February 23, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Wanted Al-Shabaab Operative Arrested At A Mogadishu Hotel
22 February – Source: Radio Muqdisho – 118 Words
Somalia’s security and intelligence agency, (NISA), said it arrested a senior Al-Shabaab operative at a hotel in Mogadishu. The security forces detained the wanted Al-Shabaab operative with a bounty on his head from Golden Hotel at Bakara market area. He was arrested along with several other suspected militants who are now in the custody of the Somali security forces. NISA officials confirmed to the media the arrest of the militant man whose name was not made public, but said, they will soon release more details of the apprehended operative whom they believe to be a senior member of the Al-Qaeda-linked group. Al-Shabaab has not yet commented on the arrest of the alleged operative.
Key Headlines
- Wanted Al-Shabaab Operative Arrested At A Mogadishu Hotel (Radio Muqdisho)
- Somali PM Vows ‘Decisive’ Response Over Kenyan Airport Detention (Hiiraan Online)
- Amisom Forces Impose Curfew In Leego Following Intelligence Reports Of Imminent Attack (Wacaal Media)
- Puntland Police Arrest Several Suspects In Galkayo Security Operations (Wacaal Media)
- Turkey Keen To Enhance Investments In Somalia (World Bulletin)
- KDF Soldier Declared Dead But His Phone Still Rings (The Standard)
- A Portrait Of Fadumo Dayib The Hope Of Somalia’s Future? (Global Risk Insight)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali PM Vows ‘Decisive’ Response Over Kenyan Airport Detention
23 February – Source: Hiiraan Online – 241 Words
Somalia’s prime minister has vowed his government would give a decisive reaction in response to the brief detention of Somali government delegates led by him by Kenyan immigration officials at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Saturday. Speaking to Hiiraan Online on the sidelines of the High Level Partnership Forum in Istanbul Monday, Mr. Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke said that he had to stay at JKA airport for hours as Somali MPs were detained after being denied of an entry to Nairobi.
“I have met Kenyan officials at the airport and they agreed to release of the detained MPs, however, they still held them for hours after I left which is a violation of the international law.” He told Hiiraan Online in an interview. The prime minister has however denied reports by Kenyan media that he was among the government officials detained by Kenyan immigration officials at the airport. Meanwhile, the Somali government has protested what it called ‘mistreatment’ meted out against its officials by Kenyan authorities, demanding a ‘full justification’ and ‘explanation’ from the Kenyan government over the incident.
Kenyan government hasn’t yet commented on the development. However, political analysts have raised the possibility that the incident could set off a series of tit-for-tat diplomatic reprisals by the two countries which may further strain the already hasty relations between the two neighboring countries. The two countries have embassies and diplomats in each other’s capital, in addition to citizens working in both neighboring countries.
Amisom Forces Impose Curfew In Leego Following Intelligence Reports Of Imminent Attack
23 February – Source: Wacaal Media – 58 Words
Amisom forces in Leego yesterday announced a curfew in the town and its environs after receiving intelligence reports indicating an imminent Al-Shabaab attack. Following the announcement, heavily armed contingents were deployed to major streets in the town. Local residents confirmed to the media the curfew was put in place last night and the situation was calm this morning.
Puntland Police Arrest Several Suspects In Galkayo Security Operations
23 February – Source: Wacaal Media – 88 Words
Several youth suspected to have been arrested by Puntland police in Galkayo on suspicion of masterminding insecurity incidences in the town and its environs. Officials say the operation was successful and will be spread to every corner of the town. They urged parents to monitor the activities of their children. Burglaries and robberies have been on the rise in the area recently especially during the night. Locals have previously asked for assistance from security agencies in the wake of the rising cases of insecurity by the armed youths.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Turkey Keen To Enhance Investments In Somalia
23 February – Source: World Bulletin – 282 Words
Turkey’s investment in Somalia has reached around $100 million, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Lutfi Elvan saidMonday. “This number should be accepted as a beginning,” Elvan said during his speech at the Turkey-Somalia Business Forum held by the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEIK) in Istanbul. Turkey has been one of the most visible foreign countries to help war-torn Somalia rebuild its crumbling infrastructure.
Ankara has launched various development and infrastructure projects in the country in recent years, ranging from health and sanitation projects to the construction of roads and buildings. Turkey will encourage “entrepreneurs to make investments in fishing, construction and agriculture fields in particular in Somalia,” Elvan said. “We believe in Somalia’s development with all our hearts. We have decided to stand together with Somali and its people,” he added.
