August 5, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Somalia gets back control of strategic Kismayo port

05 Aug – Source: Africa Review – 438 Words

Regional leaders meeting in Kampala have handed back control of the controversial Kismayo sea and airport to the Federal Republic of Somalia. In a joint communiqué issued Sunday, the leaders said the resolution would end a long running dispute for the strategic facility between the Somali government and Kenya. The leaders also banned Somalia from exporting lucrative charcoal to Asia with immediate effect.

The Kampala meeting was attended by Presidents Yoweri Museveni, Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta, Somalia’s Sheik Hassan Sheik Mahmood, Ethiopian PM Hailemariam Desalegn and Andrew Bagali who represented Sierra Leone. The strategic Kismayo was seen as the last bastion of the al Shabaab terror group before it fell to AU troops led by Kenya in September 2012.

Meanwhile, the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) wants the number of peacekeepers increased from 17,730 to over 20,000 to beef up troop presence in different parts of the country. Uganda Foreign Affairs minister Sam Kutesa told journalists in Munyonyo on Saturday that the current AU force was overstretched and thin on ground. The creation of zonal forces, Mr Kutesa said would exert pressure on al Shabaab fighters who have resorted to asymmetrical war after losing most of their main tactical and strategic bases in Somalia to AU forces.

Key Headlines

Somalia’s Minister of Interior visits Somaliland (Somaliland Informer)
Somalia gets back control of strategic Kismayo port ( Africa Review)
10 people wounded in al Shabaab raid (Bar-kulan)
Mogadishu Immigration officials bar wounded journalist’s from traveling (Radio Dalsan/Mareeg Online)
African leaders want disputed Somali city annexed (AP)
Kenyan families worry over kin still held in Somalia (Capital News)
Somalia: al Shabaab leader assigns commander to launch fighting against Mukhtar Robow wing (Qalin News Online)
Leaders speak against bad mouthing of AMISOM countries (State House Kenya)
Hiiraan regional administration complains over lack of payment for security forces (Radio Dalsan)
Islamist militants attack Somali capital plan more before Ramadan ends (Reuters)

COMMUNIQUÉ: Meeting of the Heads of State and Government of the Troop Contributing Countries of AMISOM

05 Aug – Source: AMISOM – 1740 words

A meeting of the Heads of State and Government of the Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Ethiopia and Somalia took place in Kampala, Uganda on Sunday, 4th August 2013 under the theme “Towards a harmonized Approach by the Stakeholders in Building a Peaceful Somalia”. The Summit, chaired by His Excellency, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda, was preceded by the meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Ministers of Defence on 3rd August 2013.

The Summit was attended by His Excellency Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya; His Excellency Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, President of the Federal Republic of Somalia. His Excellency Hassan Darar Houfaneh, Minister of Defence represented the Government of the Republic of Djibouti and His Excellency Gabriel Nizigama, Minister of Public Security represented the Republic of Burundi. His Excellency, Andrew Gbebay Bangali Permanent Representative of the Republic of Sierra Leone to the African Union, represented the Government of Sierra Leone while Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif, Special Representative of the Chairperson of the Commission (SRCC) and Head of Mission, AMISOM represented the Africa Union (AU).

Following the report on the prevailing situation in Somalia by Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif, Special Representative of the Chairperson of the Commission (SRCC) and Head of Mission, AMISOM as well as statements made by Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Uganda, the Summit:-

SOMALI MEDIA

Somalia’s Minister of Interior visits Somaliland

05 Aug – Source: Somaliland Informer – 126 words

Somalia’s Minister of Interior and National Security, Abdikarim Hussein Guled arrived in Somaliland on Monday. It is the highest ranking Somali official that visited the country ever since it announced that it broke away from rest of Somalia in 1991.

Somalia’s Minister of interior arrived the country through Berbera International airport and has been greeted by members of Somaliland cabinet.

Abdikarim Hussein Guled headed the Somali delegation that attended the last round of Somalia and Somaliland talks that took place in Istanbul where the two countries agreed to jointly administer Somalia and Somaliland airspace after having received full control from the UN. It was agreed that Technical committee will base its office in Hargeisa and the expectation was to share the revenue on equal basis.

