April 21, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Somalia Calls For Investment From Asian & African Countries
21 April – Source: Goobjoog News – 277 Words
The Somali government called on Asian and African countries to support Somalia’s economic growth by investing in the country, during the Asian African ministerial meetingon Monday. “On this occasion, I want to ask governments of Asian and African countries to give Somalia support in the form of investments delivered under the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership [NAASP],” Somalia’s foreign affairs and investment promotion minister, Khalid Omar Ali said in Jakarta on Monday.
Ali said Somalia had an abundance of marine resources it could develop into a fisheries industry and natural resources, such as oil, gas and minerals. Thus, he said, the Somali government was striving to get foreign investors into the country. The ministerial meeting was part of the 60th Asian African Conference Commemoration events scheduled to take place in Jakarta and Bandung from April 19 to 24. Ali went on to say that the Somali government focused its attention on increasing the country’s economic growth by gaining potential profits from the resources it had. Therefore, he said, the Somali government had created laws that could attract foreign investors and create conducive conditions for trade and investment.
“We are also planning to take advantage of our natural resources sustainably by attracting foreign investors and Somalis in the diaspora to invest in various sectors, such as animal husbandry, agriculture and the fishing industry in the country,” said Ali. The minister further said his country warmly welcomed the idea that, based on the NAASP, Asian and African countries would cooperate to ensure that their prioritized targets and interests could get maximum attention in the post-2015 development agenda.
Key Headlines
- Somalia Tests Its Capacity To Host International Matches At Home (Somali Update)
- Somalia Calls For Investment From Asian & African Countries (Goobjoog News)
- Nicholas Kay arrives in Garowe follow attack on UN staff (Wacaal.com)
- Somalia Trade With Yemen Stops (Radio Ergo)
- FBI Arrest 6 Somali Youth In Minnesota (Somali Current)
- Residents Told Not To Sell Pasture To Somali Herders (The Star Kenya)
- Two Kenyans Die In Somalia Blast (Daily Nation)
- Kenya Somalia And UNHCR To Hold Talks On Refugee Relocation (Capital FM)
- Somalis Claim Entrapment In ISIS Arrests (KARE 11)
- Disabled Somali Trader Aims To Help Injured Countrymen (News 24)
- UN Security Council slams attack on UN Vehicle in Somalia (China.org)
- Garissa Massacre In 2015 V.S Wagalla Massacre Of Wajir In 1984 (Wardheer News)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Tests Its Capacity To Host International Matches At Home
21 April – Source: Somali Update – 272 Words
In what seems to be a ‘test’ for Somalia hosting of an international match at home after decades of wars, the country’s junior national team welcomed foreign players in the country at Stadium Banadir, beating them 1-0 on Monday. The friendly match was part of the Somali U-23 Squad’s preparations for the 2016 world Olympic Games qualifiers before they take on Rwanda in the first leg on April 25 in Kigali. The Ocean Stars juniors got their winning goal when its young striker Mohamed Ali Ibrahim (No 10) managed to score from a corner kick in the 85th minute of the match.
Somali Football Federation president, Abdiqani Said Arab, said that Monday’s match was mainly intended to pave the way for Somalia’s long-standing ambition of hosting international matches at home. “Last year a dozen foreign players were here, but this year the number has doubled and we are hopeful that more others will arrive for the next season” SFF president Abdiqani Said Arab said.
“The stay of foreign players in the country will also encourage our players to have an ambition to play outside homeland,” he added. At the moment, the expectations are high in Somalia where peace is slowly returning after more than two decades of bloodshed and lack of a functioning government. A number of local football clubs are now planning to hire foreign coaches; a move that SFF believes will make football in Somalia more ‘tasteful’. In Somalia, there are now nearly 20 foreign players including some from Kenya, Uganda and as far as Nigeria.
Nicholas Kay Arrives In Garowe Following Attack On UN Staff
April 20 – Source: Wacaal.com – 106 Words
Head of UN mission in Somalia Mr. Nicholas Kay today led a delegation from the UN office in Somalia to Garowe, Puntland to assess the situation following the deadly attack on Unicef staff early today. Up to seven people died in the attack and close to six other sustained injuries in the early morning bombing of the UN staff bus. Mr. Kay’s delegation is also set to hold a series of meetings with Puntland officials to discuss the increasing terror attacks in the area and security arrangements for the UN and its staff in the area.
FBI Arrest 6 Somali Youth In Minnesota
21 April – Source: Somali Current – 295 Words
Detectives in the United States city of Minnesota foiled an arrangement to transport Somali youths to Syria in a bid to train and subsequently join the Somali militant group Al-Shabab and ISIS. After the arrest, the six Somalis in their late twenties to early thirties were charged with being sympathizers of and planning to join a terror group. “Federal Bureau of Investigation agents stormed our house and arrested my sons,” said Ayan Mohamed Farah. She added that two of the six youths nabbed were her sons. Mohamed Farah, Adnan Farah, Abdirahman Daud, Guled Omar, Hanad Musse and Zakaria Abdurahman have been arrested while making their final preparation to Syria without the knowledge of their relatives.
