February 13, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

WFP to feed 1.6M people in Somalia this year, agency reports

13 Feb – Source: News Medical/VOA – 175 words

“The World Food Programme (WFP) reports it plans to feed 1.6 million people in Somalia this year, including more than one million people who are in a state of crisis” because of an ongoing insurgency by Somali militant group al Shabaab.

WFP “reports the situation in Somalia is somewhat better now than it was in August 2011, when the country was struggling with conflict and drought,” but while “the number of those in need has dropped by more than half, WFP says the situation remains critical, especially in the south,” the news service adds.

“WFP spokeswoman Elizabeth Byrs said a rapid food security and nutrition assessment carried out in [the port city of] Kismayo shows the severity of the situation there,” according to VOA, which noted, “WFP already has begun programs to assist people in Kismayo, with a special emphasis on children under five and lactating mothers.” The news service adds, “WFP is appealing for $57 million to carry out its humanitarian operation over the next six months” (Schlein, 2/8).

Key Headlines

WFP to feed 1.6M people in Somalia this year agency reports (News Medical/VOA)
Ahlu Sunna administration in Galgadud lambasts Somali MPs over visit (Radio Kulmiye/Universal TV/Somali Channel)
Families on edge as al Shabaab’s D-day to execute hostages reaches (Standard Media)
Al Shabaab launches surprise attack on Baidoa (Hiiraan Online/Shabelle/Jowhar Online)
Somali firefighters to resume operations (Universal TV/ Sierra Express Media/Xikmo Online/Sonna)
Basic food needs in Somalia have fallen by half: UN (Coast Week/Xinhua)
Galgadud residents await government authority in the region say MPs (Radio Bar-kulan)
Somalia: Jubaland delegation arrives in Puntland and meets Galkayo city council (Garowe Online)

SOMALI MEDIA

Ahlu Sunna administration in Galgadud lambasts Somali MPs over visit

13 Feb – Source: Radio Kulmiye/Universal TV/Somali Channel – 76 words

Sheikh Yussef Hefow, the Executive Chair of the Religious Sect Ahlu-Sunna Wal jama has questioned the recent visit of members of Somali parliament in the the central region.

In a press conference in Guriceel town of the Galgadud region, Hefow said that the lawmakers, who have been in the recent times travelling across the towns and the villages of Galgadud province have not clarified their exact intention, creating political confusion.

The Executive Chair said that they cannot guarantee safety for the Mps if they do not inform their administration and report their travel and as well as their intent.

Al Shabaab launches surprise attack on Baidoa

13 Feb – Source: Hiiraan Online/Shabelle/Jowhar Online – 89 words

Somalia’s Al qaida wing, The al Shabaab has launched a night raid in Baidoa of south-west Somalia. Residents in the town say both sides used heavy artillery in the fighting that has lasted two hours.

There are conflicting reports of casualties though we cannot confirm the authenticity of these reports. The attack came after days of ongoing power struggle in the town which is the provincial administration of Bay region.

Former Bay governor Abdifatah Geesey has been resisting to hand over power to the newly government appointed governor Abdi Hoosow.

Somali firefighters to resume operations

13 Feb – Source: Universal TV/ Sierra Express Media/Xikmo Online/Sonna – 75 words

Mogadishu’s fire department is resuming operations for the first time since 1991 when civil war broke out in Somalia.

Firefighters in the capital have recently completed an intensive training course organised by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Many basic public services like firefighting, healthcare and sanitation were neglected by extremist group al Shabaab who controlled parts of the capital and country until the Somali National Army drove them out with the support of AMISOM.

Somalia: Jubaland delegation arrives in Puntland and meets Galkayo city council

13 Feb – Source: Garowe Online – 122 words

A delegation consisting of traditional elders and businessmen from Jubaland state received a warm welcome at Abdullahi Yusuf International airport in Galkayo on Tuesday where they met with Puntland officials, Garowe Online reports.