10 people wounded in al Shabaab raid

05 Aug – Source: Bar-kulan – 112 words

At least 10 people were reported to have been wounded in southern Somali town of Baidoa, capital of Bay region after al Shabaab fighters raided the area on Sunday night. Reports add that the al Qaeda-allied militant ambushed bases, including Baidoa central station, Julo-Jameco and Cadaalada neighborhoods respectively.

Confirming the incident, area chief boss Isaq Marehanow stated that Somali government troops resisted al Shabaab raid. Victims of the attack, among government soldiers were admitted in Baidoa general hospital.

This is not the first time al Shabaab militant group attacks Baidoa bases of the Somali government troops, as the outlawed group still remains active in many parts of Bay and Bakol regions in southern Somalia.

Mogadishu Immigration officials bar wounded journalist’s from traveling

05 Aug – Source: Radio Dalsan/Mareeg Online – 158 words

Somali immigration officials at Mogadishu airport have barred journalist Mascuud Abdulahi Adam who was shot and wounded in Kismayo mid last month, from travelling abroad for medical assistance.

The journalist who had severe bullet injuries was transferred from Kismayo late last month after doctors in Kismayo hospital confirmed that they could not assist him and the journalist was admitted at Mogadishu’s Medina hospital where he has been for more than three weeks.

The doctors at Medina hospital also advised the journalist to be flown to Nairobi for urgent surgery while they said the hospital could not execute such surgeries in the country and for that reason Dalsan radio management planned to take the journalist to Nairobi but unfortunately the immigration officials at Mogadishu restricted the journalist’s travel.

The immigration officials argued that the journalist had no letter from the ministry of information of the federal government of Somalia while he does not work for the state media.

‘Puntland will split into regions and districts’-Former Puntland President Adde Muse

04 Aug – Source: Garowe Online – 169 words

Former Puntland President Gen. Mohamud Muse Hersi (Adde Muse) has claimed that Puntland will split into regions and districts on Saturday, Garowe Online report.

Speaking on a Puntland radio station, Adde Muse said I travelled from my diaspora home in Canada to “work for peace” and “help my people”. On the contrary, Adde Musse fled to Ceel-Afweyn district of Somaliland where he formed an armed clan militia who took part Puntland’s first-ever deadly civil war in 2002 and later, without bringing to account for his action was elected as Puntland President in 2005. Continuing, He added that “Puntland will crumple region by region and district by district”.

Speaking about his view towards that Puntland Government suspended cooperation with the Somali Federal Government in Mogadishu until the country’s genuine constitution is restored; Gen. Adde Muse called the public decision as “Private one” as thousands of students who successfully took their PNEB (Puntland National Examination Board) exams are unlikely to join universities after the Somali Federal Government mishandled their Sudanese scholarships.

Hiiraan regional administration complains over lack of payment for security forces

04 Aug – Source: Radio Dalsan – 116 words

Hiiraan Regional Administration in the central Somalia has complained over lack of payment for the government military and security forces in the region.

The Deputy Chairman of the Hiiraan Regional Administration Khalif Abdi Omar told radio Dalsan that insecurity activities may be on the rise amid the lack of proper payment to the security forces. “The regional administration has been serving as voluntary and some of the main services were done with the small amount of tax we received.” he said.

The deputy head of the regional administration expressed his concern that the federal government were not fulfilling its promises to begin a regular payroll for the security forces in order to scale up the security.

Somalia: al Shabaab leader assigns commander to launch fighting against Mukhtar Robow wing

04 Aug – Source: Qalin News Online – 328 Words

Sources in Bulomarer town of Lower-Shabelle region of Somalia confirmed that al Shabaab’s top leader Sheikh Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr assigned a commander to lead an offensive against the supporters of Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Ali aka Abu Mansur, who was the second in rank before splitting the Amir.

