December 2, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Confusion Over Venue Of Parliamentary Elections For Somaliland Seats
01 December – Source: Jowhar.com – 144 Words
Confusion marred over the venue where the parliamentary elections for Somaliland seats would be held in Mogadishu. The exercise was previously slated to take place at the Police Transport Centre in Mogadishu’s Abdulaziz district, where voting for the Banadir clan seats is taking place.According to news sources, officials from UNSOM and office of the Prime Minister are lobbying for a change of venue for the Somaliland elections.
Nuradin Dirie, one of UNSOM’s senior political advisors is among officials behind the initiative to transfer the elections to Halane where security is tight.However the country’s electoral commission is not happy with the new plan arguing that it is not wise to change the venues the last minute. Voting for seats allocated to the Banadir clans have started at the Police Transport centre with already one of their three seats filled by Mahad Abdalla Awad.
Key Headlines
- Confusion Over Venue Of Parliamentary Elections For Somaliland Seats (Jowhar.com)
- Somali Forces Kill Several Al-Shabaab Fighters In Bakool Region (Goobjoog News)
- HirShabelle Presidents Meets With AU Special Representative To Somalia (Jowhar.com)
- Somali PM Reaches Kismayo Set To Meet With Newly Elected MPs From Jubbaland (Xamarcade.com)
- Kenya-Somalia Fence To Keep Away Unwanted Elements Says Mandera Governor Ali Roba (Daily Nation)
- From Somalia to U.S.: Ohio State Attacker’s Path to Violence (New York Times)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Forces Kill Several Al-Shabaab Fighters In Bakool Region
02 December – Source: Goobjoog News – 150 Words
Several combatants including Al-Shabaab fighters have been killed in fighting between Somali forces and Al-Shabaab fighters during a security operation in southern Somalia, official said on Friday.Wajid district commissioner, Abdullahi Adan Yariisow told Goobjoog News by phone that the forces carried out an ambush and killed several fighters in the outskirt of Wajid town.“Somali forces carried out operation in an areas outside Wajid town on Thursday evening where they killed several fighters of Al-Shabaab, injured others and recovered weapons,” Yariisow said.
Yariisow said on their side, one soldier was killed and another sustained light injury.He said the forces were ready to conduct more operations against Al-Shabaab militants in Bakool region of Somalia.Somali forces have stepped up their fight against Al-Shabaab fighters who stage frequent attacks in the Horn of Africa nation.Al-Shabaab has been battling the Somali government and still controls some areas of southern Somalia
HirShabelle Presidents Meets With AU Special Representative To Somalia
01 December – Source: Jowhar.com – 126 Words
African Union Representative to Somalia Francisco Madeira on Thursday visited Jowhar, the administrative capital of HirShabelle. A delegation led by Madeira visited President Ali Abdullahi Osoble in his office discussing a range of issues including security, development and the ongoing electoral process.During the course of the meeting, Madeira praised HirShabelle for the smooth conduct of the electoral process in the region.Ambassador Madeira said AMISOM was ready to support the newly formed state in areas of security, infrastructure and economic development. Speaking to the media, Director General of HirShabelle presidency Abdiqadir Abdulle Hooshow said AMISOM promised to rehabilitate roads and improve the agricultural sector of the region.It also pledged to help the new administration in driving Al-Shabaab out of areas still under its control.
Somali PM Reaches Kismayo, Set To Meet With Newly Elected MPs From Jubbaland
01 December – Source: Xamarcade.com – 96 Words
Somalia’s Prime Minister has visited Kismayo, the administrative capital of Jubbaland federal state of Somalia. Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid’s delegation was welcomed at the airport by officials from Jubbaland government, military officials, women and youth.The Prime minister was then escorted to the presidency of Jubbaland, where he is expected to meet with the newly elected members of the Lower and Upper Houses of the Federal Parliament representing Jubbaland. The meeting is said to focus on the upcoming elections.During his stay in Kismayo, Sharmarke would also meet with senior officials from the Jubbaland administration.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Kenya-Somalia Fence To Keep Away Unwanted Elements, Says Mandera Governor Ali Roba
02 December – Source: Daily Nation – 426 Words
The fencing of three kilometres of the Kenya-Somalia border is complete after the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) took over its construction over two months ago.The project, initiated by the Ministry of Interior in 2015 as a wall project, has since been switched to wire fencing along the porous border.Concrete poles joined with barbed wire, wire mesh and razor wire have been erected on the three-kilometre stretch.
