April 11, 2016 | Morning Headlines
Somalia’s President Says al-Qaeda-Backed Rebels Are ‘Resurgent’
10 April – Source: The Washington Post – 1,245 Words
Five years after a U.N.-backed force began to push al-Qaeda-linked militants out of their strongholds, Somalia boasts clear signs of progress. Large swaths of the country have been reclaimed. Streets, beaches and markets have come back to life in once forsaken cities.
The United States has promised to rebuild its long-shuttered embassy. But as Somalia now approaches a critical period, with parliamentary and presidential elections due by August, those gains are showing signs of reversal.
The Al-Shabaab rebels are “resurgent,” President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said in an interview last week. He and other senior officials acknowledged that Somalia’s government is still unable to provide security or public services to regions that have been liberated. The government must choose between giving its soldiers wages or weapons, he said.
“The Somali government cannot afford to pay the soldiers and at the same time to purchase lethal equipment,” Mohamud said. “This is the dilemma that we have.” Western officials say they have provided ample aid but that much of it is diverted through corruption, and that the Somali government must do a better job of constructing a security force that fits within its budget.
Somalia has been racked by near-constant conflict for the past quarter-century, resulting in chaos that has provided fertile ground for the rise of the al-Shabab militants in 2005. The United States has since spent more than $2 billion on Somalia, sending military trainers and killing militants in drone strikes, including two Al-Shabaab commanders.
The White House sees the group as one of its top concerns in sub-Saharan Africa, in part because its attacks extend beyond Somalia to civilian targets in neighboring Kenya, such as Nairobi’s upscale Westgate Mall. African Union forces led an operation to push Al-Shabaab from Mogadishu in 2011, and went on to launch a series of offensives that prompted the militants to withdraw unilaterally from much of the territory they occupied.
Key Headlines
- Somalia’s President Says al-Qaeda-Backed Rebels Are ‘Resurgent’ (The Washington Post)
- Somalia Election Forum Kicks Off (Garowe Online)
- Somali Parliament Postpones Last Pre-election Session Under Current Government (Hiiraan Online)
- Security Tightened In Jowhar Ahead Of State Formation Conference (Goobjoog News)
- Four Missing University Students May Have Joined Al Shabaab (Shabelle News)
- AU Somali Forces Capture Central Somali Town From Al-Shabaab (Xinhua News)
- Hunt Launched After Al Shabaab Attack Police Post At Kenya-Somalia Border (The Standard)
- AU Special Representative For Somalia Holds Talks With Turkish And Emirati Ambassadors In Mogadishu(AMISOM)
- Somali Militants Executed For Murder Of Journalist (Voice of America)
- Kigali Moves To Nip Radicalisation And Terrorist Recruitment In The Bud (The EastAfrican)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Election Forum Kicks Off
10 April – Source:Garowe Online – 342 Words
Somali political leaders gathered again for a critical meeting on Sunday, which focused on 2016 Electoral Transition, National Security Policy and the Provisional Federal Constitution (PFC) in the capital city of Mogadishu.
Earlier on Sunday, Somalia’s Federal Government (SFG) and the northeastern State of Puntland agreed on the modality of elections expected to be held later this year. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, Jubaland’s Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Madobe), Interim Galmudug Administration (IGA) leader Abdikarin Hussein Guled, and Southwest State President Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan are attending the National Consultative Forum (NCF).
President Mohamud officially opened the conference, pointing out that three key issues including technical preparations for presidential and parliamentary selection and election processes, National Security Policy and constitutional review program would be discussed during the high level political talks in Mogadishu.
“Today is another momentous day for the Somali nation. Our country has made multidimensional progress, thanks to the compromise and tolerance we have felt towards each other. We hope to continue our efforts of leaping our country forward to get the new Somalia built upon peace, development and prosperity,” said the Somali President in his opening remarks at National Consultative Forum. Mohamud has also expressed his delight with what he termed “political maturity” exercised by Somalis these days.
Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke on his side stressed the need for legitimate, all inclusive and participatory politics in the ongoing programmes. Sharmarke added that constitutional review forum will be staged in Puntland capital, Garowe in May. Deputy Prime Minister Mohamed Omar Arte presented National Security Policy as the country tries to fight off threats from the Al Shabaab terror gang.
Somali Parliament Postpones Last Pre-election Session Under Current Government
10 April – Source: Hiiraan Online – 287 Words
Somali Parliament postponed its last session under the current government ahead of the presidential election. This is the final chance for the Hassan Sheikh Mohamud government to showcase its achievements since it was established in 2012. The horn of Africa nation is gearing up for presidential elections, which would see the incumbent face dozens of competitors mid this year.
