August 1, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Regional heads to meet over AMISOM troops

01 Aug – Source: Daily Monitor – 415 Words

The six presidents of countries contributing troops to Somalia under AMISOM are gathering in Kampala this weekend, for an emergency session to harmonise ongoing anti-al Shabaab offensives amid reports of operational cracks among the different armies.

The Sunday meeting to be chaired by President Museveni, as the convener, comes against a backdrop of Somalia’s new leadership accusing Kenya of meddling in its internal affairs, handpicking local leaders and trying to create an irregular buffer zone in Kismayo, under Kenyan troops

Uganda, which was the first to deploy soldiers in the then restive Mogadishu in March 2007, has the biggest troop numbers in Somalia. Other countries are Burundi, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Djibouti and Somalia. Foreign Affairs officials in Kampala confirmed that the first-ever summit of the political chief executives of the contributing countries will be at Imperial Resort Munyonyo.

Key Headlines

Somali elder killed in Beledweyne (Jowhar online/Radio Mustaqbal/Risaala/al Shahid/Hiiraan Online/Bar-kulan)
Somaliland to start Registration of foreign nationals (Somaliland Informer)
Regional heads to meet over AMISOM troops (Daily Monitor)
Somali PM condoles Erdogan for embassy attack (Antolia News Agency)
Jowhar residents to get ID cards in two months (Garowe Online)
Freed Kenyans meet kin no ransom was paid (Capital News)
US money laundering laws banking decisions hurting Somalis (Standard Media)
Iranian Deputy FM acknowledges release of 78 Iranian sailors in Somalia (Islamic Republic News Agency)

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali elder killed in Beledweyne

01 Aug – Source: Jowhar online/Radio Mustaqbal/Risaala/al Shahid/Hiiraan Online/Bar-kulan – 104 words

Unidentified gunmen assassinated last night spokesman for the Hiiraan elders Elmi Hussein Ibrahim at Hawlwadag neighborhood in Beledweyne, Hiiraan region. Reports from the town says that men armed with pistols killed the well-known elder, and then fled from the area without knowing their identity.

The police chief of Baldweyne Ali Dhuh Abdi, said in a statement to reporters the police carried out an extensive operation in the town after the incident, adding that the police arrested a number of suspects.

The assassination raised the concern of the people in Hiiraan region of central Somalia, where tribal elders denounced the assassination of the elder.

Somaliland to start Registration of foreign nationals

01 Aug – Source: Somaliland Informer – 252 words

Somaliland Ministry of Labor and Social affairs has for the first time announced on Wednesday that it will begin the registration of both foreign and national employees that work in all regions of the country.

According to press statement issued by the Director General of the labor ministry Mr. Mohamud Muse Haji ABdi “Galaydh” stated that the main reason behind conducting the registration is to find out genuine statistics of employees working in every workplace across the nation.

The areas where registration of employees will focus on are international organizations, business firms, hospitals, educational centers and local non-governmental organizations. The press statement stated that the reason behind the registration is to assess the rate of employment and job creation in the country in order to take the right steps and measures.

Elwaq health centre opens

01 Aug – Source: Radio Ergo – 165 words

The first maternal health care centre has been opened in Elwaq, Gedo region, financed by the Somali Red Crescent organization and offering prenatal, maternity and postnatal services for a large catchment area.

Ibrahim Isaac Geesey, the head of the Somali Red Crescent in Gedo, said the health centre would also offer paediatric services to children under the five, as well as general treatment for common diseases such as diarrhoea, malaria and respiratory ailments.

The centre will also deal with malnutrition problems in the district through special feeding programme for mothers and children. The centre opened last month and has been seeing about 50 patients a day. It is the only functioning health care centre in the district. The district hospital closed some time ago due to lack of supplies and support at the height of the conflict.

