August 21, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Kenya Defence Forces guns down 20 al Shabaab militants in Garissa
21 Aug – Source: Bernama/NNN/KNA – 190 Words
Twenty al Shabaab militiamen were killed by the Kenya Defense Forces near the border town of Hulugho, Garissa, County Commissioner Harun Rashid confirmed. The militants were crossing the border to Somalia and are believed to be part of a group of nearly 40 militiamen who attacked an administration police camp at Galmagala Division last Friday evening killing four Administration Police Officers.
There was a heavy exchange of fire for more than four hours between the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and the militiamen who were reportedly wearing camouflage uniform similar to that of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government forces.
Commissioner Rashid said KDF and other security agents have mounted aggressive security operations along the border towns in order to apprehend the militants, adding that during the operation, the KDF did not suffer any casualties. He said the security forces are also tracking another splinter group of al Shabaab which was reportedly spotted along the border town of Amuma on the Liboi side.
Key Headlines
- Somali presidents meets Jubaland officials in Addis-Ababa (Radio Mogadishu/VOA Somali Service)
- Two-day consultative meeting on New Deal kicks off in Galkayo (Office of the Prime Minister)
- Kenya Defence Forces guns down 20 al Shabaab militants in Garissa (Bernama/NNN/KNA)
- AMISOM seeks to ‘mop up’ latent al Shabaab terror threat (Radio Mustaqbal)
- Government authorities in Middle Shabelle appeal for aid (Bar-kulan)
- Prime Minister Hailemariam confers with the UN Special Representative for Somalia (Horn Watch 4rights)
- Reality of Doctors Without Borders departure sets in (Sabahi Online)
- Media Law Hits Somali Journalists (IPS News)
PRESS STATEMENT
Two-day consultative meeting on New Deal kicks off in Galkayo
21 Aug – Source: Office of the Prime Minister – 250 words
His Excellency the Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Abukar Sheikh Abdi Ibrahim with the president of Galmudug regional administration Abdi Awale Qaybdiid officially launched two-day consultative meeting on New Deal in Galkayo today. Somali Federal government has been holding series of consultative meetings with Somali public to address their needs in the national recovery and development plan. The Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning in his opening remarks explained the long vision of the government toward the New Deal and the future of Somalia.
“The Brussels conference will be discussed the government’s plans and priorities, which reflects the different needs in Somalia. We are here to gather your views for a three years long plan for Somalia,” Abukar said. He also explained that the New Deal was first implemented more than seven fragile countries and more than nineteen others are benefiting from it.
Galmudug regional administration president H.E. Abdi Awale Qaybdiid stressed that the New Deal success will depends on international partner’s commitment to Somalia. “The successful implementation of the New Deal should strengthen security and unifying the Somali people. The most important issue is getting adequate resources for security, reconciliation and the reconstruction of Somalia,” Qaybdiid said.
The civil society participants discussed identifying local priorities and their participating role to the Brussels conference on Somalia on 16th September. They expressed that the Somali people expect international community to support the government plans and priorities for the speedy recovery of the country after two decades of civil war.
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali presidents meets Jubaland officials in Addis-Ababa
21 Aug – Source: Radio Mogadishu/VOA Somali Service – 148 words
The President of Federal government of Somali Republic Hassan Mohamud had dinner with representatives from administration in Kismayo, the headquarter of Lower Juba region. The meeting took place in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia where the officials from both sides went to attend the memorial service of former prime minister of Ethiopia Meles Zenawi.
Farhan Ali Ahmed who is one of the officials of Somali embassy in Ethiopia told VOA-Somali that the delegates in Addis Ababa discussed many issues relating Kismayo.
Mr. Farhan also said the president of Somalia called on the sides claiming the leadership of Juba regions to put forward peace agenda of the country. The president also met with African officials and talked about different issues relating to Somalia and other African States.
AMISOM seeks to ‘mop up’ latent al Shabaab terror threat
21 Aug – Source: Radio Mustaqbal – 171 words
A leading figure in the African Union (AU) has claimed that its mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is working more closely with the country’s national army (SNA) to eradicate the threat of al Shabaab. Captain Robert Kamara admits that the terror group’s use of asymmetrical tactics such as suicide bombs and IEDs (improvised explosive devices) are proving tough to counter.