The source with condition of anonymity for security reason said, “Abu Zubeyr made visits to Bulo-Fulay, Qoryolay and other parts of Bay and Lower Shabelle regions before he reached Bulo Marer where he had a meeting with his deputy and the head of Amniyaat-intelligence- Sheikh Mahad Warsame aka Mahad Karate and others”

“After discussion they assigned a commander Kabojecel to lead an offensive against Abu Mansur’s supporters in Abal and Dolondole areas” he added. Abu Zubeyr, whose real name is Sheikh Ahmed Abdi Godane, also reshuffled the commanders of the al Shabaab’s Habarre base 28 kms Northeast of Baidoa to boost the attacks against the town, which is the AMISOM sector 3 headquarters and controlled by the Somalia government.

Somaliland Court condemns Policeman to death over civilian murder

04 Aug – Source: Somaliland Press – 136 words

A military court has today sentenced a policeman to death after been found guilty for the cold blood murder of a civilian driver driving along the Dawga Cad Highway nearly four months ago.

The police officer who goes by the name of Abdi Hakim Ma Dhagayste committed the crime while off duty at the Dawga Cad highway which links Somaliland and the neighboring Djibouti while trying to prevent the deceased driver from using the highway which was at the time under construction.

The condemned officer at the time of the murder used unnecessary force of arms in a bid to deter the deceased driver while enforcing a blockade imposed on motorists using the highway by the committee tasked with the construction without prior knowledge of his superiors hence working outside the jurisdiction of the police force.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Somalia gets back control of strategic Kismayo port

05 Aug – Source: Africa Review – 438 Words

Kenyan families worry over kin still held in Somalia

05 Aug – Source: Capital News – 228 words

On August 1, 2013, two Kenyans made the headlines as they were finally reunited with their families after 18 months in the hands of Al Shabaab captors. Journalists jostled for space, trying to get the best angle and perhaps a glimpse of Mule Yesse and Fredrick Wainaina. But as the camera lenses focused on the two Kenyans, their families and their ordeal, four other Kenyans and their families went unnoticed. Evans Mutoro is one of them.

“My son was captured before Mule and Wainaina and I have not heard anything concerning his whereabouts. If he is still alive, I pray that God keeps him safe,” Mutoro’s father told Capital FM News. “And I just want to ask the government to help us negotiate for his return and that of other Kenyans who are still in Somalia.” Mutoro was kidnapped alongside Jonathan Kangogo in Wajir, two years ago, as they were taking supplies to their Kenya Defence Forces colleagues.

Their vehicle is said to have come under a hail of gunfire on July 23, 2011 and when the fire-fight ceased, they were captured. They have been missing since. “I got a call from the Department of Defence and they wanted to know who should receive the benefits owed to him. They also told me that he was safe but I just want to see him again,” pleads Mutoro’s father.

Leaders speak against bad mouthing of AMISOM countries

04 Aug – Source: State House Kenya – 273 Words

Leaders of countries contributing troops to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) said unfair accusations, deliberate distortion of facts and bad mouthing against their members must stop. The leaders’ spoke in the wake of a statement appearing in Kenyan and Somali media, attributed to some Somali leaders, saying Kenya should withdraw its troops from the Horn of Africa country.

The Somali delegation withdrew the statement at the meeting at Munyonyo, Uganda, after Kenya and other regional countries strongly objected. Kenya has played a leading role in peace initiatives in Somalia, leading to major achievements including liberation of the Port of Kismayo. In a communiqué issued at the end of the AMISOM Troops Contributing Countries (TCC) Heads of State Summit in Uganda, regional leaders also rejected suggestions to re-hat the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

The leaders, including President Uhuru Kenyatta, Yoweri Museveni and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, argued that the move was premature and would cause a dysfunctional command and control. They said folding AMISOM into the UN Mission would cause inequitable distribution of resources and render operations of the Mission ineffective.

Scotland Yard continues the search for Tebbutt killers and kidnappers

03 Aug – Source: Daily Nation – 695 Words

The British Government is still pursuing five Somali pirates who kidnapped Judith Tebbutt and shot dead her publishing executive husband David three years ago at a beach resort on Kiwayu Island, Lamu. A senior detective with Scotland Yard told the Sunday Nation the police are following up crucial leads that could help them seize the gunmen who held Mrs Tebbutt hostage for six months in Somalia.

