February 27, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
Uganda To Host AMISOM Leaders In Key Somalia Summit
26 February – Source: The Independent – 324 Words
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni will on March 2 convene a Summit of Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in Kampala. Leaders from the AMISOM contributing countries and and the Federal Republic of Somalia are expected to participate at the highest level.
The Summit is being convened within the framework of conclusions of a September 2017 meeting hosted in New York by President Museveni on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly. The New York Summit was called to exchange views on the situation in Somalia and the future of AMISOM following the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution 2372 (2017), whose main thrust was the phased reduction and draw-down of AMISOM troops; and the gradual handover of security responsibilities to Somali National Security Forces(SNSF).
The March 2nd Summit in Kampala, will therefore provide an opportunity to further discuss the current situation in Somalia. Focus will be on the continued role of the TCCs/AMISOM in Somalia, a mechanism for sustainable and predictable funding for AMISOM plus inputs to the AMISOM transition plan. Representatives of the African Union Commission, UN Secretariat, the European Union Commission, Regional and Sub-Regional organizations, and representatives of the Five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council.
Key Headlines
- Uganda To Host AMISOM Leaders In Key Somalia Summit (The Independent )
- Gunmen Kill Former Electoral Delegate Outside Mogadishu (Shabelle News)
- Galmudug President Set To Travel To Dhuusamareeb (Dhacdo.com)
- U.S. Government Donates New Aerial Surveillance System To AMISOM (AMISOM)
- Somalia Sees Enemy Al-Shabaab Weaken Under U.S. Military Pressure (PBS News)
- Somali Music Through The Ages (Hiiraan Online)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Gunmen Kill Former Electoral Delegate Outside Mogadishu
27 February – Source: Shabelle News – 130 Words
Unidentified gunmen have shot and killed a traditional elder on the outskirts of Mogadishu, the Somali capital on Monday evening, witnesses and Police said. Mohamed Hussein Kahiye, the elder was gunned down by two men armed with pistols inside a shop he used to run at Sarkuusta area, located near the capital in the evening.
Late Kahiye was a member of the defunct Somali electoral college elected the MPs from Southwest regional administration, according to his relatives. The culprits managed to escape from the scene before the arrival of the Somali security forces who carried out unsuccessful manhunt mission following the shooting. It’s not yet clear the motive behind the assassination, but, Al Shabaab has previously vowed to murder the elders voted for the current lawmakers from the Federal States.
Galmudug President Set To Travel To Dhuusamareeb
27 February – Source: Dhacdo.com – 123 Words
The President of Galmudug State, Ahmed Duale Gelle (Xaaf) is set to travel to Dhuusamareeb the new capital of Galmudug state. The delegation led by Xaaf will depart from Mogadishu today. Officials from the Galmudug presidency have confirmed that the President will travel to Dhuusamareeb. He will be welcomed by the Chief Minister, Sheikh Mohamed Shakir and the council of ministers, MPs from the regional assembly and the armed forces.
Hundreds of residents of Dhuusamareeb carrying the photos of the President of Galmudug State were seen this morning in anticipation of President Xaaf’s arrival into the town. The president is expected to establish a new council of ministers and unify the two parliaments of former Galmudug and Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
U.S. Government Donates New Aerial Surveillance System To AMISOM
27 February – Source: AMISOM – 538 Words
The Special Representative of the African Union Commission Chairperson (SRCC) for Somalia Ambassador Francisco Madeira has commended the United States for its continued support to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in its fight against terrorism. Ambassador Madeira made the remarks yesterday during the unveiling of a new U.S. government-funded Aerial Surveillance System at the Baledogle Military Airfield, in Lower Shabelle region.
The system, which will serve as a force multiplier, is expected to enhance the effectiveness of field operations conducted by AMISOM troops in various parts of the country. “It (the aerial surveillance system) is of critical importance to AMISOM forces as it will go a long way in addressing one of AMISOM’s capability shortfalls. What we are launching today is a force enabler, which we have been requesting for, over a period of time, which has now come to fruition,” the SRCC said.
AMISOM has on numerous occasions appealed for force enablers to enable it launch successful military operations against Al-Shabaab and liberate areas under the control of the militants. The Mission plans to intensify operations to secure the country as the gradual transfer of national security responsibilities to Somali national security forces continues as planned. Ambassador Madeira, who was accompanied by senior AMISOM officials, noted that the platform will provide troops with much needed real time intelligence, which will help detect and monitor armed groups.