Governor of Mudug region Mohamed Yusuf Jama Tigey and Galkayo Mayor Ahmed Ali Salaad, Puntland officials as well as hundreds of citizens welcomed the delegation at Abdullahi Yusuf airport.

The Jubaland delegation briefly spoke to press at Abdullahi Yusuf airport where they stated that they would be discussing continued cooperation and coordination with the Jubaland state building process that is currently ongoing. Tuesday afternoon, the delegation met with Governor Tigey, Mayor Salaad and the Galkayo city council to discuss how Puntland efforts to establish Jubaland state could be improved.

Galgadud residents await government authority in the region, say MPs

13 Feb – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 374 words

Locals in central Somalia region of Galgadud would like to see the presence of Federal Government’s institutions in the region, according to the findings of a group of legislators who have been assessing the needs of the locals in the region.

The five-member MPs who have been in the region since late last month to lay ground for a high-level government officials expected to visit the area and assess both security and humanitarian situation in the region said locals are eager for fully functional government institutions Galgadud.

Speaking at a press conference in Dusamareb town on Wednesday, the MPs said they have now completed their first phase of their mission and will soon embark on the second phase, which they say includes bringing top government officials in to the region.They said locals in the region have been longing for “fully operational government institutions” in the region and provision of social services like education, health and security.

Civil society groups in the region demand that the federal government immediately exert its authority in the entire region and provide the necessary social amenities, according to legislator Noor Farah who is one of the MPs touring the region. Mahad Mohamed Salat, another MP, said ordinary citizens are calling on the government to expand its authority in Galgadud to address thorny issues in the region including security and poor living standards among the local population.

NUSOJ welcomes release of Somali journalist

13 Feb – Source: Somaliweyn – 126 words

The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) welcomes the release of the Somali journalist, Daud Abdi Daud by the regional court on Tuesday 12 February 2013, meanwhile the defending lawyer of Abdulaziz Abdinur Ibrahim deposited an appeal to the appeals court on Tuesday 12 February 2013.

The Regional Court freed Daud Abdi Daud, who works for Kulmiye and head of Somali Media for Environment, Science, Health and Agriculture, on bail granted by the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) on Tuesday afternoon February 12, 2013 and the Attorney General’s office accepted the bail.

He was arrested on 5 February 2013 outside the regional court soon after the hearing of the trail of the journalist Abdiaziz Koronto finished. He was in detention for 7 days without charges.

Somaliland President Silanyo Meets with Genel Energy chief in London

12 Feb – Source: Somaliland Press – 231 words

Somaliland President Ahmed Mohamed Mahmoud (Silanyo) has met with the CEO of a Turkish oil exploration company GENEL Energy Mr. John Hayward in London, UK Capital.

Top officials of the Turkish owned company hosted a luncheon in honor of President and entourage at the headquarters of Genel Energy in London. During the luncheon President Silanyo spoke of the potentials Somaliland holds in terms of natural resources which currently remains unexplored by the outside world.

President Silanyo also took the opportunity to reiterate his government commitment to work with all those who are ready to invest in the country by saying “Somaliland is open for business”.

Al Shabaab threatens bombing campaign across Somalia

12 Feb – Source: Radio Dalsan – 184 words

Al Shabaab has threatened that it will carry out bombing operations across the war-torn nation, especially the locations including the Villa Somalia. Abdi Aziz Abu Mus’ab, the spokesperson of the al Shabaab military operations who conducted a press conference talked about several issues including the suicide bombings they have conducted on Monday in the Galkayo town.

He said that one of their suicide bombers has conducted the bombing, adding that the target was a senior police official who was ‘hurting the civilian population. “We will target you anywhere you are, whether you stay in Galkayo or in Mogadishu,we can bomb anywhere,” said Abu Mus’ab.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Families on edge as al Shabaab’s D-day to execute hostages reaches

13 Feb – Source: Standard Media – 897 words

On Thursday, while the rest of the world will be celebrating Valentines Day, a family will be anxiously waiting for news from Somalia. On this day, al Shabaab militants have threatened to execute their son Edward Yesse Mule.

