January 2, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Al Shabaab claims Somali hotel bombing
02 Jan- Source: Al Jazeera English-341 words
At least eleven people were killed Wednesday when two car bombs exploded outside of a hotel in Somalia’s capital. An al Qaeda-linked militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
“al Shabaab Mujahideen takes full responsibility for last night’s attack that targeted a meeting of senior apostate intelligence officials in Mogadishu,” al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Dheera said on Thursday. “Apostates will have no safe haven in Somalia.” he added.
The first attack happened when a car bomb rammed into one of Mogadishu’s top hotels near a UN compound in Mogadishu on Wednesday. It was followed by a second blast as coinciding emergency services entered, police officer Mohamed Warsame said.
Key Headlines
- AMISOM condemns attack on Jazeera Palace Hotel (AMISOM)
- Twin suicide explosions in Mogadishu hotel killed at least 10 more than 30 others injured (Radio RBC/Radio Mogadishu)
- Middle Shabelle officials call for peaceful coexistence in the region(Radio Bar-Kulan)
- Diarrhoea breaks out in Somaliland- Ministry of Health (Somaliland Informer)
- Al Shabaab arrests dozens in middle juba region (Radio Shabelle)
- Ethiopia deploys hundreds of troops to Somalia (Somali Current)
- Puntland women unhappy of women representation in the new Assembly (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Foreign Minister dismisses corruption allegations (Radio Dalsan)
- President Hassan confident of new prime minister’s proposed cabinet (Radio Shabelle)
- 30 graduates awarded certificates in Adado town (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Kenya: 10 injured in Diani grenade attack (Daily Nation)
- Mogadishu blasts’ death toll rises (Xinhua)
- Al Shabaab claims Somali hotel bombing (Al Jazeera English)
PRESS RELEASE
AMISOM condemns attack on Jazeera Palace Hotel
02 Jan- Source: AMISOM-201 Words
The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif has condemned the attack on Jazeera Hotel in Mogadishu this evening. Two Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIED) went off minutes apart outside the hotel frequented by government officials and aid workers. First responders including Somali national security forces, AMISOM and emergency medical teams were on the ground minutes after the first attack before the second explosion. Authorities are working to establish the total number of those injured, while staff at AMISOM’s Level II hospital remain on standby to receive the casualties.
“We condemn this cowardly attack aimed at dulling the optimism of the Somali people as we look forward to a new year,” said Ambassador Annadif while singling out the courage of the Somali security forces and AMISOM troops for their quick response. This is the second time the hotel, which is close to the Aden Abdulle International Airport, has been targeted. In September 2012, a suicide attack was launched on the hotel where Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was holding a press conference with Kenya’s then Foreign Minister Samuel Ongeri, claiming the life of an AMISOM soldier and injuring several Somali security officers.
Prime Minister: Attempted attack will only strengthen our fight against terrorism
02 Jan- Source: Office of the Prime Minister-146 Words
His Excellency Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed sends his condolences to the victims and their families of those killed in last night’s attempted attack on Al Jazeera Hotel in Mogadishu. The Prime Minister, said: “I send my personal condolences to the victims and families affected by last night’s attempted attack and wish those injured a quick and full recovery.
“Last night’s attempted attack at Al Jazeera Hotel will only strengthen the people of Somalia and the government’s commitment to tackle those who threaten the security and stability of Somalia with indiscriminate violence and killing. “Earlier in the day I had visited the Ministry of Defence and Jazeera Military Training Camp to see for myself the work of our security forces. Last night’s attack was thwarted thanks to the commitment and sacrifice of our brave security personnel. I thank them for their continued service to our country.”
SOMALI MEDIA
Twin suicide explosions in Mogadishu hotel killed at least 10, more than 30 others injured
02 Jan- Source: Radio RBC/Radio Mogadishu/Radio Shabelle/Jowhar Online/Hiiraan Online- 230 words
Double suicide explosions targeted at Hotel Jazeera in Somalia capital, Mogadishu have killed at least 10 people including two police officers while 37 others were injured. A car laden with explosives has hit several cars parked outside the hotel where many security guards and armed police were on high alert.
At least four people were killed in the first attack, according to witnesses. The second attack occurred half an hour later after another vehicle loaded with explosives exploded just few metres away from the scene of the first blast killing at least six people mostly the security officers.
Three of the attackers are believed to have dead in the second blast, according Gen Mohamed Madaale, Somali Police Spokesman. “The police shot one attackers who tried to enter the hotel,” Gen Madale added. The hotel management has also confirmed that one of its security guards was killed in the blast.