Motorists complain about deteriorating situation in Mogadishu-Baidoa highway

01 Aug – Source: Radio Shabelle – 99 words

Increased road barriers operated by men wearing government military uniforms are causing problems of all kind to the motorists using the Mogadishu-Baidoa highway. A driver who operates in that route has requested the government to quickly intervene and tackle the criminals operating along the highway.

“It is so difficult for civilians to use this route,” said the driver who requested his name to be withheld for security reasons. The road blocks along this route are increasing as days go by and money is extorted from the motorists from each roadblock.

“Galmudug does not cooperate with Puntland to combat crimes in Galkayo”- Puntland’s Mudug Governor

31 Jul – Source: Garowe Online – 124 words

The Governor of Puntland’s Mudug region Mohamed Yusuf Jama Tigey has blamed Galmudug authority for not cooperating with Puntland authorities in Galkayo to combat crimes on Wednesday, Garowe Online reports.

Speaking on Puntland-based independent station in Garowe, Governor Tigey said Galkayo is a town connecting vast northern side to south Galkayo where Galmudug authority is based and the “criminal gangs” flee to Barahley neighborhood of southern Galkayo after carrying out assassinations in the northern side.

“Galmudug seems too weak to keep those criminal gangs away from the northern side and they purport that they are existing authority but Puntland government will never cease its efforts to cleanse the town of crimes and targeted assassinations which almost take place in the north,” added Governor Tigey.

Number of reported rape incidents falls in Puntland

31 Jul – Source: Radio Ergo – 257 words

There has been a significant reduction in the number of rape cases recorded in Puntland this year, according to the ministry of women affairs announced. Khadra Ahmed Mohamed, an official in the ministry of women’s affairs, said the number of rape cases had dropped by more than half in the first half of this year.

Twenty rape cases were officially recorded between January and July this year; as compared to 45 cases between August-December last year.

Ms Mohamed attributed the improvement to extensive community education programmes and awareness campaigns carried out to sensitize people on women’s rights and dignity. However, the ministry reported an increase in the number of cases of violence against women in the IDP camps. Such incidents included wife beating, threats and intimidation.

The chairwoman of Puntland women’s associations’ umbrella body, Halima Mohamed Farah, said they were yet to find a solution to the prevailing rape problem. Women activists are not happy with the way the judiciary handles rape cases. It is often impossible to find witnesses to give evidence in court and protection for victims is inadequate.

Men behind murder of Beledweyne judge arrested

31 Jul – Source: Radio Shabelle/Hiiraan Online – 77 words

Suspected gunman and his accomplice who are linked to the killing of a court official in Beledweyne last week were presented to the public. The men were arrested in a security swoop in the town after the killing. Police commander Col Ali Abdi Mahad Alla says the gunman was assisted by another man in the killing of Moalim Hassan Elmi on July 20. The commander said the suspects will be brought be a court of law to answer charges.

Jowhar residents to get ID cards in two months

31 Jul – Source: Garowe Online – 161 words

The Mayor of Middle Shabelle regional capital of Jowhar Mohamed Amin Osman has told that the municipal authorities will distribute ID cards to Jowhar residents within two months on Wednesday, Garowe Online.

Speaking on Puntland-based independent station Radio Garowe, Jowhar Mayor Mohamed Amin Osman said the Ministry of Internal Affairs and National security of the Somali Federal Government will help the Municipal authorities to give each and every resident in Jowhar an ID card showing whether the resident is known legally and legitimately to curb the recurring insecurity in the city.

He added that the local government in line with the security forces commenced advocacy of peace among local communities to ensure the stability “Following the recent security operations jointly conducted by AMISOM and Somalia forces which netted over 15 people who were suspected of being al Shabaab members, we began to address the local communities at public venues and to order them to cooperate with the security forces including AMISOM”.

First University for Middle Shabelle region

31 Jul – Source: Radio Ergo – 151 words

A new university, the University of Middle Shabelle , has been established in the farming district of Jowhar, providing free education for students funded by local businessmen and diaspora Somalis.

