April 24, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

UN to support Somali National Army to pursue al Shabaab

24 Apr- Source: Anatolia News Agency-377 words

The United Nations is planning to create a non-lethal, logistical support force to some 10,500 Somali National Army (SNA) soldiers so they can better cope with the security and humanitarian challenges in the country.

Nicholas Kay, the UN special envoy to Somalia, also appealed on Wednesday for the world body’s international partners to boost support for humanitarian efforts in Somalia, where the UN currently feeds one million people a day. Two years ago, a famine in Somalia killed half a million people died.

Strengthening the Somali army is critical to opposing the strongest terrorist group in the country, Al-Shabaab and its militants, as they continue to attack the UN and other targets in the country, Kay told Anadolu Agency.

“According to the Security Council resolution (2124), the UN is authorized for the first time to provide non-lethal support to the Somali National Army, conducting joint operations with AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia) in accordance with the (UN) Secretary General human rights due diligence (policy),” Kay told AA.

Key Headlines

Somali President wants implementation of security summit proposals (Radio Mogadishu/Bar-kulan)
Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed lays foundation stone for Aviation Training Academy (OPM)
Puntland president travels to Ethiopia (Puntlandi Online/Radio Garowe)
Al Shabaab accuses lawmakers of being against Allah’s Law (Hiiraan Online)
Somali Defense Minister meets with military officers in Baidoa (Bar-kulan/Muqdisho News)
UAE distributes food aid to Mogadishu orphans (Radio Mogadishu/Goobjoog/SNTV)
Polio vaccination campaign underway in Bari region (Radio Bar-kulan)
Somali radio on peace mission (Daily Nation)
Somaliland Civil Society Position Paper on National ID Registration (Somaliland Sun)
80 students graduate from Mudug University (Radio Bar-kulan)
UN to support Somali National Army to pursue Al-Shabaab (Anatolia News Agency)
Pangani attack the work of a suicide bomber police (Nairobi News)
AMISOM re-inforce Somalia army in Baidoa after road ambushes (Coastweek)
Queries over how Westgate suspect got Kenyan ID (Capital FM)
Kenya car bomb kills four in Nairobi’s Pangani quarter (BBC)
Somali MPs live in fear demand protection (Anatolia News Agency)
Sierra Leone Sends Women Peacekeepers to Somalia (United States Institute of Peace)
Kenya government under attack over rights record (AFP)

PRESS STATEMENT

Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed lays foundation stone for Aviation Training Academy

24 Apr – Source: Office of the Prime Minister – 318 words

The Prime Minister of the Federal Government of Somalia His Excellency Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed, accompanied by the Minister of Air and Land Transport and his deputy, the Minister of Finance, the Turkish Ambassador and the General Manager of Aden Adde International Airport, laid the foundation stone for the building of the Aviation Training Academy at Aden Adde International Airport.

The Prime Minister also visited the site of a new terminal under construction at Aden Adde Airport, which is a project that is being funded by Favori Company. Said Qorshel, the Minister of Air and Land Transport, spoke first about the modern terminal’s importance for the Somali public.

“This new terminal will eliminate much of the chaos that is currently present in different parts of the airport and will facilitate proper operations at the airport. According to the company that is building the terminal, construction will take six months, ” Minister Qorshel said, adding that part of his ministry’s plan is establish other airports on the outskirts of the city to ease congestion at Aden Adde Airport, which will then be used by large planes only.

On his part, the Prime Minister thanked the Turkish government for its continuous support of the country’s reconstruction and described this project as one that will take part in strengthening the country’s institutions.

“The Aviation Training Academy is an institution that will increase the capacity of the staff that work in Somalia’s airports, and will eliminate the need to seek training outside the country. I am deeply thankful to the Turkish government. It has been a strong ally of the Somali people and has played a major role in rebuilding the country’s infrastructure,” said Prime Minister Ahmed.

In recent times, the Turkish government has undertaken large construction projects in Mogadishu to improve the city’s infrastructure and restore its glory. It has done extensive repairs on the key roads of the capital to ease traffic.

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali President wants implementation of security summit proposals

24 Apr – Source: Radio Mogadishu/Bar-kulan – 120 words

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has stated that his government will push for the implementation of the recommendations from the three-day national security summit in Mogadishu.

The president stressed the importance of implementing the proposals and recommendations from the summit that are aimed at improving the security of the war-torn Horn of African nation. Mohamud warned that anyone who violates the fragile peace and the future of Somalia will be branded as a member of Al Shabaab militant group.

The three-day national security summit brought together officials from Somali government, regional administrations and prominent security experts.

