January 25, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somali Regional Leaders Arrive In Mogadishu For Election Talks
25 January – Source: Hiiraan Online – 282 Words
One week after Somali government and regional leaders failed to agree on the model of election the country will adopt in this year’s poll, Somalia’s regional leaders started arriving in the capital of Mogadishu on Sunday to attend the third round of talks to iron out the outstanding impediments. The talks in Kismayo town failed to yield consensus, leading to a walkout by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his delegation.
Hope seems to be back, however, as Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, and his Jubbaland counterpart, Ahmed Madobe, have arrived in Mogadishu for another attempt to a political agreement on the electoral process. Galmudug and Southwestern State leaders are expected to fly to Mogadishu today on Monday. The government plans to hold presidential elections this year, however it has dismissed the likelihood of holding popular elections due to security challenges. Regarding the election model, some of the country’s stakeholders have suggested selections of the country’s Member of Parliament based on nominations from each of the 18 regions, while others want the selections done in line with the existing federal states.
Key Headlines
- Somali Regional Leaders Arrive In Mogadishu For Election Talks (Hiiraan Online)
- South West State Leader Visits Al Shabaab Blockaded Town (Shabelle News)
- Kenya Sends More KDF Troops To Somalia (Shabelle News)
- In Geneva Somalia Defends Its Human Rights Record (Hiiraan Online)
- Local Clan In El Adde Might Have Betrayed KDF (Standard Digital)
- Somalia Stumbling Along ‘Bumpy And Difficult’ Path To Peace And Prosperity (The Guardian)
- Step Up Fight To Secure ‘Ungoverned Spaces’ In Somalia (Daily Nation)
NATIONAL MEDIA
South West State Leader Visits Al Shabaab Blockaded Town
24 January – Source: Shabelle News – 133 Words
A high-level delegation led by the President of the Interim South West Administration Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden arrived on Sunday in southern town of Hudur, regional capital of Bakool. Speaking to Radio Shabelle, the deputy commissioner of Hudur said ISWA head of State’s visit to the town is to assess the humanitarian situation of the local residents who are living under Al- Shabaab blockade since 2014.
The South West state leader held talks with local elders and discussed with them issues touching on the newly established Upper Bakol state in Elberde. The deputy Hudur DC Mustaf Aden said President Sharif Hassan urged Ethiopian military commanders serving under AMISOM in the town to lift the Al- Shabaab blockade on the recently recaptured area in Bakool region.
Kenya Sends More KDF Troops To Somalia
25 January – Source: Shabelle News – 460 Words
Kenya has sent more Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers to Somalia in its continuing search, rescue and recovery operation, according to a communication from Chief of Defence Forces General Samson Mwathethe.The troops from various KDF divisions across the country were assembled and sent to the war-torn country to conduct operations in Al Shabaab bases at El Adde and other towns in the Gedo region.
The key mission for the forces is to annihilate Al Shabaab militants and recover or destroy military hardware that Al Shabaab insurgents looted from KDF camps during last week’s attack in El Adde.“The latest ground troops from the infantry units, whose sole purpose is to fight and win land battles, are on their way to El Adde to reinforce several other soldiers currently engaging the militants in their hideouts near Gedo towns as fighter jets and attack helicopters continue to bombard the militants targets in Gedo and Baay regions,” said Mwathethe.
Military sources privy to the ongoing operation in Gedo region have confirmed that Al Shabaab militants had suffered heavy casualties after KDF F-5 fighter jets and Z-9 gunship attack helicopters from the 50th Air-Cavalry battalion bombed their bases in five towns near El Adde and Gedo town.The developments come just two days after KDF said they believe they had killed the commander of the El Adde attack in two waves of air strikes conducted last Sunday.In his press briefing on Thursday, General Mwathethe said hundreds of Al Shabaab militants had also been killed in the air strikes.President Uhuru Kenyatta, in his address after visiting injured KDF soldiers on Friday, rubbished calls to withdraw troops from Somalia saying Kenyan soldiers would stay in the country until peace and stability has been attained.He called on the international community to support AMISOM and KDF in their aspiration to bring peace in Somalia saying peace in the region means peace for the whole world.The Head of State called on Kenyans and the opposition CORD to stand with KDF saying Kenya’s resolve will not be shaken by the attack at El Adde.
