December 23, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somali President Holds Talks With Traditional Elders
23 December – Source: Goobjoog News – 140 Words
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his delegation held talks with traditional elders, intellectuals and clerics on Tuesday in Belet Weyne town. The meeting was deeply discussed on the state formation process for Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle regions. President Mohamud told the elders that the process of the state formation should be inclusive if the desired results are to be obtained. The elders proposed Belet Weyne as the host city for the upcoming conference. Since the recent announcement by the government that Jowhar which is in Middle Shabelle will be hosting the conference, it has created a rift between elders and other stakeholders.
Key Headlines
- Somali President Holds Talks With Traditional Elders (Goobjoog News)
- Fresh Roadblocks Erected In Lower Shabelle Region (Radio Shabelle)
- MPs Working On A Motion That Plans To Disrupt The National Consultative Forum (Baidoa News)
- Mogadishu Port Seize A Container Full Of Military Equipment (Baidoa News)
- Nation Donates 5800 Tents To Somali Refugees In Kenya (China Daily)
- AMISOM Police Commissioner Visits Kismayo (AMISOM)
- Somalia League Fixtures Unveiled (Soko25East)
- Terror Attacks In Africa Highlight Urgency To Tackle Root Causes (Xinhua)
- Amid Fear and Flight A Muslim Minority Embraces Self-sufficiency (The Christian Science Monitor)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Fresh Roadblocks Erected In Lower Shabelle Region
23 December -Source: Radio Shabelle- 142 Words
The drivers and owners of public transportation vehicles are expressing alarming concern over illegal roadblocks that have been mounted in areas in Lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia. Speaking to Radio Shabelle, Chairman of Transportation Committee Ahmed Shujac Sufi said armed groups dressed in Somali military uniforms erected illegal checkpoints along the main road between Afgoye and Haramka area.“We have problems with the increasing illegal checkpoints set up on Afgoye-Haramka street, where female passengers are being rapped and their possessions looted by these people who are manning the roadblocks,” said Sufi. Drivers operating in the region are being forced to pay money to use the road. The Federal Government carried out several operations to remove the illegal roadblocks but little has changed according to drivers and owners of public transport vehicles.
Mogadishu Port Seize A Container Full Of Military Equipment
23 December – Source: Baidoa News – 110 Words
Reports from Mogadishu port says that the security forces stationed in the port seized a container loaded with military equipments including uniforms, belts, and tents as confirmed by military officials. One of the men suspected for responsibility of the container was arrested and taken by security forces and investigations are ongoing about the container and it’s contents. Police spokesman Ahmed Roble Qaasima declined to discuss the issue and said that he is leaving any questions of this matter for the top officials. Senior security official told the Arlaadi media that he has seen the container himself and the security forces are investigating, declining at the same time to give further details.
MPs Working On A Motion That Plans To Disrupt The National Consultative Forum
23 December – Source: Baidoa News – 130 Words
A section of MPs are preparing a motion that is opposed to the resolutions of the National Consultative Forum after some MPs who attended the recent meeting were angered by the resolution of the National Consultative Forum. The MPs claim that the power of the parliament has been taken away by the executive. One of the MPs, Mohamed Abdi Yusuf said in the National Consultative Forum that the forum was illegal and that it should be disbanded. The motion seeks to brand the National Consultative Forum as an illegal body and it further seeks to withdraw the 25 MPs representing parliament in the forum. Reports add that the Speaker of the National Parliament has been lobbying for a two year term extension for current parliament to complete its legislative agenda. The request for a term extension has been rejected.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Nation Donates 5,800 Tents To Somali Refugees In Kenya
23 December – Source: China Daily – 281 Words
The Kenyan government received a donation on Tuesday of 5,800 tents from China in a bid to improve the living conditions of Somali refugees in the country.Kenyan Interior Principal Secretary Monica Juma expressed appreciation for China’s support for Somali refugees in Kenya during a ceremony in the coastal city of Mombasa.She also appealed for more support from other donors, as “the issue of refugees is and should be a shared responsibility among the community of nations”.
Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Liu Xianfa said the donation not only reflects China’s strong support for the economic and social development of Kenya, but also demonstrates the profound friendship between the people of the two countries.The project came after Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to Kenya in May last year.
The premier made a promise to provide assistance for the Somali refugees in Kenya at the request of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.”We are very pleased to be here to witness that the commitment made by the Chinese government has been honored,” Liu said. “We hope this humanitarian aid can improve the refugees’ living conditions and promote Kenya’s security as well.”
AMISOM Police Commissioner Visits Kismayo
22 December – Source: AMISOM – 180 Words
The AMISOM Police Commissioner Mr. Anand Pillay and his Deputy Madam Christine Alalo on December 21, 2015 lead a team of different Unit coordinators within the Police Component to Kismayo. The aim of the visit was to hold a meeting with the Minister of Internal Security of the Interim State of Jubaland Mr. Mohamed Warsame Darwish to harmonize the final preparations leading to the successful commencing of the basic training of the first batch of Police officers. The Training is scheduled to commence on January 15, 2016.
During the meeting which was attended among others by Mr. Raghe, the Interim State presidential advisor, the Police Commissioner briefed the Minister that the AMISOM Police Component is committed to the process of establishing Policing in the region which will include the Regional and Local policing structures among others. The Minister, who expressed visible sigh of immense relief assured the team that as local leadership, they should expect all necessary cooperation geared towards the success of the long awaited program as time for clinging on hope, is clearly running out towards its actualization.
