August 30, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Somalia: Rape and sexual violence a constant threat for displaced women
30 Aug – Source: Amnesty International – 264 words
Women and children living in Somalia’s makeshift camps for displaced people face a high risk of rape and other sexual violence, Amnesty International said today after returning from a research trip to the country.
The organization’s researchers spoke with dozens of women and girls who felt at risk of sexual violence.
Some of them, one as young as 13, had recently been raped. Most victims said they hadn’t reported the attacks to the police because they feared being stigmatized and had little confidence in the authorities’ ability or will to investigate.
“Women and children, who have already been forced to flee their homes because of the armed conflict and drought, now face the additional trauma of living under threat of sexual attack,” said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International’s Senior Crisis Adviser.
“Many of the women we met live in shelters made of cloth and plastic sheeting which provide no security at all; in the context of the lawlessness which generally prevails in the country and the lack of security in these camps, it is hardly surprising that these horrific abuses are occurring.”
One 14-year-old girl living in a displacement camp in Mogadishu was raped in the shelter where she lives as she was recovering from an epilepsy attack in late August.
Key Headlines
- State Minister jets back to Mogadishu after signing Addis Ababa agreement (Raxanreeb)
- Heliwaa district commissioner speaks out gun attack against government bases (Radio Dalsan)
- Puntland security arrests Channel 4 TV reporter Jamal Osman and his photographer (Radio Dalsan)
- Hiiraan regional administration visits recently battled villages (Raxanreeb)
- Galkacyo mayor urges elders to work on security (Bar-kulan0
- Mogadishu governor deplores privately owned universities (Radio Dalsan/Radio Mogadishu/Somalia Today)
- Bay and Bakol elders boycott government relation (Radio Dalsan /Shabelle/Mustaqbal)
- Rape cases soar in Somali camps (Aljazeera )
- Gen. Muhoozi inspects UPDF troops in Somalia (Daily Monitor)
- Somalia: Rape and sexual violence a constant threat for displaced women (Amnesty International)
- Somalia takes ‘significant step’ toward peace (UPI)
- Woman admits perjury aided Minnesotans recruited to fight in Somalia (Twin Cities)
SOMALI MEDIA
State Minister jets back to Mogadishu after signing Addis Ababa agreement
30 Aug – Source: Raxanreeb/Radio Mustaqbal/Radio Mogadishu – 133 words
Somalia State Minister Farah Sheikh Abdukadir returned back to Mogadishu late on Thursday after signing a peace agreement with Jubba’s interim administration on Wednesday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopian capital.
The Minister was welcomed by some Ministers and members of Parliament at Mogadishu’s Aden Adde airport. Speaking with the local media, Mr Abdukadir said the agreement reached in Addis Ababa was very significant for the future of Somalia.
“There are no any conflicts between the clans in Jubba, they are brothers and sisters and wish to live together.” the State Minister said respondint to a question concerning how the agreement will convince warring clans to live in peace together. Mr. Abdukadir said the agreement came after ten days in Addis Ababa as there were many obstacles before the Somali leaders succeeded signing the agreement.
Heliwaa district commissioner speaks out gun attack against government bases
30 Aug- Source: Radio Dalsan – 105 words
Heliwaa district commissioner Omar Abdulle has given detais on attacks against government bases in the district. The commissioner said armed men who were masked attacked government military bases in Heliwaa district, north of the capital but the security forces foiled them. He said the security forces were still searching for the assailants whom were believed to be al Shabaab fighters.
According to eyewitnesses, the security forces backed by AMISOM began heavy search out operations in the district on Friday morning. Friday’s assault is the heaviest attack by al Shabab in recent days i the capital.
Puntland security arrests Channel 4 TV reporter Jamal Osman and his photographer
30 Aug – Source: Radio Dalsan – 86 words
Puntland security arrested the multi-award winning British-Somali journalist Jamal Muhumed Osman and fellow award-winning Dutch-Somali photojournalist Ahmed Farah twice in Garowe on Thursday.
Jamal Osman and Ahmed Farah were detained by the Puntland Security (PS) after they were arranging to work a story about the pirates and the elections coming in Puntland
“They have their documents from the ministry of information (giving them permission) to work in all the Puntland regions. We don’t know why they (were) arrested “, Said Nuh Muse, a VOA reporter who spoke with Radio Dalsan, said.
Hiiraan regional administration visits recently battled villages
30 Aug – Source: Raxanreeb – 88 words
Somalia’s Hiiraan governor Abdi Farah Laqanyo has visited Deef village near Beledweyn town, the region’s capital on Thursday. The area has been a hot spot recently after two rival clans fought for the ownership of farming land. The governor of Hiiraan region visited the location as he met community elders and called for calm.
“As we have promised we are arranging immediately to hold a reconciliation meeting in Beledweyne town” he said. At least 10 were killed in the clan gunfight which occurred two weeks ago” he said.