Abass Sheikh Mahmud, the head of the University, said the first 22 students had been enrolled in the agriculture and medicine faculties. The university also offers courses in livestock science, health education, computer science, Islamic law, and education.

Planning for the new university began four years ago. Enough funds have been raised to maintain the university for the next four years. Students are required only to pay the $50 registration fee.The university will officially open on 20 August. Teaching staff include Somalis and foreigners.

The university is expected to open new opportunities for the on average 200 students who finish secondary schools in Jowhar every year. This farming district has no other such facility.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Regional heads to meet over AMISOM troops

01 Aug – Source: Daily Monitor – 415 Words

Freed Kenyans meet kin, no ransom was paid

01 Aug – Source: Capital News – 175 words

Two government officials released by al Shabaab militants from Somalia earlier this week have now been reunited with their families. The families met the two men on Thursday at the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of Government at Harambee House for the first time, since their release earlier this week.

Edward Yesse Mule, who was a District Officer in Burder division, and Fredrick Irungu Wainaina a Registrar of Persons in Wajir South District – were freed after spending a year-and-a-half in captivity.

They were handed over to their families by Interior Secretary Joseph ole Lenku who assured them of the government’s commitment to ensure the two are fully counselled before they resume duty. Lenku has denied reports that ransom was paid to secure the release of the two Kenyans. “I can assure you it was just negotiations. There was no ransom paid.”

President Uhuru calls for regional cooperation

31 Jul – Source: Daily Nation – 156 words

President Uhuru Kenyatta has urged regional leaders to embrace peace and work closely to remove barriers that hinder the region’s economic development.

President Kenyatta said the region must adopt a new way of doing things in line with the aspirations of its people, pointing out that a new approach was essential to allow movement of goods, services, knowledge, experience and labour within the region without any obstacle.

He said the current leaders have a responsibility to ensure progress is made to break the vicious cycle of violence witnessed in parts of the region. The President affirmed Kenya’s commitment to regional peace, citing the country’s efforts in Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan.

US money laundering laws, banking decisions hurting Somalis

31 Jul – Source: Standard Media – 163 words

A Sh113 billion ($1.3 billion) per year stream of cash that the people of Somalia depend on for food, shelter, and other necessities is under threat according to a new report from Adeso, the Inter-American Dialogue, and Oxfam released today.

Fear of US anti-terror and money laundering laws is leading banks to close critically needed bank accounts of US-based money transfer operators. Used for urgently needed remittances, these accounts are sometimes closed in indiscriminate fashion.

With lack of a formal banking system in Somalia, families now face the possibility of being unable to access funds from friends and relatives that they desperately require for survival.

Longhorn eyes Somalia in bid to grow profits

31 Jul – Source: Business Daily Africa – 292 words

Longhorn Publishers plans to enter the Somalia market in September as the firm races to cut dependence on Kenya that accounts for 80 per cent of its sales. The Nairobi bourse-listed publisher said that it would make digital educational content available to the Somalia government and NGOs ahead of introducing printed text books in the first quarter of next year.

Longhorn said it had developed learning materials in Somali language to extend its regional global footprint and grow profits — which reversed to a loss of Sh22.4 million last year.

The book firm joins the growing queue of local companies including airlines and Davis & Shirtliff, a supplier of water equipment, that are keen on opportunities following the ongoing plans to stabilise the Somali.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somali PM condoles Erdogan for embassy attack

01 Jul – Source: Anatolia News Agency – 94 words

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Wednesday held a phone conversation with his Somali counterpart Abdi Farah Shirdon. Shirdon called Erdogan to express his sorrow over the attack at Turkish embassy in Somali capital Mogadishu on July 27, and consoled him for the police soldiers who lost their lives, as well as wishing soon recovery for the wounded. The two leaders emphasized the attack would not make a negative effect on bilateral relations. Erdogan assured Shirdon of continuing relief activities in Somalia, and standing by Somali people.