The project, initiated after the April terror attack on Garissa University College, stalled after the National Youth Service (NYS) personnel working on it downed their tools, saying they had not been paid for their work.Speaking while inspecting the ongoing works on Thursday, Maj-Gen K.T. Chepkuto from the KDF Engineering Department said a stretch of 30 kilometres will be completed in the next four months.“We will do the first 30 kilometres within the stipulated time since people are energised,” he said.
He said Kenyan military officials are working closely with the Somali National Army (SNA) to ensure the work is done peacefully.“The only possible challenge could be from Bulahawa, but SNA are working with us to ensure the project progresses swiftly,” he said.Mandera Governor Ali Roba lauded the progress made in two months.Earlier, he had questioned the national government’s commitment in securing the county.“We are happy with the progress of the security sensitisation programme as visible work has been done unlike in the last two months when we visited the site,” he said.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“At Columbus State, a two-year college where many Somalis study, some classmates recalled him as a diligent student. Myranda Thompson, who took a sociology class with Mr. Artan, said he “had a passion for his religion” and spoke of Islam frequently. Frank Oteng, who helped Mr. Artan with his statistics class work, said Mr. Artan was focused on his studies, spoke hopefully of transferring to Ohio State and “seemed very normal,”
From Somalia to U.S.: Ohio State Attacker’s Path to Violence
01 December – Source: The New York Times- 1138 Words
The young refugee smiled broadly as he accepted his associate degree from a local community college less than seven months ago, jumping in the air on stage as the announcer said, “Abdul Razak Artan, cum laude.”Mr. Artan, who had been in the United States for just two years, seemed to be a success story in this city’s large network of Somali refugees, excelling in his classes at Columbus State Community College and getting accepted as a transfer student to nearby Ohio State University.
But the image of a jubilant graduate in a cap and gown conflicted sharply with Mr. Artan’s actions on Monday, when the police say he rammed a car into pedestrians on a sidewalk at Ohio State before jumping out and stabbing people with a butcher knife.Mr. Artan was shot dead within about a minute by a university police officer, and the 11 people injured are expected to survive. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, and social media posts have led investigators to believe Mr. Artan may have been inspired to act by that terror group or by Anwar al-Awlaki, the American Qaeda operative who was killed in a drone strike in Yemen in 2011.
While some of Mr. Artan’s background remains unknown, accounts from law enforcement officials, classmates, Mr. Artan’s neighbors and Somalis in Columbus portray a deeply religious young man who took college seriously and seemed to be adapting to life in America, and whose decision to act violently came as a shock.
Unexpected Violence: As 10 a.m. approached, Ohio State’s campus was lurching back to life after the Thanksgiving break. The first classes of the day were over, and students had evacuated Watts Hall, an engineering building, because of a fire alarm.Mr. Artan, a logistics management major who lived off campus and was enrolled in 14.5 credit hours this fall, had woken up hours earlier, venturing to a Walmart and buying a knife, police officials said. There is some question about Mr. Artan’s age, though college records say he was 18.
TOP TWEETS
@KentPage:#Measles outbreak in Kismayo #Somalia. +350 cases reported, most are children who were never immunized. v/@unicefsomalia
@somaliadev:Dr. Omar Eno a prominent Somali scholar & activist has passed away. May Allah bless his soul. #Somalia#Somalidiaspora
@DalsanFM :#Mogadishu residents can now swipe to buy as Premier Bank @pbsomalia introduces first CREDIT CARD Services in #Somalia
@OCHASom:Humanitarian Coordinator for #Somalia@UNdeClercq briefing international partners today on #droughtin #Somalia
@ferigom69:Panamanian vessel pays $65,000 fine to Somalia for illegal fishing | @scoopit http://sco.lt/5KexJh #Somalia#illegalfishing
IMAGE OF THE DAY
A delegate casts her vote in the ongoing Banadir Regional elections
Photo: AMISOM