August 26, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Regional standby force to have 5,000 troops

26 Aug- Source: New Vision- 302 words

Ten regional countries have committed to raise a military fighting force of 5,000 troops under the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) following a meeting in the Rwandan capital Kigali.

However, the specifics of the force expected to become operational by December this year, are still being finalised by defence ministers from the member countries, Rwandan newspaper New Timesreported.

This was at the closure of the five-day meeting of defence chiefs. The meeting was preceded by sessions of security experts and their respective chiefs of defence staffs.

EASF draws membership from countries that include Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda. The standby force will be part of the African peace and security architecture.

Key Headlines

Baidoa town remains calm a day after deadly riot (Radio RBC/Baidoanews)
Somali Finance Minister meets with IJA officials in Kismayo (Radio Bar-kulan/ Kismaayo News)
Prime Minister of Somalia condemns violence In South Sudan (OPM)
Business picks up in Bakara again after go-slow by traders due to complaints on double taxation (Radio Dalsan)
Offensive to remove al Shabaab out of Southern Somalia due to resume says AMISOM (Geeska Afrika)
I detonated 173kg Mombasa terror bomb – cop (Star-Kenya)
Qardho traditional elders attempt to end inter-clan clashes (Radio Bar-kulan)
Somali “paradise flower” chewers savour low-price bliss after UK ban (Reuters)
Al Shabaab ‘flee’ ahead of troop advance (Sabahi Online)
Members of Puntland military attack Galkayo airport (Radio Goobjoog)
My 918 days in al Shabaab cells and the unending trauma after (Standard Media)
Somali military court sentences journalist killer (Radio Dalsan)
AMISOM receives drugs from American Government (AMISOM)
Al Shabaab vows to kill more Somali politicians (Al Jazeera)
Humanitarian operational plan to raise $60 million for life-saving projects in Somalia (Radio RBC)
Journalists conclude three days training on Press Freedom and Ethics of Media in Mogadishu (Radio RBC)
Regional standby force to have 5000 troops (New Vision)
Court bars relocation of Somali children (Star- Kenya)
AU Somali Troops Take Key Town From al Shabaab (VOA)
Gunmen arrested in Somali capital handed over to gov’t (CCTV)

PRESS STATEMENT

Prime Minister of Somalia condemns violence In South Sudan

26 Aug – Source: Office of the Prime Minister – 221 words

His Excellency, Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed attended an extraordinary meeting in Ethiopia; The East African regional organization IGAD. This high level meeting consisted of East African heads of state that congregated to discuss the crisis in South Sudan. The need for all parties to adhere to agreements and cease violence was emphasized and the implementation Matrix of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement must urgently begin.

H.E Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed alongside IGAD leaders condemned violations of the ceasefire agreement and demanded that the South Sudanese parties cooperate with ceasefire monitoring teams.

In addition, leaders must reinforce their regional commitment together with the international community. The International community must also reaffirm their pledge to IGAD humanitarian crisis as a result of this conflict.

H.E Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed said:

“As Somalis we sympathize with our brothers and sisters in South Sudan and the challenges they are currently facing. We call upon all parties to cease hostility and violence that will further bring demoralizing humanitarian crisis.

South Sudan must resolve crisis through political inclusivity; we fully support the Communiqué that came out of the summit and look forward to tangible steps to a peaceful region.”

Furthermore, in accordance to the Communiqué, IGAD leaders have endorsed modalities developed by the mediation team. They will deliver the “inclusive process” of negotiations with these parties.

SOMALI MEDIA

Baidoa town remains calm a day after deadly riot

26 Aug- Source: Radio RBC/Baidoanews/Radio Bar-kulan- 252 words

The situation of Somalia’s south western town of Baidoa started with calm Tuesday morning after a day of deadly riot that left one person dead and three others injured.

RBC Radio reporter in Baidoa says the town has been calm since Monday afternoon despite the wounded people were being treated at the local hospital where hundreds of the demonstrators gathered in solidarity with them.

The deadly demonstration started on Monday morning to denounce a planned visit by the Prime Minister of Somalia Federal Government Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed and the UN’s envoy to Somalia Nicholas Kay. Both men were planning to attend three-regions administration formation conference as the UN and the Federal Government previously endorsed.

