NATIONAL MEDIA
28 August – Source: Radio Shabelle – 132 Words
The Prime Minister of the Federal Government of Somalia, Hassan Ali Khaire, visited Gordon military base, where units of the armed forces are undergoing training courses. The Prime Minister, accompanied by the army chief, thanked the trainers for their service and encouraged the soldiers to successfully complete the training to join the Armed Forces. After completing the training, these troops will become part of the country’s armed forces in the battlefield. The Prime Minister said that the government forces are the hope of the nation, and to strengthen the gains already achieved in the fight against Al-Shabaab. The Somali government is working hard to build a strong national army to maintain security in the country, and the country’s armed forces have been making significant gains in operations in southern and central Somalia.
28 August – Source: Goobjoog – 173 Words
Sheikh Shakir Ali Hassan, a leader of Ahlu Sunna, accused the Federal Government of withdrawing from the agreement and deployed more troops to Dhuusamreeb, the administrative capital of Galmudug state. In a statement on late Tuesday Alhu Sunna leader, Sheikh Shakir, responding to the recent deployment of federal forces in Dhusamareb has blamed the Federal Government for violating all agreements. Sheikh Shaakir called on the group’s followers to defend their territory accusing the government of sending troops led by former Al-Shabaab’ leaders.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Interior, Federalism and Reconciliation, Abdi Mohamed Sabriye, who spoke to Dhusamareb community said that the Somali government did not withdraw from any of the 10 articles signed by the Federal Government and Ahlu Sunna. Minister Abdi Mohamed Sabriye says that the Federal Government is striving to bring Galmudug state to an inclusive regional government. The federal government of Somalia and Ahlu Sunna made agreements on July 2019 signed by the Minister of Interior, Federalism and reconciliation and the leader of Ahlu Sunnah leader Sheikh Mohamed Shakir Ali Hassan.
27 August – Source: Radio Shabelle – 111 Words
The Prime Minister of Somalia, Hassan Ali Khaire, paid a tour to the headquarters of the country’s central bank in Mogadishu on Tuesday. During the visit, the PM held a meeting with the Bank’s head and of the Deputy Minister of Finance, and other senior officials, including the accountant general. The central bank is responsible for developing and managing the country’s currency, operating the country’s financial system, creating a unified payment system and coordinating the restructuring plan for the return of the state property. The Prime Minister’s inspection of the central bank is part of the monitoring of the implementation of the national plans and to promote accountability, transparency, and transparency.
27 August – Source: Somaliaffairs – 143 Words
Reports from the disputed Sanaag region indicate that there are tensions in the area between Puntland and Somaliland forces. A resident of Badhan said there was tension in the area and feared that there might be clashes that could erupt any time as both sides continue to prepare for war. The Commander of Somaliland forces in Badhan, Guled Osman Salah, and the administration of the district have recently defected to the Puntland regional state, which is what is said to have created the new tensions between the two administrations. A large number of Somaliland forces have reportedly reached the outskirts of Badhan, in an area where they were previously based. Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni said last week that his administration was ready to negotiate with Somaliland over the disputed territories but added that Somaliland has to confirm its readiness for the negotiations.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
27 August – Source: UNHRC – 316 Words
By the end of 2018, around 3.6 million Somalis were displaced worldwide, 2.6 million internally and nearly 1 million outside the country. On the occasion of World Refugee Day, held on 20 June each year, UNHCR in Somalia, paid tribute to millions of persons forcibly displaced all over the world, including 3.6 million displaced Somalis. UNHCR in collaboration with other UN agencies, government officials and refugees walked in solidarity with forcibly displaced people in a challenge dubbed #StepWithRefugees.
SOMALIA TRENDS: Somali Refugee Worldwide
As of 31 December 2018, there were 949,700 Somali refugees globally, a slight decline from previous years. However, 80 per cent (758,700) remained displaced in the region including Ethiopia (257,200), Kenya (252,500), Yemen (249,000), Uganda (18,800), Djibouti (12,700) and Eritrea (2,100). Somalia remained one of the top five countries from where over two-third (67 per cent) of the world’s refugee came from.