Mr. Mule, a youthful DO of Burderi District in Wajir has been in the hands of the al Shabaab for a year now and the insurgents last month issued a threat to execute him and other Kenyans in their captivity if their demands are not met.

In a video clip entitled Kenya Pows: Final Message, Mr. Mule, speaking on behalf of the Kenyan captives, pleaded with the Government to heed the group’s demands. Seated beside him was Mr. Fredrick Irungu Wainaina, a Registrar of Persons official in the same district with whom they were abducted.

The Government estimates that there could be up to ten Kenyans in the hands of the militant group, including two Kenya Defence Force (KDF) soldiers who were abducted in June last year, three months before the Government commenced the military operation against al Shabaab.

Basic food needs in Somalia have fallen by half: UN

12 Feb – Source: Coast Week/ Xinhua – 252 words

The number of people in Somalia who are unable to meet their basic food needs without assistance fell by half over the past six months, a UN spokesman said here Friday.

“One million people are now in that category, or about 14 percent of the population,” UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said at a daily news briefing here, citing information from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

“The humanitarian situation remains fragile, and an estimated 1. 7 million people are at risk of falling back into crisis without continued support to meet their basic needs and build up their livelihoods,” he said.

Inside Story – Somalia: Arms race vs arms embargo?

12 Feb – Source: Al Jazeera – 25 min

We examine how the unrest in the Horn of Africa is being exacerbated and who stands to gain from it. can ending the 20-year-old arms embargo on Somalia be a solution or yet another problem in an emerging arms race in the region?

And who stands to benefit from the turmoil? Inside Story, with presenter Mike Hanna, discusses with guests: Peter Kagwanja, the director of the Africa Policy Institute; Roland Marchal, a senior research fellow at the National Centre for Scientific Research, at the Paris Institute of Political Science; and David Shinn, a former US ambassador to Ethiopia, and a professor of international affairs at George Washington University.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

WFP to feed 1.6M people in Somalia this year, agency reports

13 Feb – Source: News Medical/VOA – 175 words

Community-based approach addresses acute malnutrition in Somalia

13 Feb – Source: UNICEF – 65 words

The first year of Ubah Ismail’s life was difficult. At 5 months, she had pneumonia, followed by a severe intestinal upset that left her with diarrhoea for much of her sixth month.

Like hundreds of thousands of other Somali children affected by illness, Ubah lacked adequate complementary food and access to clean water. By the age of 7 months, she required treatment for severe malnutrition.

Somalia reporter freed in rape trial case

12 Feb – Source: AFP – 450 words

A Somali journalist was freed Tuesday following a week in custody after he criticised the jailing of a reporter and a source who said she was raped by security forces, colleagues said.

Daud Abdi Daud, who works for Radio Kulmiye, was arrested on February 5 shortly after speaking out at the sentencing for one year of reporter Abdiaziz Abdinuur and the alleged rape victim he interviewed. Human Rights Watch, quoting credible sources, said Daud was arrested after “saying that journalists have the right to interview people”.

HRW added that Daud was transferred from police custody to the central prison in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Monday. According to the National Union of Somali Journalists, Daud was released on Tuesday afternoon, the day Abdinuur’s lawyers lodged an appeal.

Weapons Flowing to Somali Militants

12 Feb – Source: VOA – 677 words

The military offensive against the al Shabaab militia in Somalia has made major advances over the past year. However, al Shabaab has not been defeated. U.N. monitors reportedly say the group is receiving weapons from distribution networks with ties to Yemen and Iran.

Reuters quotes sources who say U.N. monitors report weapons are entering Somalia through Puntland and Somaliland in the north. From there they are transported south where al Shabaab is battling AU, Somali and Kenyan forces.

