February 2, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somalia, Kenya Sign Bilateral Cooperation Agreement
02 February – Source:Hiiraan Online – 308 Words
Somalia and Kenya sealed a cooperation agreement that would provide a framework for the promotion of ties as well as enhancing of all future engagements between the two neighboring countries.The two countries continue to face security threats by the Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab group which carried out multiple deadly attacks in the two countries in past few years. The group also continues guerilla attacks against Somali government and African Union forces protecting it. Somalia’s Foreign Minister Abdisalam Omer and Kenyan counterpart Amina Mohamed signed the agreement after a meeting at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa on Monday.
During their meeting, the two ministers have also re-launched a Joint Commission of Cooperation (JCC) to help boost bilateral ties between the two countries. According to officials, the JCC is a culmination of wide ranging consultation on matters of mutual bilateral and regional interest between the two countries. Speaking after the agreements, Mr. Omer said that the both countries that signed the agreement for the first time in in 2005 again sealed it after a review for it to tone with the current situation in the region.In addition, Ms. Amina highlighted the significance of the agreement, saying that the two countries were important to each other to work towards common goals.
The agreement which would have to be approved by presidents of the two countries comes at a time the neighboring states are struggling to contain a deadly insurgency by Al-Shabaab which despite maintaining its major base in Somalia also set up military bases in Kenyan forest from where they launch attacks against the East African nation.Kenya sent troops into Somalia in 2011 after spate of attacks and kidnappings of tourists by suspected Al Shabab.fighters, however, the group has since stepped up attacks against Kenya in retaliation for the deployment of its military in Somalia.
Key Headlines
- Somalia Kenya Sign Bilateral Cooperation Agreement (Hiiraan Online)
- Somali President Meets Ethiopian Prime Minister On Security (Goobjoog News)
- Somalia President Confident In AMISOM (Garowe Online)
- Somali Government Suspends Flights To Somaliland (Goobjoog News)
- Soldier Killed In Somalia Attack Buried (Standard Digital)
- Famine Becoming Desperate As East Africa Rains Fail For Third Year (ABC News)
- Walter Kalin’s Visit To Garowe (UNSOM)
- Four Al-Shabaab Militia Shot Dead At Boni (The Star)
- In Somalia Stability Is A Distant Promise (Stratfor)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali President Meets Ethiopian Prime Minister On Security
02 February – Source: Goobjoog News – 102 Words
Ethiopian Prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud held talks to deliberate on peace and security situation in Somalia on Monday in Addis Ababa. Desalegn stated that Ethiopia would extend its support to the effort of bringing sustainable peace in Somalia. “Ethiopia will continue its support to bring peace and stability” he said. During the discussion the Ethiopian premier urged Somalis to work in unison to ensure sustainable peace in the country. Somali President Hassen Sheikh Mohamud said on his part “Ethiopia has always supported Somalia; and has been engaged in the peace process in Somalia.”
Somalia President Confident In AMISOM
02 February – Source: Garowe Online – 225 Words
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has full confidence that African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) could be capitalized on given ongoing stabilization operations in the East African country. Mohamud was speaking in a key security meeting focused on Burundi crisis and mandate of African Union peacekeepers in Somalia.
He said, East African leaders agreed to deploy contingents to turmoil-hit Burundi which also maintains peacekeeping presence in Somalia. Coming to defense of AU forces, he pointed to similar missions by troops serving with United Nations peacekeeping missions in other African nations. In an interview with BBC Somali Service, he blamed Somalis for failing to institute a united and strong national army in a country racked by a two-decade old unrest. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has been favoring that African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) be strengthened with maritime and airpower since deadly raid on a base in southwestern El Adde village.
Kenyatta told AU Peace and Security Council that hardened terrorists are trying to impede Somalia’s progress. He in turn demanded strong African Union peacekeepers prepared for terror shrewdness as exemplified by recent Al-Shabaab attack.In a bid to bar terror off, Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) crossed border into Somalia in late 2011. Over 22,000-strong AU forces prop up Somali National Army (SNA) in the fight against militants in central and southern Somalia.