The British press reported that the gang reportedly received a Sh90 million ransom for the release of the partially deaf social worker. Detective Superintendent Neil Hibberd, who is in charge of British counter-terrorism operations in East Africa and Horn of Africa region, said Scotland Yard is committed to arresting Mr Tebbutt’s killers and his widow’s abductors in collaboration with unnamed regional security agencies.

“We are serious in our operations to arrest the rest of gang whether they are affiliated to terrorists or pirate groups,” Mr Hibberd told the Sunday Nation outside the Lamu court on July 29 following the conviction and sentencing of Ali Babitu Kololo for his role in the killing and kidnapping.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

African leaders want disputed Somali city annexed

05 Aug – Source: AP – 202 words

The Somali city of Kismayo “should be handed over” to the central government, regional leaders said at the end of a summit Sunday, a decision that puts pressure on Kenyan troops who face charges of backing a powerful militia in the disputed port city.

African leaders said in a statement at the end of a summit in Kampala, Uganda’s capital, that Kismayo’s airport and seaport should be under the control of Somalia’s central government, which has struggled to assert its authority there despite the exit of al-Shabaab militants. The statement said a “multinational force” should be urgently deployed in Kismayo. It also urged the central government in the capital, Mogadishu, to “reintegrate” into the national army all the militias that have no links with al-Shabaab militants.

The Kampala summit was organized under the banner of the African Union peacekeeping force deployed in Somalia, known as AMISOM, and was for countries that have troops in Somalia. The prime minister of Ethiopia and the presidents of Uganda, Kenya and Somalia attended the summit. The decision on Kismayo puts pressure on Kenya, whose troops in the strategic Somali city have been accused of backing one militia, the Raskamboni brigade, against others in deadly fighting there.

Islamist militants attack Somali capital, plan more before Ramadan ends

05 Aug – Source: Reuters – 367 Words

Islamist militants set off several explosions in the Somali capital on Sunday, their spokesman said, demonstrating the rebels’ ability to attack the heart of government-controlled areas despite security gains. The guerilla-style attacks were typical of al Shabaab rebels who have waged a six-year campaign to impose their strict interpretation of Islamic law on the country.

The militants had fired five mortar shells and hurled several grenades, wounding at least two women, senior police officer Abdiqadir Mohamud said. Somali security forces responded with volleys of gunfire, witnesses said. Casualty numbers were thought to be low.

“We started a massive military operation across Mogadishu at dusk. It will go on until tomorrow morning,” said rebel spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, promising more attacks over the next few days as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan ends. Al Shabaab said late last month the rise in coordinated attacks conducted by its fighters pointed to its enduring strength and at the time warned of more attacks in Ramadan.

Mo Farah piles pressure on Barclays to cancel ban on money-transfer firms

04 Aug – Source: The Guardian – 760 Words

Barclays bank is under growing pressure to reverse a “kneejerk” decision to pull the plug on UK companies that allow people to send money home to support families in some of the world’s most desperately poor countries. Olympic and world champion runner Mo Farah has thrown his weight behind a campaign to stop the bank closing the accounts of 250 UK money-transfer companies operating what Farah called a “lifeline” into poor countries.

Farah’s native Somalia has no regulated banking system and gets 50% of its income through remittances. Last week Farah wrote to the PM and this weekend added his name to a petition calling on the bank to extend its deadline of 12 August, asking his 800,000 Twitter followers to do the same.

“The Mo Farah Foundation, along with some of the world’s biggest charities and organisations, including the UN, relies on these businesses to channel funds and pay local staff,” he said. “This decision could mean life or death to millions of Somalis.”

On Wednesday, a delegation led by shadow international development minister Rushanara Ali will deliver the petition to Downing Street, asking David Cameron to intervene. The prime minister hosted a major conference on Somalia in May when he said failure to support the country would increase the global terror threat. A diplomatic storm is also gathering, with Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ghana and other states expressing concern.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“At 1:00pm, Tawheed Mosque is filled with Somalis, men in tunics and women in hijabs. In many of the restaurants, groups of three to four Somalis happily eat from the same plate, enjoying their favourite foods: injera, spaghetti and camel meat.”

