April 4, 2016 | Morning Headlines

Main Story

Agreement Between Federal Government of Somalia and the Government of Puntland State of Somalia

03 April – Source: Horseed Media – 914 Words

From 26 March to April 3, 2016 a delegation from the Federal Government of Somalia led by His Excellency Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, the Prime Minister of the Federal Government of Somalia, paid a working visit to Garowe to discuss the 2016 electoral process. The Foreign Minister of Ethiopia and the Chairman of the IGAD Council of Ministers H.E. Tedros Adhanom, SRSG Michael Keating of the United Nations, African Union SRCC Francisco Madeira, EU Special Envoy Michele Cervone, Executive Secretary of IGAD, Ambassador Mahboub Moallim, IGAD Special Envoy Ambassador Mohamed Affey, with Ambassadors from Ethiopia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Sweden, Italy, and Djibouti also attended.

The international community congratulates the people and Government of Puntland and lauds the recent victories of the Puntland security forces against Al-Shabab militants. The international community also calls upon all possible support for Puntland security forces in their fight against terrorism. The International Community recognizes the central role of the National Leadership Forum in ensuring that the national interest is protected and promoted, and the role of parliament in underpinning the rule of law and protecting the Constitution.
Subsequent to detailed talks and negotiations the two parties agreed on the following:

2016 Electoral Process

The two parties agreed that the 4.5 clan model shall not be used as a criteria to select any member of the Federal Parliament and that its use shall cease with the elections of 2016.
The Federal Government of Somalia and the Government of Puntland agreed upon the formation of inclusive 2016 Electoral Committees consisting of the Federal Government of Somalia and federal member states.
The two parties agreed that the international community shall closely monitor the implementation of the 2016 electoral model and process to ensure fairness and transparency.
The two parties agreed the selection process for members of the Federal Parliament shall take place at regional capitals of Federal Member States.
The electoral college shall be selected by the traditional elders, who will then forward electoral college member’s names to the Electoral Committees. The electoral college shall reflect members of the community including women.
Each seat for the lower house shall be contested by a number of candidates, as shall be agreed by the National Leadership Forum and shall include female candidates from the specific clan grouping. Further each candidate’s filing shall comply with requirements and vetting process of the Electoral Committees at the National and State levels.
Each candidate for the lower house of the Federal Parliament shall meet constitutionally required criteria.
The two parties agreed that the election shall take place in Garowe for the members of the federal parliament of the clans party to the formation of Puntland in 1998.
Puntland is open to host elections in Garowe for any other constituencies unable to conduct elections due to existing circumstances within their jurisdiction.
The president of Puntland shall duly sign the list of official members elected in Puntland at the lower house of the Federal Parliament after the Electoral Committees forward the certified final result.

Upper House

The formation of the Upper House of the Federal Parliament shall precede the formation of the Lower House of the Federal Parliament as already set out in the model proposed by the federal government.
The two parties agreed that Puntland candidates for the Upper House of the National Federal Parliament representing Puntland will be proposed by the Executive branch of Puntland, using agreed criteria and appointed by the Puntland House of Representatives.
Each seat in the Upper House of the Federal Parliament shall be contested by an agreed number of candidates including females.
Each candidate for the Upper House of the Federal Parliament shall meet constitutionally required criteria.
The Federal Government of Somalia and the Government of Puntland agreed that the election of the members of the Upper House of the Federal Parliament shall take place in the capitals of Federal Member States.
The two parties agreed that the elections for the Upper House seats representing Puntland for the Federal Parliament shall take place in Garowe. The candidates will be drawn from clans party to the formation of Puntland in 1998.
The president of Puntland shall duly sign the list of official members representing Puntland at the Upper House of the Federal Parliament after the Electoral Committee forwards the certified final result.
The Federal Government of Somalia and the Government of Puntland recommend that the National Leadership Forum decide the location of the elections of the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia and the Leadership of the Upper House and Lower House of the Parliament by choosing a safe and conducive location.

2020 RΟΑDΜΑP

The two parties agreed that the 2020 federal elections shall be held according to one-person, one-vote principle. Under no circumstances shall the 4.5 clan based power sharing arrangement be used beyond the 2016 elections.
The International community shall undertake and guarantee that 4.5 model shall not be used beyond 2016.

Implementation of the Agreement:

The international community takes note of the bi-lateral talks between the Federal Government of Somalia and the Government of Puntland in the areas such as the Constitutional Review process, Federation process, Development Aid, Security, etc. and encourages and supports the implementation of agreements in these areas, taking into account the national interest.
The implementation of this agreement between the Federal Government of Somalia and the Government of Puntland is guaranteed by
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and witnessed by the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU), and European Union (EU).

