July 18, 2012 | Daily Monitoring Report.
China rescues fishermen held by Somali pirates for 18 months
18 Jul – Source: Reuters – 203 words
China has rescued a group of 26 fishermen, mainly Chinese and Vietnamese, who were taken from a Taiwanese trawler and had been held by Somali pirates for the last 18 months, the Chinese government has said.
The fishermen, who worked on the Taiwanese trawler “FV Shiuh Fu No 1”, were seized in December 2010, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on its website (www.mfa.gov.cn) late on Tuesday. It gave no details about how the rescue was accomplished.
The crew consisted of 13 mainland Chinese, 12 Vietnamese and one Taiwanese, it said. “After the hard work of many sides, the whole crew of 26 people was safely rescued on the evening of July 17, Beijing time,” the brief statement said. Taiwan’s foreign ministry said it had assisted in ransom talks between the boat’s owner and the pirates, although it did not say directly whether a ransom had been paid. It also thanked China for its assistance in the rescue.
Key Headlines
- Somali Premier Abdiweli attends Anti-tribalism conference in Mogadishu (Radio Mogadishu/OPM)
- Somali troops conduct operations in Beledweyne after deadly blast (Shabelle/Mareeg Online)
- Kenyan Police recover explosives from farm (Standard Digital News)
- New Galgadud Administration Promise Improved Security (Radio Risaala)
- China rescues fishermen held by Somali pirates for 18 months (Reuters)
- Puntland’s representatives for the constitutional vote prepared (Garowe Online)
- Somali government to secure liberated areas in southern regions (Radio Mogadishu/Somalia Report)
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali troops conduct operations in Beledweyne, after deadly blast
18 Jul – Source: Shabelle/Mareeg Online – 175 words
Somali forces in the central region of Hiiraan reportedly launched a house-to-house security operations in Beledweyne, a town just 206 miles (332 km) north of Mogadishu.
Sheikh Osman, the district commissioner (DC) for Beledweyne, confirmed to Shabelle Media by phone the ongoing operations, saying the forces are looking for the masterminds of Tuesday’ss deadly roadside attack on Ethiopian troops that killed soldiers.
Witnesses said Ethiopian troops have killed at least 10 innocent civilians, including women and children and wounded 9 others, some of them seriously, after indiscriminately opening fire on crowd near the bomb site at a village in eastern Beledweyne town on Tuesday.
Somali Premier Abdiweli attends Anti-tribalism conference in Mogadishu
18 Jul – Source: Radio Mogadishu/OPM – 151 words
Somalia’s prime minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali joined participants in a conference organised by Anti-Tribalism Youth Group where effects of tribalism was discussed. The conference was attended by Ministers, Legislators, Women group, Youth groups and other guests. The summit was all about how to combat tribalism which has derailed Somali society for years.
The Minister of information of the TFG Abdikadir Jahweyn praised the imitable efforts by the youth who have voluntarily decided to confront the tribalism vice. Premier Abdiweli thanked the youth for their efforts and urged them to continue the spirit of uprooting tribalism in the society. Abdiweli said that Somalia’s lawlessness and disorder was caused by tribalism. He urged the youth to carry out revolution against tribalism.
Abdiweli mentioned that the revolution of Somalia Youth League (SYL) was spearheaded by youth. “The Somali youth should stand up for their country and wipe out tribalism,” Abdiweli urged.
Puntland’s representatives for the constitutional vote, prepared
17 Jul – Source: Garowe Online – 172 words
Puntland state’s technical selection committee has announced that the representatives for the assembly who will vote on the constitution have been selected, Garowe Online reports. The committee which is a component of the national technical selection committee held a press conference at the presidential palace in Garowe on Tuesday, and announced that the list for Puntland’s National Constituent Assembly (NCA) is complete.
Sadiq Abshir Garraad a member of the Puntland parliament and one of four members of Puntland’s technical selection committee opened the press conference explaining the technical committee’s role.
“The technical committee was mandated to confirm if the traditional elders’ selection of representatives met the requirements needed to become part of the National Constituent Assembly (NCA), and I am glad to say that the representatives selected have met the requirements,” said MP Sadiq.