The summit which was concluded on Wednesday produced significant recommendations that are believed will greatly impact the security and the stability of the country.

Puntland president travels to Ethiopia

24 Apr- Source: Puntlandi Online/Radio Garowe/RBC – 85 words

Puntland President Abdiwali Gaas has today left the country for an official visit to neighboring Ethiopia. President Gaas told the media in Gaalkayo’s Abdullahi Yusuf international airport prior his departure that he received an invitation from the Ethiopian government and International Community. President Gaas did not disclose the agenda of his visit and what the two sides will discuss but also underlined Somalia’s historical ties with Ethiopia and various areas the two countries cooperate together including security, trade and education.

Al Shabaab accuses lawmakers of being against Allah’s Law

24 Apr- Source:Hiiraan Online – 279 words

As two parliamentarians were killed in Somalia in 24 hours’ time this week, the al Shabaab militants fighting in the country threatened they will intensify their targeted assassinations against members of the legislative council.

The group’s spokesman Sheikh Ali Mahmoud Rage popularly known as Sheikh Ali Dhere said in an interview on Al Andalus Radio that “ the lawmakers were the main targets for his fighters” accusing the MPs of being responsible for breaking Allah’s law.

“They call themselves as ‘lawmakers’ and instead they want to get rid of the law sent down by Allah—they want to misguide our people with their illusion and that is the main reason we are targeting them” Sheikh Ali Dhere explained.

Somali Defense Minister meets with military officers in Baidoa

24 Apr – Source: Bar-kulan/Muqdisho News/Radio Goobjoog – 96 words

Somalia’s Defense Minister Mohamed Sheikh Hassan Hamud has on Wednesday arrived in Baidoa town, the administrative capital of Bay region. On his arrival the minister toured Somali military bases and police stations in the city and met with military leaders in the area. He also had meetings with members of the civil society and AMISOM commanders whereby he was briefed about recent developments in the city. Speaking to the local media, the minister said that they discussed on measures to improve the security of the region and intensifying the war against Al Shabaab remnants Bay region.

UAE distributes food aid to Mogadishu orphans

24 Apr – Source: Radio Mogadishu/Goobjoog/SNTV – 147 words

The Government of United Arab Emirates has today distributed food aid hundreds of orphaned, disabled and homeless children aged between five to fourteen years in Mogadishu.

The donations given to the children include six tons of dates, 4000 tons of food and sweets as plans of UAE government to help Somali orphans.

The head of UAE projects in Somalia Abdulhamid Suleiman said that the donation was part of ongoing support of UAE government to Somali people especially to the vulnerable people. He added that the government of UAE will continue its support to Somali people.

Halima Mohamed Moalim, the head of the orphanage center thanked the solidarity and support of UAE to vulnerable Somali children. She said the support came when the orphans in the center were in high need of aid. UAE has been giving donations to Somali people since the collapse of central government of Somalia.

Polio vaccination campaign underway in Bari region

24 Apr- Source:Radio Bar-kulan- 135 words

Puntland Ministry of Health has launched a polio vaccination campaign targeting the children under the age of five in Bari region. Said Mohamed Warabeye from Puntland Ministry of Health who spoke to Bar-kulan said that the vaccination campaign enters its second successful day in the area.

He said that the vaccination campaign will be carried out in the entire Bari region to prevent young children from the virus. Meanwhile, Warabeye emphasized that no polio cases have been reported in the past six years in Puntland

He added that this latest round of vaccination campaign is meant to eradicate the virus following reports of polio outbreak in many parts of Somalia last year. Polio is a viral disease which is mainly transmitted through contaminated water, food or human waste.

Somaliland Civil Society Position Paper on National ID Registration

23 Apr – Source: Somaliland Sun – 147 words

The National ID card registration will be conducted through-out Somaliland regions, specially, the 23 electoral districts within a timeframe of 5 months. However, civil society/NSA is dedicated how the process to be more inclusive, participatory, transparent and comprehensive civil registry and National ID should be conducted and this can only be accomplished to give Civil Society/NSA as space as main stakeholder that can undertake nonpartisan, impartial monitoring, and observation so as to promote a wider public engagement.

Providing National ID Cards to the citizens is not only preserving the national security but also contributing accountability and integrity of the nation as sovereign state.

80 students graduate from Mudug University

23 Apr- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 108 words

First batch of graduates from Mudug University have on Tuesday received their academic awards in Galkayo, the provincial capital of Mudug region.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Galmudug President Abdi Hassan Awale Qeybdid urged the graduates to work with his administration.

Prof. Mohamed Jama Olad, the President of Mudug University who also spoke at the graduation ceremony said that 80 graduates have been given various awards after completing their courses.

