April 17, 2012 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Suicide bomber kills soldier in southern Somali town
17 Apr – Source: AFP – 251 words
A suicide bomber killed a soldier in the southern Somali town of Baidoa on Tuesday, when he detonated an explosive vest as he tried to enter a government security building, officials said. “The soldier stopped him and as he carried out a security check, the bomber blew himself up,” said Mohamed Samow, a security official. “The bomber died on the spot, and a soldier, who was seriously injured, died later at hospital”, the official added.
Baidoa, located 250 kilometres (155 miles) northwest of Mogadishu, was the seat of Somalia’s transitional parliament until the hardline Shebab captured it three years ago. Ethiopian soldiers fighting alongside Somali government forces took control of Baidoa in February. African Union troops deployed in the town earlier this month, the first time the force has dispatched troops outside the capital Mogadishu since the 10,000-strong force was set up five years ago.
“There was a heavy explosion… I saw the mangled dead body of a man,” witness Said Nure said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s bombing, but the Al-Qaeda allied Shebab insurgents have launched a series of guerrilla attacks and vowed to topple the Western-backed government.
Earlier this month a bomb blast in Baidoa’s market killed at least 11 people and wounded several, an attack claimed by the Shebab. A broad offensive by Ethiopian and Kenyan forces in southern and western Somalia has forced the Shebab rebels from many of their strongholds, while AU troops in Mogadishu have advanced on to the outskirts of the capital Mogadishu.
Key Headlines
- TFG denies that it employs al Shabaab defectors in security operations (Shabelle)
- Suicide bomber kills soldier in southern Somali town (AFP)
- Italian ambassador says TFG should clarify circumstances of the National Theatre bombing(Raxanreeb)
- UN delegation arrives in Luq town south Somalia (Shabelle)
- TFG and AMISOM discuss security strategies for Somalia for the coming three months (Radio Mogadishu)
- Al Qaeda finding fertile ground in Africa (VOA)
- TFG forces arrest three people suspected of the Garbaharey explosions of Gedo region (Radio Mogadishu)
- US officials working to confirm death of Al-Amriki (al Shahid)
SOMALI MEDIA
TFG denies that it employs al Shabaab defectors in security operations
17 Apr – Source: Shabelle – 140 words
The TFG’s security agency strongly denied today that it employs al Shabaab defectors for its security operations in Mogadishu. While speaking to Shabelle Media, Ahmed Mo’allin Fiqi, the Director of the National Security agency denied reports claiming that his agency employs militants defected from al Shabaab. Salad Ali Jelle, a Somali MP, recently accused the country’s national agency of hiring for its security services more than 120 al Shabaab elements.
Somali deputy premier travels to Puntland
17 Apr – Source: Radio Mogadishu, SONNA – 176 words
Deputy Prime Minister and Trade Minister of the TFG H. E. Abdiwahab Ugas Hussein today travelled to Garowe, Puntland to attend the approval of the Puntland constitution there. The Trade minister is accompanied by the State Minister of the Constitution and Federal Affairs as well as other TFG delegates who are supposed to take part in a conference to approve Puntland’s private constitution and also meet with the authorities of the Puntland administration.
Italian ambassador says TFG should clarify circumstances of the National Theatre bombing
17 Apr – Source: Raxanreeb – 187 words
The Italian ambassador to Somalia André Marcela called for the TFG to clarify how the national theatre suicide bombing took place and whether government agents were involved in it, RBC reports. André Marcela made this request in a press conference in Mogadishu after he had meeting with the Prime Minister and Interior Minister of Somalia on Monday. “I met with the prime minister and the interior minister and we completely support the ongoing inquiring” André Marcela said.
The Italian ambassador to Somalia André Marcela suggested that the finds of the investigation on the National Theatre bombing must be brought out to the public even if government agents acted irresponsibly. “We also think that if some guilty officers are found to have had some responsibility in what happened in the National Theatre [it] should come out and must be clarified” Tte Italian ambassador added.
US deports Somali citizens
17 Apr – Source: Radio Kulmiye – 95 words
At least 9 Somalis has been deported from the United States according to the US immigration centers. The US government did not officially talk about the deportation of the Somali migrants, but Somali sources say the government has been working with the Somali Diaspora communities in the United States to enlighten the sites of the security in the country. There has been number of people being suspected of terrorism in the United States.