Speaking at the same event, CORD leader Raila Odinga expressed his support for KDF saying Al Shabaab and other terror groups must be stopped at all costs.Odinga, while paying tribute to the soldiers killed at El Adde, said the country must stand together and take the battle to Al Shabaab’s backyard.“We may not agree on how best to fight Al Shabaab and secure our land, but we are in agreement that the terror groups are bad for Kenya, they are bad for Somalia, and they are bad for the whole world.” KDF was deployed to Somalia in 2011 in what was described as a measure to protect Kenya’s sovereignty.
In Geneva, Somalia Defends Its Human Rights Record
24 January – Source: Hiiraan Online – 313 Words
Somalia’s human rights record was scrutinized at the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) sessions since 2011. The country was represented in Geneva by a delegation led by Minister of Women and Human Rights, Ms. Zahra Ali Samantar, and included the Attorney General, Mr. Ahmed Ali Dahir.Rights groups say that despite ‘positive’ developments, serious human rights abuses and violations including extrajudicial executions and unlawful restrictions on freedom of expression, and political repression are still prevalent and remain mostly unpunished.Speaking at the forum, Zahra Ali Samantar, the Federal Minister of Women and Human Rights said that the country has improved its human rights record in the past four years, exemplifying the endorsement of the national action plan, plans to end sexual violence, children’s rights gender policy as key achievements for the UN-backed government.
She also called for the international community not to ‘forget’ Somalia due to many conflicts going on around the world.Syria, Iraq and Libya remain the world’s top agenda as the three countries are facing humanitarian crisis from years of conflict and civil unrest.
Somalia’s attorney general Ahmed Dahir who delivered a speech at the forum has affirmed the government’s commitment in reforming justice and the enactment of the counter-terrorism law.He also noted that the new controversial media law signed by the president promotes a ‘responsible’ media; however, journalists in Somalia say that the law aims to silence critical voices and aims to gag journalists.
After more than two decades of war, human rights organizations say that the government’s institutions remain weak; allowing constant violations of international humanitarian law which they said indiscriminately affected the civilian population. Insecurity and political infighting have also detracted from progress on justice and security sector reform. Government security forces, African Union troops, and allied militias were accused of being responsible for indiscriminate attacks, sexual violence, and arbitrary arrests and detention.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Local Clan In El Adde Might Have Betrayed KDF
25 January – Source: Standard Digital – 660 Words
The board of inquiry formed to probe what really happened during the attack on the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) camp in El Adde, has started its work amid claims of betrayal. Preliminary findings showed the local clan might have played a role in the attack’s planning and execution. The Marehan clan lives in the El Adde, Gedo region where the camp was. It emerged three soldiers who had escaped the massacre and hidden in a village elder’s house were hunted down by Al Shabaab and lynched, together with the host, after being allegedly betrayed by the villagers. “The Marehan clan feels KDF has been working to help the Ogaden and other clans seen as their rivals and that is what we think drove some of them to betrayal,” said a source who asked not to be named. The soldiers had apparently ran for almost five kilometres after removing their military uniform before ending up at the elder’s home where they were shielded for a while. The militants attacked the military base at dawn on January 15 killing more than 100 soldiers, stole military ware and held other KDF soldiers hostage.
Sources said the attack might have been planned for days and there was no way it could occur without the local clan’s knowledge. See also: DOD asks families of missing KDF soldiers to go for DNA tests to help identify bodies The attackers used vehicle borne improvised devices, an indication they had planned the raid for a long time and exploited a tactical weakness during rotation of forces to carry out the raid. The team visited the campon Thursday as part of their inquiry and is expected to brief the Chief of Defence Forces Samson Mwathethe on their findings this week in accordance with standard military practice.
Somalia Stumbling Along ‘Bumpy And Difficult’ Path To Peace And Prosperity
25 January – Source: The Guardian – 905 Words
Despite sporadic, sometimes intense militant attacks, Somalia has been making steady political progress ahead of a planned presidential vote this year, but these tenuous gains will not be consolidated unless the focus switches to debt relief and kickstarting the economy, says the former head of the UN mission.