The town has been divided into two rival groups, one supporting a six-region administration and the other group supporting the three-region administration.

Demonstrators chanted slogans criticizing the United Nations Assistance Office in Somalia [UNSOM] and the Mogadishu-based Federal Government which they said were involving with one-sided illicit activities. The demonstrators later torn-up the portraits of Nicholas Kay and Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed before their peaceful rally turned into violent resulting the death of one demonstrator.

Abdikadir Ali, one of the organizers of the Monday’s demonstration said the security forces fired at the demonstrators and killed one person. Baidoa police chief rejected to comment on the killing.

Somali Finance Minister meets with IJA officials in Kismayo

26 Aug- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/ Kismaayo News/Universaltv- 139 words

Somalia’s Finance Minister Hussein Abdi Halane who on Monday arrived in Kismayo, the provincial capital of Lower Jubba region has met with senior officials from the Interim Jubba Administration.

Interim Jubba Administration spokesman, Abdinasir Serar Mah said in an interview with Bar-kulan that the minister and the IJA officials discussed a number of issues including the completion of the Interim Jubba Administration and the formation of the regional state’s parliament.

The spokesman added that both sides discussed and agreed on the upcoming reconciliation conference for the Jubba communities which is due to be held at the end of the next month.

The government delegation led by the finance minister is expected to hold talks with traditional elders of Jubba regions and civil society groups in Kismayo later in the day.

Business picks up in Bakara again after go-slow by traders due to complaints on double taxation

26 Aug- Source: Radio Dalsan- 153 words

Businesses have reopened and business picked up in the main Mogadishu market of Bakara following a go slow mood by business people who were complaining on double taxation over the past few days. Over the past few days, the go slow at the market affected the business in South Central Somalia as business people in these regions used to trade in Bakara which was closed. People in Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia depend on Bakara for foodstuff and other important commodities. However, things returned to normal after businesses were reopened Tuesday morning. On the other hand transporters who bring goods from the sea port and those that transport things from the market to other parts of the country also began their activities. The return of business in Bakara followed after the dispute over the double taxation was solved by the government.

Offensive to remove al Shabaab out of Southern Somalia due to resume, says AMISOM

26 Aug- Source: Geeska Afrika- 177 words

The central command of African union forces has said, it will resume this week an offensive against al Shabaab militant group to remove a remaining villages in Southern Somalia.

AMISOM spokesman Col. Ali Hamud has said the final offensive which will be launched soon is meant to push al Qaeda linked Somali militant group al Shabaab out of the remaining areas under their rule.

“We are aiming to clear the group out of the remaining areas under their control to conclude phase one of the offensive,” He said.

Somalia National Army Chief General Dahir Aden Elmi (Indha-qarshe) told Geeska Afrika Online, after he announced that they will soon resume armed offensive against al Shabaab in Somalia after six months in pause.

Members of Puntland military attack Galkayo airport

26 Aug – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 119 words

Some members of Puntland military forces in mutiny attacked Galkayo airport with rocket propelled grenades earlier Tuesday. During the attack the forces were complaining that they have not received their salaries and wages for months.

Our correspondent in Galkayo reports that the sound of the heavy artillery fired to the airport was heard all over the villages West of the city where the soldiers were stationed since last night.

No casualties reported so far, but the activities in the airport temporarily stopped,the administration of Puntland has declined to give comment about the attack on the airport.

April 2014, two UN worker were killed by a man dressed in Police uniform inside Galkayo airport after getting off a plane.

Somali military court sentences journalist killer

26 Aug- Source: Radio Dalsan/Muqdishonews- 85 words

Somali military court has sentenced a suspect who was found guilty of participating in the assassination of the late journalists Mohamud Mohamud Timaade. Somali military court chairman Abdullahi Muse Keyse has said after investigation of the suspect it was established that the suspect is guilty of the murder of innocent journalist. Another suspect who was accused of being part of al Shabaab was also sentenced to death. The court has warned against those found guilty of cooperating with militant group al Shabaab.