UN delegation arrives in Luq town, south Somalia
17 Apr – Source: Shabelle – 144 words
Four years after the drought and famine hit most regions in south Somalia, a high level delegation from United Nations has arrived at Luq town, Somalia’s southern Gedo region to assess the humanitarian needs on the ground. The UN delegation consists of officials from the United Nations’ High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and other agencies; they held talks with TFG officials of the local administration.
In their meeting, the UN officials pledged to restart their humanitarian operations to support thousands of drought and famine stricken Somali families in the entire Gedo region, close to the Kenyan border. The town which was one of al Shabaab’s main stronghold areas in Gedo region before Somali and Kenya military rolled in is now currently hosting many Somalis on their way to Kenyan refugee camps after their cops and livestock were washed away by the droughts.
TFG praises the new constitution
17 Apr – Source: Radio Kulmiye – 94 words
The Deputy Minister of the Constitution Agency Mohamed Hassan Jima’ale has praised the new constitution saying Somali people will have to adopt the news constitution rather than opposing it. The deputy minister denied accusations from Somali community parties in regards to written articles in the constitutional document. Somali people have recently been debating about the advanced topics in the new constitution which some of the people say are violating the Islamic religion in the country. Somalia has not had a functioning central government since the collapse of former Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
TFG and AMISOM discuss security strategies for Somalia for the coming three months
16 Apr – Source: Radio Mogadishu, Somalia Report – 61 words
A security meeting attended by TFG and AMISOM officials was held in Mogadishu on Monday. The meeting was attended by the Chief Commander of Somali National Forces, the Head of National Security Department, the Deputy Commissioner of Somali Police and AMISOM Chief Commander. The security officials have discussed a security plan for the nation for the next three months.
Somali prisoners injured in Yemen riots
16 Apr – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 149 words
At least 40 Somali nationals who have been convicted for piracy in Yemen have sustained injuries after riots broke out in their prison camp. One of the detainees who declined to be named told Bar-kulan that several of his colleagues sustained injuries when chaos erupted outside their jail after the demonstration of furious Yemenis whose relatives are held with them in Mansura prison in Aden town.
He said prison wardens used live ammunitions and tear gas canisters to disperse the angry relatives staging a demonstration in front of the facility. The Somali prisoners complained of lack of proper care and deteriorating health conditions facing them inside their jail, adding that the recent riot had a negative impact on them.
They appealed to the Somali government and other relatively stable regional administrations in the country to convince the Yemeni government to hand them over to Somalia to finish their remaining jail terms in their country.
TFG forces arrest three people suspected of the Garbaharey explosions of Gedo region
16 Apr – Source: Radio Mogadishu, Somalia Report – 54 words
Somali security forces in Garbaharrey district of Gedo region have detained several people after accusing them of behind the Sunday’s explosion in that district, which killed at least three people and injured over ten others. The Garbaharey Mayor, Mohamed Abdi kalil, told Radio Mogadishu that they are investigating the incident and questioning the suspects.
REGIONAL MEDIA
IDP campers in Mogadishu suffer in rain
17 Apr – Source: Daily Nation – 101 words
The first drops of the Gu` Roobaad “long seson rains” started falling in parts of Somalia southern Somalia’s region yesterday. Internally displaced peoples in camps scattered in Mogadishu are the worst hit. Also hard hit are hundreds of thousands in slum areas. Most of the campers are housed in makeshift shelters made of rudimentary materials.
Most of the IDPs in the Somali capital had been displaced by the drought and famine that hit the Horn of Africa nation in 2011 while others were dislocated by the wars between the pro-government forces and the fighters loyal to al Shabaab and al –Qaeda.
US officials working to confirm death of Al-Amriki
17 Apr – Source: Al Shahid – 240 words
United States intelligence officials are trying to confirm reports that Alabama-born Omar Hammami alias Al-Amriki, a senior official in al Shabaab militants, has been beheaded in Somalia. Some Somali websites reported Al-Amriki, was executed April 4 by al Shabaab militants taking orders from the group’s chief, Ahmed Abdi Godane.