The news agency says the weapons include IEDs, or improvised explosive devices and machine guns and that the weapons were made in Iran and North Korea. Among those weighing what the U.N. monitors are reported to have said is Jonah Leff, of the Small Arms Survey, an independent research project.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“Somalia has to come up with a solution to the menace of the Qat. While fully it is understandable that it is tough to try to ban the habit outright, at least a committee of experts should be setup immediately to study the problem and submit recommendations to competent bodies for, at minimum, regulating it and eventually outlawing it. Massive public education and media programs relating to its dangerous hazards to personal and public health should be initiated and launched immediately to stop the spread of the habit to young generation. Somalia cannot afford to continue to ignore its greatest, silent killer of its productive members of the society and the gravest national calamity posed by Kat trade.”

Kat (aka Qat, Chat, Khat) is Grave National Security Threat to Somalia

12 Feb – Source: Wardheer News – 1241 Words

If Somalia is to survive as a nation-state and having at least a normal functioning government with even average bureaucratic operations, it must urgently find effective solutions to the epidemic of Kat addiction among its population as a national priority. The problem is more than socio-economic issue. It is a grave national security threat.

In the summer of 1997, I was a member of a delegation of the now defunct National Salvation Council (the NSC, aka Sodare Group) from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Mogadishu, Somalia. The delegation members included NSC Co-chairmen, Ali Mahdi Mohamed and Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed as well as Council members, Mohamud Mohamed Guled (Gacmadheere), Duuliye Sare Abdi Osman Farah among others. We numbered about 13 men and one female.

We were on our way to meet with an Italian delegation led by then Deputy Foreign Minister for Africa, Senator Serri, who was about to visit Mogadishu for the sole purpose of mediating between disputing Mogadishu warlords despite many other problems of Somalia. The vision of the Italian delegation on Somalia was not beyond the Banadir Region at that particular time. Abdullahi Yusuf’s intention in the mission was to disrupt the Italian visit (which he did successfully) while Ali Mahdi’s was to win over the Italian favor against Hussein Aidiid and Osman Ali Atto.

We made a two-day stop-over in Djibouti. The Prime Minister of Djibouti then, Barkat Gourad Hamadou, honored us with a lavish luncheon with tender baby-goat’s meat and other delicacies of Djibouti at his residence. After the lunch, we were taken to a large and well furnished room with an Arabic seating with soft cushions specifically designed for long-time session comfort for Kat indulgence, gossiping experience, news and secrets debriefing under the “high” influence of the stuff.

In front of every person a bazooka-like wrapping was placed, a large silver tray full of the tools of the trade: A big and tall golden tea thermos, crystal glasses, shining and engraved tea-mugs, various branded cold soft drinks in plastic Coca Cola –type bottles and commercially distilled water in gravines with swimming crystal clear ice rocks, all to be consumed in the breezing air-condition of the room- an artificial weather hide-out from the environment of burning heat of the City of Djibouti.

Children Of The Snow

12 Feb – Source: Marcellison Blog – 7:16 mins

More than 20 Somali youths have been murdered in the last three years across Canada. Unable to assimilate into Canadian culture, unable to find work, many have become involved in drugs and criminal activity.

But community groups in Ottawa, buoyed by recent funds awarded by the Ontario government, are implementing preventive programs to protect these teenagers. Almis Ali Aman is one of these so-called ‘children of the snow’ says basketball has helped him defy the negative stereotype of the Somali youth.

Top tweets

‏@SomaliPM I welcome the news that the #Mogadishu radio journalist has been released from detention – due process and rule of law must be followed.

@Horn_News As the #US pushes for an end to the arms embargo on #Somalia,how will it affect the emerging arms race in the region? http://aje.me/WZj13j.

@AviatNetworks Hormuud Telecom Launches 3G services in the capital Mogadishu http://bit.ly/VRmYdI #Africa #Somalia #wireless.

@royafrisoc Speaker at screening of ‘The ones we don’t cry for’ – #Somali women are increasingly more willing to come forward in instances of rape.

‏@Asahaaf We (UK Somali Community) have a real chance to rebuild #Somalia because we have a powerful #Somali Media and human resources plus #finance.

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Image of the day

Image of the day Two Women look on smiling as Somali young fishermen appear to struggle under the weight of the sharks in Mogadishu. Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES.