January 1, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Al-Shabaab Executes 5 Young Men for ‘Spying’ On Them
01 January – Source: Somali Update – 275 Words
In one of its latest atrocities against Somalis, the Al-Shabaab militant group has executed five young men for allegedly spying for United States and the Federal Government of Somalia. This is according to locals and a host of websites associated with the terror gang. The five young men, who are aged between 19 and 22 years, were caught and detained by members of the militant group in Saakow, a town in Middle Jubba Region controlled by the group.
The young men were all executed at a public place, where residents had been ordered to gather and witness the execution: “We were told by Al-Shabaab to gather in the city centre. I had know idea what was going to happen, but soon we saw five blindfolded young men dragged to the scene,” said a resident in Saakow who spoke to Somali Update but declined to be named for security reasons. One of the five men, who was accused of working with the American government, was publicly slaughtered.
“It was very terrible sight. I witnessed that chilling moment when the Al-Shabaab men caught one of the men and chopped off his head like a goat,” the traumatized eyewitness added. According to a pro-Al Shabaab website, the five men were accused of spying on the terror gang and tried in Saakow by an Al-Shabaab judge. The website published the names of the five men and their ages.
There were neither defence lawyers nor relatives present for the victims. Al-Shabaab has previously executed Somali men and women for allegedly collaborating with or spying for Federal government and western intelligence agencies. Only last week, the group publicly executed two government officials, whom they termed as ‘apostates’ — a terminology that refers to employees of the Somali government.
Key Headlines
- Al-Shabaab Executes 5 Young Men for Allegedly ‘Spying’ On Them (Somali Update)
- Puntland Cabinet Meeting Sidesteps New ISIL Hotbed (Garowe Online)
- Clashes Renew In Hiiraan (Goobjoog News)
- Somali Student Emerges Among Top Performers In Kenyan School Exams (Hiiraan Online)
- Health Officials Still Fight Cholera In Somali Refugee Camp (Prensa Latina)
- Lawyer Says ISIL Defendant Had No Ability To Build Anti-aircraft Rockets (Star Tribune)
- Mogadishu: Relocation of Somalia’s Capital City – The Broken Heart of Somalia (Horseed Media)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Puntland Cabinet Meeting Sidesteps New ISIL Hotbed
01 January – Source: Garowe Online – 300 Words
Weekly cabinet meeting chaired by Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Friday focused more on passing of new bills rather than newly formed terrorist hotbeds in vast Bari region, Garowe Online reports. Security Minister Abdi Hirsi Ali Qarjab has briefed cabinet gathering on latest security developments including recent deadly infighting between Al-Shabaab and the so called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in areas near Bari regional district of Iskushuban.
On December 24, pro-ISIL faction led by former ideologue Abdulkadir Mumin and Al -habaab fighters clashed in Timirshe, an agricultural village approximately some 150km south of Bossaso port city. Garowe Online has learned that Mumin retreated to ex-Pirate enclave ‘Hul-Anod’ and has more recently begun luring recruits into ISIL via handsome financial pledges. Hul-Anod is a high point overlooking the Indian Ocean according to an analysts. Defection from Al-Shabaab militants dealt severe blow to Mumin who had since been in charge of treasury in Galgala Mountains.
Al-Shabaab militants are still looking to Mumin’s movement in vicinities around Timirshe and Balidhidin villages, sources have said. The government has not commented on the clashes that ensued between the two factions as residents voice concerns over, whether now precarious frontlines may be turning into battlegrounds. Puntland launched fierce offensives on Al-Shabaab hideouts along Golis Mountain range in mid-2010. United Nations monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea said in confidential report in October that Al-Shabaab Northeast activities still constitute potential threats.
Clashes Renew In Hiiraan
01 January – Source: Goobjoog News – 158 Words
Several people are feared dead while others have been injured following a day long fighting between warring clans in Hirraan once again. Tensions was still high Thursday evening in Bu’qowsar village in Hiiraan where 3 dead bodies had been collected, according to a resident on the ground who spoke to Goobjoog News. “Most of the people killed are fighters from both sides and information shows that more than 10 could also have sustained injuries, “ a local resident who declined to disclose his name said.
The attacks are thought to be retaliatory after several people were killed near the village days ago. “We are worried that things might get out of hand, we call on the government to act fast,” said a traditional elder who was on his way to the scene. The fights continue to happen even as the politicians, traditional elders and intellectuals from the region are preparing to attend the state formation conference which is expected to kick off soon in Jowhar.
Somali Student Emerges Among Top Performers In Kenyan School Exams
01 January – Source: Hiiraan Online – 329 Words
For Musa Osman Ismail, a 13-years old Somali Kenyan student has not only achieved top marks in his school exam but he emerged among the top-10 exam performers in the Nationwide’s primary schools’ examination results. The student at the Tender Care Junior Academy in Komarock, Nairobi has scored 440 marks out of the possible 500 in the 2015 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination, a result that reflected his momentous achievement, thanks to his good preparations determination and aggressive reading.
“I am very proud to get 440 marks; that is the best score in Tender Care Junior Academy in KCPE 2015. I am grateful to God, my parents, school and Madrassa teachers for their support. I never thought I would achieve this, but I knew I would score 400 marks and above,” Osman told Kenya’s Citizen Digital. Having sat for the exam, Ismail’s expectations were high, however, not probably up to the point that he thought would make the top-10 performers list in exam results for this year.
He however says his high score scares him. “I am scared of the pressure that comes with maintaining the same academic standard I have set following my exemplary performance in KCPE. A lot will be expected from me. I am scared; but I will do my best!” he told the Citizen Digital.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Health Officials Still Fight Cholera In Somali Refugee Camp
01 January – Source: Prensa Latina – 130 Words
Efforts to eradicate cholera in the refugee camp in Dadaab, the largest worldwide, remain today after being reported a dozens of deaths and a thousand infected with the disease. In that camp the displaced came from Somalia, from where they fled from war and the hostile weather conditions which prevent them from feeding themselves, among other things.
Health workers in this refugee complex, located in Kenya, are gaining progress in the struggle against cholera which apperaed last month amidst the rain associated to El Nino, emphasized the allafrica.com site. An outbreak control team with staff from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other agencies, are working with the Ministry of Health and the Department of Refugee Affairs of Kenya to address and eradicate the disease in the extensive refugees camp.
Lawyer Says ISIL Defendant Had No Ability To Build Anti-aircraft Rockets
01 January – Source: Star Tribune – 699 Words
An attorney for the latest Somali-American man charged with conspiring to fight alongside terrorists in Syria contended Thursday that if he is as dangerous as the FBI claims, he would have been arrested months ago when he told an informant he could build rockets capable of shooting down airplanes.
Despite an April recorded telephone conversation in which 20-year-old Abdirizak Warsame made the assertion, agents waited more than eight months to arrest him, proving that he is not a threat, according to the filing in federal court by Warsame’s attorney Robert Sicoli.
The motion comes after Warsame’s November arrest on allegations that he played a key role in a group of friends charged with attempting to leave the United States to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL.)
In December, Magistrate Judge Becky Thorson ordered Warsame jailed pending trial, but Sicoli asked that Warsame be released to live with his mother in Eagan under electronic monitoring. Warsame is related to several members of the Somali community who are involved with countering terrorism recruitment among Somali youth, and have gone so far as to assist the federal government in outreach efforts — connections that could provide stability for Warsame, according to the court filing.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Mogadishu is no longer a national capital city for all Somalis. It has rather been developing into a clan enclave. It is imperative that multiple capital cities for Somalia are established. Mogadishu cannot symbolise the Somali national identity anymore.”
Mogadishu: Relocation of Somalia’s Capital City – The Broken Heart of Somalia
31 December – Source: Horseed Media – 570 Words
Mogadishu (Xamar) used to be a mosaic city. Somalis of every clan and from every corner of the country or the Horn of Africa had made their home in Xamar. Indians, Yemenis, Omanis, Pakistanis, Italians and some other nationalities used to complement its diverse communities. It was the pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was the beacon of the Horn of Africa.
But its beauty, elegance, and impressive boulevards and villas with bougainvillea and colourful hibiscus flowers are all gone save few patchwork of haphazardly developed sections and anarchically scattered along some parts of Makkah Al-Mukkarrama Avenue and its vicinity. Not to mention the complete loss and disappearance of almost all historic landmarks including Arabesque, Turkish and Italian architectures.
Now many streets and residential areas are defined as battlegrounds. A forlorn devastated city whose multicultural and multi-ethnic residents fled in the 1990s with many abandoning the intention and desire to come back, reclaim their properties and resettle. Those who want and are prepared to repossess their own properties have been encountering ceaseless and intentional bureaucratic delays, debilitating corruption, conning and manipulations, bribery, intimidations and the likelihood of assassination. Evidently many had given up entertaining that dream. And rightly so.
TOP TWEETS
@Goobjoognews : #Somalia : 78.7 USD Which is 36% of 2016 budget is calculated to come from foreign aid from International donors
@xasanmahamudmah : #Somalia: In the newly approved budget, USD 25.3 million is expected come from local revenues stands for 25% increment of previous year
@Omaar_nor : #Puntland Court,NE #Somalia sentences#Indonesian fishing boast Captain $3,000 fine 4 fishing illegally in
@Goobjoognews : #Somalia : #Somali Parliament Approves 2016 budget with estimated 216 Million
@Somaliupdate: #Somalia One of the five men who was accused of working with #USA Intelligence was publicly slaughtered, a resident told @Somaliupdate
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Somalia looks to start 2016 on the right foot by giving prison inmates new job skills.
Photo: @Somalianewsroom