January 8, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Somalia, Italy discuss inter-state agreements
08 Jan – Source: Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu/SNTV – 204 words
Somalia and Italy on Monday discussed the revival of all inter-state agreements signed between them prior to the collapse of Somalia’s central government in early 1990s. In a meeting in Rome, foreign ministers from Italy and Somalia, Guilio Terzi and Fawzia Yusuf Haji Adan agreed to re-institute all inter-state agreements between their countries.
Terzi received Adan at his office in the first meeting since his visit to Mogadishu last October, according to an Italian foreign ministry statement. During their meeting, they also discussed means of strengthening state institutions following the transitional process in the African country in a drive to achieve stability and development.
Key Headlines
- Somalia Italy discuss inter-state agreements (Bar-Kulan)
- Ugandan rebel group has links with Somali militants a report says (Radio Mustaqbal)
- President Farole: terrorists are within our community (Radio Kulmiye)
- Corrupt judges release “MSF staff killer” (Shabelle)
- Mobile customers gain access to 3G technology in Mogadishu (Sabahi Online)
- Police searching for 22 missing Somali students (Todays Zaman)
- Return of Somali refugees “a positive indicator”: UN envoy (UN Radio)
SOMALI MEDIA
Somalia, Italy discuss inter-state agreements
08 Jan – Source: Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu/SNTV – 204 words
Somalia and Italy on Monday discussed the revival of all inter-state agreements signed between them prior to the collapse of Somalia’s central government in early 1990s. In a meeting in Rome, foreign ministers from Italy and Somalia, Guilio Terzi and Fawzia Yusuf Haji Adan agreed to re-institute all inter-state agreements between their countries.
Terzi received Adan at his office in the first meeting since his visit to Mogadishu last October, according to an Italian foreign ministry statement. During their meeting, they also discussed means of strengthening state institutions following the transitional process in the African country in a drive to achieve stability and development.
Somalia president addresses insecurity, youth agenda
08 Jan – Source: Radio Risaala – 126 words
Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohaoud addressed insecurity in his country and the role of the youth, blaming the insecurity on joblessness and financial crisis that has being facing the youth for nearly 22 years.
This, he said, led to the youth to indulge in any income-generating activity whether criminal or not. Furthermore, he said that some youth are revenge-driven from previous injustices inflicted on their tribes and kinsmen.
President Hassan noted that some wealthy men have taken advantage of the situation and are using the youth to wage wars and kill innocent people for their own selfish interests. He called for this to stop and everybody to embrace peace and be part of the development programme ongoing in the country.
Corrupt judges release ‘’killer of MSF staff’’
08 Jan – Source: Shabelle – 209 words
Corrupt judges have let a man accused of killing two foreign aid workers in Mogadishu off the hook after taking bribes, according to chief of Somali high court, Aydid Ilka hanaf who has given an exclusive interview to Shabelle media network.
The two aid workers were with the aid group of MSF and they were Philippe Havet, 53, a Belgian and Andrias Karel Keiluhu, 44 an Indonesian and they were shot dead inside the aid group’s compound in December 2011 by a lone gunman who was reported to be a former local staff.
Mr. Ilka Hanaf said that three judges, who were working at the high court, released the suspected murderer after they had received bribes but he said that the three judges have now been sacked from their positions in the Somali judiciary system. Chief Ilka Hanaf said that it is deplorable that MSF has seized its vital aid operations in many areas of the country, stressing that the aid agency was carrying life-saving aid missions in Somalia.
Ugandan rebel group has links with Somali militants, a report says
07 Jan – Source: Radio Mustaqbal – 165 words
A UN report alleges that there is a link between Somalia’s al Qaeda-inspired group of al Shabaab and the Ugandan rebel group of Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and that the two group’s connection is spreading through East Africa.
According to the report, ADF has established a link with Somalia’s militant group of al Shabaab which is now weaker after Somali government forces backed by African Union troops thrashed the group in many battlefields in south Somalia.
Uganda has contributed the bulk of the AU forces in Somalia and al Shabaab carried out a deadly bombing attack in Uganda in 2010, clearly in retaliation to Uganda’s deployment to Somalia.