SOMALI TRENDS: Internally Displaced Somalis
By the end of 2018, over 2.6 million persons were internally displaced in Somalia due to armed conflicts or insecurity, drought or lack of livelihood, flash floods and evictions. This represents a 20 per cent (531,300) increase compared to the previous year and a 43 per cent rise (1.5 million) in 2014. With 2.6 million internally displaced people, Somalia has the fourth-largest IDP population in the world.
SOMALI TRENDS: Refugees and Asylum-Seekers in Somalia
Somalia hosted 34,558 refugees and asylum-seekers mainly from Ethiopia (20,982) and Yemen (13,076) as of 30 June 2019. The number of registered refugees and asylum-seekers has more than doubled (53 per cent) in the last five years.
SOMALI TRENDS: Returned Refugees
As of 30 June 2019, over 90,000 Somali refugees were voluntarily repatriated from 12 countries of asylum, predominantly from Kenya (84,227). Voluntary repatriation remains the preferred lasting solution for most refugees.
27 August – Source: Business Insider – 687 Words
While the Islamic State’s caliphate – the idea of a land ruled by its radical interpretation of Islamic law – ended with US-led coalition campaigns in Iraq and Syria, the group is very much alive and regrouping in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. And its alliances with extremist groups internationally show that the group is adaptable, strategic, and not going anywhere soon. US power vacuums in Syria and Iraq have allowed ISIS fighters to regroup, and they pose a renewed risk to the region’s stability. But it’s not just Iraq and Syria – ISIS is active in countries all over the world, and in some places, it’s growing.
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The Islamic State in Somalia expanded its operations starting in 2018.
While the Islamic State in Somalia is reported to have only a few hundred members, according to the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, it’s made gains against its regional terrorist rival, al-Qaeda-backed Al-Shabaab. Islamic State in Somalia has begun collecting revenue by means of taxation and extortion, and claimed 66 operations in Somalia in 2018, more than in the previous two years combined. It has also made inroads in Mogadishu, outside its base in the north of Somalia. It has drawn at least one US resident who allegedly planned to head to Somalia to fight for IS there before he was arrested by US law enforcement. While it’s unclear if Islamic State in Somalia can keep up the pace of its expansion in the face of pushback from Al-Shabaab, its rapid gains are troubling.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Maryan Taqal Hussein, a human rights worker with the local NGO, Somali Women’sDevelopment Centre (SWDC), confirmed that there were many cases of rape affecting displaced women in the camps in Mogadishu. These women, often the only income earners for families, are forced to go out alone looking for work and are vulnerable to exploitation in many ways.”
27 August – Source: Radio Ergo – 619 Words
Radio Ergo’s IDP Camp series this week looks at the threat of rape and sexual violence facing women living in the camps, who are forced to take casual domestic jobs such as washing clothes to earn a living. Our local reporter met two women in a camp in Mogadishu who shared their stories of being raped by employers.
Kaltumo Abikar (not her real name) has been raped on two separate occasions this year while seeking domestic work in houses in Mogadishu. The single mother of six, who lives in Dan iyo Da’ad camp, has been displaced for 10years. As the sole provider for her family, she takes on casual work washing clothes. Kaltumo descried to Radio Ergo’s local reporter how she left home looking for work one morning in January and met a man in the suburbs of Mogadishu, who told her that he was looking for someone to wash his clothes at his house.
She accepted the job offer and went with the man to his home, where he raped her. Kaltumo was pregnant at the time. “I got into his car to drive to his house but instead of going there he drove towards the bush and then stopped and told me he wanted me, he didn’t want his clothes washed,” said Kaltumo. She struggled and pleaded with the man to no effect. “He told me to keep quiet and he did what he wanted,” she said. Two months later, when she was eight months into her pregnancy, she was raped again in Odweyne neighbourhood whilst looking for work. “A man opened the door and told me he wanted someone to wash his clothes. He told me to come in to negotiate with him over the price, but when I went in he closed the door behind me and told me he wanted me. I tried to resist but he raped me,” Kaltumosaid. Kaltumo says she did not report the incident to the authorities as she did not think anyone would listen to her story and did not believe she would not get any justice. “I feared I would be insulted and accused of being the cause of it,” she said…… |