But Kamara claims that his forces’ biggest task is empowering Somalis to expose the latent terror threat from within their own ranks, as al Shabaab’s militants were being driven further underground. “We are putting out a joint operation with the SNA and AMISOM to do mop-up operations of places where these guys hide,” says Kamara.
“The people who suffer the most through this kind of warfare are the innocent civilians. “It is our duty to inform, to empower and expose the local people to the dangers they face if they don’t volunteer information.” al Shabaab has seen its political and military influence wane in Somalia since AMISOM’s creation and deployment in 2007.
Government authorities in Middle Shabelle appeal for aid
21 Aug – Source: Bar-kulan – 154 words
Government authorities in Middle Shabelle region have appealed to both local and international aid agencies to provide an immediate humanitarian aid to locals living in the region. Speaking to Bar-kulan, area regional governor Abdi Jinow Alasow said people in the region are facing harsh living condition and called on aid groups to respond immediately to the growing humanitarian need in these areas.
He said the villagers, whose livelihood depends on farming, are in need of immediate humanitarian support as they are facing acute food shortage, lack of water and health care.
Jinow appealed the government and UN to provide aid the people in the region, adding that if this matter has not been dealt soon, a disaster may fall to the residents since the the majority of the people of the region are farmers and pastoralists. The governor, however, reiterated that they are ready to help the people of the region up to their extent.
Somaliland president meets with traditional leaders
20 Aug – Source: Somaliland Informer – 77 words
Somaliland president Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo has met a delegation from Fiqi Fuliye, a district in Eastern Sanaag region at the presidential palace on Tuesday. The delegation headed by Garad Abdilahi Mohamed Gulied compromising of Chiefs, intellectuals and elders from Fiqi Fuliye.
Somaliland Vice president Abdirahman Zaylici attended the meeting. Somaliland president Ahmed Silanyo has welcomed the delegates to the presidency. Garad Abdilahi told after the meeting that they discussed with the president their grievances with the president.
Somaliland Agriculture Ministry Receives Donation in Form of Seeds worth $2Million
20 Aug – Source: Somalilandpress – 108 words
Somaliland Minister of Agriculture Hon Farah Elmi Mahmoud (Geedoole) in his office received seeds worth more than $2 Million from LIVE FOR RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT through ARAHA an international NGO.
In a ceremony held at the ministry of agriculture headquarters, representatives of ARAHA handed seeds worth more than $2 Million, the vegetables and grain these seeds produce are expected to help feed farmers and provide them additional economic opportunities.
Receiving the equipment at the ministry’s headquarters, Hon. Farah Elmi Mahmoud (Geedoole), the minister of Agriculture praised the initiative and said it was a major boost to agricultural empowerment in supplying good and quality seeds to the farmers.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Aid organisation withdraws from Somalia
21 Aug – Source: Al Jazeera English – 02:28mins
The French aid organisation Doctors without Borders has ended all its operations in Somalia because of increasing violence. It has been in the country for more than two decades despite wars and the murder of sixteen of its workers. But now a new wave of attacks has forced it to withdraw completely. Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Adow reports from Mogadishu.
Prime Minister Hailemariam confers with the UN Special Representative for Somalia
20 Aug – Source: Horn Watch 4rights – 113 words
Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn met with the United Nations Special Representative for Somalia, Nicholas Kay, to discuss the current situation in Somalia.
During their talks the Prime Minister noted that Ethiopia would continue the support it provides for Somalia’s reconstruction and reaffirmed the commitment of the Ethiopian government to support the efforts of the Somali Federal Government to reach agreement with regional states.
He also underlined Ethiopia’s commitment to continue to support Somalia’s efforts to build up the capacity of government bodies as well as security forces. After the discussions, the Special Representative told journalists that the two parties had discussed ways to strengthen Somalia’s government institutes, the police and the defense forces.
Reality of Doctors Without Borders departure sets in
20 Aug – Source: Sabahi Online – 728 Words
Citizens across Somalia are beginning to sense the full ramifications of the decision of international aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to stop all operations in Somalia due to insecurity.
“Beyond the killings, abductions, and abuses against its staff, operating in Somalia meant MSF had to take the exceptional measure of utilising armed guards, which it does not do in any other country, and to tolerate extreme limits on its ability to independently assess and respond to the needs of the population,” MSF said August 14th.