Key Headlines

Agreement Between Federal Government of Somalia and the Government of Puntland State of Somalia(UN News Centre)
Federal Government Donates USD 1M To Somaliland Drought Victims (Dalsan Radio)
Somalia: Al-Shabaab Kills Three Charcoal Workers (Shabelle News)
Two People Injured In Mortar Shell Attack In Mogadishu (Goobjoog News)
Al-Shabaab Executes A Tanzanian Jihadist In Southern Somalia (Africa Review)
Somali Official Killed In Mogadishu Drive-by Shooting (Xinhua)
Whether It Works Or Not U.S. Anti-Radicalization Plan Can Benefit Communities (NPR)
Azerbaijani Woman Killed In Somalia Bus Attack Buried (Azeri-Press Agency-APA)
How Shabaab Attack Changed Way Kenya Varsities Do Things (Daily Nation)
AMISOM Acting Force Commander Concludes Tour of Kismayo Dobley And Bilis Qoqani In Sector 2(AMISOM)
The Expensive Luxury Of Electricity In Somalia (Al Jazeera)

NATIONAL MEDIA

Federal Government Donates USD 1M To Somaliland Drought Victims

03 April- Source: Radio Dalsan – 191 Words

Federal government of Somalia has donated USD 1 million to self declared state of Somaliland. The move followed after reports of intense drought and famine that affected northern parts of the larger Somalia including areas under the control of the self declared state of Somaliland. Special committee to oversee the effects of drought in the country formed by the federal government earlier led by the chairman Sheikh Barud Gurhan have reached Hargeisa on Sunday to deliver the donation.

omaliland Religious affairs minister Sheikh Khalil Abdullahi Ahmed and respected clerics welcomed Sheikh Gurhan and his delegation upon arrival at Cigaal International airport.
Somali Deputy PM Mohamed Omar Arte has told the media that the aid is part of several other supports meant for those affected by the drought in the north.
Mogadishu good gesture to Hargeisa comes after similar move by Somaliland authorities during the wake of 2011 drought.

Somaliland sent food aid and other non food items to its Somali brothers affected by the famine in the southern part of Somalia. Somaliland declared itself independence in early 1990s a move that was not recognized by both Mogadishu and the international community.

Somalia: Al-Shabaab Kills Three Charcoal Workers

03 April – Source: Shabelle News – 118 Words

Armed fighters from the Al Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab have shot dead at least three ‘unarmed civilians’ in the rebel-held town of Bur-Gabo, located in the southern middle Jubba region.
Sources in the area say the slain victims were cutting trees for a charcoal at the time of their execution by Al-Shabaab. The militants imposed a total ban on charcoal trade in the past.

Separately, Al-Shabaab burnt down donkey carts transporting charcoal and arrested their owners at 3-Lugod (Three-legged) village in Lower Jubba region of southern Somalia, reports said.
Al-Shabaab issued an order banning cutting trees for charcoal in its all stronghold areas in south and central Somalia, and threatened local charcoal traders with harsh retribution.

Two People Injured In Mortar Shell Attack In Mogadishu

03 April – Source: Goobjoog News – 150 Words

At least two people were injured after mortar shells landed near Somalia’s presidential place in the capital Mogadishu on Sunday, witnesses have confirmed. Witnesses said the motor shells landed in a residential house near Villa Somalia where a mother and her daughter were wounded.

“Two people including a mother and her daughter were injured in the incident” said resident who spoke to Goobjoog News. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, though Somali AlShabab fighters have carried similar attacks before in the city. This is fourth motor shelling attack in less than 3 months, on 1st February, one civilian was killed and 7 others were injured after mortar shells landed residential house near presidential palace.

Villa Somalia is a heavily fortified, but neglected compound in the heart of the city where the most senior Somali government officials, including the president, have their offices. Some also live inside the compound.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Al-Shabaab Executes A Tanzanian Jihadist In Southern Somalia

03 April – Source: Africa Review – 202 Words

A jihadist from Tanzanian has been executed in Southern Somalia, reports indicate. Issa Jemes Mwesiga, who hailed from Tanzania was executed on April 2, 2016 at a square in Jilib town, about 400 km south of the capital Mogadishu. He was accused and sentenced to death by an Al-Shabaab court for spying.