Mohamed Sheikh Osman, Somalia’s Federal Parliament speaker, announced that Sunday’s session failed to open as result of the absence of the country’s President, who would have opened the session. The President was instead chairing the national consultative meeting in Mogadishu.
“The parliament’s eighth session will instead officially open on Monday.” Said the Speaker. Under the country’s constitution, the President has the power to prorogue Parliament before its term expires. According to Somalia’s Provisional Federal Constitution, adopted in 2012, the mandates of the Somali Federal Parliament and of the Government would come to an end in August and September 2016, respectively.
Security Tightened In Jowhar Ahead Of State Formation Conference
10 April – Source: Goobjoog News – 135 Words
The security of Jowhar city has been tightened ahead of the resumption of Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle regional state formation conference which kicks off on Monday. Somalia’s interior minister Abdirahman Mohamed Hussein, who’s leading the government’s new federalism system and other Somali government delegates, are expected attend the opening ceremony of the meeting. Despite the announcement, several clan elders in Hiiraan region vowed to boycott the conference and accused the government of unfair distribution of clan delegates and ‘ignoring the value and respect of both regional clan elders’. Hiiraan elders have set tough terms for the formation of regional state with its neighboring Middle Shabelle region.
Four Missing University Students May Have Joined Al Shabaab
10 April – Source: Shabelle News – 149 Words
Four missing students from Kenya’s Moi University are feared to have joined terror group Al Shabaab.The number of students from the university, suspected to have joined the al Qaeda-linked group, has risen to eight since November 2015. Uasin Gishu county commissioner Abdi Hassan has said that some parents are being investigated for helping their children to join the terror group.
It emerged in June last year that some University of Nairobi students are paid members of ISIS and Al Shabaab The head of the National Counter Terrorism Centre said he had evidence some students in Nairobi and elsewhere were on the payroll of the two terror groups. Director Isaac Ochieng addressed a forum on countering violent extremism hosted by the UoN and the Interior ministry at the university’s Taifa Hall. He neither elaborated on the evidence nor said how many students were estimated to be on terror payrolls.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
AU, Somali Forces Capture Central Somali Town From Al-Shabaab
10 April – Source: Xinhua News – 248 Words
African Union peacekeeping mission (AMISOM) troops and Somalia National Army (SNA) said Sunday they have liberated Adan Yabaal town in Middle Shabelle region of central Somalia. AMISOM said in a statement said the allied forces took control of the town after a major offensive against the terrorist group Al-Shabaab.
“The joint forces confronted the militants in Moqokori and Mahaas in Hiiraan region, where they have been operating from lately, before driving them out of Adan Yabaal,” the statement said. The civilian population, that had vacated the town to neighbouring districts for fear of collateral damage, is slowly returning to their homes in Adan Yabaal.
The statement said the residents are, however, facing acute shortages particularly water, as the fleeing Al-Shabaab militants shelled the residential area, vandalized amenities, burnt foodstuffs and destroyed the generator that used to pump water from the only functioning borehole in town.
“AMISOM and SNA are currently working with the Somalia government to restore water and other essential services in Adan Yabaal. They are also conducting patrols and clearing the area of booby traps and IEDs planted by Al-Shabaab,” the statement said.
The militants have recently increased their attacks against AU and Somali forces in the Lower Shabelle region, which has seen a surge of attacks that resulted in the loss of several strategic towns although the militants mainly held those towns briefly.
Hunt Launched After Al Shabaab Attack Police Post At Kenya-Somalia Border
10 April – Source: The Standard – 316 Words
Police and military officials are pursuing gunmen who attacked a police post at the Kenya-Somalia border and escaped with a police vehicle and mortar.
The incident happened in Diif Town, Wajir South in Wajir County. Police say three officers were injured and the gang believed to be Al-Shabaab militants escaped with a landcruiser and mortar. They also burnt part of the structures that were at the station and the small town before escaping. Among the structures burnt was a chief’s kiosk.
The incident happened at about 3 a.m. on Sunday. Police officers on the ground said the attackers, who were about 100, shot sporadically while targeting the 18 officers who were present. The station usually has 24 officers but 18 were present at the time of the attack.
“We engaged them for two hours before they left in one of the cars that was at the station and drove off with their casualties. We had three injuries that are not serious,” said an officer who asked not to be named. The officer added that many of the attackers were injured and were loaded into the land cruiser before they escaped. This is the latest attack after a lull of almost four months. Efforts to trace the car are ongoing.
