July 11, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
8 Somali Soldiers Killed In Suicide Car Bomb, Attack At Base
11 July – Source: Associated Press – 230 Words
Eight soldiers were killed when a suicide car bomb targeted a Somalia military training camp and attackers then entered the base on foot, the military said Monday. The car bomb on Monday morning allowed the fighters to infiltrate the Lanta Buro base in Lower Shabelle region, a military officer, Said Mohamed Adawe, told The Associated Press.
“They are still in control of the base,” a senior Somali military official said, insisting on speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. The Somalia-based al-Shabab extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it killed 30 soldiers. Al-Shabaab also targeted the camp last year with a similar attack, killing more than 15 soldiers.
Residents said they heard heavy gunfire and an explosion Monday before the extremists raised their black banner over the base. Military officials said the attackers confiscated military vehicles and arms during the attack, which highlights the challenges facing the government and African Union forces in restoring peace and stability in the Horn of Africa nation.
Key Headlines
- 8 Somali Soldiers Killed In Suicide Car Bomb Attack At Base (Associated Press)
- Somali Cleric Association Call For Protest To Denounce Madina Attack (Goobjoog News)
- AU Forces In Somalia Move On Al-Shabaab Held Town (Shabelle News)
- Two Arrested For Impersonating As New Somali Police Commissioners (Radio Dalsan)
- Trial To Begin For Pair Accused Of Fundraising For Al-Shabaab (ABC News)
- 2016 Paralympic Games: Somalia’s Farhan Hadafo In Historic Qualification (CCTV)
- Journalists Arrested Radio Station Closed In Crackdown On Media Freedom (IFJ)
- Involve Local Communities In Refugee Repatriation Drive (Standard Digital)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Cleric Association Call For Protest To Denounce Madina Attack
11 July – Source: Goobjoog News – 234 Words
Somali Cleric Association has called for a mass protest on Monday in the country to denounce terrorist bombing in one of holiest Muslim towns, Madina earlier this month. “We call for mass protest on Monday to denounce terror attacks in the holy city of Madina and other parts of the Muslim world,” SCA said. Somali Cleric Association has strongly condemned cowardly terrorist bombing in one of holiest Muslim towns, Madina earlier this month. The clerics said the blasts ‘prove that those renegades… have violated everything that is sacred.’
They expressed ‘profound sadness’ over the last Monday’s terrorist attack that killed at least five Saudi security personnel and injured several others. “The Somali Cleric Association which has been shocked by this gruesome act – condemns this incident in the strongest of terms and considers it an act of enmity and hatred towards Islamic rituals,” said SCA chairman Sheikh Bashiir on Saturday.
Saudi Arabia identified on Thursday suspects in two of the three attacks that struck outside the sprawling mosque where the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is buried in the western city of Madina. In a statement released by the Interior Ministry late Thursday, authorities said the Madina bomber in Monday’s apparently coordinated attacks was 26-year-old Saudi national Na’ir al-Nujiaidi al-Balawi. The ministry said investigations following the attacks led to the arrests of 19 suspects, seven Saudi and 12 Pakistani nationals. No other details were immediately available.
AU Forces In Somalia Move On Al-Shabaab Held Town
11 July – Source: Shabelle News – 142 Words
Ethiopian troops in Somalia serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) are reportedly closing in on Al-Shabaab-held key town in Gedo region of south-west of Somalia. The Ethiopian troops moved in Burdhubo town and began co-coordinating a military assault with Somali government forces, in an attempt to take El Adde from Al-Shabaab.
On January 15, more than 100 Kenyan military soldiers of AMISOM contingent were killed in a massive car bomb and gun attack on KDF camp at El Adde area in Gedo. After the January bloody attack, Somali and AMISOM forces were advancing on El Adde to push out Al-Shabaab militants who have been in control of the town since KDF withdrawal. Meanwhile, Burdhobo district administration did not respond to Radio Shabelle’s repeated requests for comment and information about the date of the joint attack on El Adde city.
Two Arrested For Impersonating As New Somali Police Commissioners
11 July – Source: Radio Dalsan – 156 Words
Two Somali police officers were detained in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Sunday. The two, Mohamed Jimale Osoble and the other only named as Yussuf pretended to be new Somali police chiefs amid rumors of reshuffle in the force in the coming days. Source within the Somali Police Force told Radio Dalsan that the two will be charged for damaging the reputation of the force.
Police said more investigations are on ongoing to unearth the cartel or criminals behind a fake letter resembling a presidential decree for appointing new police chief that was circulated online. Somali Police Force is recovering from more than two decades of collapse following the civil strife that broke out in the country in early 1990s. Turkey, Italy, Djibouti and African Union Mission in Somalia AMISOM are trying to train and equip the force which is critical in the maintenance of law and order in the horn of the African state.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Trial To Begin For Pair Accused Of Fundraising For Al-Shabaab
11 July – Source: ABC News – 133 Words
Two women accused of raising money for the Somali terrorist group Al-Shabaab are set to go on federal trial. Thirty-six-year-old Muna Osman Jama of Reston, Virginia, and 46-year-old Hinda Osman Dhirane of Kent, Washington, were arrested and charged in 2014 with providing material support to terrorists by funneling small amounts of money to Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda affiliate.
