August 20, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.

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Conference on refugees due to open in Addis Ababa

20 Aug – Source: BBC Somali Service/ Radio Goobjoog/Radio Mogadishu – 173 words

Conference on refugees is due to open in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia on Wednesday. The aim of the conference is to get lasting solution for the challenges the refugees face, especially Somalis in most refugee camps.

The conference was organized by the refugee agency, United Nations high commissioner for refugees ( UNHCR). Many countries including Kenya, Djibouti, Uganda and Yemen that host thousands of refugees are also expected to participate in the conference.

Somalia is represented by the prime minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed and delegates who reached Addis Ababa on Tuesday evening.

The Prime Minister is accompanied by some of his Ministers, Foreign Affairs Minister Beilah and Minister for Interior and federalism Abdullahi Godah Bare.

Recently Conference on refugees planned to be held in Nairobi was delayed after Somali federal government abandoned its participation in the conference. This has been confirmed in a letter from Somali foreign ministry sent to Kenyan government.

This conference was planned to be a tripartite meeting, Somalia, Kenya and United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR).

Key Headlines

Conference on refugees due to open in Addis Ababa (BBC Somali Service)
Somali PM arrives in Addis Ababa for refugee crisis conference (Radio Dalsan)
Terror attacks won’t intimidate us: Somali MP (Anatolia News Agency)
Armed men shot dead three civilians in Mogadishu (Radio Goobjoog)
Somali parliament supports government disarmament process (Radio Mogadishu)
Somalia offences: Two UPDF soldiers remanded (Daily Monitor)
UNSOM to open its office in Hargeisa (Radio RBC)
Puntland sets international presence condition for talks with Federal Government (Garowe Online)
Hudur administration reopens blocked roads in the region (Radio Goobjoog)
Somali Diaspora urged to contribute to the country’s rebuilding process (Radio Bar-kulan)
Poor rains leave farmers short of food (Radio Ergo)
Attrition: Ebola Chases Away Peacekeepers (strategypage)
Somali immigration restricts unnecessary foreign entry (Radio Mogadishu/Dalsan)
UN Secretary-General for Somalia Nicholas Kay pledges UN support for Puntland (KTN Kenya)
Five children die of malnutrition in Burdhubo (Radio Ergo)
Hiiran administration plans to reopen Beledweyne-Bulo-burte highway (Radio Bar-kulan)
Somali National University opens anatomy lab (Somali Current/Jowhar Online)
Kenyan driver kidnapped by gunmen at the Kenya-Somalia border (Standard Media)
Somaliland electoral commission under fire as opposition warns against postponing poll (Sabahi Online)
McMurray Muslim leaders reject Alberta terrorism links (Fort McMurray News)
Ethiopia now Africa’s biggest refugee host amid South Sudan crisis (Rappler News)

SOMALI MEDIA

Conference on refugees due to open in Addis Ababa

20 Aug – Source: BBC Somali Service/ Radio Goobjoog/Radio Mogadishu – 173 words

Somalia is represented by the prime minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed and delegates who reached Addis Ababa on Tuesday evening.

The Prime Minister is accompanied by some of his Ministers, Foreign Affairs Minister Beilah and Minister for Interior and federalism Abdullahi Godah Bare.

This conference was planned to be a tripartite meeting, Somalia, Kenya and United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR).

Somali PM arrives in Addis Ababa for refugee crisis conference

20 Aug- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Dalsan/Radio Mogadishu- 125 words

A Somali delegation led by Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed has arrived in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

The Somali delegation arrives in Addis Ababa to attend a regional conference to discuss the issue of Somali refugees in the East African region.

The conference which is organized by United Nations Refugee Agency is expected to bring together leaders from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Yemen and international agencies.

A press release from the office of the prime minister stated that Somali government will express its commitment to finding lasting solution to the issue of the Somali refugees in neighboring countries.

The statement added the prime minister will convince international partners to assist his government’s efforts to bring refugees in neighboring countries back to their homeland.