Somali Government Suspends Flights To Somaliland
02 February – Source: Goobjoog News – 190 Words
Director General of Somali Immigration and Naturalization Department, Abdullahi Gaafow Mohamoud has issuedon Monday an official letter in which he suspended all flights from Hargeisa, capital of the breakaway Somaliland to Mogadishu. The letter calls all airline companies that operate in Somalia to bring the flights between Mogadishu and Hargeisa to an end within the course of 21 days. All domestic flights between the two towns will be stopped on 22 of this month.
The decision comes after the administration of Somaliland issued ultimatum to all non Somalilanders including Somalis from Southern Somalia to leave Somaliland before the 1 February 2016 or else to register themselves as foreigners with the breakaway Somaliland authorities.
Somaliland has informed all citizens from Somalia to apply for visa or face the deportation into the south Somalia. Somaliland interior minister Ali Mohamed Waran Adde said “ Any Somaliland citizen caught assisting non Somalilanders to stay in Somaliland illegally or without proper permission, will be prosecuted together with the foreigner. General Abdullahi Gaafow Mohamoud has stated that the suspension will remain in place until a resolution will be reached over the constraints.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Soldier Killed In Somalia Attack Buried
02 February – Source: Standard Digital – 336 Words
A Kenya Defence Forces soldier killed in El Adde, Somalia, was buried in Mumias East Monday. Speaking during the burial ceremony in Makunga, Saidi Olacho said his son Omar Olacho’s desire to protect Kenyans saw him quit his studies at Kenya Medical Training College to join the military in 2012. “I am yet to believe that my son is no more. He was so disciplined and his passion to protect our country forced him to quit studies as a nutritionist to join the military,” said Olacho.
Those who got an opportunity to speak asked KDF to avenge the deaths of the country’s heroes. Mumias East MP Benjamin Washiali said his constituency was one of the most affected and urged the military to pursue Al Shabaab until the terror group is vanquished. “Unless Somalia is peaceful we will never enjoy peace in our country. We remain insecure as Kenyans if Somalia will remain the way it is now. The only solution is to fight the enemy to the end,” Mr Washiali said. “We have to use all means possible to defeat terrorism to secure our country. I am ready to take my son to the military so that he can help us secure this nation. We are at war with Al Shabaab. Whether in Kenya or Somalia we have to deal with them.”
KDF led by Imam Maalim Ali said they will miss the exemplary work done by Private Omar. Omar was with the 9th Kenya Rifles, based at Moi Barracks in Eldoret. He served under Delta Company. Last month, Chief of Defence Forces Samson Mwathethe said the Al Shabaab commander who led the El-Adde attack, Maalim Janow, was killed in a KDF airstrike launched after the incident. A board of inquiry formed to probe what really happened during the attack started its work late last month. Preliminary findings showed the local Marehan clan might have played a role in the attack’s planning and execution. The clan lives in El Adde, Gedo region where the camp was.
Famine Becoming Desperate As East Africa Rains Fail For Third Year
02 February – Source: ABC News – Video: 1:21 Minutes
Parts of East Africa haven’t seen rain in three years and conditions are becoming increasingly desperate as famine takes hold.
Walter Kalin’s Visit To Garowe
02 February – Source: UNSOM – 158 Words
On 1st February, the Special Advisor to the DSRSG/RC/HC on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs),Walter Kälin, accompanied by a UN delegation met with the Vice President of Puntland, Abdihakim Haji Omar, to discuss the current IDPs situation in the region. In his remarks, the Vice-President stated that Puntland welcomed the displaced people and refugees and also provided them with the necessary support. Kälin also met with IDP representatives at Jowle IDP camp, where he came to know more about their situation and heard their priorities.
During his visit, the Special Advisor met with Puntland’s Minister of Interior, Ahmed Elmi Osman “Garaash”, and his team to learn what activities are being implemented to address the needs of people living in those camps and the challenges the government staff are facing to conduct their work. Kälin also met with Puntland’s Deputy Minister of Planning, Said Farah Mohamud, and discussed potential plans and development programs for the displaced people.
