April 14, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
Dozens More US Troops Deployed to Somalia
13 April – Source : VOA – 408 Words
Dozens of American soldiers have deployed to Mogadishu to train and equip Somali and AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia) forces fighting extremism in Somalia, U.S. military officials told VOA. The troops’ arrival marks the first presence of American military forces in Somalia, other than a small unit of counterterrorism advisers, since March 1994 when the U.S. pulled out of the U.N. intervention operation in the war-torn state, five months after 18 U.S. special forces personnel were killed in a battle with Somali militiamen that inspired the movie Black Hawk Down. “United States Africa Command will conduct various security cooperation and/or security force assistance events in Somalia in order to assist our allies and partners,” U.S. Africa Command spokesman Pat Barnes told VOA on Thursday.
The move is another example of the acceleration of U.S. efforts to help combat violent extremism across the globe, a second military official said. The goal of the operation is to build partner capacity while helping to improve the logistics of local forces battling the military group al-Shabab. A few dozen troops from the 101st Airborne Division in Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, arrived in Mogadishu on April 2 at the request of the Somali government, a U.S. military official told VOA.
Key Headlines
- Dozens More US Troops Deployed to Somalia (VOA)
- UN Estimates 337 People Killed And Injured In Somalia Since 2017 (Hiiraan Online)
- Leaders Of Federal Government Regional Administrations To Meet In Mogadishu (Garowe Online)
- UN Estimates 337 People Killed And Injured In Somalia Since 2017 (Hiiraan Online)
- Prominent Elder Killed In Mogadishu (Goobjoog News)
- Indian Seamen Travel Home After Somalia Piracy Ordeal (The Eastafrican)
- Somali Drought Heightens Risk To Mothers During Pregnancy And Childbirth (Africa Newsroom)
- Ports Politics And The Humbug of Farmajo’s Government (Wardheer News)
NATIONAL MEDIA
UN Estimates 337 People Killed And Injured In Somalia Since 2017
13 April – Source : Hiiraan Online – 228 Words
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) in Somalia, Michael Keating has “strongly condemned” the recent spike in terrorist incidents in Somalia that have claimed the lives of dozens of people in recent days. The UN estimates that a dozen attacks in ten days have killed 28 civilians and wounded another 31. The attacks were launched at restaurants, busy markets, and crowded minibuses. “Attacks on civilians are unjustifiable. It is particularly upsetting that so many women and children have lost their lives. This is a perverse and inhumane way to make a political point and achieved nothing. It should stop immediately,” said SRSG Keating.
Since 2017, at least 337 people were either killed or injured in 87 separate IED attacks, the vast majority being civilians. Last week, the Somali government declared war on Al-Shabaab and offered the group 60 days to surrender in return for rehabilitation and education. The militant group has shrugged off the government’s declaration and dismissed Farmajo as a “puppet leader” and “infidel”. They have responded by stepping up the attacks in Mogadishu.
Speaking at a ceremony marking the 57th anniversary of the Somali National Army (SNA) on 12 April 2017, Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has vowed to completely destroy the militant insurgency group Al-Shabaab within two years. “We confirm to the Somali people that we are prepared and within two years‘ period we will eradicate al-Shabab from all areas they are present in Somalia,” the president said.
Leaders Of Federal Government, Regional Administrations To Meet In Mogadishu
13 April – Source : Garowe Online – 168 Words
Leaders of Somalia’s Federal Member states are expected to reach the Somali capital of Mogadishu to take part in the High-level meeting with leaders of the Federal government. According to sources, the summit will focus on ways to strengthen relations between the central government and Federal Member states, the country’s security and the forthcoming London conference on Somalia in May. The President of northeastern region of Puntland, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali “Gaas” was reported to have arrived Mogadishu on Thursday, however, leaders from Jubaland, Southwest, Galmudug and Hirshabelle regions are also expected to arrive the capital.
Somali leaders will hold talks to agree on joint plans and agenda ahead of the forthcoming conference on Somalia in London. UK will host an international conference to accelerate progress on security sector reform and encourage international partnership to support Somalia on course for increased peace and prosperity. The conference will be attended by Somalia’s international partners and will be co-chaired by Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo and UK’s Premier Theresa May.
Prominent Elder Killed In Mogadishu
14 April – Source : Goobjoog News – 104 Words
Suspected Al-Shabaab gunmen have shot and killed a Somali prominent elder on Thursday night in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.Witnesses to the attack said that he was accosted by two attackers who drew their pistols, shot him at point blank range near his house and fled the crime scene.Security officials arrived at the scene shortly after the murder and could not apprehend the killers. Police said that they are investigating the murder and talking to witnesses.No group has yet claimed responsibility for the murder of the late elder, the latest in series of assassinations against traditional elders in Mogadishu city.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Indian Seamen Travel Home After Somalia Piracy Ordeal
14 April – Source : The Eastafrican – 191 Words
Ten Indian seamen freed Somali pirates have been allowed to travel home. The authorities of Galmudug State in Central Somalia, saw off the Indian sailors on Thursday. The seamen on mv AL Kausar were freed from the pirates near Hobyo town, about 660km northeast of the Somali capital Mogadishu. Were hijacked: Hobyo District Commissioner Abdullahi Faad said the 10 were hijacked as they sailed from the town’s harbour to Kismayu town, 500km south of Mogadishu. “The boat was originally destined for Kismayu town, before it was seized by pirates who led it to near Hobyo town,” said Mr Faad.