Iranian Deputy FM acknowledges release of 78 Iranian sailors in Somalia

01 Aug – Source: Islamic Republic News Agency – 118 words

Deputy Foreign Minister in Consulate, Parliamentary and IraniansËˆ Affairs Resided Abroad acknowledged the release of 78 Iranian sailors arrested by the Puntland autonomous government in Somalia.

According to the report of Foreign Ministry Media Diplomacy Department, Hassan Qashqavi said that by persistence of the ministry and holding talks the release of the abducted sailors became possible.

ËˆThe process included meetings with Somali officials to pardon the sailors on the occasion of fasting month of RamadanËˆ, added Qashqavi, saying that the sailors were released and returned home on Tuesday.

Aid agencies respond amid insecurity in Kismayo, southern Somalia

31 Jul – Source: OCHA Somalia – 2:52 min

In late June, tensions in Kismayo, Lower Juba region, culminated in clan fighting that left at least 71 civilians dead and 300 others wounded. The conflict hampered humanitarians’ ability to respond to people’s urgent needs. With the security situation still tense in mid-July, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Philippe Lazzarini visited Kismayo to assess the humanitarian situation.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“With roughly a quarter billion dollars of direct, community-level support at stake, all stakeholders must work to ensure that members of the Somali diaspora in the United States can send their money to Somalia as long as they are willing and able to do so. Their poor and vulnerable families deserve nothing less.”

Somalia’s Lifeline Under Threat

31 Jul – Source: Huffington Post Blog – 564 Words

In the midst of Somalia’s 2011 famine and its worst drought in decades, Oxfam’s Somali partners called on us not to find more money for their emergency programs, but to raise alarm that the stream of money Somalis receive from family and friends abroad was in danger of drying up. Fear of U.S. anti-terror and money laundering laws was leading American and international banks to close the bank accounts of U.S.-based money transfer operators, sometimes indiscriminately.

Today, as more accounts are being closed, Somali families are facing the possibility of being unable access funds from friends and relatives that they desperately require to meet basic needs, threatening to stress some to the breaking point and cause substantial disruption to Somalia’s economic recovery and growth.

So together with Adeso, an African humanitarian organization, and the Inter-American Dialogue, Oxfam took an extensive look at the threats facing Somalia’s remittance system. We found a system under threat.

“With so much at stake and so many people depending on their services, banks and the regulators can make a greater effort to keep the lifeline to Somalia open.”

Disruptions to diaspora remittances threaten Somalia

31 Jul – Source: Oxfam America Blog – 539 Words

It felt like magic. My friend in Minnesota stepped into a shop and threw down some of my cash. Fifteen minutes later…poof! The money transfer had been vetted, and after a quick ID check, my money was there for the taking across the world in Somaliland.

My personal money transfer was a mere demonstration of the money transfer system. But for people in Somalia, remittances from relatives abroad are nothing short of a lifeline. A new joint Oxfam, Adeso and Inter-American Dialogue report estimates that Somali migrants around the world send approximately $1.3 billion to Somalia each year to help their families back home. Of that approximately $215 million comes from Somali-Americans and Somalis in the United States. This is nearly the same amount of development and humanitarian assistance that the US government sends to the country.

Remittances represent a significant share of Somalia’s economy. Depending on how GDP is calculated, I’ve seen between 25-40 percent. Regardless, remittances help reduce Somalia’s reliance on assistance from foreign governments and international organizations.

“Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for an attack on a Turkish Embassy compound in Somalia; some believe the bombing was a response to Turkey’s foreign policy and image as a ‘secular Islamic’ nation.”

Turkey’s Flirt With Islamists Turns Sour in Somalia

31 Jul – Source: Taraf/Al Monitor – 641 Words

Following a July 27 suicide attack on the annex of the Turkish Embassy in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, slain special forces policeman Sinan Yilmaz and three seriously wounded policemen were flown to Turkey. The al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group claimed responsibility for the bloody bombing.