Turkey’s trade volume with African countries has increased to $19.4 billion in 2015, while it was only $4 billion in 2000, Omer Cihad Vardan, president of Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey, said at the forum. “We, as businessmen, will always support our brothers in order to establish a peace and a government in Somalia,” Vardan said.
KDF Soldier Declared Dead But His Phone Still Rings
23 February – Source: The Standard – 554 Words
The family of a soldier who went missing after the attack on the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) in El Adde, Somalia, had hoped that he was still alive. After all, his phone was still on and was being answered by people they believed to be his captors. So for a month and one week after the attack, the hope of the family in Eldoret had been hinged on the ringing phone. Recently, the family used a translator to communicate with a person who answered the phone but only spoke in Somali.
They managed to converse for an hour. But last Friday, their hope was dashed after they received devastating news from KDF that the gallant soldier – Corporal Musa Choge – was dead. “Our hopes had been high because of the ringing phone. We thought he had been captured by the enemy in Somalia and maybe one day, he would be set free,” said James Seurei, Corporal Choge’s younger brother.
He said KDF officers called last Friday informing them that DNA samples taken from the family had matched that of a body. “After the El Adde attack, my aunt Hellen Limo, my sister-in-law (Choge’s wife) and I reported my brother missing at Moi Barracks, Eldoret. Limo was called last Friday and informed that Choge was dead,” Mr Seurei told The Standard on telephone yesterday. He said his brother was in the 9th Kenya Rifles (KR).
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Fadumo Dayib is the first woman to run for president of Somalia in the upcoming 2016 elections. Strongly influenced by patriarchate and clans, the country has been devastated by conflicts. Being an educated woman that fights against corruption, nepotism, and injustice puts a huge target on Fadumo Dayib’s back.”
A Portrait Of Fadumo Dayib, The Hope Of Somalia’s Future?
22 February – Source: – Global Risk Insight – 820 Words
Fadumo was born when her family was forced to leave Kenya. She lived a nomadic life until 14 years old, when in the 1990’s, the permanent instability and deteriorating civil war on the Horn of Africa compelled her family to flee to Finland. Illiterate until then, Finland gave her the opportunity to get an education. A governing principle of her campaign is that she wants to give Somalis the same opportunity Finland gave to her when she was a refugee herself.
She decided to run for president when she was working as a United Nations health specialist in Liberia. She saw Liberia as a true role model for post civil war reconstruction, and she asked herself why Somalia could not do the same. “85% of the Somali population is under the age of 35 yet they don’t have a means of livelihood or the ability to visualize a better future for themselves”, Fadumo says in a promotional video. “The current situation in Somalia is really one that we cannot afford to continue maintaining.”
To be the Somalia’s first female presidential candidate comes with inherent difficulties. She bluntly declares that politics in Somalia is restricted to men with gray hair. As an educated woman, Fadumo’s campaign was not easily accepted, especially since her program mainly focuses on fighting corruption and therefore targeting the current government.
Today, she is facing threats that prevent her from campaigning in Somalia without endangering her life, and she does not have the financial means to guarantee her security. As a result, she mainly uses social media to raise awareness. Fadumo has started an internet fundraising program where everyone can give according to their resources and where the distribution of money is fully transparent.
TOP TWEETS
@yhassan_ : #Puntland accuses FG of returning #Somalia to the ‘tyranny of the unitary system’ & ‘constitutional violations’
@jreberlein : “So many people blame #youth for destruction in#Somalia, but I am here to say that youth are the only way to peace”
@UNdeClercq : Increased participation of #women in society & politics will foster peace & statebuilding in #Somalia.#HLPFİstanbul
@amisomsomalia : #HLPFIstanbul follows up on HLPF Copenhagen in November 2014 and in Mogadishu in July 2015. The forum will review progress made in #Somalia.
@MlleCsn : #Kenya #Somalia‘s gov expects a full justification over the detention of its MPs at #Nairobi‘s airport #JKIA
@Vatescorp : #Somalia: KDF soldier declared dead after#alshabaab El Adde attack but his phone still ringshttp://ow.ly/YDBXp
IMAGE OF THE DAY
A number of programs are designed, endorsed and implemented through the Somalia Development & Rehabilitation Facility in support of the Somali Compact. Nine donors, with $116.8 Million in committed resources, provide this support to bring peace and stability to Somalia.
Photo: UNSOM