January 26, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Turkey’s president pledges to construct 10,000 new houses in Mogadishu

25 Jan – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 112 Words

Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, concluded his official visit in Somalia on Sunday afternoon. Erdogan made a new commitment to implement a project to construct 10,000 new houses for poor and displaced people in Mogadishu. He also pledged that Turkish Airlines would commence daily flights while the company currently carries out four per week. The outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdirahman Beyle, and Turkey’s delegation jointly signed an agreement on the new developmental projects set to commence in the near future. Erdogan also officially opened a new terminal in Aden Adde international airport and the Erdogan Hospital in Mogadishu earlier on Sunday.

Key Headlines

Galmudug to fine vehicles bearing Puntland number plates (Radio Goobjoog)
13-yr old rape victim compensated for $500 rapists still at large in Mogadishu (Somali Update)
Mogadishu hospital named after Turkish President (Radio Dalsan)
Turkey’s president pledges to construct 10000 new houses in Mogadishu (Radio Goobjoog)
Sierra Leone troops in Somalia return home safely (Al Shahid)
Federal MP dies in Mogadishu (Garowe Online)
Turkey sees extensive efforts in Somalia sprouting fresh hope (Daily Sabah)
Somalia S.Sudan await admission to the EAC (The East African)
Somali shopkeeper back in court over teen murder (SABC)
Turkish president pledges more investment for war-torn Somalia (AFP/Yahoo News)
Foreign traders in South Africa thank networks for their success (Hiiraan Online/Business Day)

SOMALI MEDIA

Galmudug to fine vehicles bearing Puntland number plates

26 Jan – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 138 Words

Galmudug traffic chief Mohamud Mohamed Abdulle has told Goobjoog that his administration will fine any vehicle bearing Puntland number plates and will also arrest the driver for 24 hours. “We are informing the people of Galmudug that from tomorrow any car bearing Puntland number plate will fined for $30 dollars, and the driver will be arrested , we will keep him behind bars for 24 hours, this is an official decree from Galmudug State,” Abdulle said. The traffic chief said that the public have been informed several times not to fix Puntland number plates on their cars, but now the traffic authority will act against it. Galmudug has been rounding up cars without number plates and those with tinted windows, saying they pose a security threat.

13-yr old rape victim compensated for $500, rapists still at large in Mogadishu

26 Jan – Source: Somali Update – 536 Words

When 13-yr old girl Bilan (not her real name) was raped by two soldiers near her home at Ex-Control IDP camp in Mogadishu a week ago, she did not reveal it to her mother and her family because of the stigma that many women in Somalia meet. Bilan’s case only became known by her mother in the morning, after her mother saw a blood coming from the young girls genitals. Bilan’s mother, Faduma told Somaliupdate Online what happened to her young daughter.

“It was around 8.00 pm local time, I sent my daughter to fetch water from the neighbor. She went and she was [one hour] late but I did not suspect any problem happened to my daughter. We slept in the night and she told me nothing,” Faduma said. “In the morning, I saw some blood in the home, I called Bilan to ask what it was and she said she was bleeding. I got shocked when she said two men caught her last night when she was fetching the water. It was a disaster.” The two men are Somali government soldiers based in Ex-Control Afgooye checkpoint on the main corridor between Mogadishu and Afgooye, which is very close to the city’s biggest IDP camp Badbaado. Bilan’s family moved to this IDP camp after fleeing from Kismayo.

“I went to the elders of the village and they took me to the police station at the district. The police officer told us that they cannot arrest the men who were armed soldiers, but they will ask to pay compensation. On the second day, the police officer and the elders called me and they paid us 10,000,000 Somali Shillings (roughly $500) as compensation for the harm of my daughter,” she said. When Somaliupdate Online interviewed the village elder Mohamud Ahmad, he confirmed the $500 compensation. “The $500 is just like a fine on the two rapists; $300 is the compensation for breaking the girl’s virginity and the remaining $200 is humiliation against her dignity,” Ahmad said.

Faduma says she had no other option to deal with the case but to accept the small compensation. Bilan remains at home, and has not seen a doctor to check her health situation. “I cannot do anything, I am powerless, and the only way I could do something was to tell our complaint to the elders. So I am partially forced to [accept] this,” Faduma said. “If I continue to complain against this, I might be at risk. The two rapists are at large, I see them everyday wielding their AK-47 rifles on the street, so my preferred option is to keep silent,” Faduma concluded.

Mogadishu hospital named after Turkish President

25 Jan – Source: Radio Dalsan – 128 Words

The newly refurbished Digfer hospital in Mogadishu is now called the Erdogan General Hospital. Digfer hospital which was among the facilities which suffered from the effects of the civil war was modernized into a world class hospital by the Turkish government. After jetting in and opening another Turkish project at Aden Ade International Airport, the Turkish President also opened the newly-renamed Erdogan General Hospital. Digfer was an Italian who took part in the opening of the hospital during the colonial period. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in the Somali capital on Sunday— he was accompanied by some family members, businessmen, and delegates, and were welcomed at Mogadishu International Airport by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and several senior Somali government officials.