AMISOM receives drugs from American Government

26 Aug- Source: AMISOM- 115 words

The United States Government on Monday 25 August donated over 5000 tons of a variety drugs to AMISOM Ugandan contingent in Mogadishu as part of its wide support to the peacekeeping mission which will be used to treat Somalis in liberated areas and those areas that will be liberated in the upcoming weeks under the Operation Indian Ocean aimed at flushing out Al-Shabaab elements from the areas they control in Somalia.

Speaking to the media after receiving the drugs, AMISOM Sector 1 commander and Uganda contingent commander in Somalia Brigadier Dick Olum welcomed the US support saying will be used to save lives in Somalia and ease human suffering.

Humanitarian operational plan to raise $60 million for life-saving projects in Somalia

26 Aug- Source: Radio RBC- 183 words

As part of its support to the June to August humanitarian operational plan to raise $60 million for life-saving projects, according to the UN humanitarian coordination office.

The Somalia CHF allocated its balance of $2.03 million through its emergency reserve window to enabling programmes and the health and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) clusters. Within this amount, $480,000 has been put towards the UN’s Humanitarian Air Service to facilitate the leasing of aircraft to transport cargo and aid workers to newly accessible areas, desite no aid was transferred to these areas only humanitarian workers use the chartered aircraft to and from Somalia- which is strongly condemned by Somalis.

The allocation of $750,000 to WASH will help provide crucial water trucking services to 28,000 people in drought affected areas in central and north-eastern Somalia, improve water storage facilities for 45,300 people in southern Somalia, and sustain access to safe water for 78,000 displaced people in Mogadishu. The Health Cluster will benefit from $800,000 support to Beletweyne Hospital and for the measles outbreak.

Qardho traditional elders attempt to end inter-clan clashes

26 Aug- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 156 words

A delegation comprising of traditional elders and intellectuals on Tuesday left Qardho town and headed to Isku-shuban district and its nearby villages on a mission to ease tensions between warring clan militias in the area.

Col. Yasin Omar Dhere who is the security advisor of the Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gas told Bar-kulan the delegation will attempt to end inter-clan conflicts in several villages near Qardho town and Isku-shuban district of Bari region.

The security advisor of the president described the recent inter-clan clashes in the region as an “unfortunate” incident.

He thanked the regional administration of Bari region and the police leadership for their swift action to deploy police forces to the area where the inter-clan clashes occurred recently.

At least five people have been killed and scores injured after two armed clan militias recently engaged in fierce clashes in villages near Qardho and Isku-shuban districts.

Journalists conclude three days training on Press Freedom and Ethics of Media in Mogadishu

25 Aug – Source: Radio RBC – 130 words

About 80 Somali journalists have concluded three-day training on press freedom and the Ethics of the media in which the journalists discussed various issues concerning the work of the media in the country.

The three-day training funded by the Finish Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the VIKES Foundation for Media Development in partnership with the National Union of Somali Journalists [NUSOJ] focused on the current day-to-day activities of Somalia media inline with the ethics of the media.

Abdiwali Hassan Hashi, senior TV journalist working in Finland who is also VIKES program coordinator said the training was part of series of trainings for Somali media which its main objective is to build the capacity of Somalia journalists and empower the work of the free media towards the country’s peace and stability.

REGIONAL MEDIA

I detonated 173kg Mombasa terror bomb – cop

26 Aug- Source: Star-Kenya- 373 words

Counter-terror experts from Nairobi yesterday testified at the trial of two Somali suspects arrested with explosives in a car in Mombasa. The prosecution said it was the biggest haul of explosives recovered in the country and could have caused massive destruction at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa or unspecified malls.

One of Kenya’s explosives experts gave his evidence in the case against suspected al Shabaab members Abdiaziz Abdullah Abdi and Isaak Noor Ibrahim .

Senior Superintendent of Police Henry Kiplagat told the court about the explosives that were found in a parked vehicle . He said Improvised Explosive Devices were welded to the floor and back seat of the Toyota Hilux registration number KAN 410E that Abdi and Ibrahim were found in.

Regional standby force to have 5,000 troops

26 Aug- Source: New Vision- 302 words

Ten regional countries have committed to raise a military fighting force of 5,000 troops under the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) following a meeting in the Rwandan capital Kigali.