“MSF’s decision will have a huge impact on the Somali public because the organisation provided a very wide range of medical services such as treatment to malnourished children, patients with various injuries, and delivering mothers needing operations,” said Ahmed Mohamed Khalif, director of Beledweyne General Hospital.
Khalif should know, MSF stopped operations at his hospital in December 2012. Since the hospital re-opened its doors in 2007, Khalif said 72,000 patients have received medical assistance from MSF. But since the international aid agency left at the end of last year — along with its skilled personnel and financial resources — the hospital has been struggling to cope.
Rotary gives WHO Sh40m grant to help curb polio outbreak in Somalia, Kenya
20 Aug – Source: Daily Nation – 196 Words
An international charitable organisation has given the World Health Organisation a Sh40 million grant to help fight a polio outbreak in Somalia and Kenya. Rotary Club said the money would be used to combat the disease in the two countries where this week over 110 cases of wild poliovirus were reported-100 cases in Somalia and 10 cases in Kenya, where a man was also reported to have died from the disease at the Dadaab refugee camp in the north of the country.
The outbreak in Somalia occurred in Banadir area, where a large number of children had not been vaccinated against polio due to inaccessibility of the region. According to data released by the aid organization, no polio outbreak had been reported in Somalia since 2007 while in Kenya, the last case was reported in 2011.
The funds will cover operational costs, including human resources, training, and transportation of health workers during immunizations this month aimed at reaching children under 10 years of age in all accessible areas of Somalia.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Kenya Defence Forces guns down 20 al Shabaab militants in Garissa
21 Aug – Source: Bernama/NNN/KNA – 190 Words
Twenty al Shabaab militiamen were killed by the Kenya Defense Forces near the border town of Hulugho, Garissa, County Commissioner Harun Rashid confirmed. The militants were crossing the border to Somalia and are believed to be part of a group of nearly 40 militiamen who attacked an administration police camp at Galmagala Division last Friday evening killing four Administration Police Officers.
There was a heavy exchange of fire for more than four hours between the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and the militiamen who were reportedly wearing camouflage uniform similar to that of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government forces.
Commissioner Rashid said KDF and other security agents have mounted aggressive security operations along the border towns in order to apprehend the militants, adding that during the operation, the KDF did not suffer any casualties. He said the security forces are also tracking another splinter group of al Shabaab which was reportedly spotted along the border town of Amuma on the Liboi side.
Media Law Hits Somali Journalists
20 Aug – Source: IPS News – 803 Words
Somalia’s journalists say that the government is not serious about reviewing the country’s new, controversial media bill that requires them to reveal their sources, despite a series of recent consultations.
Their concerns have been raised as another journalist, Ahmed Shariif Hussein, who worked for state radio and TV as an engineer, was shot dead by unknown gunmen outside his home on Saturday, Aug. 17 in north Mogadishu.
Somalia is one of the most dangerous places for media workers to operate. Six journalists have been killed this year alone and more than 15 were murdered in 2012. None of the killings have been thoroughly investigated or the culprits punished.
But journalists now say that the country’s new media bill will make it almost unbearable for them to remain in this Horn of Africa nation. A number are already considering leaving if “the tough law” is endorsed by parliament.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“In every country where we are working there is a high level of risk. We know that Somalia is going to remain unstable for some time. And this is not what makes us stay out of Somalia. What would make us come back, however, would be that given the high-level risk we were able to get satisfactory guarantees from our contacts there.”
Why Doctors Without Borders Left Somalia: Interview with Sophie Delaunay
20 Aug – Source: Global Observery – 2662 Words
It was not security per se that caused the large medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières or MSF) to suddenly announce it was pulling out of Somalia last week, but the realization that a great number of their contacts “were contacts who had been either involved or supportive of the attacks against aid workers, or who had not manifested a strong willingness to defend humanitarian action, or to provide their support to MSF in these situations of crisis,” said Sophie Delaunay, Executive Director of MSF’s US branch, in this interview with the Global Observatory.
Ms. Delaunay said, “The risks have always been very high in Somalia, but as long as you feel that you have enough safeguards and you have an acceptable respect for the work you’re doing; as long as you feel there is a strong acceptance and a willingness from those who claim to be the leaders in this environment to protect your work or at least to try to defend our presence, we could stay in Somalia with a high level of risk. But if these guarantees no longer exist, then it seems to us that it was impossible to stay in the country.”