AU Special Representative For Somalia Holds Talks With Turkish And Emirati Ambassadors In Mogadishu
10 April – Source: AMISOM – 374 Words
The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia Ambassador Francisco Madeira today paid a courtesy visit to Turkish and Emirati diplomatic missions in Mogadishu.
The SRCC and the ambassadors discussed matters of mutual interest mainly how to strengthen cooperation between AMISOM and the two countries to help Somalia stabilize and hold peaceful elections by the end of the year. Turkey and United Arab Emirates are part of the international community involved in the stabilization process of Somalia
Speaking after meeting the Turkish ambassador, the SRCC reiterated the close working relations between the African Union and the Turkish government, adding that the latter was committed to ensuring peace return to Somalia going by the risks it had taken to achieve the objective. “Turkey is investing heavily in the training of Somalis. It is investing in the health of Somalis as well as in the infrastructural development of Somalia. We would want to emulate that and we recognize that engaging with Turkey is vital,” said Ambassador Madeira.
On his part, the Turkish Ambassador to Somalia, Olgan Bekar, thanked the SRCC for his visit, saying it was important to exchange views on the current developments taking place in Somalia: “As a country, we will always appreciate the contribution of AMISOM to the Somali people and for the future of Somalia,” ambassador Bekar added. The SRCC also held separate talks with the United Arab Emirates ambassador to Somalia, Mohamed Al-Othman, where issues ranging from security to humanitarian support were discussed.
Somali Militants Executed For Murder Of Journalist
09 April – Source: Voice of America – 223 Words
Two members of Somalia’s al-Qaida-linked Al-Shabaab militant group were executed by firing squad Saturdayfor the murder of a journalist killed by a car bomb last year, witnesses and officials said. Hassan Nur Ali, 37, and Abdirisak Mohamed Barow, 28, were shot in Mogadishu following their recent sentence by the country’s military court.
Speaking to the media after the execution, Abdulahi Hussein Mohamed, deputy judge of the military court, said the men had finally faced justice: “Both of those executed were found guilty of murdering journalist Hindiyo Haji Mohamed, whose car was blown [up] with [an] explosive device,” Mohamed said. “They have faced the justice.”
The men were caught by security forces few days after the killing of Mohamed in December 2015. Hindiyo Haji Mohamed, who was a journalist for two state-run news outlets, Radio Mogadishu and Somali National TV, was killed when a bomb planted under the seat of her car exploded. Local journalists said she was returning home from Somali International University, where she was a student. She was the widow of another journalist, who was killed in an attack in Mogadishu in 2012.
Hindiyo was one of few Somali women who have dared to choose a profession long dominated by men and characterized by a hostile and often deadly environment. She was the 38th journalist killed in Somalia since 2010.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Kigali city in Rwanda has not suffered the brunt of terrorist attacks, unlike Nairobi and Kampala. Security organs have however been covertly identifying and arresting individuals suspected of recruiting Rwanda’s young men and women and radicalising them”
Kigali Moves To Nip Radicalisation And Terrorist Recruitment In The Bud
10 April – Source: The EastAfrican – 660 Words
The Rwandan government has been quietly dealing with religious extremism and radicalisation as reports emerge that the Somalia-based Al Shabaab and the Islamic State (IS) have been targeting the country’s Muslim youth for recruitment.
Before President Paul Kagame broached the subject on March 26 in the Western Province district of Rubavu, there had been no media or public discourse on the issue. Rubavu has the highest number of Muslims in Rwanda, and President Kagame while addressing opinion leaders made reference to last month’s terrorist attacks in the Belgian capital Brussels, saying that Rwanda too was facing religious radicalisation, citing an example of a Rwandan soldier on a peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic who shot and killed four of his colleagues in August 2015.
“I don’t know if people told you what happened exactly but I will tell you. This particular incident showed us how strong the issue of radicalisation is. One of our soldiers, a Muslim, turned his gun on colleagues who considered him a friend and relative,” President Kagame said: They had no problem whatsoever, they had not disagreed on anything but he just woke up in the morning, shot and killed his colleagues. This happened in the Central African Republic,” he added, breaking the silence on the August 8 shooting of which until then few details had been revealed.
The president added that investigations revealed the shooting was found to be linked to acts of terror, similar to what is happening in Europe, after the investigators tracked the soldier’s phone records and possessions, which included writings linked to Islamic extremism: “We found that there are some people who come from other countries to radicalise our people here in Rwanda using religion,” President Kagame said.