‘Federal gov’t will change constitution’ says President Hassan
07 Jan – Source: Garowe Online – 138 words
The president of Somalia’s federal government Hassan Sheikh Mohamud addressed the closing session of the Somali Federal Parliament in Mogadishu on Monday, Garowe Online reports. Parliament Speaker Mohamed Osman Jawari chaired the parliamentary session with 153 MPs present, out of parliament ‘s 275 MPs.
“This parliament session is closed and the next session commences in March 2013, ” said Speaker Jawari. Last week, MPs approved the 2013 budget presented by the government of Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon.
The People ‘s Assembly, or the Lower House of the Somali Federal Parliament, was established in August 2012 and based on 4.5 clan power-sharing formula between the four “major clans ” and a collection of “smaller clans ” in Somalia. According to Somalia ‘s federal constitution, an Upper House of federal parliament must be established to represent the states of federated Somalia.
Puntland President Farole: terrorists are within our community
07 Jan – Source: Radio Kulmiye – 126 words
The authorities of Puntland have said that there are terrorist elements inside their administration. The report added these terrorists are within the areas which Puntland authorities control.
The president of Puntland Abdirahman Sheikh Ahmed Farole has said that the regions controlled by Puntland have now become a hub for Islamist fundamentalists. The president said the government is ready and is on alert. President Farole also claimed that their are ‘foreign fighters’ in the region.
He vowed that the residents in Puntland regions will “uproot” the terrorists. This coincided with a time when al Shabaab announced they will attack Puntland State of Somalia.
Protest in Qardho as political crisis looms in Puntland
07 Jan – Source: Bar-kulan – 121 words
Hundreds of locals in Qardho town on Monday took to the streets in protest of alleged extension of the term of the current administration which expires tomorrow, widening the growing political rift in the region.
Protesters waving placards and chanting slogans against the incumbent regional president Abdirahman Farole are demanding an immediate presidential election to replace the current administration.
Speaking to Bar-kulan, a section of the protesters promised to continue with their protest until political changes happen in the region. No violence has been reported as protesters were holding peaceful demonstrations. Elsewhere, anti-riot police were deployed into the streets of Bosaso early on Monday ahead of predicted demonstrations against the alleged extension of the term of the current Farole-led administration.
REGIONAL MEDIA
One dies in Garissa grenade attack
08 Jan – Source: Standard – 269 words
One person succumbed to injuries he sustained from grenade and gun attacks on a police car in Garissa Town on Monday night. The body of the 22-year old man was found few meters away from the scene of the attack with gunshot wounds.
Police said he had tried to escape from the scene after the attack but was overwhelmed and his body was discovered almost an hour later.
Eight other people including four police officers are admitted in hospital following the 7 pm incident. Police said the victims are in a stable condition in hospital and that two of them had been operated on.
Al Shabaab joins Uganda ADF militants to increase operational capacity
08 Jan – Source: Intelligence Briefs – 150 words
Ugandan Islamist terrorist outfit ADF has finally joined hands with Somali terrorist network and al Qaeda affiliate, al Shabaab in an effort to increase al Shabaab operational capabilities in East Africa. According to intelligence gathered by Strategic Intelligence, al Shabaab proxy in Kenya MYC has been used to create networks with the Ugandan Islamist rebel outfit ADF.
In 2012, MYC was mobilizing operatives across East Africa by rallying support through social media besides identifying links with members of ADF and their proxies through coded messages transmitted as social media posts. Intelligence reports show that ADF is a Ugandan Muslim rebel group operating limitedly in Uganda and DRC.
ADF may have already received a tiny contingent of al Shabaab operatives of either Tanzanian or Kenyan origin who used public transport means available from Kenya and traverses the entire East and Central Africa. Intelligence reports possible terror attacks in Uganda in coming days by the al Shabaab ADF outfit.
Italian, Somali FMs discuss cementing Somali Institutions
07 Jan – Source: Kuna News – 125 words
Italian and Somali foreign minister, Guilio Terzi and Fawzia Yusuf Haji Adan respectively, discussed here Monday means of strengthening state institute following the transitional process in the African country in a drive to achieve stability and development.
Terzi received Adan, also deputy premier, at his office in the first meeting since his visit to Mogadishu last October, a foreign ministry statement said. The two officials discussed the major challenges facing the Somali authorities following the transitional process to ultimately building a solid state institutions.
