January 2, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report.
At least 7 killed in al Shabaab attack at Somali military base
02 Jan – Source: Reuters – 183 Words
Somalia’s al Shabaab militants attacked a military base in the outskirts of the town of Baidoa on Friday morning, killing at least 7 Somali soldiers, a Somali military official said. The attack came two days after the United States said it had killed the chief of al Shabaab’s intelligence and security wing, Tahliil Abdishakur. “Al Shabaab attacked our base unexpectedly early in the morning today. We lost seven soldiers,” Captain Ahmed Idow, a Somali military officer, told Reuters by telephone from Baidoa.
Idow said Somali soldiers killed three al Shabaab insurgents during the attack. A spokesman for the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab said the group had briefly seized the base and killed more than 10 soldiers. Al Shabaab often cites a higher death toll than the number given by officials. “We fiercely attacked the military base near Baidoa,” Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s military operation spokesman, told Reuters. Al Shabaab is seeking to topple the Western-backed Mogadishu government and impose its own strict version of Islamic law in the country.
Key Headlines
- Somali MPs call upon fighting clans to immediate cease fire without condition (Radio Goobjoog)
- Crime Watch: Number of People Killed in Somalia in December 2014 ((Radio Goobjoog)
- Somaliland Sun Editor Goes Missing in Jigjiga (Somaliland Sun)
- UPDF mourns Amisom officer (The Observer)
- Three Kenyan soldiers wounded in gun attack near Somali border (Reuters)
- Community raises cash for fire-damaged Minneapolis mosque (Star Tribune)
- Gunshot victim dies as tearful relatives kept vigil (Calgary Herald)
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali MPs call upon fighting clans to immediate cease fire without condition
02 Jan – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 156 Words
Federal parliament members in Mogadishu called upon the clans fighting in Deefow locality to cease fire immediately and without condition. Mohamed Hassan (Qoono), a selected MP from Hiran region stated that it is not appropriate to shed blood at this time when central somalia regions are hosting a reconciliation and state formation conventions.
“I am unhappy with the fighting…in Deefow area and we are looking for ways to cease the fighting in the area. The clans should first stop the fighting and then solve their conflict at [the] negotiating table” the MP said. On the other hand he urged the politicians, intellectuals and elders of Hiran region to take action to ease the hostilities and tensions between the two clans. This comes after heavy fighting on Wednesday between two clan militias in Deefow of Hiraan region.
Crime Watch: Number of People Killed in Somalia in December, 2014
02 Jan – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 1, 206 Words
Somalia has been ravaged by civil war for over 20 years, and killing people has become the norm whether they are innocent or guilty, with reason or without reason. Moreover there is very limited justice served or, most of the time, no justice is served when a person is killed. Therefore Goobjoog has undertaken an initiative to document those killed every month under our Crime Watch Project which promotes justice and constitutional rights of the citizens.
We may not be able to document all those killed due to the scarce resources, lack of access to the affected areas in the country, and a lack of basic institutions in the country like hospitals, mortuaries and a police service which usually gather information about the dead. According to our records there were 111 people killed in the month of December, 2014 and this is three times higher than the crimes we recorded in November, 2014.
On average, more than 3 people were killed every day in Somalia in the month of December, 2014. There was one major suicide bombing in Baidao town which killed more than 10 people. The makeup of people killed in December include high ranking officials serving in the government, business people, religious people, women, journalists and government soldiers.
Somaliland Sun Editor Goes Missing in Jigjiga
01 Jan – Source: Somaliland Sun – 214
The editorial board of the Somaliland Sun is concerned about the unknown whereabouts of its editor-in-chief Yusuf Mohamed Hasan who has been missing since December 24, 2014. The editor’s last known location was Jigjiga, the capital of the zone five Somali administrative region of Ethiopia where he posted his last piece, titled “Jigjiga, the Ethiopian town where Bajaj is King Transporter”. Since then not a word has been heard from him. According to his daughter Latifa, a friend of the editor in Hargeisa received a call from somebody anonymous on December 27, 2014, informing that Yusuf was in police custody in Jigjiga in relation to various items published by the Somaliland Sun in regards to the ONLF and Liyuu Police.
Though the call was initially deemed as a prank, regrettably, the disappearance of Yusuf makes action important now and we request anyone with connections in Jigjiga as well as the Somaliland Journalist Association and Mohamed Osman Mire ‘Sayid’ the managing editor of Dawan Media Group to get involved as a matter of urgency. Meanwhile the editor’s children, Latifa Salwa and Gadafi, are stranded in Addis Ababa where they planned to link up with their father for a long awaited reunion in Shashamane.
