April 26, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
Officials: Mogadishu Flights Safe from Laptop Attacks
25 April – Source : VOA – 943 Words
The United States and Britain banned passengers last month on several Middle Eastern airlines from carrying laptop and tablet computers onto the plane. Officials cited airline safety concerns as the reason, and pointed specifically to a February 2016 attack on a flight of the Somali airline Daallo, in which a passenger set off a bomb concealed in a laptop, killing himself. Now, the Somali government said it has taken specific steps to address security at Mogadishu’s international airport and has no plans to follow the U.S. and British example and ban electronics from outgoing flights.
Brigadier General Abdi Ashkir Jama, the general manager of Mogadishu’s Aden Adde International Airport, tells VOA Somali that his staff has developed a rigorous security system. “Whoever is traveling or entering the airport goes through searches, three scans, sniffer dogs; laptops must be turned on,” he said. “For international flights like Turkish Airlines, it has its own security gate where further security checks are made after going through all the above procedures.”
Jama and his staff also oversaw changes to the procedures of airport security staff and scanners, and they took steps to improve their skills, according to Jama. He expressed confidence that outgoing flights will be safe. “Unless they come with up with new technical advances about explosives that we don’t know of, they cannot smuggle explosives into the planes,” he said. “They” in this case refers to members of the militant group al-Shabab, which claimed responsibility for the attack on Daallo flight 159. The explosion occurred shortly after takeoff from the Mogadishu airport, punching a hole in the plane’s fuselage next to the fuel tank. Eighty of the 81 people on board the flight survived.
Key Headlines
- Officials: Mogadishu Flights Safe from Laptop Attacks (VOA)
- Five Suspected Al-Shabaab Members Arrested In Bosaso Explosives Seized (Goobjoog News)
- Demonstrations Against Federal Government Due To Take Place In Hirshabelle State(Jowhar.com)
- More Than 200 Police Recruits Graduate In Jubbaland State(AMISOM)
- UNSOM Hosts Workshop On Somalia’s New Policing Model(UNSOM)
- Anti-terrorism Laws Have ‘Chilling Effect’ On Vital Aid Deliveries To Somalia (The Guardian UK)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Five Suspected Al-Shabaab Members Arrested In Bosaso, Explosives Seized
26 April – Source : Goobjoog News – 130 Words
Five suspected Al-Shabaab members were arrested following a security operation by Puntland forces in Bosaso during which forces recovered explosives and arms. Puntland presidential guards’ commander, Abdirashid Abdirahman Ismail said the forces conducted an operation in one of the suburbs of the town and seized explosives. “Our forces arrested five men who were planning to terrorise this town, the forces also seized IEDs packed in three drums which the terrorists planned to use for deadly attack on innocent civilians living in this town,” said Ismail.
He hailed the cooperation between the forces and the locals in preventing the attack saying this shows a positive step towards restoring peace and order to the town. He also called on those who have any information of imminent attacks to inform the relevant authorities.
Demonstrations Against Federal Government Due To Take Place In Hirshabelle State
26 April – Source : Jowhar.com – 91 Words
Demonstrations against Federal Government of Somalia and in support of the Hirshabelle administration are set to take place in key towns in HirShabelle state.The demonstrations are against the decision by the Federal Government of Somalia’s aviations ministry to suspend planes carrying Khat from landing in Jowhar. The Hirshabelle Minister for Information, Mahad Hassan Osman has told Jowhar.com that the demonstrations are aimed at showing the feeling of the people of Hirshabelle to support their government. He said the public in Hirshabelle are against their rights to be infringed upon.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
More Than 200 Police Recruits Graduate In Jubbaland State
25 April – Source : AMISOM – 590 Words
More than 200 Jubbaland Police recruits yesterday graduated after completing a three-month training programme conducted by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). The 201 policemen and women are the third batch of recruits to graduate in Jubbaland, bringing the total number of officers trained in the state to 600. The increase in number of trained officers is in line with the New Policing Model (NPM), endorsed in June 2016, which calls for the establishment of both state and federal police forces.
The colourful pass out parade ceremony, held in Kismayo, Monday, was attended by the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia, Ambassador Francisco Madeira; Jubbaland President, Ahmed Mohamed Islam Madobe; Somali Police Force (SPF) Commissioner, Abdihakim Dahir Saaid; AMISOM Police Commissioner, Anand Pillay, and several top AMISOM and Jubbaland administration officials. Speaking at the ceremony, Ambassador Madeira congratulated the officers, comprising 180 men and 21 women, for completing the programme and reminded them of the task of securing the country.
“This is not only an onerous task but also a call that must be discharged with patriotism and the highest level professionalism. I am reliably informed that these recruits have worked extremely hard during this period of training and if, their smartness and turn out at this graduation is anything to go by, I cannot but be confident that they will discharge their roles and responsibilities to the communities they have been called to serve with distinction and admiration,” Ambassador Madeira who is also Head of Mission observed.