Adan expressed her government’s strong desire to building a “united state on a federal basis” including key rights and freedoms. Terzi said Italy, bilaterally and within the European Union (EU), sought to support Somalia in the judicial, security and development domains.
Mobile customers gain access to 3G technology in Mogadishu
07 Jan – Source: Sabahi Online – 614 words
Hormuud Telecom Somalia has expanded its third generation (3G) mobile network service in Mogadishu to provide faster internet access to subscribers using web-enabled phones and laptops.
The service was previously available in some parts of northern Somalia, but this is the first time a company is embarking on nationwide service. Hormuud’s 3G network will be available in Mogadishu initially and will expand to other major cities in southern Somalia within one year.
For Somalia, which in 2000 was one of the last African nations to connect to the internet, this is an important development.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Ugandan troops in Somalia control 75,000 sq kms
07 Jan – Source: Africa Report – 226 words
Ugandan troops in Somalia now control 75 000 square kilometers of the troubled country, their commander Brigadier Michael Ondoga has said. 

He said the Ugandans had made great strides in the last seven months, after successfully flushing Al-Shabaab militants from their bases.


Ondoga said al Shabaab’s loss of most of the territory has reduced the militants’ ability to wage war. “We are in control of Marka which is 104 kms from Mogadishu, Lego which is 135 kms in central region and Jowhar, which is 100 kms in the north,” he said.


Ondoga said after being defeated by Ugandan troops the militants had resorted to launching guerrilla attacks and using improvised explosive devices. But he said the tactics had not been successful.
Return of Somali refugees “a positive indicator”: UN envoy
07 Jan – Source: United Nations Radio – 222 words
The return of Somali refugees to their country is a positive indicator that there is security in the Horn of Africa country, says the top the United Nations envoy in Somalia Augustine Mahiga. There are reports that every day five planes carrying over 100 passengers each are landing in Mogadishu from Kenya.
The return comes after the election of the President of Somalia in September last year and the campaign by Somali forces, supported by African Union peacekeepers to take back parts of Somalia from the al Shabaab militants.
Mr. Mahiga says the return of the refugees is spontaneous and most of them are not from the main refugee camps such as Dadaab and Kakuma in Kenya which house hundreds of thousands of refugees.
Police searching for 22 missing Somali students
07 Jan – Source: Todays Zaman – 313 words
Security forces are on full alert for 22 Somali students who came to Turkey for the purpose of education in 2011 and whose whereabouts are currently unknown. The first of the disappearances took place in December 2011 in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri after two students allegedly fled their student dormitory. In a similar incident, 13 students wanted to leave their school in the central province of Kırşehir last year for the second semester and sought their passports from school officials.
When these officials refused to return the passports, seven of the students left the school anyway. The most recent incident was in Ankara in December 2012, when three Somali students disappeared without having left any indication they wanted to leave.
There is increased concern for the missing students due to an incident that occurred on Aug. 25, 2012, when five Somali students who were studying in the western province of TekirdaÄŸ were kidnapped by a group involved in the illegal trade of organs. Police were notified by the students’ dormitory of the kidnapping and were able to rescue these girls before their organs were removed, thanks to Mobile Electronic Systems Integration (MOBESE) cameras.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“After the bombings, instead of conducting intelligence-led investigations into the incidents or even pointing the finger at the obvious, the al Shabaab militants, the Kenyan government publicly blamed Somali refugees for what was well coordinated and carefully planned terrorism related attacks.”
Dispatches from a fragile continent: War on Terror – Kenya style
08 Jan – Source: Wardheer News – 1777 Words
Despite her persistent and sometime open violent conflicts, Africa is looking forward to a relatively peaceful and prosperous 2013. From Mozambique to Somalia, huge reserves of oil and gas have been found on and offshore along the east coast of Africa. Africa has never had it so good!
But as I write this piece in the first full working week of 2013, bitter election related violence – perhaps worse than the 2008 inter-tribal infighting, is predicted in Kenya during the campaign period or after the elections on March 4. And Somalia’s and Congo’s situations are as precarious as ever. The newly found oil wealth in South Sudan has not yet paid dividends. And President Bashir of Sudan is still a wanted man by the International Criminal Court.