The attack was immediately claimed by the militant group of Al Shabab saying that they have targeted intelligence officers in the hotel. Al Shabab has issued a warning earlier on urging Mogadishu residents to refrain from government bases as well as AMISOM positions.
Middle Shabelle officials call for peaceful coexistence in the region
02 Jan- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 108 words
Middle Shabelle administration officials and traditional elders in the region have called for peaceful coexistence between the various clans in the region. Middle Shabelle Governor, Abdi Jinow Alasow who toured Gedo Barkan village near Jowhar town, has called on the inhabitants in the area to avoid further recurrence of inter-clan conflicts.
Meanwhile, the traditional elders in Gedo Barkan village have urged the Middle Shabelle administration to resettle the displaced families back to their villages. Hundreds of families displaced by recent inter-clan conflicts in the region have sought shelter in makeshift camps in Jowhar airport controlled by AMISOM forces.
Diarrhoea breaks out in Somaliland- Ministry of Health
02 Jan- Source: Somaliland Informer- 131 words
Dr. Osman Hussein Warsame, The Director General of Health Ministry has announced that water-borne diarrhea has been reported in parts of the country. The DG who was speaking at a press conference, confirmed that the watery diarrhea is the result of the recent rains in the country, adding that the ministry of health responded to the emergency by sending medicines intended to cope with the disease and to pass messages of importance to the community where the disease has been reported.
Dr. Ahmed who was among a team sent to Xiin-Galool that lies in Sanaag region said that they contained the disease and delivered medical supplies to the affected by the disease. Other officials urged the public at large to improve the hygiene and to remain alert over the conditions that the disease may spread.
Al Shabaab arrests dozens in Middle Juba region
02 Jan- Source: Radio Shabelle- 113 words
Credible sources confirmed to Shabelle radio that al Shabaab militants have arrested some civilians who were suspected to be working with agencies which were burned from the the region which is entirely controlled by the militants. The arrested people are estimated to be ten and are said to be working for the international Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC) society and the Red Crescent.
The arrests occurred at Buale and Sako towns which are two of the major towns in the middle Juba region. Al Shabaab previously burned some aid groups from areas in their control claiming that they work as undercover intelligence for their opponents.
Ethiopia deploys hundreds of troops to Somalia
01 Jan- Source: Somali Current- 169 words
Ethiopian government has deployed hundreds of new troops in Somalia to eliminate al Shabaab from Bay and Bakol regions, officials said on Tuesday. The troops have arrived in Baidoa town, the provincial capital of Bay region, establishing a new military bases in the city.
Deputy Governor of Bay Region Shine Moalim Nurow told local media that the Ethiopian troops will assist the government’s plans to root out al Qaeda linked group, al Shabaab. Nurow did not provide additional information, but Somali Current Sources say Ethiopian Troops are willing to flash al Shabaab out of Bay and Bakol regions in the first weeks of the New Year.
Reconciliation conference is underway in Baidoa and local elders are expected to form a new regional administration that will rule three regions including Lower Shabelle, Bay and Bakol. Unknown number of Ethiopian troops were in Somalia over the last three years and Addis Ababa officials said earlier that the troops would only be deployed for a period of time.
Puntland women unhappy over representation in new Assembly
01 Jan- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 135 words
Women in Puntland have expressed their dissatisfaction with the representation of women in the new Puntland Parliament. Halimo Mohamed Farah, the chairwoman of Puntland Women Alliance said that they were dismayed to learn that only two women were among the 66 newly assembled legislators.
She placed the blame on traditional elders, who she said do not recognize the role and leadership qualities of the Somali women. She vowed that they will continue to double their efforts to attain their rightful positions in the political arena.
Puntland Vetting and Conflict Resolution Committee have on Monday released the names of the new legislators with only two women among the 66 members. Meanwhile, some of Puntland presidential candidates have on Tuesday welcomed the selection of the new parliament.
Foreign Minister dismisses corruption allegations
02 Jan- Source: Radio Dalsan- 133 words
The Foreign Minister of the Federal Government of Somalia Fawziya Yusuf Aden has dismissed corruption allegations raised by former embassy employee in Nairobi, Kenya. Mrs Aden has strongly rejected some allegations circulated on the online media which allegedly claimed that four million dollars disappeared within the pockets of the Foreign Minister.
” Its unfortunate that the allegations came from a former employee at our embassy in Nairobi named Abdisatar who was fired.” she said. Mrs Aden said that the allegation circulated by Abdisatar was totally baseless and there was no cash the ministry managed itself. The Foreign Minister lauded the work of her ministry to relocate hundreds of Somali citizens from the troubled South Sudan, and said the ministry will closely monitor the situation of South Sudan.
President Hassan confident of new prime minister’s proposed cabinet
01 Jan- Source: Radio Shabelle-150 words
The president of the federal republic of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has for the first time revealed that he is confident of the newly appointed cabinet set up by the newly appointed Prime Minister Dr. Abdiwali Sheikh Ahmed.
“”I am really confident of the systematic way in which the Prime Minister of the Federal Government of Somalia to appoint the new Cabinet, this year we hope it will be a better year than the past years” said Hassan during a press conference held in Mogadishu today.
Meanwhile, President Hassan requested the prime minister to appoint four ministers who were among the former cabinet who lost in a unanimous vote of no confidence. It is worth mentioning that people living in different parts of Somalia have demanded the newly appointed Prime Minister to appoint a new cabinet that has never held a ministerial position in Shirdon’s former cabinet.
30 graduates awarded certificates in Adado town
01 Jan- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 96 words
A ceremony to award certificates to 30 nurses who completed a medical course has been held in Adado district in Galgadud region. The ceremony was attended by officials from Himan and Heeb Administration, teachers, parents and other dignitaries.
The Director of Zuum College, Dayah Abdukadir Mohamed who spoke at the ceremony thanked the graduates for their commitment and efforts to complete the course. Himan and Heeb Minister for Social Services, Omar Mohamed Dirie has also praised the graduates for their hard work and urged them to serve their people.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Al Shabaab claims Somali hotel bombing
02 Jan- Source: Al Jazeera English-341 words
At least eleven people were killed Wednesday when two car bombs exploded outside of a hotel in Somalia’s capital. An al Qaeda-linked militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
“al Shabaab Mujahideen takes full responsibility for last night’s attack that targeted a meeting of senior apostate intelligence officials in Mogadishu,” al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Dheera said on Thursday. “Apostates will have no safe haven in Somalia.” he added.
The first attack happened when a car bomb rammed into one of Mogadishu’s top hotels near a UN compound in Mogadishu on Wednesday. It was followed by a second blast as coinciding emergency services entered, police officer Mohamed Warsame said.
Kenya: 10 injured in Diani grenade attack
02 Jan- Source: Daily Nation/Standard/Star- 156 words
At least 10 people have been injured after a grenade was hurled into a bar in Diani, Kwale County on Thursdaymorning. “There was an explosion at the bar and about 10 people were injured,” said Mr Jack Ekakuro, the local police chief in Diani, south of Mombasa. Attackers targeted the Tandoori bar in Diani in the early hours ofThursday, when it was still crowded with people celebrating the New Year holiday.
“We’re trying to establish the kind of explosive used,” Mr Ekakuro added, but a police officer at the scene, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the blast “had all the characteristics” of a grenade. “The attackers were on a motorcycle and fled after hurling the grenade,” a police source said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
Since Kenyan troops invaded southern Somalia in October 2011 to help oust al-Shabaab insurgents, it has been hit by a series of attacks.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Mogadishu blasts’ death toll rises
02 Jan- Source: Xinhua/IANSlive-223 Words
The death toll in the twin car bomb explosions, which targetted a hotel in Somali capital city on Wednesday, risen to 11 while dozens more were injured, police and media reports said. “We can confirm that the death toll now stands at 11 including four government soldiers and five civilians,” reported Xinhua citing police officer Yusuf Hire.
The blasts occurred as explosives-laden vehicles went off in quick succession outside the Jazeera hotel near the international airport in the capital. The hotel is frequented by government officials and local business people. Local media reports said 10 were killed and “dozens more injured in the blasts that targeted the heavily-fortified hotel.” Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed condemned the attack. “Terrorists have started 2014 as they finished 2013 with indiscriminate violence & killings. Will only serve to unite # Somalia against them,” Prime Minister Abdiweli tweeted.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“So what did we learn about Somalia’s war economy? To begin with, Somalia’s urban poor would reap a substantial peace dividend from stable governance in Somalia. However, for the economic (and political) elite there would have been no economic incentive to negotiate an end to the conflict. Instead, elites in cities with a significant aid infrastructure would have gained from torpedoing peace settlements in southern Somalia.”
Studying Somalia’s War Economy From Outer Space
31 Dec- Source: ISNBlog-905 Words
When we look at images of civil war such as the recent images from Syria, our gut response is that such destruction and suffering cannot and should not last. Surely war is a ‘means to an end’—and once that end is reached, civil society and the economy will rise from the ashes? Not necessarily so, says the literature on war economies: war can be ‘economics by other means’. We test this proposition by using satellite images to reconstruct the unwritten economic history of the Somali civil war.
War can be seen as a rational economic activity. Warlords and insurgent movements use violence to extract rents: through looting and extortion or by charging taxes and ‘protection payments’ from traders and producers in their territories. International aid can be a significant revenue source for such ‘violence entrepreneurs’: it can be embezzled, diverted at roadblocks or directed to allied populations rather than the vulnerable and displaced. A ‘combat economy’ thus creates an elite of warlords, criminals and fighters with a direct interest in the continuation of war.
“As Somaliland’s actual heritage vanishes, it becomes harder to refute the wild theories. And as the world continues to ignore the region aside from reselling its antiquities, xenophobia becomes a more attractive aspect of national identity. The despoliation of Somaliland’s heritage is turning the country into a place steeped in paranoia and fabrication.”
Somaliland: The Grave Robbers of Hargeisa
31 Dec- Source: Roadsandkingdoms/
When British explorers at the end of the 19th century first made their way across the vast deserts of what is today Somaliland, they were surprised to find a landscape strewn with numerous and puzzling stone tumuli, graveyards, and crumbling towns. The largest of these, long known to locals but first explored by A.T. Curle while surveying the countryside in 1935, was called Amud. There, just outside the modern town of Borama, Curle found hundreds of stone houses, mosques, and courtyards, full of glass and Chinese porcelain dating back nearly 500 years. Even older trinkets have been found along the coast dating back at least 2000 years to the time of the Berberi traders mentioned by Greek and Egyptian merchants—some believe the Berberi traders were active even in the times of Pharaonic Egypt.
Somaliland is a country rich with the mostly-undocumented history of wealthy, productive civilizations. Over the last thousand years, the country has played host to the Muslim sultanates of Ifat and Adal, Bantu hunters, and nomadic waves of Somalis and Oromo, each leaving their successive traces on the land. But the de facto independent state’s archaeological heritage has been left almost entirely unstudied, unmapped, and unpreserved.
Photos provide an inside look at Somali community in Minneapolis
30 Dec- Source: Al Jazeera America-175 Words
Photojournalist Jonathan Alpeyrie joined Al Jazeera America correspondent Adam May to discuss Al-Shabab’s recruitment of Somali youth in the U.S. on the Dec. 27, 2013 edition of Consider This. Alpeyrie visited the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis in November 2013 to learn more about Al-Shabab’s recruiting efforts as well as the role of women within the Somali community.
According to census data released in 2011, more than 32,000 people of Somali ancestry live in Minnesota. The largest Somali population in the U.S. is based in and around Cedar-Riverside, but the community has been under federal investigation. According to reports from Reuters and The New York Times, at least 20 ethnic Somali men have left Minnesota to join Al-Shabab since 2007.
Investigators looked into the possibility that several of the fighters involved in the September 2013 Al-Shabab attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya came from Minnesota. A November 2013 Associated Press report identified the four gunmen who stormed the mall as ethnic Somalis, noting that none of the four had ever traveled to the U.S.
Top tweets
@SomaliPM Terrorists have started 2014 as they finished 2013 with indiscriminate violence & killings. Will only serve to unite#Somalia against them
@LAWRENCECRISPUS AMISOM & #Somalia govt must change tact with Al shabab #JazzeeraHotel bombing ,they simply hv too much freedom &territory.reduce,restrict it
@ActForSomalia Another success story coming from#Somalia.Mogadishu University ranked among the best Universities in #Africa. http://theafricaneconomist.
@tresthomas_HOA In aftermath of #Shabaab‘s Jazeera Hotel attack, #Somalia‘s Interior Minister et al donate blood to Madina hospital pic.twitter.com/turL3wK3o1
@Somalia111 My heartfelt condolences to victims of Jazeera hotel bombing. #somalia will emerge stronger & more peaceful in 2014.
Image of the day
Somali police officers assess the scene of an explosion outside the Jazira hotel in Mogadishu, Jan. 1, 2014. Photo: VOA