He thanked the gratuates for their determination and hard work in completing their courses. The ceremony was attended by officials from Galmudug, parents, students and members from various groups in the region. Mudug University was established in 2010.

Federal Govt troops foil attack on police station in central town

23 Apr- Source: Garowe Online/Hiiraan Online- 153 words

The Somali Federal Government troops manning a police station in Hiiraan regional capital of Beledweyne of central Somalia have foiled an attack on their compound overnight on Tuesday.
Beledweyne residents who woke up to the sounds of heavy gunfire confirmed that firefight broke out between the attackers and Somali government soldiers at a police station in Beledweyne’s Buundo Weyn neighborhood.

Addressing media members in Beledweyne, military commanders said that the army prevented al Shabaab militants from seizing the police compound.

The body of suspected al Shabaab fighter was found near the scene of the attack in the early hours ofWednesday morning, witnesses reported.

Meanwhile, according to Hiiraan Online Somali government forces aided by AMISOM peacekeepers liberated Cayn village, 36km northeast of Bulo Barde town after little resistance from Islamist militants.

Somalia Federal Government declared that hundreds of the armed forces would operate in the newly liberated area of Ceyn in central Somalia.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Pangani attack the work of a suicide bomber, police

24 Apr – Source: Nairobi News – 258 words

Police have now attributed Wednesday’s bomb explosion at Pangani police station to a suicide bomber who was facing arrest for a traffic offense.
A tweet from a Twitter account often associated to the Islamist group Al-Shabaab however claimed that the Pangani blast “smells like an inside job.”

Inspector General David Kimaiyo, while explaining the sequence of events leading to the explosion, said police on a patrol car had flagged down a salon car that was being driven on the wrong side of the road. Two police officers then entered the car to escort the driver and passenger to the police station for further interrogation.

“Officers entered the car to make sure suspects didn’t escape. One sat in front and the other at the back as a patrol car escorted them from behind,” Mr Kimaiyo explained.

AMISOM re-inforce Somalia army in Baidoa after road ambushes

24 Apr- Source: Coastweek- 315 words

They say a friend in need is a friend in deed, well that seems to have been the case when 15 Somalia National Army personnel driving from Baidoa were recently ambushed in the outskirts of the city by over 50 heavily armed ‘al-Shabaab’ terrorists.

After a heavy gun battle ensued, the Somalia forces called for backup and AMISOM ENDF peace keepers immediately responded.

But as is always the case, ‘al-Shabaab’ terrorists melted into the thorny bushes as soon as the troops from AMISOM rolled in with their heavy tanks and personnel.

Even though the Somalia forces were outnumbered they bravely fought off the terrorists and held them at bay for nearly an hour before Ethiopian peacekeepers arrived.

‘al-Shabaab’ has in the recent past started ambushing vehicles plying the busy Baidoa-Mogadishu road.

Somali radio on peace mission

23 Apr- Source: Daily Nation- 626 words

A leading FM radio station has begun broadcasting peace messages to the Somali community. The messages ask community members to restore peace and security to the troubled Eastleigh in Nairobi where business has been paralysed in four weeks of security crackdown.

“Beware that if you are not working for peace, you are working for conflict. Let us all collectively work for peace,” says a short clip aired 10 times every day at prime time on Star FM.

The clip continues: “The sound you just heard is one you may not want to hear. It signifies insecurity. Peace is the foundation of life… Live in peace with your neighbours… This message was brought to you by Star FM, the voice of northeastern region.”

Queries over how Westgate suspect got Kenyan ID

23 Apr – Source: Capital FM – 152 words

As security agencies seek to rid Kenya of aliens, the Mandera County Registrar of Persons Salim Godana and a Mandera chief, Mohamed Omar, were tasked with explaining how Adan Abdikadir Adan, a suspected alien, obtained a Kenyan ID.

Adan is one of the four men being tried before Chief Magistrate Daniel Ochenja on charges of aiding the September 21, 2013 terror attack on the Westgate mall. Adan is accused of obtaining a Kenyan ID number 27168535 on or before July 31, 2010, at the National Registration Bureau office in Mandera town within Mandera County yet he is a Somali national.

On Wednesday, Omar told the court that Adan, who was charged together with Mohamed Abdi, Liban Omar and Hussein Mustafah, must have obtained the ID fraudulently. He said his signature was forged onto Adan’s application for an ID and said even the name of the Assistant Chief on the application was inaccurate.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

UN to support Somali National Army to pursue Al-Shabaab

24 Apr- Source: Anatolia News Agency-377 words

Kenya car bomb kills four in Nairobi’s Pangani quarter

24 Apr – Source: BBC – 89 words

A car bomb has exploded outside a police station in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, killing four people. Police were taking the occupants of the car in for questioning in the Pangani neighbourhood when it exploded, the interior ministry said.

