December 21, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Senior Al-Shabaab Leader Surrenders To Jubbaland
21 December – Source: Goobjoog News – 161 Words
A senior commander of Al-Shabaab, identified as Sheikh Mohamed has surrendered himself on Tuesday, claiming he now wanted to live in peace with the rest of the people in Somalia. According to Jubbaland officials, he was Al-Shabaab commander in charge of zakawat levy collection in this region. “He had communication with us and told us that he is planning to leave the militant group,” a senior official of Jubbaland forces said. The officer said the government will welcome those Al-Shabaab members who defect but those still with the group will be dealt with accordingly. This comes days after Jubbaland State forces and Al-Shabaab fighters clashed in the outskirt of Kismayo. Jubbaland said its forces captured three key areas including Janay-Abdale and Ber-hano, about some 60 kilometers west of Kismayo town. Although Al-Shabaab abandoned all its positions in Mogadishu in 2011, the group still uses hostile tactics such as assassinations, hit-and-run attacks, improvised explosives and suicide missions to target it perceived enemies.
Key Headlines
- Senior Al-Shabaab Leader Surrenders To Jubaland (Goobjoog News)
- Puntland Launches Sweep In Bosasso After Killings (Shabelle News)
- Three Remain Missing As Commercial Boat Capsizes In Northeast Somalia (Goobjoog News)
- Presidential Candidate Calls For End Of Electoral Fraud (Shabelle News)
- US Legislator Arrives In Somalia Meets President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud And Praises Country’s Achievements On Women Representation (Radio Dalsan)
- AMISOM To Hand Over University To The Somali Government (AMISOM)
- Somalia Warns of Famine (VOA)
- What’s Next For Dadaab: Refugees Face An Impossible Choice (News Deeply)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Puntland Launches Sweep In Bosasso After Killings
21 December – Source: Shabelle News – 125 Words
Puntland forces launched a massive security operation in the coastal town of Bosasso on Wednesday following the murder of Aden Gaas, the Director General of the presidential palace in Bosasso. Reports say the security forces have carried operations in major parts of the seaside city, in a bid to apprehend the culprits behind the murder of the director. Aden Gaas Haruse was gunned down by two Al-Shabaab assassins armed with pistols outside a hotel in Bosasso city, the commercial hub of Puntland state in northeast of Somalia. The Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab militants also claimed responsibility for the murder of the deputy police commander of Puntland who was killed last week in Bosass. No suspects have been arrested for killings of the government officials in Bosasso as of yet.
Three Remain Missing As Commercial Boat Capsizes In Northeast Somalia
21 December – Source: Goobjoog News – 157 Words
At least three people are reportedly missing when their boat sank near the port city of Bossaso in Somalia’s northern region of Puntland on Tuesday night. According to Puntland officials, the boat was on its way to the port of Bossaso in North-East Somalia when it was overturned by heavy winds and large waves. “Heavy storm overturned the boat which brought to break out into two pieces in the sea,”said one of Puntland coast guard officials. It was reported that nine passengers including two Somalis and seven Indians have been rescued while three others are missing after the boat capsized off the coast of Puntland, about 14 km east of Puntland’s main port and economic hub, Bossaso. The exact number of the passengers aboard the boat has not been confirmed but rescue agencies are already there and are looking for more survivors. The commercial boat carrying business consignment for Somalia’s Puntland traders sailed from Oman.
Presidential Candidate Calls For End Of Electoral Fraud
20 December – Source: Shabelle News – 132 Words
Mohamed Ali Ameriko, a presidential candidate and former Somali Ambassador to Kenya has on Tuesday voiced concern over the widespread allegation of corruption and fraud in the ongoing election. The presidential hopeful has accused the electoral dispute body of reducing the 24 nullified parliamentary seats to 11, allowing the others to fully join the parliament. “It is unfortunate the outgoing government didn’t tackle the electoral fraud in the parliamentary polls before presidential election by the end of this year,” he said. Mr Ameriko has called on the electoral commission to deal with the alleged electoral fraud, intimidation and vote rigging in the parliamentary election in Somalia.
US Legislator Arrives In Somalia Meets President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud And Praises Country’s Achievements On Women Representation
20 December – Source: Radio Dalsan – 99 Words
The first Somali American legislator Ilhan Omar arrived in the Somali capital Mogadishu and met President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. In the meeting at Villa Somalia requested the president requested her presence in the upcoming presidential elections. Ilham congratulated Somalia for the establishment of the 30% threshold for women. “Women can lead Somalia. Somalia is moving ahead” Ilham said. Ilham an American citizen escaped the civil war in Somalia and lived in Dadaab camp in Kenya before her family was resettled in the US. Ilhaan was elected Minnesota State Representative in this year’s election. She was accompanied by her husband Ahmed Elmi.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
AMISOM To Hand Over University To The Somali Government
21 December – Source: AMISOM – 532 Words
AMISOM is finalizing plans to hand over Somali National University, which has been under its control for more than half a decade, to the Federal Government. The Burundi AMISOM military contingent has been using the university as its command headquarters until recently when a decision was reached to relocate the troops to Jowhar to pave way for the repossession of the facility by the Somali government. The educational institution is currently being rehabilitated by AMISOM officers to ensure it is handed over to the Federal Government in good condition. At a pre-planning meeting, held this week, the Rector of Somali National University (SNU), Mohamed Ahmed Jimale, welcomed the decision, saying it will be used to impart knowledge and expand opportunities available for Somali youths. Mr. Jimale noted that the institution has symbolic significance to Somalia and handing it over to the government will send a powerful message to the rest of the world that Somalia is on the right path to recovery.