This was at the closure of the five-day meeting of defence chiefs. The meeting was preceded by sessions of security experts and their respective chiefs of defence staffs.

Al Shabaab vows to kill more Somali politicians

25 Aug- Source: Al Jazeera-02:23 mins

The armed group al Shabaab has vowed to continue to assassinate politicians, as part of its strategy to fight the government. At least five lawmakers have already been killed this year. But politicians in Mogadishu say they will not be intimidated by the deaths of their colleagues. Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Adow reports from the Somali capital.

My 918 days in al Shabaab cells and the unending trauma after

26 Aug- Source: Standard Media- 434 words

October 5, 2011, began as another ordinary day for David Njuguna Wanyoike. The morning was calm and the 28-year-old turn boy and assistant driver woke up early in his Eastleigh Section Three home ready for work. He left his wife of about two years, Esther Wambui, with his son, James Wanyoike, who had just celebrated his first birthday. He knew he would return after a week or so, as he usually did. At work, he first inspected the truck they would be using to deliver drugs to Somalia and declared that it was good to go. The drugs for medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors without Borders, were loaded, ready for departure. His driver, Ali Mohammed, was also on time and soon they were ready to begin their trip. Daniel had been to Uganda, Sudan and Burundi on similar deliveries before. However, this was the first time he was going to Somalia.

Court bars relocation of Somali children

26 Aug- Source: Star- Kenya- 145 words

The court has barred the government from relocating somali children separated from their parents during terror swoops. The temporary order was issued by High Court judge Isaac Lenaola following an application by Refugees’ Consortium of Kenya on behalf of the Somali children.

Lenaola’s order means the government cannot remove the children from Nairobi or interfere with their lives until their case is heard and determined. The children, the consortium says, are currently staying with relatives and friends who took them in following their parents’ deportation. The children’s parents were rounded up and some deported during the April 5 internal security operation, Usalama Watch.

Al Shabaab ‘flee’ ahead of troop advance

25 Aug – Source: Sabahi Online – 170 words

Al Shabaab militants reportedly fled Tiyeglow in Somalia’s south-western Bakol region ahead of an advance by Somali and Ethiopian troops with the African Union Mission in Somalia AMISOM. “Somali and AMISOM troops have captured Tiyeglow and forced the militants to leave without fighting,” said Hudur District Commissioner Mohamed Moallin.

“The operations will continue until the whole region is liberated.” AMISOM confirmed the town’s capture, saying it was the last town in Bakol under al Shabaab control. Al Shabaab admitted to losing the town but vowed to launch attacks in the area.

“The mujahedeen fighters tactically withdrew from the town and the enemy entered,” al-Shabaab military commander Sheikh Mohamed Ibrahim said. “I assure you that the area will be turned into their graveyards, they will never sleep in peace.”

Local resident Hassan Adan said he had seen dozens of military trucks enter the town. “There was no fighting at all, the Ethiopian troops entered the town with dozens of military trucks and tanks,” Adan said. “Many people also left the town before they entered.”

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somali “paradise flower” chewers savour low-price bliss after UK ban

26 Aug- Source: Reuters- 372 words

“The president has arrived, the president has arrived,” chant youths in Mogadishu’s Beerta Khaatka market, as armed men in trucks mounted with machine guns escort lorries with horns blaring through the throng.

The joking salutation is not for Somalia’s president, but hails a national institution nonetheless: white sacks brimming with leafy sprouts of khat, the narcotic shrub chewed across the Horn of Africa and Yemen in a tradition dating back centuries.

The ubiquitous sight of young men with rifles slung over their shoulders and green stalks of khat dangling from their mouths is emblematic of the Somalia of recent decades, where marauding Islamist rebels and warlords bent on carving out personal fiefdoms have fomented a culture of guns and violence.

Grown on plantations in the highlands of Kenya and Ethiopia, tonnes of khat, or qat, dubbed “the flower of paradise” by its users, are flown daily into Mogadishu airport, to be distributed from there in convoys of lorries to markets across Somalia.