Turkey’s president pledges to construct 10,000 new houses in Mogadishu

25 Jan – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 112 Words

Sierra Leone troops in Somalia return home safely

25 Jan – Source: Al Shahid -145 Words

The last of 850 Sierra Leonean troops who served in Somalia arrived in Freetown on Friday. The 113 men, comprising the Leobatt I contingent, were received by the country’s Chief of Defense, Brigadier Samuel Omar Williams, who hailed them for their endurance. The men were deployed in Somalia in 2012 as part of the UN-backed African Union Mission in Somalia helping to fight off the Islamist group Al Shabaab. The Sierra Leone soldiers were only supposed to spend one year in the country, but because of the Somali government’s decision to reject their replacements, over Ebola fears, the forces spent nearly two years in Somalia. According to the Defence Ministry in Freetown, the returning troops will be confined to a peacekeeping training center outside Freetown for sometime to acclimatize them on how to avoid the Ebola virus.

Federal MP dies in Mogadishu

25 Jan – Source: Garowe Online – 98 Words

A member of Somali parliament and former minister, Mohamed Ibrahim Habsade, died in Mogadishu on Saturday night according to relatives, Garowe Online reports. The late Habsade is said to have succumbed to diabetes and high blood pressure complications. The MP served as air transport minister under interim President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed’s administration. He was also the co-founder of now-defunct Rahanweyn Resistance Army (RRA)- a militia group that controlled regions in the southwest. At least 10 Somali lawmakers were killed in 2014 in planned assassinations and suicide bombings while others died from health complications.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Turkey sees extensive efforts in Somalia sprouting fresh hope

25 Jan – Source: Daily Sabah – 676 Words

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan yesterday visited Somali capital Mogadishu on the last leg of his Africa tour, receiving a hero’s welcome for the help Turkey extended to the country in the past few years and going ahead with the visit despite last week’s bombing that targeted a Turkish delegation. The visiting Turkish delegation, which also included the president’s wife Emine Erdoğan and senior ministers, arrived to attend the opening of the terminal building of Mogadishu’s international airport (right) and the Somalia-Turkey Education and Research Hospital, both of which were completed with significant Turkish contributions. Erdoğan, who became the first non-African leader to visit the famine- and war-afflicted country in 20 years when he, as the prime minister, paid a visit to Mogadishu in August 2011, has been at the forefront in efforts to rebuild Somalia. The former Somali envoy to the U.S. writing for Al Jazeera, Abukar Arman, said it was no surprise that the Turkish president would receive a hero’s welcome in his country, adding that, “The fact is, Erdoğan has done for Somalia what no other world leader has done in decades.”
During the inauguration ceremony of the terminal building, Erdoğan said, “I wish from God that this terminal building and the airport will benefit our Somalia, which has suffered greatly,” adding that there will be daily flights from Istanbul to Mogadishu. Erdoğan, who delayed his visit for a few days to attend the funeral of Saudi Arabian King Abdullah, said Turkey’s commercial and humanitarian aid to the country would continue.Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, speaking at the ceremony, said, “The president and my brother Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, your Somali brothers and sisters welcome you. Today is an important day. It will be remembered in Somali history. We are glad you can be a part of it. There are huge differences between the Mogadishu you visited before and the city today. These differences are due to efforts and aid extended by you and the Republic of Turkey. The people of Somalia will not forget this.”

Somalia, S.Sudan await admission to the EAC

24 Jan – Source: The East African – 575 Words

Talks on the admission of South Sudan into the East African Community are set to take centre stage at the EAC Heads of State Summit scheduled for February 20 in Nairobi. Also top on the agenda is the verification of an application by the war-torn Federal Republic of Somalia to join the five-member regional economic bloc. South Sudan charge d’affaires in Nairobi, James Morgan said the process of the oil-rich nation’s membership to EAC is ongoing and Juba has continued to engage with the EAC Secretariat. “What happened is that there was a coup and this can happen to any EAC member. That does not make a country bad. However, as an applicant, we cannot be expected to evaluate ourselves. It is up to the EAC members to decide whether we have met the conditions,” Morgan told The EastAfrican last week.

South Sudan gained Independence on July 9 2011 following a referendum in which the citizens overwhelmingly voted for total autonomy from Sudan. The referendum, conducted in January 2011, was one of the provisions of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in 2005. The CPA ended one of Africa’s longest civil wars. The 1999 EAC Treaty sets out conditions for membership, including adherence to universally acceptable principles of good governance, democracy, rule of law, observance of human rights and social justice. The EAC members rejected South Sudan’s bid in December 2012 because of its periodic conflict with neighbouring Sudan. The lack of a democratic culture that has seen the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement ( SPLM) run roughshod over other political parties, could also have dented the young nation’s chance. Now, the country has a full blown civil war that leaves little chance of its being considered, given that many crimes against humanity and war crimes have taken place since December 2015. There is also little chance that the proposed June 30 elections will meet international standards.