In comments to Taraf, retired diplomats and foreign affairs experts drew attention to Turkey’s links with radical Islamist groups and stressed that such ties do not always produce the desired results.

Asked whether al Shabaab’s claim of responsibility would affect Turkey’s Syria policy, retired ambassador Temel Iskit said: “I wish it did, since Turkey’s policy of helping Syrian opposition groups affiliated with Jabhat al-Nusra and al Qaeda is wrong.”

Foreign affairs commentator and journalist Semih Idiz [a contributor to Al-Monitor] said: “Regarding the attack on the embassy, I can say that courting Islamist groups does not always produce the desired results. We already see that the flirt with Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria is turning sour.”

“Remittances are Somalia’s life-support system and development engine, but the Somali remittance system is under threat.”

Keeping the lifeline open: Remittances and markets in Somalia

31 Jul – Source: Oxfam America – 120 words

Remittances to Somalia amount to approximately $1.3 billion a year, 16 percent of which comes from the United States. Remittances are a lifeline for many Somalis, providing them with a means to meet their immediate needs for food, shelter, clothing, and other basic necessities as well as open and sustain small businesses, send children to school, and invest in their communities.

This joint report by Oxfam America, Adeso and the Inter-American Dialogue investigates the obstacles facing the free and secure flow of remittance transfers from the United States to Somalia.

It includes that the closure of Somali-American Money Transfer Operators’ (MTOs’) bank accounts in the United States may result in a substantial disruption to Somalia’s recovery and economic growth.

“Despite this “peace” there are constant bombings and attacks taking place throughout Mogadishu. Not exactly a holiday destination, but all the same a hard-fought peace, and an ever-continuing fight against actual terrorism. There is hope here, It’s covered in dirt, blood and bullet wounds, but hell if it isn’t standing straight.”

Dirt, Blood and Bullet Wounds

31 Jul – Source: FS Productions Blog – 1143 Words

“We are mad, not only individually, but nationally. We check manslaughter and isolated murders; but what of war?” Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Roman Philosopher

Driving through the streets of Mogadishu as a first-time visitor is not unlike the build-up to one of those first dates you may have endured during your teen years. At the outset you are thrilled by the prospect; during the preparation you are excited by what it may bring and convinced you are ready for whatever may happen.

However, when the compound doors open and eight heavily armed guards mount your reinforced Toyota pickup, you realize you are scared shitless and wish your parents would come pick you up before you make a fool of yourself, do something drastically stupid, and get your head cut off on YouTube. I will come back to this later.

Our driver Jamal is careening around corners and charging through dust clouds on the way to a clean water project I’ve been assigned to cover for Arc Solutions. I lean over to put down the window, which is blacked out and (apparently) thoroughly bulletproof, he shakes his head and takes a thoughtful drag from his cigarette. “Why not?” I ask. He shoots a wry grin my way and says simply “Shabaab”.

Top tweets

@Refugees Photo of the day: Haunting portrait of a #Somalidisplaced #mother and her child http://rfg.ee/nuggs #Somalia #IDPs.

@MinisterHashi Happy 15th anniversary #Puntland, #Somalia. I hope that the peace and prosperity of the last fifteen will continue forever. Congrats!.

@WFP_Women Why is this woman in #Somalia smiling? Heres the story of how her community invested in their future with help of WFP http://bit.ly.

‏@aysanei #Somalia‘s informal economy isn’t sustainable. Formal economy is the only alternative for money transfer.http://t.co/BWw8LsSdR1.

@cleechtech Investing in the Telecoms, Mobile & Broadband Markets in #Somalia – http://t.co/L7P1aLwGcQ via @Afrinnovator #spectrum @googleafrica.

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Image of the day

Image of the day AU Special Envoy for Somalia Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif, left with Mr. Vasu Gounden, the Founder and Executive Director of ACCORD signing an MoU of cooperation in support of the implementation of the mandate of AMISOM. Photo: AMISOM.