and Somali government. Not only positions in Mogadishu, but TFG soldiers and AU forces managed to confiscate the main stronghold of Deynile district and a strategic road that connects Lower Shabelle region and Middle Shabelle region to Mogadishu for further push, according to officials. Al Shabaab militants withdrew on August last year from their most positions in the capital which were then were taken by troops from the transitional government and AMISOM. Al Shabaab shells southwestern Somali town20 Jan – Source: Shabelle – 162 words Al Shabaab fighters have attacked bases controlled by Ahlu Sunna Walja’a militia in Garbaharey town of Gedo region in south western in Somalia, injuring four people, residents said Friday. Reports suggested that heavy shelling with machine gunfire could be heard on the outskirts of Garbaharey town, the capital city of Gedo region, where Ahlu Sunna, a pro-government militias have been controlling for years. Sheikh Mohamed Hussein Al Qadi, the Sokesman for Ahlu Sunna told Shabelle Media that four Ahlu Sunna fighters were hurt in the shelling by al Shabaab militants in Garbaharey town in Gedo region which is close to the Somalia’s border with neighbouring Kenya. “There were bombardments against our bases in Garbaharey overnight by the militants. Our fighters managed to protect and defend al Shabaab from taking over the town and the town is now under our control. They wanted to destabilize it but failed,” said Sheikh Mohamed Hussein Al Qadi, the spokesman for Ahlu Sunna. Somali MP: Kenya should pay compensation over air raids20 Jan – Source: Radio Kulmiye, Shabelle – 154 words One of the Somalia MPs declared that Kenyan government should pay compensation over the air strikes in which were killed innocent civilians in Jilib town of southern Somalia. Dahir Abdulkadir Muse, one of the Somali parliamentarians said in an interview with the Media that the Kenyan jets are indiscriminately shelling civilian buildings therefore it must pay compensation to the victims. The MP indicated that the civilian causalities committed by the Kenyan air raids will not be forgotten; on the other hand he appealed to Kenyan government to disburse compensation about the causality of their air strike and held responsible the Somali Transitional government for the raids because of have approving the war. The Kenyan government said its forces are pursuing al Shabaab fighters while they made lots of air strikes in several town locates in southern Somalia, killing many civilians. Britain urges Somaliland to back Somalia conference in London19 Jan – Source: Somaliland Press – 501 words UK Deputy Ambassador to Ethiopia Chris Allan visited the Somaliland capital on Wednesday to discuss the upcoming London Conference on Somalia. The British ambassador held a press conference in Mansoor hotel in which he briefly presented the agenda of the conference and Somaliland’s role. “I would like to stress that I am pleased with my visit to Somaliland. Today I met with senior government officials and we deliberated on matters relating to the international conference on the issue of Somalia scheduled to be held in London. I presented them with the agenda of the meeting,” he said. “The scheduled meeting will address the issues of development and Britain’s humanitarian aid for Somaliland and Somalia as well as socio-economic and political development,” he stated. Mr. Allan added that Britain was Somaliland’s largest supporter and its biggest donor and reaffirmed the strong and long-standing friendship and historical ties between the two. ‘Ahlu Sunna killed al Shabaab leader’20 Jan – Source: Shabelle – 125 words Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a said Friday that it has killed one of the al Shabaab leaders in the last battle that happened on the outskirts of Dusamereb town in central Somalia. Moalim Liban Ali Dirie, an official from Ahlu Sunna fighters told Shabelle Media that their bases were attacked by al Shabaab militants, but they resisted. The official also said that they killed at least ten al Shabaab fighters, among them one of their leaders during the fighting and other hand he noted that they will take over the whole of Galgudud region from al Shabaab soon. No comment from al Shabaab militants so far about the ahlu Ahlu Sunna claims though in Galgudud region of central Somalia battles still take place between Ahlu Sunna and al Shabaab fighters. Gangs steal $22,000 from businessman in Jowhar20 Jan – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 94 words Armed gangs suspected to be al Shabaab militants on Wednesday night robbed a businessman in Jowhar, Middle Shabelle, reports say. Hooded gangs attacked Mustaf Maalim, a local businessman in Jowhar and robbed him off $22,000 at gunpoint, according to locals in the area. Maalim is said to have collected the money from a local money transfer company in the town on Wednesday, according to his relative who sought anonymity. The money is reportedly to be delivered to needy families in parts of region whose relatives in abroad sent for them in order to meet their domestic needs. REGIONAL MEDIAKenyan court jails 7 al Shabaab suspects19 Jan – Source: Capital FM – 173 words Seven suspected members of Somalia’s al Shabaab network have been jailed for two years each after they admitted to being in Kenya illegally. The Somali nationals were arraigned in court after they were arrested in Lamu District last month. The seven foreigners were charged with being in the country without a valid permit after they were arrested at Mvundeni village in Mkokoni area of Lamu. The accused however denied five other charges of preparing to commit crimes after being found with firearms, incendiary materials and offensive weapons that included AK 47 rifles, five hundred and one rounds of 7.62mm bullets, 21 AK 47 magazines and a ladder. The accused were also charged with being in possession of firearms contrary to section 89 of the penal code and also faced another charge of being in possession of firearms without valid certificates. The hearing for the charges which they denied is set for February 2. INTERNATIONAL MEDIAAfrican Union troops reach outskirts of Mogadishu for first time, fighting rages in capital20 Jan – Source: Washington Post/AP – 165 words Somalia — Residents and military officials say heavy fighting is under way in Somalia’s capital, breaking a period of calm. The spokesman for the African Union peacekeeping force said Friday that the AU troops have pushed forward to the outskirts of the capital for the first time so that they can defend Mogadishu from the perimeter. He said AU troops have captured “strategic” bases from militants. Abdirahman Ahmed, a resident, said he woke to the sound of mortars and gunfire. Hundreds of residents in Mogadishu’s northern neighborhoods fled the violence. AU troops over the last year have largely succeeded in pushing al Shabaab militants out of the capital, though contested pockets remain. Militants continue to carry out suicide and roadside bomb attacks. Somali refugees still fleeing famine19 Jan – Source: Aljazeera English – 2.08 min Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland is struggling to cope with a massive influx of refugees fleeing from other parts of the country, where famine caused by a prolonged drought is widespread. Since July of 2011, countries across East-Africa have faced severe drought, causing one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent history as millions suffered from starvation. More than 180,000 Somalis left their homes to seek help in other parts of the country and about 85,000 crossed into Kenya, mostly ending up in the Dadaab refugee camp. Another 47,000 Somali refugees headed west, into Ethiopia. Others fled to Djibouti and Yemen. In Puntland in northeastern Somalia, international organisations have been providing the deprived families with food aid, but many refugees say it is not enough. Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi reports on the many obstacles that the humanitarian effort in that region is facing. Ukraine must release Somali asylum-seekers19 Jan – Source: Amnesty News – 614 words Amnesty International is calling on the Ukrainian authorities to release Somali nationals who are currently on hunger strike in protest at being detained for up to a year “for the purposes of deportation” following court orders issued in December last year. Approximately 60 Somali nationals – including possibly as many as 20 children – have joined the hunger strike in Zhuravichi Migrant Accommodation Centre in Western Ukraine, where they are currently being detained. They were rounded up by police at the end of December 2011 and detained for being illegally present in Ukraine. “Somali nationals in Ukraine have been driven to despair by a vicious cycle of detention and harassment by the police, as well as by an asylum system that fails to protect them,” said Heather McGill, Amnesty International’s expert on Ukraine.” “Everyone knows – the police, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Somalis themselves – that they won’t ever be deported. What they need – and are entitled to – is protection, not repeated punishment for fleeing famine and war.” “Many flee across the border to the EU, only to be returned to Ukraine. Many have been detained repeatedly ‘for the purposes of deportation’ at the Zhuravichi Migrant Accommodation Centre.” In a letter to Ukraine’s Minister of Interior, Amnesty International called on the Ukrainian authorities to live up to their obligations by ensuring that Somalis have access to a fair asylum procedure and to complementary protection if they cannot be recognized as a refugees. Somalia: MSF shuts two big medical centres in Mogadishu19 Jan – Source: BBC News – 642 words Two major medical centres run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in the Somali capital have closed. The announcement comes as at least two people were killed by a bomb in a Mogadishu refugee camp, officials say. Last August, Islamists militants withdrew from Mogadishu, which is controlled by the UN-backed government. About 300,000 people have since flooded into the city seeking famine relief. The BBC’s Mogadishu correspondent Mohamed Moalimu, currently in London, says most of them have been housed in displacement camps in the area where the two MSF centres were based. The East African region is suffering from its worst drought in 60 years. Many Somalis have fled rural areas controlled by the Islamist al Shabaab group as it has banned most Western aid agencies from operating in its territory. Somalia is said to be one of the world’s most dangerous places for aid workers to operate. SOCIAL MEDIACULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDSFun in Mogadishu? Yes, it happens19 Jan – Source: MSNBC World Blog – 455 Wods I have just returned from a strangely enchanting city. It is a capital city with a chaotic charm, a coastal city with white beaches nearby and stunning architecture everywhere. You might be surprised to read that I am referring to Mogadishu, Somalia. Even when al Shabaab fighters withdrew from Mogadishu last summer and the fragile national government claimed control, many of the former battlefields were soon reclaimed by squalid camps for starving refugees. And pockets of violent resistance remained; two Somalis were killed when a bomb exploded at a refugee camp in the city on Thursday, minutes after a visit by journalists and officials from the United Nations. But look beyond the fear and bloodshed – difficult as that may be – and you can see another side to this city, a side which is largely unknown. I first saw it as I flew in on one of the few commercial flights operating in and out of the ramshackle airport. Beneath us, as we approached from neighboring Kenya, were sparkling seas and a stunning coastline, minutes from downtown “Mog.” It is easy to think of the potential for piracy as you look down on the waters, but it is difficult to ignore the natural beauty, too. The ‘deadly dilemma’ in the Horn of Africa20 Jan – Source: Hiiraan Online – 1,078 Words At the very heart of Somalia’s ongoing crisis of famine and anarchy lies what I’ve come to think of as the Deadly Dilemma, which few aid workers or diplomats are willing to discuss openly. The dilemma is this: A war of intervention in Somalia, to end the nation’s chronic lawlessness will hamper the existing humanitarian efforts to feed the starving. But what if that is the only way to end decades of human catastrophe there? Going a step further, what if it is only armed intervention by fellow African nations that can end the growing threat of terrorism, piracy and jihad now threatening the whole Horn of Africa? Will they step up to the job? Instability there has helped turn the current food crisis effecting the Horn nations of Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti into the worst humanitarian disaster of this new century, killing perhaps 100,000 and leaving 13 million still in desperate need of food, shelter and medical relief. What’s more, there is a feeling of hopelessness, which has become deadly in itself as much of the world has grown weary of reacting to the repeated crises in the area and has turned its back on the sheer horror of Somalia. Somalia can feed itself with a little bit of investment19 Jan – Somali Net Forum These are some examples being collected from one of the fertile regions in the food producing southern regions of Somalia which see one of the two major rivers. The Gedo Region, the only southern region free from al Shabaab, is a leader in the making in this respect of self-sufficiency where local farmers are working hard to partner with international funders to produce food for the country. |
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Food aid distribution in Mogadishu. Today marks six months since the U.N. declared some parts of Somalia as famine zones.