According to a statement by the chief prosecutor in Minnesota Andrew M. Luger, the youth were radicalized by Abdi Noor, who arranges for such travels to Syria and Iraq where the youths are conscripted into ISIS or Da’esh. “They were planning to fly off to Syria from either San Diego or New York before we foiled their deadly plans,’ a statement by authorities said in part. “We tried to contain them in the country, but we found out later that they were devising other means to travel to Syria,” prosecutor Andrew M. Luger added. The state of Minnesota, which is home to thousands of Somalis immigrants, has seen one of the largest numbers of terror recruits.
Most of these youth either discreetly or openly travel to Somalia to fight alongside Al-Shabaab or fly to Syria to join ISIS. Just last week in Australia, a Twenty-five year old Somali youth Sharky Jama, was killed in Syria fighting alongside ISIS. His family said they were not aware of his recruitment into the terror group.
Somalia Trade With Yemen Stops
20 April – Source: Radio Ergo – 316 Words
Somali businesses and communities have been hard hit by the conflict in Yemen, which has led to the disruption of trade. Somalia has a long history of exporting livestock, hides and skins, fish and seafood, among other items, earning the country a substantial amount of foreign currency. “I sell almost 10 tonnes of cooking gas per month which I used to bring in from Yemen, but I have now switched to Dubai, which is more expensive than Yemen because of the distance from Somalia,” said Abdalla Mohamed, a Somali trader. Prices of gas have risen, as increased shipping costs are passed on to the Somali consumer. Fishermen in Bari region have also been hit by the loss of trade.
Bargal local government secretary, Said Awil, told Radio Ergo the town used to send around 60 large boatloads of fish every month to Yemen. “Sometimes up to 150 small licensed fishing vessels from Bargal would take their catch for sale in Mukalla. They now lie idle in our ports and haven’t worked since the [Saudi Arabian government] aerial attacks on the Houthis began,” Awil said. Puntland’s vital livestock sector is also suffering. An official in the ministry of livestock, Abdirahman Mohamed Jama, said 10% of Puntland’s livestock exports went to Yemen. “We normally export our livestock to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen and Oman. We unfortunately lost an important market in Yemen,” he said.
Puntland’s minister for trade and industrialization said the losses were significant. “We used to import a lot of manufactured goods from Yemen, while we exported livestock among other items. We are now in the process of assessing the situation and looking for alternative markets for our products,” he said. Head of Puntland’s disaster management agency, Abdullahi Abdirahman, said escalation of the Yemen conflict did not augur well for residents of Bari region, whose lives depended heavily on trade.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Residents Told Not To Sell Pasture To Somali Herders
21 April – Source: The Star, Kenya – 147 Words
Mwingi East district county commissioner Jacob Ruto has cautioned residents in Sosoma and other areas near Kitui to stop selling their pasture to Somali herders. Speaking yesterday at the burial of a victim of Garissa University attack Aquila Mulei at Mwambiu, Ruto said it is sad locals are the ones welcoming the Somalis. He said last year they resolved that there would be no more selling of pasture to the herders. Ruto said the decision was taken because the herders were illegally grazing on peoples lands leading to destruction of crops and conflicts. “We cannot continue like this since these people know nothing about peace and Kambas are peaceful,” he said. Ruto said those who have sold their pasture to the herders should state the amount to the area MP Joe Mutambu so that it can be refunded.
Two Kenyans Die In Somalia Blast
20 April – Source: Daily Nation – 337 Words
Two Kenyans were among 11 people killed in a bomb attack in Somalia’s northeastern town of Garowe on Monday. The explosion occurred inside a van in which Al-Shabaab militants had planted a bomb, police said. The ill-fated van was carrying Unicef workers in the capital of the semi-autonomous Puntland region. “The nature of the blast, which ripped off the vehicle’s roof, leaving the rest of the bus intact, raises suspicion that the bomber was actually inside the vehicle,” said Puntland’s Nugal police boss Ahmed Abdullahi Samatar alias Layli.
The UN has condemned the Monday attack as local authorities launched investigations into the tragedy. UN Special Envoy to Somalia Nicholas Kay said he was shocked and horrified by the attack. “The complete disregard for the lives of people working on the humanitarian and development needs of the people of Somalia is despicable.” Somali militant group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.
Al-Shabaab spokesman for operations Sheikh Abdulaziz Abu Mus’ab made the claim through various outlets including al-Andalus, a broadcaster run by the jihadist group. “We killed 11 foreigners who are on an invasion mission in Somalia,” said Mr Abu Mus’ab. The militants do not recognise the UN as a multilateral world body and consider its staff in Somalia as invaders. Mr Samatar said the attack took place at Garowe, about 1,000 kilometres northeast of Mogadishu and promised thorough investigations to determine events surrounding attack.