Armed men shot dead three civilians in Mogadishu

20 Aug- Source: Radio Goobjoog/Dhacdo24 Online- 124 words

At least three civilians were gunned down in Mogadishu Tuesday night after unknown assailants opened fire on a crowd of people in an entertainment center.

The attackers were targeting two security officials in the scene as witness who spoke on a condition of anonymity confirmed to Radio Goobjoog.

No one claimed the responsibility of the murder as the attackers immediately fled from the area.
Security forces launched operations in the area to pursue the murderers, but no one has been arrested so far.

This is the first attack against civilians since the government forces and AMISOM launched disarmament operations in Mogadishu fortnight ago.

Somali parliament supports government disarmament process

20 Aug – Source Radio Mogadishu/Somali Current – 127 words

Somali parliament has thrown its weight behind the federal government regarding the ongoing disarmament security operation mainly in the capital Mogadishu. The parliamentarians said in a statement that the government should ensure the security since its one of it’s the main responsibilities.

The members called upon the government to come up with clear strategies to deal with arms control in the country. They also urged the security forces to respect human rights during their security operation.

The federal government of Somalia supported by African union troops has for the past week clashed with militants of former warlords in attempt to disarm and recover illegal weapons in the city of Mogadishu. United Nation estimates half a million illegal arms are in the hands of civilians in Somalia.

Hudur administration reopens blocked roads in the region

20 Aug- Source: Radio Goobjoog- 148 words

The administration of Hudur district in Bakol region stated that it has succeeded to reopen the roads leading to the town blocked by al Shabaab.

Hudur district commissioner Mohamed Moalim Ahmed said the government forces and AMISOM troops in the region reached the hideouts of al Shabaab and managed to open the roads that has been made impassable by al Shabaab.

He also said that the joint forces also opened the roads linking some districts in Bay and Bakol regions. Mohamed Moalim added that the vehicles carrying essential goods to the town and humanitarian aid agencies are able to reach the area and deliver emergency aid to the affected people.

Finally the district commissioner said that his administration will continue the operations until all the roads linking Bakol to the neighbouring regions blocked by al Shabaab are reopened.

UNSOM to open its office in Hargeisa

20 Aug – Source: Radio RBC/Radio Dalsan/Radio Hargeysa – 201 words

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia known as UNSOM has declared that it will open its office in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland which is a breakaway region of Somalia Republic.

The decision came a day after the United Nations Special Envoy for Somalia Nicholas Kay visited Hargeisa after an invitation from Somaliland authorities. Mr Kay announced that his office is now preparing to extend its mission to Hargeisa after the absence of the one your UNSOM has worked in Somalia.

While speaking to the reporters in Hargeisa on Tuesday, Mr Kay also acknowledged that lack of the presence of UNSOM in Somaliland had prevented many assistance that UNSOM and other UN agencies could do for the people in Somaliland.

Last year Somaliland authorities rejected the UN’s biggest mission in East Africa led by Ambassador Nicholas Kay to open its branch in Hargeisa. Somaliland described UNSOM as an special office intended for Somalia and that it did not had anything to do in Somaliland.

It was unclear what changed the Somaliland’s stand towards the mandate of UNSOM which is based on Somalia’s National Unity as untouchable, but Ambassador said there will be many things to cooperate between UNSOM and Somaliland.

Somali Diaspora urged to contribute to the country’s rebuilding process

20 Aug- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 145 words

Somalia’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Buri Mohamed Hamsa has called on the Somali expatriate community to contribute to the rebuilding process of the country.

Hamsa made the statement during a meeting with Somali expatriates in Toronto, Canada. The meeting was designed to invite Somalis in Canada to play their part in the country’s rebuilding process. He stated the Somali expatriates can positively contribute to the country’s security and federalization efforts.

He added that there are at least 1.5 million Somalis living outside the country who send 2 million dollars in remittance back to the country to support their families back home. He called on the Somali expatriate community to empower young people and women to prevent them from embracing extremist ideologies.

Hamsa finally hailed the outcome of a recent Somali Global Diaspora Conference held in Istanbul which called for unity among Somali Diaspora communities.

Poor rains leave farmers short of food

20 Aug- Source: Radio Ergo- 172 words

Farmers in the agricultural region of Hiran are deeply worried about the possibility of another famine hitting the region due to successive poor rains.

Mohamed Abdiqadir, a farmer in Beletweyne, said the main gu’ rainy season was totally insufficient. “There wasn’t enough rain and that made it difficult to cultivate anything,” Abdiqadir told Radio Ergo’s local reporter. He named the most affected farming villages as Adiley, Guryo-Adde, Ilko-Adde and Jawil. These villages used to grow enough food for the domestic markets in Beletweyne.“These farmlands haven’t received enough rainfall and nothing has been harvested from there,” Abdiqadir said.

Many farming families are believed to have fled from their homes in Hiran, Lower Shabelle and Bakool regions, which are agro-pastoralist areas, due to successive seasons of poor rains and low food production. Many livestock herders have moved to Gedo and Galgadud after the water pans, boreholes and other sources of water have all already dried up.

Somalia’s National Disaster Agency has warned of a worsening drought and food security situation in these five regions.

Somali immigration restricts unnecessary foreign entry

20 Aug – Source: Radio Mogadishu/Dalsan- 106 words

Somali Immigration Authorities have restricted unnecessary foreigners entering the country without genuine documents. According to a source within Somali immigration department more than eight foreigners have been denied access at Aden Abdulle international airport in the capital Mogadishu last week.

The visitors are said to be lacking clear entry visa or other documents that show invitation or person of contact to their destination.

The immigration department has called upon airlines that operate in Somali airspace to avoid foreign nationals that do not have proper entry documents into the country. The Somali visa is received upon the entry at main international airports at the costs $ US 50.

Five children die of malnutrition in Burdhubo

20 Aug- Source: Radio Ergo- 185 words

At least five children have died from hunger and malnutrition in the besieged district of Burdhubo in Gedo region. Haji Ladane Ismail, the local administration’s health affairs officer, said the children died late last week in rural areas of the district, which has been under an Al-Shabaab blockade for more than six months.

Ismail said dozens of others, most of them children and women, were at risk of starvation as stocks of food and other supplies including medicines were almost exhausted in the district.

“The children who died were in the villages of Muri, Qeydo and Hufey. They were all under the age of seven,” Ismail told Radio Ergo’s local reporter. He said the death toll could get higher as more people suffering from hunger were unable to get the basic necessities to keep them alive.

He added that no food supplies nor other goods had been transported in to the district since al-Shabaab imposed its blockade in February. The group has positioned itself on all the main roads leading towards Burdhubo and is refusing access to the trucks and vehicles travelling to the district.

Puntland sets international presence condition for talks with Federal Government

20 Aug- Source: Garowe Online- 318 words

A two-day discussion between Puntland Government in northern Somalia and Federal Members of Parliament who heeded calls for consultations has come to an end, with the northeastern state setting condition for bilateral talks on Wednesday, Garowe Online reports.

In a press statement released to the media, Puntland and Federal MPs agreed on the existence of grievances and concerns and unless those prevailing matters are addressed, Puntland is unlikely to forge agreement with Somalia’s Federal Government.

Puntland also accepted to open talks with Mogadishu-based Federal Government in the presence of international representatives within 30 days.

Hiiran administration plans to reopen Beledweyne-Bulo-burte highway

20 Aug- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 149 words

Somali government administration in Hiiran region has stated to have taken measures to reopen the main road that connects Beledweyne, the region’s capital to Bulo-burte town.

The road was previously cut off by al Shabaab militant group who controlled much of the region in recent years before joint African and Somali troops were deployed in the region.

The governor of Hiiran region Abdifatah Hassan Afrah told Bar-kulan that plans are in place to reopen the road including the deployment of Somali and AMISOM forces in the area.

He added that his administration is also finalizing plans to reopen the main road which connects Hiiran region to the neighboring central regions saying it will enable locals to use the road for their economic and business purposes without difficulties and disruptions. Al Shabaab militant group cut off the main road between Beledweyne and Bulo-burte.

Somali National University opens anatomy lab

19 Aug – Source: Somali Current/Jowhar Online – 162 words

Somali National University has officially opened its anatomy lab for the first time since the break out of the civil war in the country two decades ago.

In its opening ceremony attended by Somali government officials, the institution has displayed five bodies received from Kenyatta university of Kenya in the new lab which according to the university will help more than 950 medicine students in their practical studies.

Somali National University and Kenyatta University in Nairobi have earlier signed memorandum of agreement for cooperation in their diverse education sectors particularly in medicine department which resulted the donation of five bodies for research purposes.

Quite number of Somali medicine students are currently in Turkey and regional countries such as Kenya due to lack of proper education facilities in the war torn country.

This latest improvement in the field within the country is expected to provide an opportunity to hundreds of Somai medicine students especially in the country where there is shortage of doctors.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Somalia offences: Two UPDF soldiers remanded

20 Aug- Source: Daily Monitor- 216 words

Two former junior commanders of the Ugandan contingent in African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) were yesterday remanded to prison over failure to protect ammunitions during the operations.

The soldiers, Capt Bosco Mwanga Kapsadui and Lt David Eloku Ewago, were charged before the General Court Martial at Makindye and remanded. They appeared before the court chaired by Maj Gen Levi Karuhanga and denied the charge of failure to protect war materials during their tenure in the peacekeeping mission.

Capt Kapsadui, 32, is a junior officer of the regular forces of the UPDF, formerly attached to the Air Defence Component of Battle Group XIII as Battery Commander. Lt Ewago was formerly attached to Battle Group XIII as Platoon Commander in 31 infantry battalion.

Prosecution alleges that the two officers, being commanders between February and March, misused 1,000 rounds of live ammunitions by improperly disposing it from the armoury without signing for the same.

Kenyan driver kidnapped by gunmen at the Kenya-Somalia border

20 Aug- Source: Standard Media- 323 words

A Kenyan is missing after he and his three colleagues were attacked and robbed of two four-wheel drive vehicles in Bodhai area, near Kiunga at the Kenya- Somalia border. The turn boy of one of the two missing vehicles was identified as George Mwiti.

His three colleagues were released after being attacked and held by almost 20 gunmen believed to be members of Somalia’s al Shabaab militant group on Monday night, police said.

The four had driven to Somalia through the Kiunga border and dropped several kilogrammes of miraa and were driving back to Garissa when they were attacked. One of the drivers identified as Amuar Abdi told The Standard on the phone the attackers were all Somalis and were in military jungle uniforms.

UN Secretary-General for Somalia Nicholas Kay pledges UN support for Puntland

19 Aug- Source: KTN Kenya-01:54mins

As Somalia looks to holding its next elections in 2016, UN secretary-general for Somalia Nicholas Kay has pledged the UN’s continued support for Puntland in a move to integrate all politically crippled states in the horn of Africa.

Somaliland electoral commission under fire as opposition warns against postponing poll

19 Aug- Source: Sabahi Online- 851 words

Tension continues to escalate over the registration of voters in the Somaliland region after opposition leaders warned that security could deteriorate if the general elections slated to take place next year are delayed.

In a joint statement released August 11th, the opposition coalition — comprising the Justice and Welfare Party (UCID), the Waddani Party and the Consultation Forum, a group of independent politicians — accused the government of wilfully delaying the voter registration exercise.

They said the ruling party was deliberately trying to stonewall the process and delay the parliamentary and presidential elections slated for mid-2015 in an attempt to extend the term of the Kulmiye government led by President Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo.