Somalia League Fixtures Unveiled
23 December – Source: Soko25east – 241 Words
Somali Football Federation (SFF) has today announced the fixtures for the country’s National League. According to the fixtures released today, the 10-team league will kick off on Monday 28th of December, when Dekedda FC will take on the police side Heegan FC who are the current champions.
Somali Football Federation (SFF) media officer Shafi’i Mohyaddin Abokar, said in a statement that his federation decided that the competition is played Monday to Friday in order to give the country’s football fans the chance to watch other football leagues around the world.“As we know more than 95% of our people are football-loving people, so we came to decision to play our league matches Monday to Friday. We did this because of our lovely people so that they can have the time to watch football games around the world which are mostly played in the weekends” the SFF media officer, Shafi’i Mohyaddin Abokar, said in his press
release.
He said that this season the National league has some special interests saying it is expected to be more competitive than past competitions.“All the 10 clubs in the National League have been making continuous preparations for the past several months. The number of foreign players in the country has also increased with many teams transferred foreign professionals” he said. The media officer added that the increase of foreign players in the country was making the national league more competitive and more interesting as well.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“While addressing a gathering in Dakar of experts on security and drug trafficking, Senegal’s Interior and Public Security Minister Abdoulaye Daouda Diallo said “the fight against this scourge requires development of regional solutions in an approach that reconciles demands for opening up of borders and the absolute need for vigilance,”
Terror Attacks In Africa Highlight Urgency To Tackle Root Causes
23 December-Source: Xinhua – 1089
In 2015, terror attacks have continued unabated in sub-Saharan Africa despite limited progress achieved by African countries such as Kenya, Nigeria and Somalia.Moreover, regional militant groups are showing a tendency to connect to outside terror groups and change tactics, as evidenced by Boko Haram’s swearing of allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
The potential threat of a mutating terrorism in Africa is alerting governments to forge an international counter-terrorism alliance and take to addressing the root causes, instead of relying on military solutions.Over the past year, regional governments, in particular Kenya and Nigeria, scored progress in their efforts to fight militant groups with a hard hand, resulting in recovered territories and relative calm.After taking office in late May, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the military to end the Boko Haram insurgency by December and to relocate their command center to the theater of violence in Maiduguri, the capital of Nigeria’s Borno State.”By the end of this month, Boko Haram will no longer be able to hold any Nigerian territory,” said Lai Mohammed, the Nigerian minister of information.
Normalcy is returning in parts of the northeast region, where students have returned to school, burned houses are being rebuilt, markets are being reconstructed and hustling and bustling are taking place.Despite the achievements, however, there are still fears that the defiant terrorists are waxing stronger and bent on holding the country to ransom. Bombings masterminded by Boko Haram, especially suicide blasts, still persist, often causing heavy civilian casualties.In Kenya, heightened security measures and an ongoing military campaign in neighboring Somalia have also led to signs of progress.
“Behind the tensions here is the feeling that ethnic Somalis here have never been accepted as fully Kenyan, partly due to a failed secessionist war launched from here in the 1960s to join Somalia.That means the drive for self-sufficiency after the exodus of non-locals brings risks, namely the widening of an already sizeable gulf with the rest of Kenya.”
Amid Fear and Flight, A Muslim Minority Embraces Self-sufficiency
23 December – Source: The Christian Science Monitor – 1,182 Words
When the Somali militant group Al-Shabaab attacked a bus in Kenya’s remote northeast on Monday morning, they appeared to have a clear plan: Stop the bus. Separate the Christians on board. Kill them. Scare other Christians in the region enough to flee. Leave the local Muslims feeling abandoned by their countrymen. That’s how it went a year ago, when the Islamist militants attacked another bus in Mandera County, killing 28 Christians on board. The incident sparked a mass exodus by thousands of non-local teachers and health workers who left behind a social service catastrophe – shuttered clinics, stalled development projects, and empty classrooms.
The predominantly Somali Muslim northeast has long depended on Kenyans from the rest of the country to fill jobs in education and healthcare. Their hasty retreat last year exposed how fickle that support can be amid mounting insecurity – and how vulnerable that leaves the region. To cope, locals are owning their welfare and county governments are taking on responsibilities normally reserved for the national government, like the recruitment and paying of teachers. The change is a step-up for the region. But it also plays into the hands of Al Shabab, which seeks to drive a wedge between Kenya’s Christians and Muslims, and between the Somali northeast and the rest of the country.
TOP TWEETS
@NastasyaTay : #Christmas isn’t Christmas in #Somaliawithout a ban on Christmas to ward off #AlShabaab
@ferigom69 : UN official says Somalia is no longer a failed state | @scoopit http://sco.lt/7AenVh #Somalia
@HassanDudde : “#Puntland Gov. improves civil servant pay to attract & retain skilled staff” says @horseed #Somalia
@observerug : #Uganda-n soldiers in #Somalia unpaid for 7 months http://www.observer.ug/news-
@yhassan_ : Refreshing 2 see young Somalis challenge knowledge production on #Somalia. Our identity, history & sovereignty need our voice #Cadaanstudies
@PDCSomalia : Somali-led #ICC petitions planned to bring#Somalia war criminals to justice. Possible #Somalia spring in the making. Join #Kacdoon now
@MoPIC_Somalia : with the input from other stakeholders to produce a unified National Development Plan.” #MoPIC#Jubbaland #Somalia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Women Lawyers in Puntland attend the opening of Human Rights Training at UNSOM Garoowe Compound
Photo: UNSOM