February 17, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Renowned businessman gunned down in Beledweyne

17 Feb – Source: Garowe Online/Radio RBC – 182 Words

Renowned businessman has been shot and killed in Beledweyne, the regional capital of Hiran region on Tuesday, Garowe Online reports. Security officials told the media that unidentified assailants gunned down Omar Muhumad Nur, alias Haji Qurow, and his bodyguard in front of his home. Mohamed Osman Abdi, Beledweyne district governor, confirmed the businessman and his security guard were killed. A witness, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the gunmen were dressed in Somali military uniform. The attackers are said to have fled from the shooting scene shortly, and nobody has claimed credit for the attack. Somali government forces alongside African Union peacekeepers immediately carried out search operations in several neighbourhoods right away, arresting an undisclosed number of suspects.The late businessman was said to have been making renovations in the district office building, according to the mayor. Al Shabaab group, Al Qaeda’s largest franchise in the horn, is known for planned assassinations, largely in central and southern Somalia. Hiran has also been a spot for inter-clan clashes that have left scores dead since mid-2013.

Key Headlines

SFUD elects former prime minister as its chairman (Radio Goobjoog)
Renowned businessman gunned down in Beledweyne (Garowe Online)
Gunmen shot dead Somali immigration official (Radio Dalsan)
Mudug herder kills own goats with drug overdose (Radio Ergo)
UN Delegation Visits Qatar Red Crescent for Further Cooperation in Somalia (Qatar Red Crescent)
Somali-Americans lose another bank willing to transfer cash (Twincities.com)
Minn. US Attorney Calls Terrorist Recruitment in Minnesota a ‘Daily Battle’ (KSTP – Eyewitness News 5)

SOMALI MEDIA

SFUD elects former prime minister as its chairman

17 Feb – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 231 Words

The Somali Forum for Unity and Democracy today convened its first National Founders Conference at the Peoples House, the Forum’s headquarters in Mogadishu, Somalia. The Forum, which brings together political actors, civil society stakeholders, and other prominent personalities offers the first nationwide dialogue on the country’s priorities and is a key catalyst for the reform agenda and the implementation of Vision 2016. Founders of the Forum at the conference endorsed the ideals of the Forum; discussed and approved the Forum’s Provisional Constitution and program framework for the first six-months.

The founders also elected former Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed as Chair, 2012 Presidential Candidate Abdurahman Maalin Abdullahi as Deputy Chair, former Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Arab Esse as Deputy Chair, prominent Somali academic Professor Abdishukur Sheikh Hassan Fiqi as Deputy Chair and former Minister of Health Ali Mohamed Mohamud as Secretary-General. The election process was conducted in an open, democratic, and transparent manner. While acknowledging the important groundwork covered by the Forum and its Parliamentary group, founders and guests at the conference praised the Forum for its Pan-Somali approach and expect the elected leaders to deliver on its principles. The Forum represents a concerted effort to champion for a clear political roadmap where the public, political actors and state institutions will be engaged in dialogue for reform to return power to the people.

Renowned businessman gunned down in Beledweyne

17 Feb – Source: Garowe Online/Radio RBC – 182 Words

Gunmen shoot dead Somali immigration official

17 Feb – Source: Dalsan Radio – 110 Words

Gunmen have killed senior Somali immigration official Mohamed Kadiye Jimaale. Eyewitness have told the media that his car was blocked by another vehicle near Mogadishu’s Nasa Hablod hotel in Kilometer Four junction before spraying bullets. Three other immigration officials who were in Kadiye’s car were also killed and suspects have escaped. Somali Information Minister, Mohamed Abdi Hayir, who immediately sent his condolences to the family of the victims has said the security agencies are tracking the perpetrators and will be brought before justice soon. Al Shabaab militant group has claimed the responsibility for the attack saying it will step up attacks against government officials.

Mudug herder kills own goats with drug overdose

16 Feb – Source: Radio Ergo – 253 Words

A pastoralist in Balag village, more than 10 kms south of Jarriban in Mudug region, mistakenly killed 120 of his goats after making a deadly error in administering drugs. Adan Abdi Adan (Qoryare) told Radio Ergo’s local reporter that the goats died after he dosed them with a combination of two drugs – Oxytetracycline and Ivomectine1% – to treat them for tick-borne disease. He bought the drugs locally after seeing the combination being used by the ministry of livestock to cure animal diseases in the past. But he did not consult a veterinarian nor did he get information on its correct usage.