Al-Shabaab officials said that Mwesiga was fighting alongside fellow jihadists before becoming a spy. “Issa Jemes Mwesiga joined Al-Shabaab in 2013. Unfortunately, he has now been found guilty of spying,” said an Al-Shabaab official who spoke at the square as the Tanzanian jihadist faced a firing squad. It is not yet clear which group or country the foreign militant was spying for.

Residents in the area, who anonymously contacted Somali National News Agency for security reasons believe that Al-Shabaab militants in the Juba territory have been affected by split loyalties to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or IS. “The foreign jihadist (Mwesiga) was executed by militants led by Ahmed Surad (one of the Al-Shabaab leaders in the area)” stated a resident as quoted by SONNA on Saturday. Al-Shabaab is reckoned to have a large number of foreign jihadists widely known as al-Mujahedeen al-Muhajereen (migrant jihadists).

Somali Official Killed In Mogadishu Drive-by Shooting

03 April – Source: Xinhua- 76 Words

Unknown gunmen on Sunday killed a senior Somali intelligence officer in a drive-by shooting in Hamarweyne district, Mogadishu, officials said. District Commissioner Abdukadir Mohamed Abdukadir told reporters that gunmen in a private car opened fire at Mahamed Farah’s vehicle, killing him on the spot.

“They (gunmen) later escaped from the scene. Security forces have arrived at the scene and are carrying out investigation,” Abdukadir said. No group has by far claimed the responsibility for the attack.

Whether It Works Or Not, U.S. Anti-Radicalization Plan Can Benefit Communities

03 April – Source: NPR- 968 Words

In the ongoing investigation into the Brussels terrorist attacks, most of the attention is on one neighborhood called Molenbeek. Many of the terrorists responsible for both the attacks in Brussels, and in Paris last November, lived in Molenbeek. The closest you can get to an analogous city in the U.S. is Minneapolis, Minn., home to the largest Somali community in the country. One in 4 of the more than 250 Americans who have tried to join ISIS are from Minnesota.

Now, the federal government is stepping in to stop this trend. The Department of Justice is giving money to local community groups in effort to create alternative paths for young people who might be vulnerable to the ISIS message. This week on For the Record: How one community is taking on the Islamic State. Both Mohamud Noor and Mohamed Mohamud have dedicated their lives to fixing this problem.

Noor is executive director of the Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota; Mohamud is executive director of the state’s Somali American Parent Association.
History Of Radicalization As Mohamud Noor explains, youth recruitment to radical groups didn’t start with ISIS. “It started with al-Shabab way back almost nine years ago.”
Al-Shabab is the radical Islamist group that’s been embroiled in the long civil war in Somalia. In 2006 and 2007, more than 20 people from Minnesota left to fight with al-Shabab in Somalia.
“I think that was the wake-up call on that issue,” Noor says. “And I think that is the same propaganda or message that is being used, the ideology of fighting for someone else’s fight.”

Azerbaijani Woman Killed In Somalia Bus Attack Buried

03 April – Source: Azeri-Press Agency (APA)- 127 Words

Azerbaijani citizen Kamala Ismayilova, 34, who was killed during an attack on a microbus in the capital of Somalia – Mogadishu, March 30, has been buried in the Lakchilpaq village of Azerbaijan’s Goychay district. A microbus with Azerbaijani and Turkish citizens on board became a target of an armed assault by terrorists on March 30, which resulted in the deaths of five people, including Azerbaijani citizen Kamala Ismayilova, who was a teacher in a Turkish lyceum in Mogadishu.

Ismayilova’s two sons – Nihad, 12, and Nijat, 10, were wounded during the attack. Aflatun Ismayilov, who lived in Turkey with his family for a long time, then went to Somalia to work. Aflatun Ismayilov is working in the Turkish Airlines’ office and a Turkish tourism company in Mogadishu.

How Shabaab Attack Changed Way Kenya Varsities Do Things

03 April – Source:Daily Nation- 640 Words

Closed gates, inquisitive guards and the occasional sniffer dog is the new face of the main universities and colleges in Kenya thanks to the terrorist attack at Garissa University College exactly one year ago. Before then, movement in and out of Kenya’s institutions of higher learning was virtually unrestricted to students and visitors alike. Al-Shabaab gunmen killed 142 students during the Garissa university attack.

“It became evident that universities and other institutions of learning were clear soft targets for terrorists,” said Interior Ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka. “The government took an initiative to build their capacities to prepare them for emergencies as well as forestall attacks.” New security measures, which involve screening visitors and vehicles as well as carrying out drills, were introduced after a meeting of senior university administrators and ministry officials.