A U.S. intelligence official told Fox News that, if true, Al-Amriki’s death could be a turning point in the recruitment of Americans and western Europeans by al Shabaab — as he was thought to play a prominent role in that western outreach.
“Our folks have been looking for anything on this,” the intelligence official told Fox News, adding: “We have not been able to confirm this report.” Al-Amriki posted a video last month and said other militants may have marked him for death.
“I record this message today because I feel that my life may be in danger . . . because of differences that occurred between us regarding matters of Sharia and matters of strategy,” he said in the video.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Suicide bomber kills soldier in southern Somali town
17 Apr – Source: AFP – 251 words
A suicide bomber killed a soldier in the southern Somali town of Baidoa on Tuesday, when he detonated an explosive vest as he tried to enter a government security building, officials said. “The soldier stopped him and as he carried out a security check, the bomber blew himself up,” said Mohamed Samow, a security official. “The bomber died on the spot, and a soldier, who was seriously injured, died later at hospital”, the official added.
Baidoa, located 250 kilometres (155 miles) northwest of Mogadishu, was the seat of Somalia’s transitional parliament until the hardline Shebab captured it three years ago. Ethiopian soldiers fighting alongside Somali government forces took control of Baidoa in February.
African Union troops deployed in the town earlier this month, the first time the force has dispatched troops outside the capital Mogadishu since the 10,000-strong force was set up five years ago. “There was a heavy explosion… I saw the mangled dead body of a man,” witness Said Nure said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s bombing, but the Al-Qaeda allied Shebaab insurgents have launched a series of guerrilla attacks and vowed to topple the Western-backed government.
Earlier this month a bomb blast in Baidoa’s market killed at least 11 people and wounded several, an attack claimed by the Shabaab. A broad offensive by Ethiopian and Kenyan forces in southern and western Somalia has forced the Shebab rebels from many of their strongholds, while AU troops in Mogadishu have advanced on to the outskirts of the capital Mogadishu.
Al Qaeda finding fertile ground in Africa
16 Apr – Source: VOA – 512 words
From eastern shores of Somalia to western borders of Mali, there has been an upsurge in Islamist violence across Africa. A new report from Britain’s Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) cites growing evidence that al-Qaeda is expanding its reach via a network of affiliates and partnerships across the continent. According to London-based security analyst Valentina Soria, author of “Global Jihad Sustained Through Africa,” the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan is forcing the terror organization’s central leadership to look beyond their traditional heartland.
“The aim is now for the central leadership to try to forge strategic relationships with like-minded groups in Africa … like al-Shabab, and obviously strengthen the already existing relationship with AQIM, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb,” she says, adding that al Qaeda is also working with other terror organizations to secure stable footholds in volatile countries.
In Somalia, for example, where al-Shabaab is active, Soria says al-Qaeda’s Islamist agenda is key to drawing in fighters who carry out increasingly sophisticated attacks on government forces and African Union peacekeepers.
Trial to begin for Somali charged with piracy
17 Apr – Source: AP – 125 words
The trial of a Somali man accused of being a pirate negotiator is set to begin in Virginia. Mohammad Saaili Shibin faces piracy, weapons and other charges for his role in the 2011 hijacking of an American yacht off the coast of Africa. All four passengers onboard were shot and killed several days after their sailboat was captured.
Prosecutors say Shibin never boarded but the yacht, but acted as a land-based negotiator who researched the victims online to determine how much of a ransom to seek. Shibin’s attorney contends Shibin can’t be found guilty of piracy because he never boarded and robbed the yacht. He was captured by the FBI in Somalia. Jury selection is scheduled to begin in federal court in Norfolk on Tuesday.
Cash aid transfers should be standardised – report
16 Apr – Source: Reuters /Alert Net -198 words
Aid agencies and donors should develop a “tool box” for the use and distribution of cash transfers to improve effective aid delivery, according to a new report from the Cash Learning Partnership (CaLP).
Cash and voucher programmes are increasingly being used in regions where security problems interfere with the delivery of such traditional forms of aid as food. An estimated 4 million people in the Horn of Africa are now receiving famine assistance via cash and voucher programmes from non-governmental charities and United Nations (U.N.) agencies, according to CaLP.