Prosecutors say the women used coded communications to hide their intent, referring to Al-Shabaab as “the family” and truckloads of supplies as “camels.” The bench trial scheduled to open Monday in federal court in Alexandria, near Washington, D.C., is expected to take up to two weeks. Defense lawyers say the women are Somali expats who were sending money back home for innocuous purposes. Court records indicate the amount in question is less than $5,000.
2016 Paralympic Games: Somalia’s Farhan Hadafo In Historic Qualification
11 July – Source: CCTV – Video: 3:09 Minutes
Journalists Arrested, Radio Station Closed In Crackdown On Media Freedom
11 July – Source: International Federation Journalists – 338 Words
Two journalists were arrested and one private radio station was closed on 9 July in Somalia. The International Federation of Journalists and its affiliate the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) has called on the authorities to immediately free the journalists and lift the ban on City FM, a radio station in the Middle Shabelle region.
The regional administration ordered the arrest of Abdishakur Abdullahi Ahmed (nicknamed Shashaa), editor-in-chief of City FM and Abdirahman Hussein Omar Wadani, Deputy Editor-in-chief of City FM. At 16:18 on Saturday, 9 July 2016, security forces raided the premises of City FM, shut down the radio station and arrested the two journalists. An hour later, security forces came back to the station and seized radio equipment.
The journalists were arrested for broadcasting interviews with people criticising the Middle Shabelle administration. On Thursday, 7 July, the two journalists interviewed some internally displaced persons (IDPs) about the regional administration’s distribution of food aid. Some of the IDPs accused the administration of “misappropriating” food aid.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Time has finally clocked for the Somali refugees to go back and have a home of their own. The all famous repatriation drive is something over due, it should have been done way back, with leaders focusing on post-exercise progress reports.”
Involve Local Communities In Refugee Repatriation Drive
11 July – Source: Standard Digital – 571
Time has finally clocked for the Somali refugees to go back and have a home of their own. The all famous repatriation drive is something overdue; it should have been done way back, with leaders focusing on post-exercise progress reports. Anyway, it is never late but again at a required and convenient time methinks! Kenya hosted foreign refugees in communal grazing lands, and it is time these communities get back their land parcels.
When the fleeing Somalis and Sudanese citizens arrived in the country, they were offered temporary settlements in these areas close to 24 years ago, and now they are almost claiming ownership. The Kenyan communities, especially the pastoralists in the now Garissa county were kept in the dark and today, the same mistake is being repeated: the host communities have no clue on what is happening and they’re getting more confused.
The UN operations in Dadaab and Fafi sub-counties have had a lot of effects starting from depletion of resources, dilapidation of infrastructure to massive destruction of local environments. These have majorly affected the lives of thousands of hosting communities hence reducing their lives to sordid and abject poverty. Endless droughts ensued and this reduced the enormous livestock population in the area.
The hosting communities hosted the refugees without fear. They have since lived peacefully side by side with them, intermarried and even arbitrating on misunderstandings at the camps with the sole purpose of ensuring continued peace. Why is the state isolating them in the repatriation process? It is time the government gets to this reality and consults with the local communities on the best way to bid these foreigners bye as they head to their native countries.
TOP TWEETS
@Vatescorp: #Somalia: #AlShabaab Attacks Somali Military Base seizing weapons and military trucks
@KipkuruiButia: UPDATE: #Alshabaab fighters have attacked govt military base in Laanta Buuro (40KM SW)of #Mogadishuovernight. 10 soldiers killed. #Somalia
@TheTrueSomalian : Fadumo Dayib Once a Somali refugee,now running as Somalia’s President-being a refugee isn’t End our pple can excel #Somalia @ActForSomalia
@IFJGlobal : #Somalia: IFJ condemns arrest of two #journalistsand closure of radio station. http://bit.ly/2a1uQTt
@OCHASom : Today is World Population Day. In #Somalia, let’s invest in the youth for a more just, stable & peaceful world.#WPD2016
@Goobjoognews: Somali Cleric Association Call For Protest To Denounce Madina Attack
@Somaliupdate : AU Trains #Somalia Police to Beef Up Security http://somaliupdate.
@Moshireh: #Somalia Internet Newsfeed compete on negative reporting- rehashing z same news wt alarmist language. Reporting barely on positive dev’pment
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Photo: AMISOM
Ambassador Madeira urges Al-Shabaab militants to renounce violence & help rebuild