January 2, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somali Federal Officials Visit Beled-Hawo Border Town
02 January – Source: Goobjoog News – 291Words
Federal government delegation among them the interior minister Abdi Farah (Juxa) visited Beled-Hawo border town with Kenya after landing in nearby Dollow town. The visit follows after the local people Beled-Hawo, Gedo region complained of Kenyan government stepping over the boundary into Somalia where they want to a build a partitioning wall. Minister Juha and his official delegates visited the borderline area in the company of technical experts. The delegates also collected information from the local people concerning the border dispute.
Yesterday the Lower House debated the issue and came up with several articles among them the border land dispute being related to the maritime dispute between Somali and Kenya, condemned the attempted land grabbing by the Kenyan government, appealed to the Federal Government of Somalia to respond officially to the matter and sending a fact-finding team made up of ministers and MPs. The House also formed a special committee made of 5 members who will keep abreast with developments from the border town.
The MPs also commended the bravery exhibited by the locals in the town of Beled-Hawo of defending the land against Kenyan military who were armed to the teeth. The government delegates went back yesterday to Dollow town. Two days ago the local people of Beled-Hawo appealed to the Federal Government of Somalia to come to their rescue after they complained of Kenyan military allegedly destroying their homes along the border area between the two countries. Somalia filed its maritime case against Kenya in mid July 2015 at the Hague, the Netherlands arguing that Kenya had encroached on its territory in the Indian Ocean border and went ahead to license oil companies for oil exploration.
Key Headlines
- Somali Federal Officials Visit Beled-Hawo Border Town (Goobjoog News)
- At Least Two Injured In Mogadishu Car Bombing (Shabelle Media)
- Two Al-Shabaab Officials Defect To Southwest State (Hiiraan Online)
- UN Decries Destruction Of IDP Settlements In Somalia (Xinhuanet)
- Somalia’s Economy Thrives With Turkey’s Support (yenisafak.com)
NATIONAL MEDIA
At Least Two Injured In Mogadishu Car Bombing
02 January – Source: Shabelle Media – 111 Words
At least two Somali civilians were wounded in a car bomb explosion in Mogadishu on Monday night, witnesses and Police said. The blast took place in Bulo-Hubey area in the capital after an explosive device fitted into a vehicle belonging to Somali Intelligence officer exploded.
The magnetic bomb went off shortly after the officer got out of the car. Two civilians who were nearby area sustained wounds in the blast and taken to a hospital, said a witness. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, which was the latest in a string of bombings in the seaside city in the past few months carried out by Al Shabaab.
Two Al-Shabaab Officials Defect To Southwest State
02 January – Source: Hiiraan Online – 115 Words
Reports from the district of Buurhakaba in Bay region reveals that two Al-Shabaab officials have surrendered to the Southwest State. The two have been named as Osman Abdi Hassan and Ali Unsow Mohamed. The two who were part of the Al-Shabaab intelligence wing are now in the custody of the District Commissioner of Buurhakaba and the security agencies in the area.
The Spokesman for Southwest State, Nuradin Yusuf (Gacma) said the two individuals have been terrorizing the people of Southwest State but have now decided to defect. He said in the past days, Al-Shabaab officials defecting to the Southwest State has been on the increase adding they welcome all those who defect from the group.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
UN Decries Destruction Of IDP Settlements In Somalia
01 January – Source: Xinhuanet – 309 Words
The UN senior relief official in Somalia on Monday decried reports of destruction of internally displaced persons (IDPs) settlements, along with humanitarian infrastructure in K13 in Mogadishu. Peter de Clercq, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, said over 23 IDP settlements, housing over 4,000 IDP households, were destroyed on Dec. 29 and 30, noting that families are now living in the open.
“I am deeply saddened to learn of evictions, without prior notice, of internally displaced persons, in Banadir region. Some of these displaced people have walked long distances from different parts of the country fleeing drought and conflict,” de Clercq said in a statement issued in Mogadishu.