Two of those killed were police. It is unclear who was behind the blast, but Nairobi has been targeted in the past in attacks attributed to Somali al Shabaab militants, who oppose Kenya’s military involvement in Somalia.

A grenade also found at the scene was detonated by police, the ministry said.

Somali MPs live in fear, demand protection

23 Apr- Source: Anatolia News Agency – 356 words

Somali lawmakers, fearing for their lives following the assassination of two colleagues in capital Mogadishu, are urging the government to provide them with protection.

“It is proving to be difficult to conduct parliament business as some MPs have raised concern that, unless their security is assured, they can no longer move from one point of the city to another,” Omar Dalha, who heads parliament’s foreign affairs committee, told Anadolu Agency in a phone interview.

“MPs feel security agents are not offering enough protection to them. I think it is time our government acts fast on that before we see more killings of our colleagues,” he said.

Abdel-Aziz Isaak, a Somali lawmaker, died Tuesday morning when unidentified gunmen opened fire on him as he left his home in Mogadishu. The shooting came less than 24 hours after MP Isak Mohamed Rino was killed by an explosive charge planted in his car.

Sierra Leone Sends Women Peacekeepers to Somalia

23 Apr- Source: United States Institute of Peace- 432 words

Sierra Leone is demonstrating that it understands the important role women can play as peacekeepers. Half of the 50 Sierra Leone military personnel participating in a recent workshop by USIP on negotiations and communication in peacekeeping were women, an important development considering the unit will be deployed in Somalia.

In contrast, only two women participated in a similar pre-deployment training two years ago for Sierra Leone peacekeepers headed to join the United Nations-backed African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). An estimated 65 women are expected to deploy in an 850-person battalion this spring.

Six nations provide the military component that makes up the bulk of the 22,000-strong African Union force in Somalia, according to the AMISOM web site. Sierra Leone is one of those countries.

Kenya government under attack over rights record

23 Apr – Source: AFP – 231 words

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta’s first year in office has been marked by a string of “worrisome cases” of rights infringements and by rampant impunity, two rights groups said in a report Wednesday.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission( KHRC) and the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) said Kenyan authorities “have attempted to clamp down on dissenting voices, either through the adoption of restrictive legislation aimed at further regulating the NGO or media sectors.”

The groups also condemned “violent police crackdown on demonstrators” and alleged “judicial harassment of protesters and human rights defenders”. The past year of the Jubilee coalition government of President Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto “has been a period within which freedom of association and freedom of peaceful assembly have been constantly under threat,” said KHRC director Atsango Chesoni.

“This undermining of these and other constitutional human rights gains must stop if Kenya is to truly follow the path of democracy and the rule of law,” she added. The groups said rights violations have also been committed under the country’s attempt to crackdown on Islamist militants, operations which have become a top national priority following last year’s attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi.

The attack, which left at least 67 dead, was claimed by Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-linked Shebaab rebels and prompted a string of major security swoops in and around Nairobi and along the Muslim-majority coastal region.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“Kenya is on its way to becoming the world’s next hotbed of extremism as a result of al Shabaab’s active and growing presence there. And so far, the Kenyan government has been its own worst enemy in attempting to reverse this trend.”

Kenya’s Worst Enemy

24 Apr- Source: Hiiraan Online- 1096 words

Over the past several months, the Somali military, in cooperation with local, regional, and international forces, has managed to put the Islamist militant group al Shabaab on the run. Nearly every week, there is a new report of another Somali town winning its liberation. Officials in Mogadishu have aimed to completely annihilate the group, and they predict that soon the al Qaeda–affiliated organization will no longer have any significant presence in their country.

But if al Shabaab is losing its foothold in Somalia, it is working assiduously to gain another one next door. Kenya is on its way to becoming the world’s next hotbed of extremism as a result of al Shabaab’s active and growing presence there. And so far, the Kenyan government has been its own worst enemy in attempting to reverse this trend.

Al Shabaab’s membership is still primarily Somali, but the group has long wanted to export its ideology to Kenya and establish a physical presence there because of the country’s geographic proximity and growing susceptibility of its Muslim population to radical thought. Since 2012, al Shabaab militants have been aggressively producing propaganda videos, social media campaigns, and slick e-magazines in English and Swahili, Kenya’s primary languages. Al Shabaab is also using its social media expertise to win new sympathizers; militants present their own hardships in Somalia as analogous to the plight of marginalized Muslims in Kenya.