Somalia in Kisenyi

04 Aug – Source: New Vision – 846 Words

East or west, home is best, it is said. Yet sometimes, circumstances force us into places we never dreamt of and the only way to survive is to forge a home away from home. Somalis in the slums of Kisenyi are doing just that.

Kisenyi slum is synonymous with poor livelihoods and criminal activity. But few realise that there is something special here too: it is home to over 80% of the Somalis living in Uganda.

The area in Kasaato zone, popularly referred to as Kisomaali, is not far from the New Taxi Park. Despite their love for Uganda, many Somalis in this area have little or no interest at all in learning Luganda or English. Many of them only speak Arabic, Somali or Kiswahili. And even those who know a bit of English or Kiswahili, have a difficult accent.

“Chinese navy conducts anti-piracy escort operations in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia”

Commitment to Peace

05 Aug – Source: Beijing Review -1057 Words

The Gulf of Aden is one of the world’s busiest sea lanes, with 20 percent of the world’s sea trade passing through it. Every year, around 20,000 oil tankers, freighters and merchant vessels pass through this crucial route between the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.

South of it on the Horn of Africa is Somalia, a country that has been plagued by more than 20 years of domestic strife. Sustained chaos has deprived local people of materials for basic living, which in turn fueled a “piracy industry” for people struggling to survive.

As a result, passing merchant ships and even vessels carrying humanitarian relief items increasingly fell victim to pirate attacks. Rampant piracy posed threats to both crews’ physical safety and trade security.

In response, since June 2008, the UN Security Council has adopted several resolutions authorizing counter-piracy operations off the Somali coast. The Transitional Federal Government of the Somali Republic also appealed for international assistance. From January to November of 2008, pirates attacked 20 percent of the 1,200 or so Chinese ships passing through this area, and hijacked five merchant ships between 2007 and 2008.

“Although the new UN intervention in Somalia is riding on a raft of Security Council-sanctioned instruments such as the Panel of Experts on the arms embargo (2002) and the International Counter-piracy Action (2008), its spearheads are now the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (Unsom) and the controversial UN Monitoring Group on Eritrea and Somalia.”

UN interventionism back in Somalia as future of African actors uncertain

03 Aug- Source: East African Magazine-2103 Words

Twenty years after it withdrew its peacekeeping troops and shut down its humanitarian activities in war-torn Somalia in 1994, the United Nations is making a determined comeback in the Horn of Africa country. Two events point to the resurgent UN interventionism. On May 2, the UN Security Council authorised the formation of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (Unsom) charged with peacebuilding and state-building.

Then on July 24 it extended to November 25, 2014 the mandate of the eight-member Monitoring Group on Eritrea and Somalia, which monitors compliance with the arms embargoes on the two countries and activities likely to generate revenue for Al Qaeda affiliated Al Shabaab group.

But the group’s recent reports reveal the activist face of the UN now redrawing the contours of Horn politics. The deployment of Unsom on June 3 for an initial period of one year marks the onset of the third wave of UN interventionism in Somalia. The first and second were bold experiments in the new doctrine of “humanitarian militarism,” in the early post-Cold War period.

Top tweets

@AJStream Have you worked for an int’l NGO that has programs in #Somalia or #Gaza & can share how counter-terrorism laws affected your work? Tweet us.

@CarinaHagg President Uhuru Kenyatta urged Africa to remain focused on rooting out Al Shabaab and stabilizing #Somalia #Kenya.

@t_mcconnell With grenade and mortar attacks #Somalia‘s Islamic militants deal another blow to security in Mogadishuhttp://reut.rs/13FEy2s.

@Guuleyste It now seems #Eritrea is intent on pulling its self out of diplomatic isolation by strengthening its ties with regional countries. #Somalia.

@AnalystSomalia #TCCs also asks “#IGAD to meet on quarterly basis in order to track progress in developments in#Somalia”.

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Image of the day

Image of the day Heads of State and Government of the Troop Contributing Countries of AMISOM in a joint photo after a meeting in Kampala, Uganda on Sunday, 4th August 2013. Photo: Hiiraan Online .