REGIONAL MEDIA
UPDF mourns Amisom officer
01 Jan – Source: The Observer, Uganda – 239 Words
Lt Col Dr Christopher Kaija, who was shot dead in Somalia on Christmas day, has been praised as a patriot who was ready to serve his country anywhere. Kaija was on Tuesday buried at Bikonzi II , Bwijanga sub-county, Masindi district, where the army was represented by the deputy chief of defence forces, Lt Gen Charles Angina.
“It will be a shame if people think that Dr Kaija’s efforts were in vain. He went to fight for peace and we shall ensure that it is restored in Somalia,” Angina said. Kaija,53, was a medical doctor with the Ugandan contingent battle group 13, under the African Union Mission in Somalia. Joining the army as a civilian doctor in 1987, he was passed out as a second lieutenant in 1990.
He is survived by a widow and seven children. Masindi LC-V Chairperson Wilson Mugimba, speaking at the funeral, mourned Kaija with veiled grumbling about the death of high-ranking army officers from the Bunyoro sub-region. “Most Banyoro die at the rank of Colonel and Lt Colonel. Pray for Banyoro to also live longer and be promoted to the highest ranks,” Mugimba said. Kaija’s mother, Margaret Kabakidi, said she last spoke with her son on December 24, the day before he was gunned down by al-Shabab militants. She praised her only child as caring and obedient since childhood. President Yoweri Museveni sent the family Shs 10m for funeral expenses.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
At least 7 killed in al Shabaab attack at Somali military base
02 Jan – Source: Reuters – 183 Words
Somalia’s al Shabaab militants attacked a military base in the outskirts of the town of Baidoa on Fridaymorning, killing at least 7 Somali soldiers, a Somali military official said. The attack came two days after the United States said it had killed the chief of al Shabaab’s intelligence and security wing, Tahliil Abdishakur. “Al Shabaab attacked our base unexpectedly early in the morning today. We lost seven soldiers,” Captain Ahmed Idow, a Somali military officer, told Reuters by telephone from Baidoa.
Idow said Somali soldiers killed three al Shabaab insurgents during the attack. A spokesman for the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab said the group had briefly seized the base and killed more than 10 soldiers. Al Shabaab often cites a higher death toll than the number given by officials. “We fiercely attacked the military base near Baidoa,” Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s military operation spokesman, told Reuters. Al Shabaab is seeking to topple the Western-backed Mogadishu government and impose its own strict version of Islamic law in the country.
Three Kenyan soldiers wounded in gun attack near Somali border
02 Jan – Reuters – 336 Words
Gunmen attacked a truck carrying Kenyan soldiers near the border with Somalia on Thursday, seriously wounding three of them, police said, in an assault that bore the hallmarks of Somalia’s Islamist militant group al Shabaab. Attacks on civilians and security forces have killed well over 200 people since 2013. Concerns about security have battered Kenya’s tourism industry, including during this holiday season. “The soldiers were going to fetch water from a borehole in Mangai village, Lamu East, when militia attacked them by shooting at their lorry,” Lamu County police commander Ephantus Kiura said. “Three soldiers were critically injured in the incident and were airlifted to a nearby naval base where they are receiving treatment.”
The attack took place some 80 km from Lamu island – an ancient trading port and popular tourist resort – and about 100 km from the site of attacks last June and July in which gunmen killed about 100 people. The al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab claimed responsibility for those attacks, saying it would continue its assaults to persuade Kenya to pull its troops out of Somalia, where its forces have joined other African Union troops battling the militants.
Community raises cash for fire-damaged Minneapolis mosque
02 Jan – Source: Star Tribune – 581 Words
In a small computer room at the Brian Coyle Community Center where the women went to pray at sunsetThursday, a quote from Dr. Seuss hung on the wall: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it’s not.” The quote seemed to sum up the reason that about 120 members of the Somali community had come together on the first day of the new year — to raise more money to finally repair the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque. The mosque in Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood was heavily damaged by a large apartment building fire on New Year’s Day 2014 that killed three people.
“In our neighborhood, it feels like we’re in a dark place,” said Wali Dirie, executive director of the mosque and the organizer of the fundraiser, which also served as a memorial to the victims. “People feel that they lost their space,” Dirie said. “They don’t have the place they used to pray five times a day, the place they gathered the month of Ramadan for fasting, for holidays. It impacted their lives.” Anab Ahmed, 34, moved from Minneapolis to St. Cloud six years ago but until the fire struck, she still drove to the mosque every Friday. It was more than a place to worship, she said. It was a place to talk to her friends and reconnect.
Gunshot victim dies as tearful relatives kept vigil
01 Jan – Source: Calgary Herald – 240 Words
Tearful relatives rushed to the intensive care unit of a Calgary hospital today where one of seven gunshot victims from a New Year’s Eve party gone awry died from massive brain trauma. Leila Edwards said her cousin Abdullahi Ahmed — who had immigrated to Canada from war-torn Somalia with his family in the 1980s — was shot in the forehead during the gathering at a southwest Calgary home.