AU, Somali Troops Take Key Town From al Shabaab

26 Aug – Source: VOA – 119 words

African Union and Somali government troops have seized a key town from militant group al Shabaab in southwestern Somalia. The AU force says the capture of Tiyeglow gives the Somali government full control of the Bakool region and prevents al Shabaab from extorting high fees from vehicles using a main road that cuts through the town.

Witnesses interviewed by VOA say that al Shabaab gave up the town without a fight Monday, with the militants taking refuge in nearby jungles.

The AU force says it is defusing roadside bombs planted by the militants before they fled. Al Shabaab once controlled much of central and southern Somalia but has steadily lost territory since 2010 to African troops supporting the U.N.-backed Somali government.

Gunmen arrested in Somali capital handed over to gov’t

25 Aug- Source: CCTV- 02:09 min

Gunmen arrested in Somali capital handed over to the Somali government.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“The upcoming offensive against al Shabaab will likely not be the last. But, if Somalia, AMISOM and the international community genuinely engage with the aforementioned challenges, then Operation Indian Ocean could result in a major step forward achieving lasting security in the country.”

Challenges ahead as Somali, AMISOM forces prepare for next al Shabaab offensive

25 Aug- Source: Sabahi Online-1080 Words

As the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and Somali government forces prepare for revamped military operations against al Shabaab, they face key logistical, political and humanitarian challenges that will have a significant impact on whether the offensive will be a success. Somali and AMISOM officials have stated that the next major offensive against the militants — known as Operation Indian Ocean — could start up in the coming months, and will push to take more key areas from the group.

The last offensive, Operation Eagle, was able to liberate at least ten towns from al Shabaab. However, AMISOM said the beginning of the rainy season in April slowed operations in May, which were further put on hold during the month of Ramadan. Operation Indian Ocean was due to start immediately following the previous assault, but lack of resources and funding contributed to its delay, according to AMISOM’s Uganda contingent spokesperson Major Deo Akiiki. In the meantime, he said, AMISOM forces were working on consolidating gains.

“The self-declared republic’s economy is based on remittances from abroad — which are good business, too. So why is the money-transfer industry under threat?”

Franchise Opportunity: Western Union in Somaliland

25 Aug- Source: Foreign Policy Blog-2411 Words

Halima Mohamed, an expert on infectious diseases, was working on a primary-health project in the town of Erigavo in eastern Somaliland when she began feeling ill. “I realized I’d caught pneumonia,” she says. “The drugs I needed were available, but expensive, and I didn’t have the cash on me.”

Mohamed, a Canadian member of the Somali diaspora, knew that Erigavo, one of the most inaccessible parts of Somaliland, had no banks. So she called the chief executive of the region’s largest money-transfer company, Dahabshiil, at his London office. “You don’t happen to have a money-transfer office here, do you?” she asked. “Of course,” he replied. The money arrived within minutes.

That swift, cheap transaction was the perfect illustration of the pragmatic versatility of the money-transfer industry in the Horn of Africa. Remittances to the Somali region alone are estimated at $1.3 billion each year. But these transfers now risk becoming impossible: Long-standing Western worries that remittance flows serve as a cover for money laundering and the funding of armed Islamist groups mean the taps could soon be turned off.

Top tweets

@moibrahimi Journalists recieve 3 days Media training in#Mogadishu by @vikesverkko n @NUSOJ_Somalia http://bit.ly/YW11wM pic.twitter.com/e0jZNhaI4c

@evolvingprimate Somali Air Force Cadets being trained by the Turkish Air Force in Turkey. pic.twitter.com/NQd92qVsSQ

@Omaar_nor Police: 40 arrested during an anti-drug operation in Mogadishu’s Hamarweyne district #Somalia.pic.twitter.com/KCw4qKX0KH

@ASSIYYA Two lion cubs found in Mogadishu that desperately need a sanctuary. Anyone know of a place here they can be kept? #somalia

@amisomsomalia 4/ The latest victory now means the#Somalia government now fully controls Bakool region after the ouster of the terrorist group

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Image of the day #NUSOJ_Somalia and #vikesverkko Conduct 3 Day workshop 4 #Somali Journalists in #Mogadishu. Photo: @NUSOJ_Somalia