UNSOM Hosts Workshop On Somalia’s New Policing Model
24 April – Source : UNSOM – 667 Words
A three-day workshop to discuss the modalities of implementing Somalia’s New Policing Model in HirShabelle state commenced today in Mogadishu. The workshop contributes to the operationalization of a broader agreement known as the National Security Architecture, which was jointly endorsed by President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo and the presidents of the federal member states in Mogadishu on 16 April. The New Policing Model was reaffirmed by the political agreement on Somalia’s National Security Architecture.
In attendance at the workshop were members of the HirShabelle Technical Committee, who will oversee the implementation of the New Policing Model and lay the foundation for the establishment of a state police force. The members of the committee are drawn from the HirShabelle state assembly, government ministries and departments, and nongovernmental organizations, among others. The meeting was organized by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) and officially opened by the HirShabelle Minister of Interior, Mohamed Ali Adle.
Speaking at the workshop, HirShabelle State Police Commissioner Col. Hassan Dhisow Hassan said the implementation of the New Policing Model will culminate in the establishment of a strong police service to help secure the region and the country. “This workshop is of great significance, given that it is the first step towards the establishment of the security institutions, particularly the police in HirShabelle. We look forward to the outcome, which will be very useful for the administration in terms of the provision of security for the people,” Col. Hassan said.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Senior UN officials in Somalia recently sought clarification from the US and the UK about potential prosecution. Unofficial advice to NGOs, given via the UN, is that “a blind eye” is being turned to any humanitarian operations in Al-Shabaab controlled zones following legal changes to allow a “humanitarian exception” to the counter-terrorist laws,”
Anti-terrorism Laws Have ‘Chilling Effect’ On Vital Aid Deliveries To Somalia
26 April – Source : The Guardian, UK- 1054 Word
Strict British and US counter-terrorism laws are discouraging humanitarian organisations from delivering vital emergency assistance to millions of people facing starvation and fatal diseases in drought-hit Somalia. Senior humanitarian officials say the laws, which target any individual or organisation found to have materially assisted a terrorist group, exert a “chilling effect” on vital assistance in areas of Somalia controlled by Islamic militants from al-Shabaab, an al-Qaida affiliate.The worst drought for 40 years in the unstable east African country threatens 6 million people with famine. Most of the worst hit around 2 million people live in areas run by Al-Shabaab.
Humanitarian officials say it is almost impossible to guarantee that no aid will reach the extremists if they work there, and fear this means they will fall foul of the laws, exposing them to potential prosecution.“US and UK terrorism financing laws are a significant discouragement to operating in al-Shabaab areas. At the very least, you could end up wasting a huge amount of time explaining yourself; at worst, if substantial amounts of aid were appropriated by al-Shabaab – as has happened to people in the past – you could end up in court with your organisation shut down,” said the country director of one major international NGO working in Somalia.
Moving any aid by land in Somalia involves paying “taxes” at roadblocks run by different armed groups, including al-Shabaab. UN experts estimated that at the height of its power in 2010 al-Shabaab imposed fees and taxes that totalled on average $90,000 (£70,200) per aid agency every six months.Also, any access to al-Shabaab controlled areas for NGOs would have to involve negotiations with local community and clan elders, of whom some are likely to be connected to the insurgents.
Justin Brady, a senior UN humanitarian official responsible for overseeing the distribution of hundreds of millions of dollars of international assistance in Somalia, said the primary reason for NGOs avoiding areas run by al-Shabaab remained the security threat posed by the Islamic militants. But, he said, the US and UK laws were poorly understood and a disincentive.“Once you get past [the security issues], that becomes a consideration and you have to figure out how you can work there … It has a chilling effect. I’m sure in Washington or London it’s clear what [the laws] meant but here it is much more difficult,” Brady said.
TOP TWEETS
@HarunMaruf: Mogadishu: Intel reports suggest Al-Shabab may be planning a high profile attack against the new ministers, a main installation or a hotel.
@MarcoLembo01: 63,092 Somali refugees have been supported to voluntarily return from Kenya to Somalia as of 19th April 2017 – http://www.unhcr.org/ke/857-
@WorldVisionEARO: The situation in #Somalia is deteriorating quickly, with acute levels of food insecurity increasing daily @WVSomalia #EastAfricaHungerCrisis
@HarunMaruf: In Mogadishu security forces cordoned off a suspicious vehicle said to be carrying explosives in Hamarweyne district,person arrested:reports
@HassanIstiila: #BREAKING: 100s of people took to the streets in #Beledweyne to take part in ‘not my President’ Day protests against president @M_Farmaajo.
@burke_jason: Anti-terrorism laws have ‘chilling effect’ on vital aid deliveries to Somalia (and elsewhere) My report: https://www.theguardian.com/
@HassanIstiila: #BREAKING: Jubaland regional state forces have taken control Janaay Abdalla village near #Kismaayo lies 500-Km south of #Somalia‘s capital.
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo arrives in Ankara for his first official visit ahead of bilateral talks with his Turkish counterpart
Photo: @TheVillaSomalia