He said personal property and livelihoods have also been lost as people were not given time to collect their belongings before the destruction started. “I am equally concerned that when everyone is seized of the agenda of improving the lives of Somalis, humanitarian and development installations are being senselessly destroyed, including schools, latrines, water points, sanitation centres, shelters and other related investments generously supported by donors,” said de Clercq.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“Turkish charities have set up tents to distribute food daily to refugees who fled recurring droughts in parts of Somalia, as pointed out by Hasan Shouriya Efrah, who stressed that Turkish aid was not confined to nutrition,”
Somalia’s Economy Thrives With Turkey’s Support
02 January – Source: yenisafak.com – 693 Words
Somalia is experiencing an economic resurgence that was credited to Turkey’s strategic partnership with the African country following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Somalia in 2011. The Somali people regard Turkey as a strategic partner that stood by their country and helped it put behind years of violent political crises, terrorist attacks and famine. As the international community ignored the plight of Somali people that were experiencing humanitarian and political crises, Turkey always stood by the African nation. It has built schools, hospitals, sent aid, help expand the Mogadishu port and provided the students of Somalia with scholarships.
Due to late rains in 2011, Somalia was in the grip of a widespread famine that killed over 260,000 as Arab and other countries in the region kept quiet. While the Somalian tragedy was met with global neglect, Turkey immediately got involved as it set up an air “bridge of charity” that raised about $300 million in a nationwide campaign which is credited with saving millions of people from assured death. Steps taken by Turkey to assist Somalia saw a significant increase following the visit of then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, prompting Somalis to brand 2011 as the “year of Turkish benevolence.”
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Somalian Muhammed Sheikh Taher said, “Turkey’s humanitarian intervention helped rescue millions of Somalis from the clutches of famine.” “For Somali people who were going through humanitarian, economic and military crises, Turkey represents a safety net. The ties between Turkey and Somalia are founded upon Muslim fraternity. Erdoğan’s historic visit in 2011 helped Somalia in grabbing the attention of the international community. This visit will always be regarded as an important event in the history of Somalia,” continued Taher.
Erdoğan has visited Somalia three times in the past 20 years. The first visit took place in 2011, then as President, Erdoğan visited the African nation twice in 2015 and 2016. Somali success carries Albayrak Group signature The relative political stability and economic recovery achieved by Somalia in recent days carries the signature of Albayrak Holding, one of Turkey’s leading companies.
Specialists credit the relative recovery with the return of expats that was spurred by increasing the monthly income generated by the International Mogadishu Airport and Mogadishu Port after being operated by Turkish companies. Air and sea trade through the Mogadishu Port are the biggest source of income for the Somali government. “The maintenance of the International Mogadishu Airport by Turkish companies resulted in the employment of a large number of Somalis. The know-how employed by Albayrak Holding in the Mogadishu Port enabled Somali merchants to diversify their markets, including reaching the Turkish market. Previously, merchants were only leading toward markets in China and Abu Dhabi,” said Abdulghani.
TOP TWEETS
@thomasamter: UN decries destruction of IDP settlements in Somalia http://www.xinhuanet.com/
@omabha: #Somalia KDF soldiers kill five Shabaab militants, recover weapons during gunfight http://dlvr.it/Q8WLZR
@SomaliaToday1: 2017 turned out to be another grim year for journalists and journalism in Somalia, says NUSOJ,http://www.somaliatoday.so/
@amisomsomalia: #AMISOM Police is conducting a 10-day training course on countering IEDs for the Somali Police Force. The training will equip SPF officers with vital skills in preventing, disposing and countering IED attacks by terrorists in #Somalia. Read about it: http://bit.ly/2ltyY5C
@HarunMaruf: Faces of suspects in last October’s Mogadishu truck bombing. From right-to-left: Mukhtar Mohamud Hassan, Hassan Aden Isak, Abdul Abdi Warsame and Abdiweli Ahmed Diriye. The main suspect, Hassan Aden Isak is accused of coordinating the attack. (Photos courtesy of @RadioMuqdisho)
@DrBeileh: Our priorities for 2018 are to continue with the fiscal & economic reforms necessary to generate greater domestic resources to finance national needs. Glad 2017 has been such a success #SMP #Salaries #Somalia
We are striving for a prosperous 2018 @MofSomalia@SomaliPM
@Mogadishu_News: #Somalia needs its own people to renovate it. No one else will do this. These lovely and brave soldiers are to be our role model. Let’s stand building #Somalia.#SomaliaRising.
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Federal government of Somalia Interior minister, Abdi Farah (Juxa) led a host of government delegations to visit Beled-Hawo town to assess the border dispute with kenyan government officials.
Photo: @HonJuxa