Nicholas Kay, a British diplomat, was the UN secretary general’s special representative to Somalia from mid-2013 until December. During his tenure, the Horn of Africa country sought to fine-tune its federal system (pdf), which is meant to take some of the sting out of the clan rivalries that have poisoned politics for more than two decades and complicated the war against al-Shabaab militants.“The political and security progress the country has made will be at risk unless there are enhanced economic opportunities and livelihoods for the massively young population,” Kay said after returning to London at the end of last year.“The needs are enormous. The infrastructure is destroyed. There is no real functioning road system, the ports are in poor shape, there is no national electricity supply grid,” he added.
Somalia cannot qualify for debt relief under the heavily indebted poor countries initiative because it has longstanding arrears. Kay said the priority is to sign up to an International Monetary Fund-monitored programme, and start working towards achieving the governance and transparency goals needed to qualify for debt relief. Last July, the IMF carried out its first economic consultation with Somalia since 1989. It said the economy, driven by agriculture – including livestock exports, construction and telecommunications – grew by 3.7% in 2014. The IMF forecast growth of 2.7% for last year.As well as grappling with the economic cost of more than two decades of conflict and a 2011 famine, Somalia, like many war economies, is hamstrung by endemic corruption that will have to be tackled to unlock finance.“I hope that political will will be there, because the crisis that Somalia was in three years ago could well return unless there is a viable economic horizon for its young people,” said Kay.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Kenya has made gains in defence of freedom from terrorism at three levels.First, freedom inspired Kenya to send its troops to Somalia on October 14, 2011, at a time when Al-Shabaab was abducting and killing innocent tourists and aid workers.But routing Al-Shabaab’s power and influence in Somalia is an unfinished agendum,”
Step Up Fight To Secure ‘Ungoverned Spaces’ In Somalia
24 January – Source: Daily Nation- 893 Words
In the wake of the deadly terror attack on Kenyan soldiers in Somalia on January 15, a mix of anger, unity and patriotism rent the air.The assault calls to mind the famous “Blood, Toil, Tears, Sweat” speech by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on May 13, 1940.In what became a tour de force in patriotism and courage, Churchill declared in Parliament: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat” and vowed “to wage war by sea, land and air with all our might.” His courage won him 381-to-0 votes against appeasement of fascism in the face of Adolf Hitler’s crusading Nazi forces. After El-Adde, Kenya has taken to heart the wise counsel of Aristotle, the Greek philosopher and teacher of Alexander the Great: “You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honour.” President Kenyatta declared that al-Shabaab will “have no time to breathe”.
And his Chief of Defence Forces, General Samson Mwathethe, vowed “to avenge every drop of blood Kenyan troops” shed in El-Adde.His men have recaptured the El-Adde base barely five days after the attack.What really transpired before and after the El-Adde attack may not become clear until after the completion of investigations by a board of inquiry that the KDF set up. However, the battle for El-Adde echoes Alexander the Great’s Persian campaign.When his military general and strategist, Permenio, suggested that the Greeks attack the Persian camp during the night, Alexander’s answer was clear: “I do not steal victory.”The Al-Shabaab schemed to steal victory – in the night.At around 4.30 am on January 15, between 600 and 800 al-Shabaab fighters and suicide bombers simultaneously attacked the two camps in the El-Adde camp – one camp housing the Somali National Army and the other 80-120 Kenyan soldiers.These were part of 3,664 KDF troops in Amisom’s 21,500 strong peacekeeping force comprising 6,223 Ugandans, 5,432 Burundians, 4,395 Ethiopians and 1,000 Djibouti troops.
TOP TWEETS
@SomaliaNewsroom:#Somalia‘s Marehan clan leadership pleads with #Kenya‘s military to stop indiscriminate air strikes.
@8rtis:#Somalia more #KDF deployed amid ongoing military operations against #alShabaab in #Gedo region
@Daudoo:#Kenya claims that local Somali clan in El-Adde might have “betrayed” #KDF http://bit.ly/1OIVkra #Somalia
@JamalMOsman:#Somalia stumbling along ‘bumpy and difficult’ path to peace and prosperity: http://gu.com/p/4fz5d/stw
@CapitalFMKenya:What happened in #Somalia and the extent – Mwathethe http://goo.gl/G7idPL #AlShabaab
IMAGE OF THE DAY
People walk inside the Mogadishu Peace Garden in Hamar jajab district of Somalia.
Photo: AMISOM.