“My intention was to treat the goats and relieve them from their pain, but due to ignorance, I overdosed them and as a result I lost all my livestock. We are a destitute family today!” said Adan, who has eight children. Only 20 goats in his herd survived and they also appear to have suffered from the overdose as they are too weak to stand up. He warned other pastoralists to learn from his mistake and to seek advice from veterinary experts before treating their animals. Adan Abbi Samatar, the coordinator of Puntland’s livestock ministry office in Mudug, said the use of the two drugs in combination was common in certain treatments, but the deaths of the goats in Balag must have been due to an overdose. He said the ministry was not aware of any current livestock disease outbreak in the area.

REGIONAL MEDIA

UN delegation visits Qatar Red Crescent for further cooperation in Somalia

17 Feb – Source: Qatar Red Crescent – 432 Words

A high-profile delegation from the United Nations visited Qatar Red Crescent (QRC) headquarters this morning to enhance cooperation and discuss issues of common interest. The delegation comprised Mr. Nicholas Kay, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia, and Noboru Fernandes de Abreu, the Special Assistant to the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia. The guests were received by Mr. Saleh bin Ali Al-Mohannadi, QRC Secretary-General, Mr. Hamad Al-Fayyad, QRC Communications Advisor, and Mr. Izedeen Elglal, Head of Africa Office, Relief and International Development Department.

Mr. Al-Mohannadi welcomed the guests and reviewed QRC’s relief and development interventions in Somalia, both on its own and in tandem with the Qatari Charitable Alliance for Solidarity with the Somali People, lately culminating with an MoU with its Somali counterpart as a legal framework to execute its humanitarian projects throughout Somalia. The talks also covered the situation in Somalia, which, according to Mr. Kay, has largely improved in security, economy, healthcare, education, and new jobs, thanks to the close cooperation between Somali authorities, the Qatari government, and different UN agencies, such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Mr. Al-Mohannadi emphasized the importance of enabling the local communities to return home and establishing productive projects for them, especially with the better situation in the capital Mogadishu and the restoration of normal life. QRC, he noted, has implemented dozens of relief and development projects through its permanent office in Somalia, the latest of which was opening a new health center in the Awdheegle district, Lower Shebelle, in partnership with Qatar Charity. The QR 280,000 health facility would serve the district’s 30,000 population as well as neighboring towns.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somali-Americans lose another bank willing to transfer cash

Feb 17 – Source: Twincities.com – 939 Words

For years, Mohammed Amin Kahin has sent money to his family in Somalia to help them with rent, food and schooling. But now the 27-year-old Bloomington man and others in the Twin Cities with roots in the impoverished East Africa country are concerned about how they will continue the practice of remittances to Somalia, what they call a lifeline for their relatives’ basic needs. Under pressure from federal agencies trying to curb money flows to criminals and terrorists, the last large American bank willing to arrange cash transfers to the country informed Somali-American money-transfer operators in January that it was discontinuing their relationship.

Some smaller banks are continuing the transfers, but whether they can keep up with the demand is unknown, Mohamud Noor, executive director of the Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota, said Monday. “I came to the United States to live the American dream of working hard and playing by the rules while supporting my family,” Kahin wrote on a petition he started on change.org to ask the U.S. Treasury Department to help solve the problem. “To share one personal example, my sister was very sick and in a coma for several months in Somalia. Our family there did not have money to pay for her hospitalization and treatment, and she was saved only through God’s grace and the funds the community here in America were able to send home.” Some local money services businesses are talking about closing or limiting their hours; some are being forced to handle fewer transfers, Sugule said. At the Village Market mall, a cluster of Somali-American-owned businesses on East 24th Street in Minneapolis, the small money-transfer shops remained open Monday.

Minn. US Attorney calls terrorist recruitment in Minnesota a ‘daily battle’

17 Feb – Source: KSTP – Eyewitness News 5 – 396 Words

Minnesota U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger sat down with 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS for an exclusive interview about fighting terrorist recruitment in the Twin Cities. In a candid talk, Luger acknowledged terrorist recruitment is a “daily, ongoing effort by my office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Department of Justice, in Washington, D.C…Minnesotans should not live in fear of a terrorist attack in their own backyard, but it is a reality that there are certain people being recruited here by foreign terrorist groups to fight overseas,” Luger said. “We do not have any direct evidence that there is an effort right now to target the Twin Cities, or other locations in Minnesota.”

Luger says terror groups, such as ISIS, have become “very sophisticated with social media campaigns and they use slick production to lure disenfranchised young people to come join them in their terror campaign on foreign soil.” Since 2007, there have been 22 young men from Minneapolis who’ve been recruited to join terror groups in foreign countries. “We monitor things on a daily basis with very sophisticated FBI agents and attorneys in my office to make sure Minnesotans are kept safe from any terror threat here, or abroad,” Luger said. Members of the Somali community from Minneapolis will also attend the “White House Summit on Combating Extremism.” The Somali contingent has expressed a strong desire to help government investigators find potential recruitment targets. At the same time, they also want the USDOJ and the FBI to respect their civil rights as U.S. citizens.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“The documentary comes at the backdrop of the 2014 “Operation Usalama Watch,” and the larger debate surrounding the representation and the injustices incurred against Kenya’s ethnic Somali community. Despite the government’s insistence that it was weeding out terrorists, experiences of Kenyan-Somalis, some of them government officials, facing the police and their identity cards confiscated for being “fake,” were all over the news. It was a case of history repeating itself: both as a tragedy and as a farce.”