A statement about the withdrawal by MSF president Dr. Unni Karunakara reads, “We have been greeted with a barrage of attacks, including abductions and the killing of 16 of our staff. There have also been an unbearably high number of threats, thefts, and other intimidating incidents.” MSF has been in Somalia continuously for 22 years.
“Language barriers, stereotypes, racism, a lack of integration and for some a longing for home are perhaps all factors which perhaps contribute to the underachievement of the Somali community in the UK. Though the article in The Economist tells a very real story, it is important to ensure that no single article, set of statistics or even opinion ends up defining an entire community.”
British Somali’s: It’s not all Doom and Gloom
19 Aug – Source: Hiiraan Online – 1040 Words
This month The Economist published an article titled: ‘Britain’s Somalis-The Road is long: Somalis fare much worse than other immigrants; what holds them back?’
The piece described in detail the realities which much of the Somali community in the UK live on a day to day basis. Just some of the disconcerting statistics mentioned were ‘Over 80% of Somali-speaking pupils qualify for free school meals. In Waltham Forest, a borough in east London, home to nearly 4,000 Somalis, 73% live in households on benefits. More than 50% of British Somalis rent from local councils, the highest proportion of any foreign-born population.’
The statistics in reference to education and employment were no better with the article stating that figures from 2010-2011 found that only 33% of Somali youngsters obtained five good GCSE’s compared to 78% of those from a Nigerian background. This level of underachievement correlates with the unemployment levels of the community, the article refers to figures released by the Office of National Statistics which found that just one in ten Somali is in full time work.
“CPJ believes that a sure path toward justice for murdered journalists requires thorough investigations, transparency, and due process. Only such measures can further the rule of law and eventually make it safe to report on the powerful forces and taboo topics that affect the local population on a daily basis, in Somalia and around the world.”
Only due process, transparency will end Somali impunity
19 Aug – Source: CPJ Blog – 487 Words
Last week, as Egypt plunged deeper into political violence, CPJ recorded a sad statistic: the death of the 1,000th journalist in the line of duty since we began keeping records in 1992. While that benchmark death came amid a military raid, seven out of 10 killed journalists were in fact murdered in reprisal for their work– and the killers have evaded justice in almost all of those cases, our research shows.
Since launching our Global Campaign Against Impunity in 2007, CPJ has undertaken advocacy efforts targeting countries where the problem is particularly acute. We seek and often obtain top-level commitments to provide adequate protection by law enforcement, investigate journalist murders, and prosecute not only the assassins but the masterminds. In the rare instances where governments develop both the political will and technical capacity to fully investigate killings and bring the culprits to justice, the silencing cycle is broken.
One country where perpetual impunity remains a huge impediment to a free press is Somalia, where over the past decade, 24 journalist murders have gone unsolved. Last year was the deadliest, with 12 journalists murdered; at least two have been confirmed murdered in 2013. Anti-press violence is so acute in conflict-ridden Somalia that in the past five years, 70 journalists have been forced to flee the country for their safety, CPJ research shows. Among the 2012 victims of violence was Hassan Yusuf Absuge, a reporter and producer with the privately-owned Radio Maanta.
Top tweets
@t_mcconnell Early morning at the fishing harbour in Mogadishu, #Somalia http://instagram.com/p/
@PoetNation Mohammed Jama is a mixed martial artist. He returned home to #Somalia to open the #Mogadishu Fitness Centre. http://ow.ly/o6y7m #MMA.
@KenRoth MSF describes how dangerous things have become in #Somalia, forcing it regretfully to leave. Many are responsible. http://trib.al/keeYN7E.
@dailynation Rotary club gives World Health Organisation a Sh40 million grant to help fight #polio outbreak in #Somalia and#Kenya http://bit.ly/172DryD.
@amisomsomalia Training on improving understanding & compliance with International Humanitarian Law & Human Rights for SNA officers. http://bit.ly/12o53fD .
Image of the day
Participants at FIFA Football Festival, an event setup by the organisation for the children of Mogadishu to come and practice their football skills. Photo: AMISOM Facebook.