While an aunt kept a vigil at the bedside, Edwards stood by a window in a waiting room at Foothills Medical Centre trying desperately to reach Ahmed’s mother in Toronto on her cell phone. “There’s a bullet that’s fragmented, the brain is all scattered in there,” she said. “I just got a hold of his mom and she will try to make it here before God forbid something happens.” But the urgent efforts at getting his immediate family to Calgary before Ahmed died would be in vain, as a Herald source reported the young man succumbed to his injuries late Thursday afternoon. Edwards said Ahmed was in his “mid-20s” and had moved west from Ontario about six years ago. She was unclear what the young man was doing in Calgary.
“Maybe he works,” Edwards said. “I don’t think he goes to school now.”
Police officers paced the halls near the intensive care unit throughout the day, and relatives of other patients in the ward said an armed constable was stationed outside Ahmed’s room.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“The year saw a significant number of Somalis in diaspora come back to the country following decades in exile. This is expected to have a major impact on the growth of capital Mogadishu. There has been a recent construction boom, with more buildings – commercial and residential – appearing on the Mogadishu skyline.”
Somalia Records Tremendous Growth In 2014
01 Jan – Source: Warya Post/World Bulletin – 708 Words
Somalia, a troubled Horn of Africa nation that has not known peace since 1991, made significant military and economic headway in 2014. President Hassan Mohamud had promised that 2014 would see the end of Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda-linked militant group that has been battling successive governments for years. The announcement was met with considerable pessimism since the task fell squarely on an ill-trained national army and a poorly-funded African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
But January saw a major boost for AMISOM, when Ethiopia officially joined the peacekeeping force, swelling its ranks from 17,731 to more than 22,000. The entry of Ethiopia marked the beginning of a military offensive aimed at eliminating Al-Shabaab. The Somalia National Army and Ethiopian troops flushed the militants out of most of their strongholds in Somalia’s upper-middle Shabelle region, with Al-Shabaab losing more than 12 towns between February and May.
Ethiopian and Djiboutian peacekeepers, with the help of local militants and the Somali army, later took control of most of the towns in the country’s Hiraan and Jubaland regions. The next target was the Lower Shabelle region, where the main base of the militant group was located. In August, Somali and African troops launched a major offensive against the coastal town of Barawe, Al-Shabaab’s main stronghold. Ugandan and Somali troops, with the help of Kenyan air support, captured more than eight towns from the militant group. Kenya carried out at least five airstrikes in 2014, which reportedly killed more than 350 militants.
“If we do not amend our constitution today rather than tomorrow and do not put it forward for a referendum for a popular vote, our future will be uncertain and there will be the possibility of losing more dignity, representation and democratic process; and will move into one party state, autocracy, military government or even totalitarianism.”
Where is the future of Somalia is heading to?
01 Jan – Source: Mareeg.com – 1, 307 Words
After many years of being called a failed state, through collapse and lawlessness, Somalia is about to recover from the hopeless and the painful moments of its past. However, the process of nation building and making up a legitimate government is challenged, weakened and sometimes threatened by the struggle between President and the Prime Minster, who both want to have the power to direct or influence the behaviour of the other, or the course of the events in Somali politics.
Here are the questions that many Somali citizens are raising: are we under a presidential system? Or are we under a parliamentary system? Or are we a semi-presidential system? What are these anyway? Which system would be beneficiary for the people of Somalia? The other question that many Somalis have raised and are confused with is: system of centralized government or unitary state? Or confederation and federal government?
What I, and many of my colleagues don’t understand, are the questions I mentioned in the above. I would first and foremost begin to explain the difference between the presidential, parliamentarian, and semi-presidential systems. I would also touch their advantages and disadvantages; and the system that I would recommend to our country. In addition, I would also explain in short about unitary and federal government before I come to my suggestions and conclusions.
Top tweets
@PuntlandPirates: Here’s a nice summary on the difficulty of determining the positions of al-Shabaab leaders:http://www.longwarjournal.org/
@AmbAmerico: “The smile from the face of this young boy, means there is hope in our life in #Somalia .” @ZahraqoranneQorane
@MareejoXaamud: New roads being built and street lights installed in Mogadishu.- #Somalia
@SomaliEmbassyUS: 2014 Governor of the Year.mudug Governor Mahamad Yusuf Jamac (Tigey) Taking the Lead-Leadership Mudug Style #Somalia
@farahblue: #Somalia my choice for person of the year 2014 is Aden Mohamed, the only aircraft Marshaller at Kismayo Airport.
Image of the day
Reconstruction returns to Mogadishu. Photo: Mogadishu Images.