The members of the committee described that the requirements or criteria needed to join the NCA was agreed on by signatories -leaders in regional and federal levels – at the Garowe II principles conference held earlier this year.
New Galgadud Administration Promise Improved Security
17 Jul – Source: Radio Risaala – 80 words
After the creation of new Galgadud state that comes under the Somali government, its new administration promised to bring improvements to the region.
Ahmed iyow the new governor of Galgadud state said he is ready to bring about security improvements and all other aspects for the benefit of the community. He urged the federal government in Mogadishu to support his administration, promising to fulfill his duties sincerely. The Galgadud state was formed recently in Mogadishu with Ahmed iyow as its governor.
Somali immigrants “tortured” in Libya
18 Jul – Source: Bar-kulan – 171 words
Reports from Libyan city of Misrata say close to 300 illegal Somali immigrants who are being held in custody by armed gangs are facing worst human rights violations as they are always subjected to continuous abuses including torture. The immigrants comprising of 250 men and 30 women who were earlier intercepted by armed Libyan militias loyal to a “warlord” and cartel leader in Misrata while trying to cross to Europe to seek asylum and better life are now facing endless physical torture, according Deko Ahmed who is among the victims in Misrata.
She said the Libyan “warlord” demands huge amount of money from them and to achieve his goals they are always tortured. She added that the gangs barred children and women for taking food and water for two consecutive days while at the same time beating them up with batons.
Speaking to Bar-kulan from Misrata, another Somali immigrant woman, Sadia Mohamed, appealed to the Somali government to immediately intervene their situation and help them tackle what she called “constant abuses”.
The 2nd Annual Diaspora Conference Get’s Underway in Hargeisa
18 Jul – Source: Somaliland Press – 126 words
Somaliland Vice president Abdirahman Abdilahi Ismail (Saylic) ,officially opened a two-day conference, The Annual Somaliland Diaspora Conference, at Ambassador Hotel in Hargeisa. The conference themed“Diaspora Investment in Somaliland” is the second such conference to be held in the country following the formation of the diaspora coordination office.
Vice President Saylic addressing the participants of the conference said Somaliland diaspora has played a major role in the national building and economic development during the past 21years; he added the country depended on them when it comes to investment. The Director of the Diaspora coordination Agency Mr. Mahmoud Abdurrahman Ali said the past 100 days have been very progressive for developing suitable relations between the government and the diaspora.
17 militants killed in southwestern Somalia airstrike
17 Jul – Source: Somalia Report – 382 words
Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) launched an airstrike on Jungal village, 30 km from Bardhere, a stronghold of the al Shabaab militant group in [southwestern] Somalia’s Gedo Region, paving the way for the allied forces to advance on the village. Soldiers from Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) quickly entered the town after the airstrikes and engaged in close range fighting, finally seizing control of Jungal after nearly two hours of fighting. The allied forces killed 17 al Shabaab fighters and seized their weapons, according to Col Warfa, the TFG spokesman in Juba and Gedo regions.
“The fighting was what we had been planning over the past few weeks and it went as planned. We used the proper fighting strategy to ensure we faced the enemy hard. Today was our day and we outweighed them in the fighting which took about one hour and 45 minutes. For now, we are happy with the way things happened and our target is achievable which is capturing Bardhere,” said Warfa.
“In today’s operation we killed 17 al Shabaab fighters and dozens were injured. We seized 13 AK-47 rifles, 2 PKMs (machine guns), and three other artillery batteries. The enemy escaped after they couldn’t face us in the widespread fighting,” the spokesman told Somalia Report.
Though the TFG officials did not offer the number of casualties on their side, independent sources in Jungal village told Somalia Report that they did see the bodies of TFG soldiers in the streets. “I was in the market when the fighting erupted. After about two hours the shooting stopped so I decided to move home for safety. On my way, I saw the bodies of three TFG soldiers and five al Shabaab fighters. The TFG soldiers were dressed in their uniforms and al Shabaab bodies were masked,” said Abdullahi, an elder and resident in Jungal.