Four Al-Shabaab Militia Shot Dead At Boni
02 February – Source: The Star – 216 Words
Security officers yesterday killed four suspected al Shabaab fighters, recovered a stolen National Police Service vehicle and a weapons cache in Boni Forest. Kenya Defence Forces military spokesman Col David Obonyo said the vehicle was recovered by a multi-agency security team patrolling in Boni Forest. It had been stolen in December last year at Milihoi near Lamu. The team also recovered four AK47 rifles, three improvised explosive devices, other assorted ammunition and items used by the terrorist group.
Initial reports indicate the security agencies in the area received intelligence that the stolen vehicle had been spotted in the vast forest. A team was dispatched to track the militia. “Security forces patrolling the Kenya-Somalia border along Boni Forest picked up the trail and engaged the terrorists in a gunfight. Four of the suspects were killed, while two managed to escape with bullet wounds,” Obonyo said in a statement. Police then recovered the stolen Ford Ranger vehicle, the weapons and explosives.
They pursued other suspects who escaped into the forest. A major operation has been launched to track the militia, who are believed to be behind the recent attacks on security personnel in Boni forest. The attacks include the planting of IEDs which blew up of a police vehicle killing seven administration police officers last week in Lamu county.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Progress toward stability in Somalia, whether by securing the country from Al Shabaab militants or through the creation of a legitimate and capable government, has stagnated over the past few years, and no immediate cause for change is in sight,”
In Somalia, Stability Is A Distant Promise
01 February – Source: Stratfor – 1698 Words
Somalia has long been administered by transitional governments, delegated through a well-established clan structure. A long-term plan is underway to transform the Somali political model into a functional Western-style democracy, but actual progress has been meager. The terms of the current parliament and government will expire later this year. While the Cabinet agreed on Jan. 28 to a U.N.-backed plan for “free, fair elections,” there is little realistic chance of this happening. What will occur instead is the selection of parliamentarians by regional representatives. These representatives from the sub-states will pick lawmakers from among the four most powerful clans in Somalia and, to a lesser extent, from a loose grouping of smaller clans. Talk of state-building and democracy aside, the primary issue to be addressed is Somalia’s security situation, which remains the single largest obstacle to political stability of any kind for Mogadishu.
Despite almost a decade of intervention by members of the African Union, Somalia still has serious internal security issues to contend with. A Jan. 15 attack in the southwest Somali region of El-Adde against forces from the Kenyan African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) illustrates this challenge. Somali militant group al Shabaab took credit for the attack and claimed to have killed 100 Kenyan soldiers as well. The ability of the group to conduct such actions highlights the coalition’s limited achievements in securing the country. The African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia, established nine years ago this February, made a serious dent in al Shabaab’s capabilities following the initial Ethiopian unilateral intervention from 2006-2009, but over time it has fallen short on many of its goals. This year, Somalia was supposed to reach a pivotal moment in its path toward stability by organizing general elections. However, the planned vote will not take place because the security concerns and internal political challenges facing the country are simply too vast.
TOP TWEETS
@Saferworld : The fight against #terrorism has dominated discussions about #Somalia‘s chances for peacehttp://bit.ly/1nHzyM2
@SalahOsman0 : Somali women (old and young) are committed to fight against violence #Mogadishu #Somalia
@MogadishuUpdate: #Somalia to ban flights from #Mogadishuto #Hargaysa #Somaliland from 22 feb.2016
@MinisterMOFA : I signed a Joint Commission for Cooperation btn #Somalia & #Kenya w/@AMB_A_Mohammed to further strengthen our ties.
@SNTVSomalia: @HillaryClinton #Somalia #Congratulations to@HillaryClinton 4 winning Iowa, & we thank all people in Iowa 4 choosing the right Candidate
@HarunMaruf : #Somalia: The battle for hearts and minds is on: The govt has announced a team to investigate Kenya airstrikes in southern regions on Sunday
@Vatescorp : #Somalia: Puntland Security forces hunt former Governor Abdisamad Mohamed Gallan after violent protesthttp://ow.ly/XPtBP
IMAGE OF THE DAY
AMISOM ENDF soldiers help to plough the field of an elderly man in Baidoa.
Photo: AMISOM