“The waters off Somalia’s coast were once infamous for rebels seeking unsecured ships to take hostage. Piracy in the Gulf of Aden and around Somalia grew so rampant it was having a negative effect on global commerce, with shipping lanes being avoided entirely. A blockbuster film starring Tom Hanks highlighting piracy in East Africa made waves at the 2014 Academy Awards. But an international collaboration of navies and heightened onboard security finally corralled the high seas to Africa’s east. Since this effort, there were just 15 incidents of Somali piracy in 2013, down from 75 in 2012, and 237 in 2011.”

Oil is treasure as African piracy shifts west

22 Apr- Source: Horseedmedia-493 words

The Kerala cargo vessel loaded with 60,000 tons of diesel on January 18 was an easy target for pirates lurking in the waters off West Africa.

After maritime security firms warned of a tugboat stalking the Kerala off the coast of Angola, the tanker’s communication systems were turned off and the ship went missing for eight days. On January 26, the Kerala was back on the map and headed for safety at a port near Accra, Ghana. The crew said pirates stabbed one crew member, beat others, and unloaded close to 13,000 tons of diesel in three separate transfers.

The Kerala is one example of a dramatic upswing in attacks on high-value oil tankers on Africa’s west coast, replacing Somali waters as the world’s new piracy hotspot.

In its annual global piracy report, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported piracy is on the decline with 264 attacks in 2013, an 11 percent decrease from 2012. Though the waters in Southeast Asia experienced the most incidents, these were low-profile events. West African rebels commandeering oil tankers are proving much more costly and attracting increased international attention.

“ In Somalia, a number of towns and cities – Hargeisa, Boroma, Luuq Beled Weyn, and Jowhar, to name a few – have since the mid-1990s attracted political leaders interested in producing results, not in diverting funds. These and other towns have sported piped water systems, police forces, land title offices, regulatory systems for private sector utilities, and market committees. At their best, they have been models of private-public partnerships and flexible, inclusive, hybrid governance. Many of the most dedicated and honest Somali political leaders, both from the diaspora and in-country, have gravitated to mayoral roles rather than vie for positions in the national government.”

If mayors ruled Somalia

22 Apr- Source: kenmenkhaus-2719 words

Over the course of a single week in April 2014, two Nordic diplomats publicly voiced polar opposite views on how external actors can best support the critically important task of state-building in Somalia. Both criticized what they saw as flawed assumptions and analysis behind “conventional” approaches to aid to Somalia, even as they disagreed on their own interpretations of failed aid and state failure in Somalia. Their positions capture a long-running debate on the issue, and one that is overdue for resolution.

This Policy Note critically assesses the strengths and weaknesses of these two schools of thought on state-building and international aid in Somalia and proposes a third option – a transitional strategy that includes more support to municipalities as the source of the most practical, legitimate, and effective formal governance in Somalia.

In an interview with the Institute for Security Studies, Jens Mjaugedal, Special Envoy of Norway to Somalia, called for the international community to recognize “battlefield realities” in Somalia and urged donors to release large-scale flows of aid to strengthen the dangerously weak Somali government. He criticized donors for pledging $2.3 billion to Somalia’s fledgling government as part of the “New Deal” Somali Compact and then failing to deliver after reported allegations of corruption, collusion, and mismanagement inside the government. The gist of his remarks was that a certain amount of diversion of funds was inevitable, but a small price to pay for jump-starting a besieged government that needs both to defeat a dangerous jihadi insurgency and deliver basic services to its people. According to this view, starving the government of foreign aid in its greatest hour of need plays into the hands of the militant group al-Shabaab.

Top tweets

@UN_MINUSMA RT @AustraliaUN: #Australia commends@_AfricanUnion & @amisomsomalia for contribution to & sacrifice for peace & security in #Somalia.

@BeilehMofa Met with Head of #Somalia Delegation #ICRC Mr. Patrick Vial pic.twitter.com/buXc82Ei1X

@UNLazzarini #Somalia ’s needs are high, but funding low. US$822 mil still needed to fund hum activities http://bit.ly/1hI10UD pic.twitter.com/JyRN86ffKo

@UNSomalia From the National Security Conference –#Somalia’s stability depends on professional, well-resourced security forces: http://bit.ly/1f8WJcf

@MarkJSimmonds Shocked to hear of death of two Somali MPs this week. Strongly condemn any attempt to destablise security in #Somalia

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Image of the day Parts of the car that exploded at the Pangani Police Station, Nairobi on April 23, 2014. Photo: AFP/ Tony Karumba