And while solid and plural democracy took firm root in West Africa where Ghana held her fifth successful presidential and parliamentary elections in late 2012, becoming a beacon of hope for Africa and particularly West Africa, the Egyptian people are still on and off Tahriir square as they yet have to show the way for the countries in the north of the Sahara. And Mali…oh my Mali: 2013 is going to be a ‘make or break’ year for its music loving inhabitants.
“With the increase in the number of attacks by al Shabaab terrorists, the government has run out of options. The main concern is harbouring terrorists or sympathisers in urban areas, posing a great security threat. There is also no guarantee that all the 30,000 urban refugees will move to Dadaab. Knowing the conditions in the camp, its likely that some would rather go underground in the cities.”
Moving urban refugees to Dadaab unwise
07 Jan – Source: Daily Nation – 450 Words
A recent government statement saying all urban refugees will be returned to the already overstretched Dadaab refugee camp is worrying. Although it was originally designed to host 90,000 refugees, it currently accommodates nearly 500,000.
Lately, climate change has become a serious push factor worsening the situation. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in its First Assessment Report 1990, predicted large-scale, global migrations might represent the “greatest single impact” on world security resulting from climate change.
That reality has already manifested itself. In 2011, famine in Somalia forced hundreds of thousands to migrate to Kenya and Ethiopia. During the peak of the worst drought in 60 years, Dadaab camp witnessed an influx of 160,000 refugees, causing a humanitarian crisis.
The emergency forced the government, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and development partners to establish three more sites, Ifo East, Ifo West and Kambioos to accommodate the new climate-induced refugees.
“Omar names “names” and illustrates in great detail conflict between different factions in al Shabaab, conflict between al Qaeda and al Shabaab, and even disagreements between different al Qaeda elements in Somalia. Great stuff all around and for those that believe al Qaeda is unified and operates in lock step based on the rules of an all-powerful ideology – you need to stop what you are doing and read Omar’s notes.”
Hammami’s Latest Call Reveals Deceit, Dissension and Death in Shabaab & al Qaeda
08 Jan – Source: Selected Wisdom – 1966 Words
Yesterday, I posted about a Twitter account I believed to be that of Omar Hammami or his close associate. Well, Hammami didn’t disappoint and returned this morning with some tweets and this afternoon with all the real dirt about the al Shabaab fractures and al Qaeda merger/fiasco. Omar, thanks for sending all the details on al Qaeda and al Shabaab’s infighting and how you got pushed out by Godane (Abu Zubayr). You confirmed many of my suspicions from last winter. @Aynte was also thinking along the same lines as well. And for those that were claiming there was no evidence of splits in al-Shabaab, stop being foolish. Here’s where the morning started off.
I’m not sure how Omar’s mission in Somalia relates to Martin Luther King. Last time I checked, Martin Luther King was about non-violence and Omar and the Somalia jihad is very much about violence. I believe MLK had a dream and Omar is having a nightmare.
Now we are talking. Omar seems to think the splits and fractures he is experiencing with al Shabaab are occurring with al Qaeda as well. Omar, we’d all love to know more so please expand. I realize you don’t want to put yourself in jeopardy, but I think you’ve already shot one of your feet, so no need to hold back.
Top tweets
@JamesGadin #AU Team reviewing @amisomsomaliamandate will meet with #Somalia Minister of Interior & President Mohamud at @TheVillaSomalia @AU_PSD.
@Semhar Encouraged & hopeful #Somalia‘s new govt leaders will meet w #Somalis in ctry & diaspora as w int’l community.#Accountability #Transparency.
@Hamza_Africa Promising. Girls make up at least 40% of the students in schools I’ve visited in #Mogadishu. Same for Unis#Somalia pic.twitter.com/gc4f0kgh.
@ActForSomalia The future of #Somalia and the well-being of its people rests significantly on empowering its large youth population pic.twitter.com/GOV56SWG.
@HMAMattBaugh More needs to be done to tackle#sexualviolence against women in Somalia @OCHASomhttp://rfg.ee/gAgRC #Somalia.
@OCHASom December saw the lowest number of displacements in #Somalia in 2012 & insecurity remains main trigger http://bit.ly/Wq99wE @UNHCRSom.
Image of the day
Italian foreign minister Guilio Terzi and his Somali counterpart Fowziya Yusuf Haji Adan speaking to the press after holding meeting in Rome, Italy on January 07, 2012. Photo: Radio Mogadishu.