Somalia Sees Enemy Al-Shabaab Weaken Under U.S. Military Pressure
26 February – Source: PBS Newshour – Video – 10:23 Minutes
After years of civil war and upheaval, Somalia is struggling to its feet, and the U.S. is back in with boots on the ground and drones in the skies. Special correspondent Jane Ferguson and videographer Alessandro Pavone report on the ways the U.S. and other African partner nations are helping Somali forces fight Al-Shabaab militants on a very complex battlefield.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“The crowning moment of Somali music and artistic expression came with the participation of Waaberi at the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC ’77) in Lagos, Nigeria. The band’s performances at the festival were some of the most admired and memorable.”
Somali Music Through The Ages
27 February – Source: Hiiraan Online – 1536 Words
Somalis have always regarded poetry as the pinnacle of their literary heritage but the elegance of the poetic expression came through singing in folklore dances. Before the arrival of the Arabian oud, the ears of the Somali people were trained to the beat of the African drum. Known as ‘the Nation of Bards’, the people found expression through rhythm and rhyme in dance and singing.
The founding of balwo; Somalis who lived before the 1960s and 1970s watched folklore dances like the xoogweyn, saddexley, dhaanto, hirwo, wilwile and the saylici. These existed alongside the light dance songs of Somali women, the heelo-yar-yar, and the lullabies of Somali mothers, as well as the ubiquitous hees-hawleed (work songs), which Somali herdsmen, farmers, builders and other workers sang. Abdi Deeqsi Warfaa, better known as Abdi Sinimo, emerged out of this rich background to create balwo, the genre that pioneered modern Somali song. As a young boy, Abdi Sinimo became acquainted with many genres of Somali poetry like the gabay, geeraar, jiib, jiifto and buraanbur. He reached adulthood during the 1930s, a time of change when classical Somali poetry began integrating jiifto quatrains of the dhaanto folk dance, which paved the way for the balwo.
Besides the jiifto, the reer-magaal (urban people) also listened to Arabic songs brought from Aden. Known as dunya diwani, or ‘the world is my poetry book’, these songs were played on phonographs by kabacad (clean shoes) groups. They were performed by filling the music breaks with quick and rhythmic hand clapping called kasrad. Dunya diwani remained dominant in the years between 1939 and 1943, until balwo was born. In its final days, the Arabic words were replaced with Somali, while the music remained the same. These songs were enjoyed at majlises (kat chewing sessions) where men and women sat and sang together while the girls danced taxriig (a type of Arab dance).
In the 1940s, two sisters, Maryan and Khadiija Eyeh Dharaar, became the centre of attention in the town of Borama. It was at this time that Abdi Sinimo, then a lorry driver, fell under the spell of Khadiija, later known as Khadiija Balwo after becoming Abdi Sinimo’s partner in music and one of the first Somali women to partake in musical performance. One day, as he was driving from Zeila to Borama, Abdi Sinimo’s lorry broke down in the desert of Giryaad Dhagaxle near the village of Jidhi. With the help of his apprentices, he pulled the lorry to the shade of a kulan tree.
TOP TWEETS
@taakulosom: It is every child’s right to go to school and have an education. So many across Somalia haven’t got that opportunity. To ensure these children have the best chance in life we need to be #WithSomalia and#SustainSomaliSupport.@shf_somalia @matijakovac @JustinTBrady
@Eye_on_Somalia: #Goobjoog SNA officers participate in shooting range live firing training http://ift.tt/2F0MxRG #Somalia
@BashiirMaxmud: #Somalia: Qansax-Dheere District Commissioner attacked when #Alshabaab sympathizers hurled hand-grenade at his home claiming to have murdered at least 3 of his bodyguards. #Bay region
@Caasimadda: Uganda to host AMISOM leaders in key Somalia summithttps://www.caasimada.
@ceelhuuronline: Today a high-ranking Turkish delegation will visit to#Hobyo #Galmudug #Somalia
@ShabelleMedia: Fighter jets carry out an airstrike on Al Shabaab base in Somalia http://radioshabelle.com/
@Eye_on_Somalia: #Hiraan Somali music through the ageshttp://dlvr.it/QJ08v7 #Somalia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Somali Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Kheyre is received by UAE’s Minister for Energy and Industries Suhail Mohamed Bin Faraj as he starts a two-day working visit to Abu Dhabi.
Photo: @SomaliPM