Somalia, which has also endured long periods of instability and insecurity is hoping that the EAC member countries will allow it into the Community. Somalia’s ambassador to Kenya, Mohamed Ali Noor exuded confidence that the country was considered a prime candidate to the EAC following a raft of key initiatives that he believes have lifted the country’s profile in the eyes of the international community. Mr Noor said that, for the first time in 20 years, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) Council of Ministers meeting was held in Mogadishu on January 10 with a view to restoring peace and stability in the country.

“We believe that it is now time to join the EAC. Since that Igad meeting, peace is coming back to Somalia and there is prosperity and construction,” he said. Mr Noor said about 900 Somali refugees from Kenya have gone back to Somalia in the past three months, following the signing of a tripartite agreement on the repatriation of Somali refugees by the two countries in 2013. During the 16th Summit of the EAC Heads of State the presidents of the five member countries (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi) will initiative a constitution making process and a roadmap for the establishment of a political federation. They will also review the process towards the establishment of a One Network Area for the EAC. “We are ready to host this summit. We have put all the arrangements in place,” said John Konchellah, Kenya’s Principal Secretary in-charge of EAC affairs.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somali shopkeeper back in court over teen murder

26 Jan – Source: SABC – 242 Words

Somali shopkeeper, Senosi Yusuf, is due back in the Protea Magistrates Court on Monday in connection with the shooting to death of a Soweto teenager a week ago. He made his first court appearance on Thursday last week, where his case was postponed so that the court could secure the services of an interpreter. Yusuf has been in custody since his arrest shortly after the shooting. It is alleged that a group of youths tried to rob Yusuf’s tuck-shop in Snake Park, Soweto on Monday. In trying to defend his shop, Yusuf fired several shots, one of which fatally wounded 14-year-old Siphiwe Mahori.

The shooting sparked the looting and targeting of foreign shops across the sprawling township, rapidly spreading to surrounding areas. Thousands of foreigners were displaced, while two other shopkeepers were arrested on gun charges, after they also tried to defend their stores. Almost 200 people have been arrested in connection with looting incidents, with many having appeared in court last week.

About 95 other suspects, including juveniles, will appear in the Kagiso Magistrates Court and Protea Magistrates Court on Monday. Meanwhile, two people are reported to have been shot dead during looting in Langlaagte in Johannesburg. The police say the shots were fired when a group looted a foreign-owned spaza shop and then set another building alight. One body was found outside the looted store, and another in a nearby informal settlement.

Turkish president pledges more investment for war-torn Somalia

25 Jan – Source: AFP/ Yahoo News – 530 Words

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday vowed to boost already large investments as he visited Somalia, a strategic ally offering lucrative rewards for those willing to work in the war-torn nation. Erdogan, on a rare visit by a foreign leader to a capital hit by frequent insurgent attacks, praised the “major developments” seen in Somalia and promised to deliver more. He was welcomed at Mogadishu’s new Turkish-renovated airport by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Turkey is a major donor to and investor in Somalia, carrying out a series of large-scale construction projects in a city devastated by more than two decades of war, and now undergoing a major building boom. Erdogan, who was accompanied by his wife and daughter, made the one day visit under tight security.

Hundreds of soldiers and police officers shut down much of the capital’s streets, where five people were killedThursday in a suicide attack on a hotel housing the Turkish delegation in Mogadishu. Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-affiliated Shebab rebels — who are fighting to overthrow the country’s internationally-backed government — said they carried out the bombing, the latest in a string of attacks by the group against high-profile targets in Mogadishu. Erdogan later visited a hospital and mosque built with Turkish support. Mohamud praised Turkey’s “prominent, exemplary role” in Somalia, where unlike most nations, Turkish citizens live and work outside heavily fortified compounds. “Turkey did not hold back, waiting for stability before it invested. Instead, it invested to achieve it,” Mohamud said. “Where other international partners chose to plan their interventions from elsewhere, Turkey put its people on the ground in Somalia.” Turkey’s relationship with Somalia dates back centuries, but since famine devastated parts of the Horn of Africa nation in 2011, Erdogan has forged close ties with Mogadishu and launched a raft of construction and development projects.