Somali government to secure liberated areas in southern regions
17 Jul – Source: Radio Mogadishu/Somalia Report – 95 words
The Somali defense ministry on Tuesday announced that the government has completed preparations to secure the liberated areas in southern Somali regions. Deputy Defense Minister Mohamed Ali Atoosh stated that the aim of the government is not only to seize territories but also to secure and grant the safety of the civilians who are supporting the operations of the national forces against al Shabaab. The TGF forces are now advancing to Marka town of Lower Shabelle region after they recently captured one of the largest al Shabaab training camps in Laanta Buur village.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Somali anger at corruption report
18 Jul – Source: KBC – 510 words
Somalia’s interim government has denied allegations of corruption contained in a leaked UN report. It alleged that around 70% of money intended for development and reconstruction in a country racked by 20 years of war was unaccounted for.
A statement from the prime minister’s office said the allegations were “absolutely and demonstrably false”. The UN-backed government’s mandate expires next month when it is due to hand over to an elected president.
The Horn of Africa nation has been without an effective central government since 1991 and has witnessed near constant fighting between rival factions ever since – a situation that has allowed piracy and lawlessness to flourish.
Kenyan Police recover explosives from farm
18 Jul – Source: Standard Digital News – 159 words
Deadly explosives were recovered from a farm at a village in Hamisi, Vihiga County. Vihiga DCIO Boaz Obetto, who described the explosives as powerful and capable of causing huge destruction, said they were recovered following a tip-off from a resident. “We are yet to establish who was in possession of the explosives in the bag dumped at the farm and the motive. We have opened an inquest file to trace the owners of the explosives,” he explained.
The bag contained three quarters nitrate fertiliser, three blasting caps (detonators size16), one super power 90 in size (boosters) and five powerful explosives size marked 810 (dangerous explosives).
“The blasting caps are mainly used at quarries to blow rocks. This indeed demonstrates the magnitude of the bomb,” he explained. The bag was discovered on Monday evening and on Tuesday experts analysed the samples and confirmed they were deadly.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
China rescues fishermen held by Somali pirates for 18 months
18 Jul – Source: Reuters – 203 words
China has rescued a group of 26 fishermen, mainly Chinese and Vietnamese, who were taken from a Taiwanese trawler and had been held by Somali pirates for the last 18 months, the Chinese government has said.
The fishermen, who worked on the Taiwanese trawler “FV Shiuh Fu No 1”, were seized in December 2010, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on its website (www.mfa.gov.cn) late on Tuesday. It gave no details about how the rescue was accomplished.
The crew consisted of 13 mainland Chinese, 12 Vietnamese and one Taiwanese, it said. “After the hard work of many sides, the whole crew of 26 people was safely rescued on the evening of July 17, Beijing time,” the brief statement said.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said it had assisted in ransom talks between the boat’s owner and the pirates, although it did not say directly whether a ransom had been paid. It also thanked China for its assistance in the rescue.
Exclusive: Somali pirate kingpins enjoy “impunity” – U.N. experts
17 Jul – Source: Reuters – 1081 words
Somalia’s president has shielded a top pirate leader from arrest by issuing him a diplomatic passport, according to a United Nations investigation which criticizes the “climate of impunity” enjoyed by pirate kingpins in Somalia and abroad. The U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia said in a report to the Security Council, seen by Reuters, that senior pirate leaders were benefitting from high level protection from Somali authorities and were not being sufficiently targeted for arrest or sanction by international authorities.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“…..the public was aware of and suspicious of the President’s and the Speaker of the parliament’s money laundering and misappropriation of government resources. Nevertheless, to find Farmajo in this report was a shock but not a surprise considering the political climate of corruption, mismanagement of funds and plain theft of resources.”
TFG: Allegations of Corruption, Mismanagement and Embezzlement!
17 Jul – Source: Harowo – 439 Words
Somalia has been without an effective government institutions for the last two and half decades. The international community has invested heavily in security, good governance and humanitarian aid to support the peace process and recovery of the country. Though there has been progress in the political landscape there are still concerns in the security sector as well as good governance practices. The situation in Somalia is further exacerbated by credible reports of wide spread corruption, mismanagement and embezzlement of public funds.
“To break this recurring cycle of drought and people falling into repeated crisis we need to invest heavily in long term development programs alongside emergency aid. Long term programs could include for example tree planting and agricultural improvement; rehabilitation of canals provides short term jobs and long term irrigation for crops; training young people in skills that help them earn a decent living; and sustainable provision of clean water and health projects.”