Galkacyo mayor urges elders to work on security
29 Aug – Source: Bar-kulan – 102 words
Galkacyo mayor of Puntland authority Ahmed Elmi Salad has spoken about the city’s worsening security situation in the past few months. Mr Elmi stated that the town’s security has been deteriorating lately. The mayor urged the region’s elders and other members of the public to jointly cooperate to maintain security in the city.
Speaking at a news conference held in Galkacyo, Somali central town mayor affirmed that they will play their role as an administration to ensure security in the town. This comes days after several people were killed in clan-affiliated clashes took place in some parts of the Somali central region of Mudug.
Mogadishu governor deplores privately owned universities
30 Aug – Source: Radio Dalsan/Radio Mogadishu/Somalia Today – 182 words
The Mayor of Mogadishu and governor of Benadir regional administration, Mohamud Ahmed Tarsa has strongly criticized the growing number of private universities in the capital. Tarsan, addressing a meeting in Mogadishu, said that the number of newly-opened private universities had risen unprecedentedly in the last six months while they had no any quality.
“We give licenses to the universities, and each day a new university is opened.” the mayor said. “There is no any quality and everybody is now opening new college just to earn a profitable business. Nothing else.” he said. Mr Tarsan expressed his concern over the unqualified universities in Somalia as he said the central government should take steps against the quality of the higher education that local universities provide.
Mogadishu, which is the capital of Somalia now hosts more than 35 local universities, 80% of which were opened in the past six months.
Irfo urges government to quicken Ahlu Sunna deal
29 Aug – Source: Bar-kulan – 129 words
Newly appointed Galgadud administration of the Somali Federal government has called on the government to quicken the process of finalizing agreement between the government and Ahlu Sunna, a pro-government religious group.
Speaking at a press conference held in Dhusa-Mareb on Thursday, Hussein Ali Wehelie Irfo, the new Galgadud governor asked the government to speed up the process of concluding the two sides’ deal.
Mr Irfo praised Ahlu Sunna forces for their important role of driving Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab militant group from major towns and villages in Galgadud region.
On the other hand, Ahlu Sunna Chairman of Committees Sheikh Ibrahim Sheikh Hassan Gureye has accused the Somali Federal government for not finalizing the agreement. Mr. Gureye has urged locals and Ahlu Sunna forces to closely work with Galgadud region’s new administration.
Bay and Bakol elders boycott government relation
30 Aug- Source: Radio Dalsan /Shabelle/Mustaqbal – 163 words
Elders from Bay and Bakool regions in southern Somalia have strongly opposed the federal government of Somalia and announced they have cut ties with Mogadishu. A spokesman for Bay and Bakol regions Malaq Shino who spoke with radio Dalsan said that the decision from the region came after the federal government granted the regions claimed by Digil Mirifle clans to warlord Ahmed Madobe.
“The federal government failed to convince the people of Bay and Bakol regions through the federal system.” Malaq Shino said. He said the government of Somalia signed an unlawful agreement with warlord Ahmed Madobe for the administering Jubba regions where Digil Mirifle clans reside.
“The government wants to give our land to another clan leader and that is what we will not agree.” the elder added. He has vowed that all clans under Dugil Mirifle will come to a consultative meeting ad decide how to regain their land from Ahmed Madobe’s administration.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Rape cases soar in Somali camps
30 Aug – Source: Aljazeera – 02: 39 min
There has been a rise in incidents of rape and sexual abuse of women and young girls in Somalia. Most of the assaults go unreported because victims fear stigma and reprisals. The United Nations recorded 1,700 rapes in 500 camps for displaced people in the capital Mogadishu.
Gen. Muhoozi inspects UPDF troops in Somalia
29 Aug – Source: Daily Monitor – 170 words
The new Commander Land Forces, Maj. Gen. David Muhoozi is in Somalia where he inspected Ugandan troops keeping peace in Mogadishu. This is his first time to visit Somalia as the Commander Land Forces ever since he replaced Gen. Katumba Wamala in a May army reshuffle by President Yoweri Museveni.
The Spokesperson of the Ugandan contingent, Capt. Robert Kamara said Gen. Muhoozi arrived in Somalia on Tuesday. “He is here to be updated on the tempo of the operations and to introduce himself to troops as the new CLF under whose docket the Somalia operations falls,” Capt. Kamara said.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia: Rape and sexual violence a constant threat for displaced women
30 Aug – Source: Amnesty International – 264 words
Women and children living in Somalia’s makeshift camps for displaced people face a high risk of rape and other sexual violence, Amnesty International said today after returning from a research trip to the country. The organization’s researchers spoke with dozens of women and girls who felt at risk of sexual violence.
Some of them, one as young as 13, had recently been raped. Most victims said they hadn’t reported the attacks to the police because they feared being stigmatized and had little confidence in the authorities’ ability or will to investigate.
“Women and children, who have already been forced to flee their homes because of the armed conflict and drought, now face the additional trauma of living under threat of sexual attack,” said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International’s Senior Crisis Adviser.
“Many of the women we met live in shelters made of cloth and plastic sheeting which provide no security at all; in the context of the lawlessness which generally prevails in the country and the lack of security in these camps, it is hardly surprising that these horrific abuses are occurring.”