“If you leave this campus operational, it will show the world that AMISOM, especially the Burundi contingent, left behind a golden place that can produce professional workforce that Somalia will need for its developmental programmes. I thank AMISOM and the Burundi contingent for this initiative,” Mr. Jimale stated. The meeting was attended by top AMISOM officials led by Dr. Walters Samah, the AMISOM Political Affairs Officer and Ms. Fouzia Warsame and Mr. Hassan Osman Ga’al, both Deans at the University, among others. Dr. Samah noted it was crucial that all stakeholders plan on how to effectively use the facility for the benefit of Somalis after the handover. “There needs to be a government plan to effectively occupy the facility. It is not only about the infrastructure. How to effectively occupy may require even bringing the police at some point. Effectively occupying it is most important and it has to do with the use of the land and the facility. This takes the involvement of the ministry, the government and the need to vote a budget to effectively occupy this place,” Dr. Samah stated.
Somalia Warns of Famine
20 December – Source: VOA – 104 Words
Somalia’s political leaders on Tuesday called on aid agencies, the international community and donor countries to respond to what they described as “a very alarming drought situation.” During an emergency meeting in Mogadishu, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said the drought situation in Somalia in some areas has turned into a “famine.” At the end of the meeting, the leaders appointed a new National Drought Committee. More than a quarter of a million people died in the famine in Somalia between October 2010 and April 2012. Somali Government officials at the time accused the international community for not acting quickly enough to save lives.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“In Dadaab, nearly every refugee we interviewed told us they were fearful about what might happen to them if they did not sign up for the UNHCR return program, which includes $200 upon departure from Dadaab and $200 upon arrival in Somalia, plus a six-month subsidy per household”
What’s Next For Dadaab: Refugees Face An Impossible Choice
21 December – Source: News Deeply – 959 Words
The kenyan government’s deadline to close Dadaab has come and gone. For the 275,000 refugees who still call this complex of camps home, this is welcome news. Unfortunately, the reprieve is only temporary. Kenya now aims to to close Dadaab by the end of June 2017. With national elections to follow in August, it is less likely that this new deadline will pass without some action being taken. Life for the refugees who remain in Dadaab is far from easy. A funding shortage has forced the Word Food Program (WFP) to cut food rations for refugees in Kenya beginning this month. A prolonged drought across the border in Somalia, combined with ongoing insecurity, is exacerbating a humanitarian crisis there. Refugees in Dadaab, most of whom are Somali, face an impossible choice: stay in Dadaab where the future is uncertain and conditions are deteriorating or return to Somalia to face insecurity and hunger. This was a year of summits and high-level meetings aimed at improving the global response to displacement crises. But as the year draws to a close, the current predicament for Somali refugees in Kenya represents a clear failure of those efforts.
In September, I traveled to Kenya and Somalia to assess the impact and implications of the Kenyan government’s plans to close Dadaab, as well as to examine the role of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in facilitating refugee returns to Somalia. The U.N. maintains that the returns are voluntary, that refugees have a choice. But so long as a deadline for camp closure exists with no other option for refugees but to return to Somalia, the logic does not square. In Dadaab, nearly every refugee we interviewed told us they were fearful about what might happen to them if they did not sign up for the UNHCR return program, which includes $200 upon departure from Dadaab and $200 upon arrival in Somalia, plus a six-month subsidy per household. “Everybody wants to take the money before being kicked out,” one refugee told us. “Maybe the government will beat us or set the camp on fire,” another said. A number of refugees spoke about threatening messages from Kenyan government officials that aired on the local radio station – messages such as, “We are going to show you the way to go back if you don’t go on your own.”
TOP TWEETS
@movementatm: With #Somalia‘s electoral process taking place, these young Somalis share their hopes for the future of the country. #Doorashada2016
@HassanIstiila: The first Somali American legislator @IlhanMNarrived in the Somali capital Mogadishu & met President Hassan Sheikh http://www.radiodalsan.com/
@RadioErgo: #Somalia:Farming families from Bay villages descend on Baidoa for food and water http://bit.ly/2hY7UeT
@wakiilorg: Significant increase in the number of Women MPs in #Somalia: 2012 elections (14%) whereas the ongoing 2016 elections (22%). #Doorashada2016
@unicefsomalia: In 2016 @eu_echo funding helped UNICEF provide reintegration services to 900 young men & women formerly associated w/ armed groups. Thank u!
@HassanIstiila: #UPDATE A senior officer of Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabab armed group has surrendered to Jubaland regional state of #Somalia.
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Police Commissioner Maj. Gen Mohamed Sheikh Hassan Hamud inspect a guard of honor during the 73rd celebration since somali police forces were formed
Photo: Radio Muqdisho