In new documentary, Wagalla Massacre victims recount horror of dark days

16 Feb – Source: Sahan Journal – 885 Words

There’s a scene midway through Kenyan filmmaker Judy Kibinge’s documentary“Scarred” about the Wagalla Massacre: Councilor Halima Sheik from Wajir is addressing a group of women at the offices of the Wagalla Trust Foundation who conferred to weigh the impact of the tragedy on their lives. Half way through her talk, Halima breaks into tears and the flow of her conversation comes to a halt. “Don’t cry,” says one of the women in Somali. Amidst the quiet murmurs of consolation, the woman, her words not captured in the English subtitles, adds, “Continue [Halima], the time for crying is over.” If anything, it is the singularity of that moment, lost in translation, which epitomizes the frustrations and bitterness surrounding the events of the Wagalla Massacre. Thirty-one years ago, hundreds – possibly thousands – of Somalis were rounded, tortured and killed in an airstrip in Wajir. The truth about what transpired in that airstrip is still mysterious and inconclusive.

What started as an operation in 1984 to disarm members of the ethnic Somali Degodia clan morphed into what the United Nations termed as one of the worst violations of human rights in the history of Kenya. During the large-scale military operation, the Kenyan army carried out systematic attacks, according to witnesses. The army raped women, burned houses, arrested and tortured men, and later on, forced them to lie bare on the ground for days. The heinous violations were of substantial proportions, and victims narrated stories of thirst, starvation and abuse that much of Kenya hasn’t come to terms with in the three decades since. With Kibinge’s documentary, perhaps the time has come for a serious and sound reflection on the Wagalla Massacre. Titled “Scarred: The Anatomy of a Massacre,” the documentary was launched at the National Museum in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. The picture is unique in that it is the first independent visual attempt to chronicle the history of the massacre as experienced by both the victims and survivors – some of whom were government officials themselves.

UN representative to Somalia says still long way to go in fight against al-Shabab

16 Feb – Source: Al Jazeera – Video – 4:25 Minutes

Al-Shabab fighters were pushed out of Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, in 2011, but the group has vowed to continue its battle against a Western-backed government which also enjoys broad pan-African support. African Union (AU) peacekeepers and the Somali army last year opened a campaign that has forced the al Qaeda-linked fighters out of major strongholds in central and southern regions, but the group continues to mount sporadic attacks. Nicholas Kay, the UN special representative to Somalia, told Al Jazeera that while Somali and AU forces have made some progress against al-Shabab, but there is still a long way to go to defeat the group.

#BBCtrending: the Somali woman who’s become a global star on Instagram

17 Feb – Source: BBC News – Video – 2:59 Minutes

What’s your stereotype of the Somali capital Mogadishu? Whatever it is, chances are it’s different from the view you get if you follow Ugaaso Abakar on Instagram. She has 42,000 followers largely because of her irreverent take on Somali life.

Top tweets

@UNSomalia: Reports of a UN plane crash in #Somalia today are untrue. All UN aircrafts are accounted for.

@Mogadishuevents: #Somalia’s President, was received warmly by Parliament speaker after returning from #Germany for medical check ups.

@vanillalisam: 40% of #Somalia‘s population depends on money from loved ones abroad 2 survive. @USTreasury save the #SomaliLifeline: http://bit.ly/1EGcdQk

@MogadishuNews: Ahmed Abdi Hassan, jailed #Shabelle radio Journalist facing skin diseases in #Mogadishu central prison.#Somalia

@ARCBriefing: New more technocratic #government in#Somalia may reduce federal government infighting.http://bit.ly/1FNEWQO

‏@razshirwa1: Only in Somalia, overloaded truck tips in from of the Somali Part building in Mogadishu, #Somalia pic.twitter.com/qNwGbIrBsz

@aarslantas38: Day 3 in #Somalia: Opening #Waterwells in#Banadir region, on behalf of #IHH #Nederland.pic.twitter.com/HVUxZHBHI5

@Somalia111 Al Jazeera interview: #Somalia faces problems of country coming together not falling apart.http://youtu.be/hj00DM_RQSc

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Image of the day

Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF) who are part of AMISOM peacekeepers yesterday observed army day in Baidoa, Somalia. This day is commemorated in Ethiopia to mark the date the ENDF was officially established in 1991. Photo: AMISOM