NATIONAL MEDIA
20 August – Source: Goobjoog – 110 Words
Al-Shabaab militants have early Tuesday attacked Somali federal government forces military base in Jowhar in Middle Shabelle region. According to officials, Al-Shabaab has attacked Somali military base about 7km west of Jowhar town but the forces have repulsed. The attack prompted hours of heavy fighting between the Somali army and heavily armed Al-Shabaab fighters. There are reported casualties on both sides, although the official numbers are unclear. The Somali National Army has been conducting large-scale operations against Al-Shabaab and seized strategic towns in the Lower Shabelle region Al-Shabaab has been the last weeks increasing military bases attacks in the southern part of Somalia routinely targets AU forces and government bases.
20 August – Source: Halbeeg – 220 Words
Jubbaland regional parliament will take the responsibility of managing the upcoming elections in the state. A statement from the state assembly on Monday confirmed the role following a meeting between the new speaker, his two deputies, and officials from the independent electoral body. The two sides agreed that to be appointed regional assembly committee to take the leading role in the realization of the election which is slated on 22nd August. “Regional assembly leadership and the independent electoral body have agreed to transfer the responsibility of managing the election process to the parliament with the poll agency helping in the technical capacity.” The letter sent to the newsroom said. It further said the move was meant to address the request by the international community delegation earlier to the regional leadership to allow the parliament to manage the democratic process. “The regional parliament and the independent electoral body reached the decision to accommodate the recommendations of the international community.” Meanwhile, Jubbaland Presidential candidates including the incumbent, Ahmed Mohamed Islam have appeared before the new assembly to address their agenda if elected to the office on Tuesday. Most of the contenders pledged to improve relations with the federal government, improve the local economy and embark on an offensive against armed group al-Shabbab to liberate areas still under their control in the state.
19 August – Source: Goobjoog – 692 Words
Federation of Somali Journalists FESOJ, in cooperation with the European Mission to Somalia under the project of Our Right to Know organized a one-day meeting on Council of Peace in Mogadishu titled “Strengthening security agencies and media relations for the safety of journalists, access of information, freedom of expression and media freedom in Somalia” The objective of the meeting was institute confidence-building mechanisms and professional journalistic processes to facilitate dialogue between the security agencies and media, fostering greater understanding and eliminate distrust and mutual suspicion in order to promote and create an environment conducive to freedom of media and safety of journalists.
The meeting attracted 90 participants from security agencies including senior officials from Somalia’s police command, Somalia’s President’s office, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, civil society groups, journalists, lawyers and university students in Somalia. It was a follow up to a similar meeting held last year in 2018 and was also a direct follow-up to the implementation of a priority identified by stakeholders on the safety of journalists so that lines of dialogue can be opened and agreement between media, security agencies as well as key state institutions with a common strategy to deal with the safety and security of journalists. During the discussion, participants were taken through thematic topics on how to communicate with the media; operational safety procedures when dealing with journalists and freedom of expression; and how security forces can ensure that journalists can access the information they need to pass the public.
In his opening remarks the Secretary-General of the Federation of Somali Journalists (FESOJ) Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu said it is fundamental human right to ask for and receive information held by public organizations and government bodies, it is therefore imperative that the security agencies allow journalists to carry out their work freely by providing information that the public needs to know. Journalists got an opportunity to interact and ask direct questions regarding their safety and security with the police officers and other government officials attended the meeting, particularly on the daily challenges they come across during newsgathering in the city or the outskirts of Mogadishu…….
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
20 August – Source: VOA – 418 Words
Islamic State militants in Somalia say they will release jihadist materials in Amharic – a step unmistakably aimed at winning recruits in restive, neighbouring Ethiopia. The announcement came in the form of a three-minute video released last month by pro-Islamic State sites and endorsed by the official IS media. The video posted the words to one of Islamic State’s best-known chants in Amharic and promised IS will release more materials in the language, one of the two most-spoken tongues in Ethiopia.
Matt Bryden, an Africa analyst with Kenya-based Sahan Research, believes Islamic State – also known as ISIS – is reaching out to Ethiopia’s Muslim community in an attempt to take advantage of ongoing ethnic and political unrest in Africa’s second-most populous nation. “I think ISIS sees in Ethiopia a potential opportunity. We know the group has been expanding its influences and its activities across Africa quite aggressively – so far with small results in much of the continent but they are persisting,” Bryden told VOA’s Somali service.
He says Ethiopia’s unrest may be worsening despite political reforms enacted by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, including the release of thousands of political prisoners and the signing of a peace treaty with longtime foe Eritrea. “There are many groups that are disaffected and disgruntled by the way the transition is unfolding,” Bryden said. “Where there are communities with grievances, where violence is becoming increasingly the norm, there are opportunities for extremist groups to recruit, to attract followers and perhaps to establish a presence, and I would expect ISIS is trying to do all of those things.”
Pro-Islamic State militants emerged in Somalia in October 2015 after a small group of fighters from militant group al-Shabab broke away and pledged allegiance to IS emir Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. Since then, the group has maintained a presence in northeast Somalia and around Mogadishu, even while facing a relentless offensive from both al-Shabab and the Somali government…….
19 August – Source: UNSOM – 613 Words
As part of the observance of World Humanitarian Day, Somalia today highlighted the contribution made by women humanitarians to peacebuilding efforts in the country. “As the government of Somalia, we salute the women working in the humanitarian sector and despite the challenges they are facing, their courage and patriotism in serving this country is an effort worth emulating,” said Somalia’s Minister of Humanitarian Coordination and Disaster Management, Hamza Said Hamza. The minister was speaking in the capital, Mogadishu, at a celebration of the Day, organized by the federal government with the support of various UN agencies, including the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Speaking on behalf of the UN system in Somalia, the representative of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Werner Schultink, called for more involvement of women in humanitarian activities and flagged that there was proof that humanitarian responses were more effective when women are active players in the decision-making processes. “Evidence shows that when women are involved in humanitarian action, including at the decision-making level, the humanitarian response is more effective,” Mr. Schultink said.
The theme of this year’s World Humanitarian Day 2019 is centred around honouring the work of women in crises throughout the world, recognizing that they make up a large number of those who risk their own lives to save others and are often the first to respond in crises and the last to leave.
Recognizing local efforts
At today’s celebration a veteran activist and humanitarian worker, Aisha Shaur Ugas, was nominated as Somalia’s humanitarian person of the year for her role in championing the rights of women and children and advocating for gender equality. Her colleague, Amina Haji Elmi, the founder of Save Somali Women and Children (SSWC), was also cited for her role in aiding victims of gender-based violence.
In her remarks to the gathering, the Director of the Somalia Non-governmental Organization Consortium, Nasra Ali Ismail, described Ms. Elmi and Ms. Ugas as patriots for opting to work in Somalia during its civil war while some of their colleagues sought refuge in foreign countries. Ms. Ismail went on to note how women humanitarians sustained communities during the civil war by taking care of families and providing for vulnerable groups, while the men were away fighting. “Since most of our men were either involved in the conflict or were also victims in one way or another, women were at the forefront in supporting children, women and the elderly who could only flee from their homes to seek safety,” she said……
19 August – Source: WorldHumantarianDay – Video: 4:52
Safo Ahmed could have worked for one of Kenya’s top law firms but chose to join the Norwegian Refugee Council instead. Now she offers her legal expertise to those who need it the most. Safo is based in NRC’s office at Dadaab refugee complex, which is home to over 200,000 Somali refugees. The environment is hot and unforgiving, and insecurity is a constant challenge.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Since then, the organization Elmi co-founded and is directing, Save Somali Women and Children (SSWC), has distributed an estimated 70,000 dignity kits to displaced women and girls in makeshift refugee camps in southern and central Somalia.”
19 August – Source: Ozy – 1084 Words
When Mogadishu turned into a battleground for rival clan militias in early 1991, Amina Hagi Elmi was overwhelmed by a much more private conflict. Having fled a comfortable home in Somalia’s capital with her family, the young businesswoman now found herself beneath a tree in Balcad — 22 miles from her home — and to her despair, she discovered that her period had come. “It was a disaster because I didn’t have any water or soap,” she recalls. “I became very nervous.”
Gathered beneath the tree, Elmi’s father, brothers and in-laws were waiting for her to cook for them, but she remained seated, trying to figure out how to stop the flow of blood. Finally, she tore her scarf in two and wrapped herself with a piece of cloth. Her vulnerability drove her to think of other women like herself out there, stuck beneath a tree. “When disaster or war strikes, the international community wants to give people water, food and shelter, but there is another need, which is women’s dignity,” she says, passionately gesticulating with her hands as she speaks. Her light brown headscarf is neatly secured under her chin and fitted on top is a sparkly pair of glasses. “As a businesswoman, I used to wear new fashionable clothes, but I ended up with nothing.”
Elmi, 60, has spent the past three decades trying to protect other women from the helplessness she felt when the civil war broke out. While a bloody armed conflict, severe drought and attacks by the extremist group Al Shabab have made an estimated 2.6 million people refugees in their own country, Elmi has fought for women’s dignity with sanitary pads, scarves and soaps. She’s one of 24 women being honoured by the United Nations for World Humanitarian Day on Aug. 19.
In 2011, her campaign was recognized by international agencies when her “dignity kits” were included in the emergency package that displaced people receive from the United Nations-led Shelter Cluster. Each kit contains traditional Somali dresses, scarves, underwear, pants, sanitary pads, soap and laundry detergent. Since then, the organization Elmi co-founded and is directing, Save Somali Women and Children (SSWC), has distributed an estimated 70,000 dignity kits to displaced women and girls in makeshift refugee camps in southern and central Somalia.
Among the women who have received the package of women’s essentials, is Fatuma Sharif. Since drought-hit her home region five years ago and caused the death of the family’s livestock, the 58-year-old former cattle herder has lived in a camp for displaced persons in Mogadishu. The basic items from the kit have made her feel “more honourable,” she explains. “To be able to cover yourself is part of having dignity in the community according to our culture and religion,” says Sharif, who shares a corrugated iron hut with her husband and their eight children and grandchildren.
Mogadishu is home to about 600,000 Somali refugees, according to the U.N., making the city among Africa’s most crowded hubs for internally displaced people. In the unplanned urban camps, makeshift huts provide little security for women and girls, and a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) has shown that women face a significant risk of rape in the huts at night. The situation is becoming even more precarious as land prices rise and women are being pushed further out of the city, which means longer distances to health-care facilities and potential jobs. “They get pushed out into areas that are unsafe, so enabling them to have access to even simple effects, could make their lives easier,” says Laetitia Bader, a senior researcher at HRW, of the dignity kits.
While dignity kits give women a tool to withstand humiliation, they can’t protect against violent evictions carried out by powerful landlords in Mogadishu. According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, mass evictions have occurred, with up to 40,000 people being kicked out of their makeshift homes during a single month. Why not work against evictions rather than distribute pads and soaps? According to Elmi, SSWC does carry out humanitarian interventions and has provided shelter and water to displaced people, but only the government can deliver permanent housing, she explains. Plus, “if a woman is wearing underwear and trousers, she is better equipped and it gives her more time to react,” she says with a strong-minded look…… |