Somali government troops and local Galmudug forces snatched the boat from the pirates after it remained in captivity since March 31. In India, the Hindstan Times quoted the New Delhi government on Wednesday thanking Somalia for subduing the pirates. Their journey :“I am happy to inform that 10 Indian nationals working as crew on mv AL Kausar which was hijacked by pirates have been rescued,” India’s External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted. “The sailors have now been enabled to continue their journey,” Mr Faad said. Hobyo is Galmudug State’s the main seaside town.
Somali Drought Heightens Risk To Mothers During Pregnancy And Childbirth
14 April – Source : Africa Newsroom – 285 Words
Of the 6.2 million people affected by the drought ravaging Somalia, more than 1.5 million are women of childbearing age. UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is particularly concerned about the fate of 607,000 pregnant women across the country who need maternal health services to ensure a safe pregnancy and delivery, including emergency obstetric services. To help address their needs, UNFPA is scaling up its emergency response to help more than 130,000 pregnant women who may require urgent care. Somalia already has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, with over nearly 1 of every 22 mothers dying from pregnancy related causes. More than 350 000 Somalis are refugees and a further 400 000 are internally displaced.
“I was struck by the fact that the face of displacement is a woman with her child. The men have stayed behind to tend their farms and livestock while it is the women who have made the arduous and risky trek often for many days to get some relief,” says UNFPA’s Chief of Humanitarian and Fragile Contexts Branch, Ugochi Daniels, following visits to drought-affected areas in Somalia this week. “The toll of displacement, drought, and the lack of services on women and girls is immense, and calls for an equally immense response to provide direct medical services and support,” exclaimed Daniels.
UNFPA provides life-saving reproductive health services across Somalia including referral of complicated cases during pregnancy and delivery, emergency reproductive health kits and medical and psychosocial support to survivors of gender-based violence. UNFPA is appealing to international donors for funding of $24 million for the Somalia humanitarian response for reproductive health and to protect women and girls from gender-based violence (GBV).
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“It is certain that all these uncoordinated deals are stabs one at a time into the heart of Somalia’s sovereignty. It is also a bitter testimony about the reality that Villa Somalia has become irrelevant to the overall economy of the country,”
Ports, Politics, And The Humbug of Farmajo’s Government
14 April – Source : Wardheer News – 2244 – Words
As President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo settles down in Villa Somalia with his outsized cabinet watching over empty coffers, he encounters a political landscape that resembles the era of “Scramble for Africa,” and the dismemberment of Somali territory. Between 1884 and 1887, Somali strategic ports were all in the hands of three different European colonial powers. Similarly, between 2014 and 2017, three mega investors have taken over the development and management of three of Somalia’s most important ports. Somalia is back to where it was 130 years ago, only this time overpowered by a much crueler world.
Just like his predecessor, Farmajo’s presidency already shows extreme dependency on Arab petro-dollar and Western benefactors. His promise to bring back Somalia’s sovereignty proves to be no more than yet another politician’s humbug.The omnipresent foreign interference in all affairs of Somali by foreign powers has recently peaked on April 10, 2017, when members of the Somalia National Army (SNA) clashed with soldiers from the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA). It is reported that SNA is funded and trained by the United Arab Emirates UAE, while the nation’s security wing is loyal to Qatar. The temporal Arab cold war, which has been raging for some time now, is hence fought in Mogadishu’s dusty streets with the Somali government only playing spectator’s role.
On April 10, 2017, Farmajo was summoned for consultation to Dubai on a range of issues mainly on the ports deals, whereas Qatari Amir was visiting Addis Ababa in a highly publicized mutual consultations with the powerful ancient empire of Ethiopia. The cornerstone of Ethiopia’s foreign policy has been and is the destabilization of Somalia.Somalia has three major challenges to its post-civil war reconstruction: security, economic, and political.
The security sector has been elusive for the last quarter of a century following the 1991 civil war. This promise is nothing more than Mr. Farmajo’s bravado; who is known to be hasty. Otherwise, most military analysts would die to have a peek into his war game.Whether Mr. Farmajo’s hastiness makes sense or not, Somalia needs its own national army to fight its own war for the re-liberation of the country. Foreign powers such as Ethiopia, Kenya and Qatar on one side, and the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt on the other side make the reconstruction of Somalia’s national army all the more difficult to realize.
TOP TWEETS
@Vatescorp: #Somalia: Dozens more US troops deployed to train and equip SNA and AMISOM forces fighting extremism #alShabaab
@AhmedBarise1: Somalia #military has been #operations doing from the area of #LowerShabelle such as #Afgoye, leego, #yaaq-bariweyne in #Somalia: Sources
@HassanIstiila:#BREAKING: The Chief of the #Somali Police Force Gen. Abdihakin Dahir, sacked Banadir region police chief, Bashir Gedi & named Ahmed Hassan.
@HassanIstiila: #BREAKING: Unidentified gunmen killed in Mogadishu an elder identified as Shire Jim’ale who was among electoral college who voted for MPs.
@burke_jason:This register at @savechildrenuk cholera centre Baidoa, Somalia. UN say 400 deaths countrywide but prob 10x more.
Somali-born-Canadian Farah Mohamed Shirdon (cousin to former PM) designated by the US State Department https://www.state.gov/r/pa/
@APO_source: Somali #drought heightens risk to #mothers during #pregnancy & #childbirth @UNFPA #Somalia #MaternalHealth #Health
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Somali Premier,Hassan Ali Khaire chairs weekly cabinet meeting at Villa somalia where they discussed National security and drought.
Photo : Radio Muqdisho