Kenya, Somalia And UNHCR To Hold Talks On Refugee Relocation
20 April – Source: Capital FM – 511 Words
Kenya will on Tuesday host tripartite talks with the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Somali Government over a pact signed more than a year ago on repatriation of refugees. The talks will assess the agreement that focuses on voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees. “This was agreed at a meeting between the Prime Minister of Somalia Omar Ali Sharmarke and Deputy President William Ruto,” a statement from Ruto’s office said. The Somalia PM had called on the Deputy President to discuss the security situation between the two countries. He called for the meeting saying it was important to evaluate how the process can be carried out responsibly and made faster with the assistance of the international community.
“We want to address the refugee issue in the tripartite agreement and agree on how fast it can be done and what role the donor community can play,” Sharmarke stated. Ruto says the tripartite agreement will be discussed with a view of ensuring refugees returned to Somalia in an orderly manner. “We would like this meeting to address the concerns raised in this matter so that we can deal with the refugee situation in the most humane manner,” the Deputy President said. Recently, the Deputy President said the country had given UNHCR three months to relocate the Dadaab refugee camp to Somalia. Emphasizing that the return of the refuges will be organised, the DP pointed out that since the signing of the tripartite agreement to return the refugees home, 80,000 had done so voluntarily. “We would like this meeting to address the concerns raised in this matter so that we can deal with the refugee situation in the most humane manner,” he pointed out. “We will always stand with you. We made a conscious decision to participate in the security operations in Somalia because what goes on in Somalia affects us in Kenya.”
Somalis Claim Entrapment In ISIS Arrests
20 April – Source: KARE 11 – Video – 1:18 Minutes
Following the the first court appearance for four of the six Minnesota men charged with trying to join the terrorist group ISIS, a Somali activist standing alongside the father of two of the suspects made an accusation. “The community and the family members really believe entrapment is involved in this case,” said Omar Jamal. Jamal did most of the talking for Abdihamid Yusef, the father of Adnan and Mohamed Farah. But Yusef told reporters he believes in his sons’ innocence. “Yeah that’s what I believe, yes,” he said.
As 50 members of the Somali community watched, the lawyer for Zacharia Abduraman made an impassioned plea to get him out of jail — calling him “as American as anyone in this courtroom”… telling the judge the man has a job, takes college classes, and helps his family with bills. Abdurahman is accused of traveling to New York to try and join ISIS fighters in Syria. Jamal says families of the men were aware of the investigation but were hoping for some solution other than prosecution. “Rehabilitate them. What got into them? The parents are more concerned about who’s doing this to their kids,” Jamal said. Earlier in the day he made a call for the U.S government to do something to counter the terrorist group’s savvy recruitment techniques. “The sad part is they fall for this propaganda machine,” Jamal said. The suspects will be back in court Thursday for a detention hearing.
Disabled Somali Trader Aims To Help Injured Countrymen
20 April – Source: News 24 – 569 Words
Abdikader Shukri was left paralysed after two men shot him outside his grocery shop in Gugulethu during a spate of xenophobia attacks three years ago. But Shukri considers himself lucky. The 32-year-old Somalian has cousins and friends who supported him throughout the ordeal that saw him hospitalised for two months – and now he wants to help fellow Somali victims of violence in South Africa. Shukri founded the “Somalia Disabilities Board Cape Town SA” 10 months ago. Today, it has 27 members around the country and provides rehabilitation and counselling services. He also hopes to raise money to educate disabled Somali people in work that is less physically demanding than manning shop counters.
“As humanity, we normally focus on the number of people who died [in an incident]. But what about those left disabled, who are alive but whose lives have changed so much,” he asked during a recent interview with City Press at the Vangate Mall in Athlone. He was accompanied by his friend Mohammed Warsame, whose wife was also paralysed when she was beaten at her shop in Philippi in 2011. She was pregnant at the time but, miraculously, their baby was born healthy. Shukri’s cousin Saede Omar also came along, and pushed his wheelchair. Shukri is soft-spoken, his speech laced with smiles. Occasionally he stutters. His T-shirt is a souvenir from a recent wheelchair race. Shukri has official refugee status, which qualifies him for a monthly disability grant of R1 350. “I’m so lucky to have people who care about me. For five months my cousins drove me to the rehab centre, where I swam and did exercises, enabling me to sit again,” he says.