The study, titled “New Technologies in Cash Transfers and Humanitarian Assistance”, was conducted because cash and voucher programmes have become more common, partly due to easier access to electronic banking technology, but there are no established standards.
Unprecedented increase in piracy attacks off Somalia
16 Apr – Source: ICC Commercial Crime Services – 337 words
The International Maritime Bureau has reported an unprecedented increase in the number of serious attacks off Somalia. Recently two vessels have been attacked around 90 miles off the coast over two consecutive days by pirates.
Since 15 March 2005, there have been 23 attacks against vessels off the southern and eastern coast of Somalia. Once the vessels have been taken over they are taken close in-shore and the pirates typically demand a ransom for the return of the vessel and the crew.
A vessel carrying a World Food Programme cargo into Somalia, was seized by pirates and held for over 14 weeks. A sister vessel which went to provide fuel and provisions to the attacked vessel was also seized by the same gang. The pirate gangs appear to have the protection and support of the local warlords and see this as a lucrative source of revenue with minimal risk to themselves. This is a region with a high number of coalition naval vessels who could play an important role in responding to these crimes.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“On reflection, the plight of women in Somalia is an issue that global governance must address just like the military aspect of the conflict. It is important that Somali women do not feel that the international community has given up on them or will do nothing to alleviate their misery.”
Equal rights for Somali Women
16 Apr – Source: The Emory Wheel – 470 Words
When we think about Somalia, the image that comes to mind is that of a 20-year-old failed state that struggles to rid itself of al-Shabaab, an Islamic militia group with ties to al-Qaeda and the destitution it has created. However, one important aspect that is largely ignored is the plight of women in Somalia.
Women have been terrorized by the enforcement of the al-Shabaab version of the Islamic Sharia law. Somalia is one of the few countries in which nearly all women are forced to female genital mutilation. In fact, it is practically impossible to measure the number of victims because southern Somalia, largely controlled by al-Shabaab, is out of reach of humanitarian and health care organizations. Being a male dominated society in which males could get away with almost any actions, sexual violence and slavery are widely prevalent. Lisa Shannon, a women’s-rights activist, described an instance in her book, A Thousand Sisters, in which she said that a girl who refused to marry an al-Shabaab militant was stoned to death after being buried to the neck. She was also gang-raped by five al-Shabaab militants in front of her family.
“I have not heard anything other than what I’ve read in the newspaper,” Shafik Hammami said. “We are like anyone else. We haven’t had any confirmation.”
Omar Hammami’s father: ‘I have not heard anything’ about son’s reported demise
16 Apr – Source: Blog News – 662 words
Shafik Hammami has no special insights into the fate of the son he lost contact with years ago. He and his wife, like the rest of Alabama, await confirmation of reports in Somalia that Omar Hammami has been betrayed by the terrorist organization he joined in 2006.
“I have not heard anything other than what I’ve read in the newspaper,” Shafik Hammami said this afternoon from his home in Daphne. “We are like anyone else. We haven’t had any confirmation.”
Omar Hammami gained fame as the U.S.-born spokesman and military commander of al-Shabaab, an al-Qaida-linked hard-line Islamist group that has been fight a civil war in the eastern Africa nation. Reports surfaced in Somali media that Hammami had been killed by rival leaders of the group on April 4. Today, Fox News reported that he may have been beheaded.
Top tweets
@IntelTweet The Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement in #Somalia has released a new propaganda video titled “Year of Community 1433.” http://wp.me/pRpVP-37e.
@mercycorps Congrats to @Gettleman on his #Pulitzer win! A recent piece he wrote on hope in #Somalia: http://nyti.ms/
@JadiliAfrica The #Somalia
@DaltonMwaghogho #Somalia war leaves Kenya with Sh12bn Budget gap…http://bit.ly/HLIc0e.
@JustOneBullet @abdirii
@yassinomar #SomaliYOLOmoment
Image of the day
The Gu’ season rains begun on Sunday and continue until yesterday (Monday) drawing much concern over the livelihood condition of nearly 200,000 IDPs in the capital. Photo Radio Mogadishu.