Peace is conditional upon democracy, and democracy is threatened any time elections are postponed or exceed their timeline, the group said.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Terror attacks won’t intimidate us: Somali MP

20 Aug- Source: Anatolia News Agency-425 words

A Somali lawmaker and former national security minister has insisted that recent terrorist attacks targeting members of parliament would not intimidate them or prevent them from continuing to work for the development of the country and its people.

“The assassination of lawmakers in the past weeks is very sad and shows that militant groups don’t want to see a stable Somali government,” Abdisamad Mahamoud Hassan, currently in Johannesburg to attend a meeting of the Pan-African Parliament, told Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview. “But Somali MPs are determined to work for the betterment of their country and people, no matter what,” he said.

Since the start of this year, several lawmakers have been killed by the al Shabaab militant group.

Sheikh Adam Mohamed Deir, head of parliament’s financial committee, was shot dead outside a Mogadishu mosque on August 1.

McMurray Muslim leaders reject Alberta terrorism links

20 Aug – Source: Fort McMurray News – 164 words

Fort McMurray’s Muslim leaders are speaking out against Canadian-born terrorists fighting in the Middle East, after a Calgary man fighting with ISIS was reportedly killed during fighting in Iraq. Wajeehullah Arain, vice-president of community affairs for the Markaz-Ul-Islam mosque, says Fort McMurray’s muslim community condemns terrorism and urges anyone with information regarding extremism to contact police.

“As Muslims and as Canadians, we stand against this extremism, ignorance, hatred and violence,” he said. “The best course of action in combating extremist beliefs is to be proactive by educating our members, giving back to our community of RMWB and to identify and report all extremist activities to law enforcement authorities.”

QMI Agency reported the death of Farah Mohamed Shirdon of Calgary on Friday. In his final days, Shirdon did not shy away from his beliefs. In April, a video featured Shirdon and several other foreigners burning their passports. Shirdon came from a privileged family – his uncle was prime minister of Somalia – and attended SAIT.

Ethiopia now Africa’s biggest refugee host amid South Sudan crisis

20 Aug – Source: Rappler News – 187 words

The spiraling crisis in war-ravaged South Sudan has sent nearly 200,000 refugees into Ethiopia, making it Africa’s largest refugee-hosting country, the United Nations. At the end of July, Ethiopia was sheltering 629,718 refugees – nearly half of them from South Sudan – while Kenya, which has long been the biggest refugee host on the continent, counted 575,334 registered refugees and asylum seekers, the UN’s refugee agency said.

“The main factor in the increased numbers is the conflict in South Sudan,” UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva. That conflict, which erupted last December amid a power struggle between President Salva Kiir and his sacked deputy Riek Machar, has left thousands dead and forced 1.59 million people to flee their homes, according to fresh UN numbers.

Including those who had fled the world’s youngest nation before the latest conflict began, 1.29 million South Sudanese are currently displaced inside the country while 576,340 are refugees in neighboring countries. Some 247,000 of them have found their way to Ethiopia – 188,000 of them since the beginning of this year, Edwards said.

Attrition: Ebola Chases Away Peacekeepers

20 Aug- Source: strategypage- 307 words

Somalia has asked that no more peacekeepers from central or western Africa come to Somalia for a while. This is all about fear that the Ebola Virus outbreak in West Africa spreading to Somalia. Such a form of disease transmission via peacekeepers is not new or unique. In 2010 Haiti was hit with a new strain of Cholera that first appeared in Indonesia in 1961 and has spread around the world since then but never to Haiti. In fact, Haiti had never experienced any Cholera in all of its recorded history.

In the last two centuries there have been seven major outbreaks of Cholera worldwide but none, until recently, ever hit Haiti. The cause of the Cholera outbreak was traced to peacekeepers from Nepal. Over 8,000 people died from that Cholera outbreak, most of them Haitians. So far at least six percent of all Haitians have caught Cholera, which is a lot more survivable than Ebola.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

Somalia in 2014: Timeline of the food security crisis

20 Aug- Source: African Research Institute Blog-170 Words

As of August 2014, nearly 3 million people in Somalia are in severe crisis. However, only 30% of this year’s $933 million humanitarian appeal has been met.