One 14-year-old girl living in a displacement camp in Mogadishu was raped in the shelter where she lives as she was recovering from an epilepsy attack in late August.
Somalia takes ‘significant step’ toward peace
29 Aug – Source: UPI – 187 words
A decision to establish the terms of governance in three southern Somalia areas is a step toward ensuring peace in the country, a UN special envoy said. The federal Somali government signed the terms of an agreement in Ethiopia with southern political leaders to set the terms of government for Lower Jubba, Middle Jubba and Gedo in the south of the country.
Nicholas Kay, UN special envoy to Somalia, said the decision was a step in the right direction for the federal republic.
“This is a significant step towards restoring peace in Somalia, building a strong Federal Somalia and contributing to regional and international security,” he said in a statement Wednesday. “This agreement unlocks the door to a better future for Somalia.”
Woman admits perjury, aided Minnesotans recruited to fight in Somalia
29 Aug – Source: Twin Cities – 171 words
A 23-year-old woman admitted Thursday that she lied to a grand jury investigating the long-running case of young men who left Minnesota to join a terrorist group in Somalia. Saynab Hussein pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis to one count of perjury. She admitted that in June 2009 she lied when she told a grand jury she did not know anyone who raised money for the travelers, when she actually helped raise money herself.
Hussein, who is pregnant and studying nursing, faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. A sentencing date has not been set. Hussein was charged Wednesday, making her the 21st person to be charged in the government’s investigation into efforts to recruit fighters and raise money for al-Shabaab, an al-Qaida-linked group at the heart of much of the violence in Somalia in recent years.
Since late 2007, at least 22 young men have left Minnesota to join the terrorist group, which at the time was fighting Ethiopians who were assisting Somalia’s former government.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“While Hargeisa doesn’t yet have a cinema or a theatre, there is a real effort underway to ensure culture is high on the national agenda.”
Somaliland: Host to One of the World’s Most Remarkable Artistic Gatherings
29 Aug – Source: Huffington Post – 586 words
It may not be as big as Edinburgh’s summer festival or as long established as the now 25-year-old Hay event but the Hargeisa International Book Fair can lay claim to being one of the world’s most remarkable artistic gatherings. For the annual Fair is attracting a growing number of authors and artists to the Horn of Africa – a region usually in the international news for famine, conflict and piracy rather than animated discussions about the arts.
It is not, of course, that these challenges don’t exist in the region. It is just that they are not the whole story. And that’s particularly the case in Hargeisa which is the capital of Somaliland, an oasis of calm in an otherwise unstable region.
There is a real buzz when the Fair is taking place, as it was last week. It’s the sixth year that the event has been run and it keeps growing in its scale, popularity and reputation so that it is now one of the largest public celebrations of literature in East Africa.
“I believe that 99,9 per cent of the people on this planet want peace. The challenge lies in how to make peace happen.”
A rare reconciliation: Ending a long conflict between two Somali clans
29 Aug- Source: trust.org/Reuters – 501 words
In a unique process, Finn Church Aid facilitated a resolution of 20 years’ violent conflict between two clans in Somalia.
“For twenty years, I have not slept in my home. I had different hiding holes and trees around my home and slept in these places randomly, afraid of revenge killing by other clan whose members I had killed. I have not slept well during these twenty years and even the food was tasteless.
One night, I heard something and thought someone was hiding to shoot me, hurried to attack but accidentally discharged my gun and my 16 year old son died on the spot. Since the first day when we forgave each other I started sleeping very long. I think I am reborn again. My plan is to strive for peace from now on. I don’t think anyone understands the meaning of peace better than I do.” (Remarks of one of the perpetrators)
I believe that 99,9 per cent of the people on this planet want peace. The challenge lies in how to make peace happen.
Finn Church Aid facilitated an end in a violent conflict between two clans in the northern Sanaag region in Somalia. The resolution has an impact on about 3000 people directly and about 40 000 indirectly.
Top tweets
@OCHASom @amnesty Int says ‘rape and sexual violence a constant threat for displaced women’ #Somalia”.http://bit.ly/12S84VQ pic.twitter.com/gHhMrYMcWS.
@raxanreeb SOMALIA: PM #Shirdon says #Addis Ababa agreement is a historic victory for #Somalia http://j.mp/142WWIH
@Oxfam Each yr, the #Somalia diaspora sends ~$1.3bn ‘back home’ http://ow.ly/oo211 How to ensure this #SomaliaLifelinestays open.
@RCMSomalia 90,000 children vaccinated against #Polio in Gedo, #Somalia http://radioergo.org/en/read.
@alunmcdonald Refugees can’t watch, aid workers boo – a bittersweet film festival in Dadaab refugee camphttp://www.newyorker.com/
@SayNO_UNiTE57 Sisters of #Somalia: The brave sisters restoring dignity to the lives of Somali refugees:http://aje.me/15Z1SZM via @AJEnglish.
Image of the day