“It was realised that it is not possible to post armed police officers in all institutions,” said Mr Njoka. “It was agreed that the best way forward is to build capacities of individual institutions on security matters so that their personnel know what to look out for to detect threats. “And, in case of an incident, they should know what to do.” However, the Saturday Nation established that little improvement has been achieved on the ground even as the fear of similar attacks is still high. For instance, although guards are armed with hand-held metal detectors, they hardly check the contents of luggages.

AMISOM Acting Force Commander Concludes Tour of Kismayo, Dobley and Bilis Qoqani In Sector 2

03 April – Source: AMISOM – 343 Words

African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) acting Force Commander Major General Mohamedesha Zeyinu has concluded an extensive tour of Sector 2, where he commended troops for their remarkable work in securing Somalia. Maj-Gen. Mohamedesha visited troops in Dhobley, Bilis Qoqani and Kismayo to assess the situation on the ground, get apprised on security concerns, address administrative issues and the challenges facing the forces.

Addressing troops drawn from the Burundi National Defence Forces, Kenya Defence Forces and the Ethiopian National Defence Forces, the acting Force Commander said the secret in defeating Al Shabaab lay in planning and building close working relationship with the local community. “The reason why we should build a strong relationship with the population is clear. If we handle the population well, they will be a good source of information and they will share the information with us. The more the population approaches us, the more the enemy will be isolated from the population. We will build a strong relation not only to benefit the population but ourselves”, the acting Force Commander said.

During the visit Maj-Gen Mohamedesha visited the Somali National Army (SNA) training camp and said AMISOM would support the force by offering them more training opportunities.
He noted that SNA forces were drawn from local communities and had a better understanding of the situation on the ground than their AMISOM counterparts. He encouraged closer working relationships between them and AMISOM troops. ‘’The other issue is about SNA, SNA Forces have an advantage as their understanding the area of operation well. They know the enemy and tactics, they know the terrain and moreover they know the culture and the norms of the society better than AMISOM Forces. Because of these capabilities we need to work closely with SNA so that we can differentiate, Isolate and decisively fight with Al shabaab”, Maj-Gen Mohamedesha added. The acting Force Commander also met with Interim Jubba Administration President, Ahmed Mohamed Islam. The two discussed ways of dealing with Al Shabaab to liberate the little pockets still under the control of the terror group.

OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE

The Expensive Luxury Of Electricity In Somalia

03 April – Source: Al Jazeera – 1,120 Words

It is 12.45 pm. The call to prayer is blaring from the loudspeakers atop the minarets of the city’s mosques, and in the Medina neighbourhood of Mogadishu, a lady in a long red jilbab sits with her two daughters in front of her two-bedroom house. It is March, the height of the dry season, and the air is hot and humid. In the family’s living room, the fan which used to offer respite from the punishing heat and humidity is off, its cable dangling from the electricity socket.

“The children cannot sleep after lunch because it is too hot. I cannot give them cold water to cool them because I have switched the fridge off. If we use the fan or the fridge, the electricity company will send us a large bill that we cannot pay,” Muhubo Abshir Farah tells Al Jazeera, sitting beneath the shade of a tree in front of her house.
Expensive electricity
The East African country of some 10 million people has electricity that is among the most expensive in the world. A kilowatt of electricity in the Somali capital can cost as much as $1 an hour. That is five times more expensive than in neighbouring Kenya and 10 times more than in the United States. Somalia’s energy sector was completely destroyed following the collapse of the central government in 1991. Residents were forced to depend on privately owned diesel generators while many were left in the dark. Currently, more than seven electricity companies operate in the city – all owned by private individuals. City officials told Al Jazeera that the companies operate without a licence and pay no taxes. Customers accuse the electricity companies of charging them any price they want, an accusation the companies deny.

With thousands of people returning to the seaside city because of improving security after the withdrawal of the armed group al-Shabab in 2011, business has never been better for those in the energy sector. The companies use diesel generators and the low oil prices globally are leaving them with ever higher profits. The capital’s residents are, however, publicly complaining. More than half of the country’s population, those between 15 and 64 years of age, is unemployed, and 40 percent of Somalia’s population lives below the poverty line, according to the UN.
Electricity is a luxury that thousands of families in the city can only dream of. Many households in the Horn of Africa country depend on remittances from relatives living abroad and cannot afford the expensive electricity. “Each month, they charge me between $35 and $40. I can’t use it [the electricity] as I want because they will charge me a lot more,” says Farah. “And if you want to change companies, they will charge you disconnection fees which we can’t afford to pay, so they force us to stay with them. They are all the same.”