Given the shortage of funding, remittances play an especially important role in tackling food insecurity. An estimated $1.3 billion is remitted from the diaspora to Somalia each year, benefiting some 40% of households in the country. Even in Somaliland and Puntland, two of the region’s most stable areas, a third of people would not be able to afford food, medicine and school fees if they did not receive money transfers from families and friends abroad.

Following on from our Somalia Briefing in July, we have set up this ‘Somalia in 2014′ timeline to document key events relating to the food security situation in Somalia, with an additional focus on relevant developments in the ongoing remittances saga, given the clear link between the two. We plan to update this timeline throughout the rest of the year and welcome input from other organisation and individuals.

Disarming warlords in Mogadishu

20 Aug- Source: Somaliland Sun-183 Words

In this his latest episode, Amir touches in disarming warlords that had played havoc in Somalia for decades. One of these warlords was captured in August 14 this year after his home was raided by the African Union Forces who have found more the 500 guns as well as cache of ammunition in his backyard. Here is the translation of the Somali text in the cartoon :

These are men discussing the disarming of the Warlords. The man on the left says. “Disarming the warlords is a triumph for the people living in Mogadishu”. The man in the middle says “That is OK but reconciliation and forgiveness must have been reached before disarming the people.”

The man in the right corner says “What puzzles me is that arms are being sold at the Sky shooter (Cirtoogte) market while at the same time arms are being confiscated from the homes of Mogadishu residents”

Amin Amir is a cartoonist of Somali origin who lives in Canada . Amin is also an activist and campaigns for social change among the Somali speaking population Worldwide.

“Unfortunately, there appears to be very little appetite to expand the definition of refugee, so that people suffering from the environmental impacts of conflict are eligible for the protection afforded victims of persecution. Fixing the humanitarian and refugee crisis in Somalia will therefore require not only bringing an end to the violence there, but repairing the environmental damage it has caused.”

Somali Refugees Show How Conflict, Gender, Environmental Scarcity Become Entwined

19 Aug- Source: New Security Beat-1245 Words

Under international law, someone who flees their country because of conflict or persecution is a refugee, but someone who flees because of inability to meet their basic household needs is not. In the case of Somalia, it is increasingly difficult to make any meaningful distinction between the two.

Over the past two years, colleagues and I have been working with Somalis living in Canada to document how environmental conditions shaped their decisions to leave their home country. The environment did play a role for many, and seems to have done so disproportionately by gender
Some spent time in refugee camps in Ethiopia or Kenya before being resettled here with assistance from the UN Refugee Agency and the Canadian government. Others made their way to third countries like China, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, or Syria before being sponsored by family members or making their own way to Canada to lodge a refugee protection application.

In all cases, concerns for their personal safety and the wider impacts of political instability and internal conflict were their immediate motivations for leaving Somalia. But the environment did play a role for many, and seems to have done so disproportionately by gender.

Top tweets

@DrMaryanQasim Launch of Maternal & Child Health Initiative in#Mogadishu Yesterday @WHOSom @unicefsomalia @UNFPA_SOMALIA @SomaliPM pic.twitter.com/2wbXGhFCxc

@amisomsomalia 2/ #AMISOM field hospitals & medical personnel continue to provide medical services to the #Somalipeople pic.twitter.com/Whp2JBcAbA

@UNSomalia SRSG Leila Zerrougui – commitment needed by#Somali authorities to implement laws, mechanisms to end use of children in conflict.

@BeilehMofa World Humanitarian Day is special for Somalia as we know the life saving & changing impact Humanitarian workers have had on our nation.

@UNLazzarini New #health initiatives will be rolled out in several #Somali regions targeting more than 1 mil #children&#women http://bit.ly/VCytXo

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Image of the day

Image of the day #Somaliland President Ahmed Silanyo receives #UN Envoy Nicholas Kay at the President’s Office in Hargeisa. Photo: @UNSomalia