Foreign traders in South Africa thank networks for their success

26 Jan – Source: Hiiraan Online/BusinessDay – 775 Words

Resentment against foreign shopkeepers runs deep in SA’s townships. It took only one altercation between a known thief and drug addict, and a Somali shopkeeper in Snake Park, Soweto, last week to ignite mass looting of foreign shops across the township. All that is required is a spark and mobs are ready to pile into foreign shops, loot and sometimes kill their owners. While events in Soweto made headlines and were reminiscent of the 2008 xenophobic violence that swept across the country, isolated incidents against foreign businesses occur daily. With foreigners being disliked by many South Africans amid the belief that they lay claim to national resources, it is their success in business that irks township dwellers particularly.Foreign shop-owners in townships, many locals believe, crowd them out of opportunities and starve them of business. Whether foreigners are the main reason locals fail is debatable; what is undeniable is that foreigners are better at doing business and research shows that their enterprises are more likely to survive.
In a small but important study that tracked the fate of survivalist enterprises in the Cape Town township of Delft over three years, a group of researchers has been able to show that over time, ownership has become increasingly foreign. In 2010, the first year of the survey, researcher Rory Liederman wrote that ownership of spazas in Delft was equally divided between locals and foreigners, mainly Somalis. But by 2013, 70% of the spazas that were owned by locals had closed permanently, including businesses that had operated for more than 10 years. Foreign-owned shops had increased by a third.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“Although they make up the majority of society they are completely excluded from processes of decision-making, even though these very decisions determine their future. The absence of basic economic infrastructure and a lack of social services fuel a high rate of unemployment among the young generation; 67% of Somali youth are estimated to be unemployed. A lack of any clear and promising policies that will help to overcome the issues which trigger emigration, violence and youth exploitation.”

3 challenges, 3 solutions for Somalia’s youth

24 Jan – Source: World Economic Forum – 714 Words

Policymakers around the world are paying increasing attention to the younger generation and its role in shaping society. The young generation has played a major role in recent events in the Middle East and North Africa, and was pivotal to the Arab Spring as well as to the ongoing violence in places like Syria and Libya. And with unemployment figures remaining extremely high, frustrated young people represent a ticking time bomb in the developing world. Despite a surge in the youthful demographic around the globe, current international mechanisms do not sufficiently address their specific place in peace and security, nor the role they can play in economic renewal in war and poverty-affected countries.

Almost half of the world’s population has been estimated to fall into the youth bracket. But the sad reality is that a huge number of them live in over-populated, poverty-stricken areas or conflict and crisis zones. This translates into a huge social development setback which deeply affects the ability of young people to fulfill their responsibility as the backbone of human development. This is especially true in areas of conflict or poverty, where political and economic exclusion, inequalities and the overall undermining of the role of the young threatens any sustainable peace-building process and stable economic growth. Young people in these conflict zones are both the agents of violence as well as its victims – when conflict erupts, they become exposed and vulnerable to armed or political recruitment and exploitation.

Somalia, where I grew up and spent most of my life, is a country plagued by civil war, armed conflict, terrorism, and political, economic and social crises. Amidst the resultant breakdown of law and order, displacement, poverty, migration, and deep instability, the young generation – like other vulnerable groups in society – was used as a tool on the battle field. But it was entirely excluded from political processes and decision-making. Studies show that over 70% of the Somali people are less than 30 years old. This majority has the capacity to either destroy the country further or contribute to its rebuilding. Somali history recognizes a group of 13 young men as the founding fathers of the nation. They brought about independence through sheer determination and a commitment to defeat colonial powers. Yet today, young people are excluded from the system, perhaps to the detriment of our nation.

Top tweets

@UNSomalia: @UNSomalia‘s new DSRSG meets @SomaliPMSharmarke to discuss peace, stability & state-building in#Somalia. @UN_DPA.

@HarunMaruf: The most iconic image that will forever define the role of #Turkey in #Somalia. #ErdoganInSomalia #TurkeyInSomalia pic.twitter.com/KaMS2w73VD

@Fatumaabdulahi: Off to Istanbul to put flags of #Somalia on major streets to test if this one-way ‘brotherhood’ hype holds water. #ErdoganInSomalia.

@Aynte: #Somalia police officers giving a lift to a mother & her children stranded as a result of city lockdown today. #proud pic.twitter.com/jRw25SpuGm

@SomaliPM “Somalia welcomes Turkish President Erdogan as he makes another historic trip to Somalia”

@dirshejunior : It is our unwillingness to invest in ourselves thus waiting foreigners to revive our industries and rebuild our infrastructure #Somalia

‏@GermanyinKenya #Somalia‘s continued convergence towards#EastAfricanCommunity another step towards recovery & development in the Horn of Africa @BeilehMofa

@Zee_Abdi: @ the #Puntland Curriculum Framework Validation Conference in #Garowe. Giving my two cents . #Somalia #Education pic.twitter.com/anH7Tgc1OX

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Image of the day

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud cut the ribbon, officially marking the opening of the new terminal in Aden Abdulle International Airport. Photo: AMISOM