It was at the Western Cape Rehabilitation Centre that Shukri first offered his services as a translator and life coach to fellow Somali shopowners injured during attacks. “Some of the people from Somalia. They don’t speak English and they don’t have the education to understand what has happened to their bodies; why their legs aren’t working. So I explain to them. The people at the centre started to call me to explain.” Right now he is counselling three Somalians who are being treated for spinal injuries at the centre. The one man was attacked in Kayamandi near Stellenbosch, another in Milnerton, and a woman, who was robbed and beaten at her store in Hermanus.
UN Security Council slams attack on UN Vehicle in Somalia
20 April – Source: China.org – 250 Words
The UN Security Council condemned “in the strongest terms” the attack on a UN vehicle in Garowe, Somalia’s Puntland region, which killed seven people, including four UN staff members. “The members of the Security Council are outraged by today’s attack against a United Nations vehicle in Garowe, Somalia, for which Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility and which has caused numerous deaths and injuries,” said a press statement released here.”The members of the Security Council are appalled that Al Shabaab has targeted UN staff working to support children in Somalia,” said the statement. “They underlined their admiration and support for UNICEF staff and their vital work in Somalia.”
The members of the council also reiterated their determination to support the peace and reconciliation process in Somalia, adding that recent terrorist attacks have only served to strengthen that determination. At about 8:00 a.m. local time Monday, a suspected IED ( improvised explosive device) targeted a UN vehicle in Garowe in northeastern Somalia. The four of the seven killed were UN staff members working with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
A UNICEF statement said that the IED attack occurred when they were traveling from their guest house to the office, normally a three-minute drive. UNICEF has been in Somalia since 1972 and its program are now focused particularly on areas such as water, education, child health nutrition and the protection of children. The UN agency is working for some of the most vulnerable children and families in that part of the country.
OPINION/ANALYSIS/CULTURE
“Following several high profile incidents in Lamu island resort where Western tourists were kidnapped and killed, Kenya Defense Force (KDF) invaded Somalia on the pretext of fighting Al- Shabaab on its turf – southern Somalia. Many experts, including members of IGAD warned the Kenyan government against such an invasion, voicing their fears that a prolonged and messy war will throw the whole region into chaos.”
Garissa Massacre In 2015 V.S Wagalla Massacre Of Wajir In 1984
20 April – Source: Wardheer News – 1328 Words
While the condemnation of the recent cruel killings of innocent students in Garissa is pouring from the four corners of the world, the people of the Northern Frontier District (NFD) – a region exclusively and historically inhabited by ethnic Somalis but ceded to Kenya by the British – have been suffering at the hands of successive Kenyan governments in the past five decades with impunity. The Wagalla massacre of ethnic Somalis by Kenyan forces on 10 February 1984, in Wajir county where more than five thousand men and women were taken to an airstrip (Wagalla airstrip) and prevented from accessing food and water for five days before being summarily executed by Kenyan forces did not draw a whimper from the international community. Literally, nobody shed tears for them (looma ooyaan). Only a handful of countries friendly to the then government of Somalia made some feeble remarks on the matter. The so-called international community has simply turned their backs. Even though Wagalla massacre represents the worst human rights violations in Kenya’s history, no government official was ever indicted for this heinous crime and the whole episode was eventually swept under the carpet.
Similar crimes with lesser barbarity were committed by the Kenyan forces against ethnic Somalis in Kenya during the Shifta war (1963 – 1967) when ethnic Somalis unsuccessfully tried to join their brothers in Somalia. In the Shifta war, the Kenyan counter insurgency units forced civilians into what they described as “protected villages”, or concentration camps if you call by their proper names, where their livestock was burnt down to ensure a slow death of Somali pastoralists. The history of the Somali region in current-day Kenya is littered with such horrible stories committed against ethnic Somalis. And yet we hardly see or hear any condemnations labelled against successive brutal Kenyan regimes.
TOP TWEETS
@KGeorgievaEU Appalling unjustifiable attack vs humanitarians in #Garowe Somalia. Condolences to the whole@UNICEF @UN family!
@EAukotI have no doubt Somalis are a proud people and would love to go back to Somalia. But has the situation really normalized to guarantee life?
@UNFPA_SOMALIA In #Bosaso providing reproductive health & #GBV services to those escaping Yemen conflict@GKyeyune @Bakhtior_2014
@ForeignOfficeKE Attn Media: Attend a Press Conference on status of Tripartite Agreement on repatriation of Somalia refugees at 11am, Min of Foreign Affairs.
@UNSomalia ·A commemorative ceremony was held at@UNSomalia in #Garoowe for @UN staff and #Somalis who died in attack yesterday. http://on.fb.me/1E5trpe
@Zoe_Flood Take time for this excellent #longread by James Verini on piracy in #Somalia and horrors faced by the Albedo crew: http://www.newyorker.com/
IMAGE OF THE DAY
United Nations staff held a commemorative ceremony at the UNSOM compound in Garowe for the UN staff and Somali partners who tragically lost their lives in Monday’sattack.
Photo: UNSOM