Breaking the cycle of crisis in Somalia
17 Jul – Source: Oxfam Blog – 349 Words
It is one year since the UN declared Somalia as being in “famine”. But despite the cameras moving elsewhere the emergency is far from over – right now over a quarter of the country’s population are still in food crisis – relying on humanitarian aid to survive. Added to this recent poor rains mean that over a million more could fall back into crisis if early warnings are not acted upon immediately.
According to Oxfam’s partners in Somalia, there has been improvement since last year’s famine, with the number of people in need of humanitarian help reduced from 3.7 million a year ago to 2.51 million today. However, the poor rains of the past few months have affected people at a crucial time as they try to recover from last year’s drought, crop failure, death of livestock and destruction of livelihoods.
“The President has always maintained that some of the BIG monies that the SEMG reports as un accounted funds never reached the hands of Somalis. This assertion indeed has some merit and the SEMG assessment should have given the Somali people some sort of closure on this issue. Without any answer on the big picture, it could as well be the” lords of poverty” to which club the SEMG royally belongs is a culprit in this.”
Rush to Judgment and the Distortion of Facts: Reading the [UN] Monitoring Groups’ Report
17 Jul – Source: Wardheer News – 914 Words
The recently leaked [confidential] report prepared by the Somalia-Eretria Monitoring Group (SEMG) represented an opportunistic and propaganda feast for some of Somalia’s fledgling media groups, whose major attributes include the lack of ethics and professional management. In that regard, these media groups, call them propaganda organs for sectarian political objectives, wasted no time to distort some of the facts and feasted on them like a vulture does on a carcass. Some of the follow up pull backs by some of these media groups in 20-20 hindsight is no consolation.
The SEMG report which is prepared under the watch of Mr.Matt Bryden carries some needed information and reportage on Somalia’s run-away culture of corruption. Unconfirmed reports suggest that a second companion report distributed to donor countries and to the US State Department calls for the indictment of three Somalis who refused to cooperate with the investigation. These three individuals reportedly include the sitting President, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Khadija Osoble, a lady whose name appears in various similar reports since 2006, and the former Minister for information, Mr. Abdikarim Jama, a known leader of the Ala Shiek sect, who served former Prime Minister Mohamed Farmajo. Both Ms. Osoble and Mr. Jama enjoy close relationship with the sitting president, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed and seem to have a long wrap sheet of corruption accusations.
“Security groups in Kampala tipped their neighbors in Nairobi that there was a looming and worse threat in its backyard. What has followed are on and off bloody scenes especially in Kenya prompting Kenya to send troops into Somalia to bolster what Uganda and later Burundi did under the AMISOM mandate in 2007.”
Security should top agenda at EAC meets
17 Jul – Source: Business Week – 505 Words
Until very recently, the East African region was a very peaceful place to do business and live in. However, recent developments around us are painting a ‘perception’ of insecurity.
This perception is largely due to the security situation involving our neighbors (the DRC, South Sudan, Somalia) and it is up to the EAC players to address it. In 1998, twin bombing episodes in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi by al Qaeda terrorists fired the early warning shots.
Top tweets
@t_mcconnell #Somalia PM says corruption detailed in UN Monitoring Group report “demonstrably false” but gives no counter evidence http://bbc.in/SFjW6z.
@USAfricaCommand #Burundi soldiers train with #Marinesahead of deployment to assist in #Somaliahttp://1.usa.gov/NxZhhr @MARFORAF #AFRICOM.
@butterflyworks @Oxfam : “#Somalia needs more than a band aid – learn from the lessons of last year’s crisis & increase investment now” http://bit.ly/Ntg9bY.
@smugera The two #Somali #Olympic athletes have arrived in London. They were the first to be given visas direct from Somalia to London in 20 years!
@kishkafka A @UN report says #Eritrea has bowed to international pressure & decreased its support for al #Shabaabhttp://aje.me/O4FNS5 #Somalia.
Image of the day
Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed welcomes Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag at Villa Somalia. Bozdag is in Mogadishu to launch development projects. Photo: Radio Mogadishu.