July 18, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Government delegation arrives in Beledweyne to initiate peace talks
18 Jul- Source: Radio Mogadishu/Radio Bar-kulan/SNTV- 171 words
A delegation led by two deputy ministers from the federal government of Somalia on Thursday arrived in Beledweyne town, the provincial capital of Hiran region.
The delegation was jointly led by Deputy Minister for Commerce Abdirahman Abdi Osman and Deputy Minister for Interior and Federalism Abdirahman Mohamed Salah.
Beledweyne district commissioner Mohamed Osman Abdi Qallafow told Bar-kulan that the delegation is in Beledweyne to initiate peace talks between warring clan militias in various parts of the region including Defow, Kabhanley and Jerrey villages.
He added the deputy ministers will be holding talks with representatives from the warring sides, regional authorities, district officials and army officers in the region.
Qallafow added that the delegation’s arrival is to pave the way for a ministerial delegation led by the Interior and Federalism Minister Abdullahi Godah Barre which is expected in the region on Sunday.
Recent clashes between opposing clan militias in Defow village have left at least 11 people dead and over 13 others injured.
Key Headlines
- Government delegation arrives in Beledweyne to initiate peace talks (Radio Mogadishu/Radio Bar-kulan)
- Children die due to hunger in Lower Shabelle (Radio Goobjoog)
- Somaliland Cabinet issues statement on the Airspace management (Horn Cable TV/Radio Goobjoog)
- Three-day seminar on good governance concludes in Abudwak (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Former Somali FM: The Report of the Monitoring Group was Fabricated (Radio Dalsan/Radio Kulmiye)
- Somalia signs prospecting agreement with petroleum company (Radio RBC/Radio Goobjoog)
- Jubba Interim Administration says forces defeated al Shabaab (Radio Mustaqbal)
- Mubadala unit eyes oil opportunities in Somalia (Arabianbusiness)
- Al Shabaab forcefully enrolling children in indoctrination centre in Barawe (Sabahi Online)
- Miraa prices fall as UK ban leads to surplus (The Star)
- Iran provides aid to war veterans orphans in Mogadishu (Presstv)
- Somalia: OCHA founded radio station turns words into action (UN OCHA)
- Kenyan governor accused of links to tourist coast massacres (AFP)
SOMALI MEDIA
Government delegation arrives in Beledweyne to initiate peace talks
18 Jul- Source: Radio Mogadishu/Radio Bar-kulan/SNTV- 171 words
A delegation led by two deputy ministers from the federal government of Somalia on Thursday arrived in Beledweyne town, the provincial capital of Hiran region.
The delegation was jointly led by Deputy Minister for Commerce Abdirahman Abdi Osman and Deputy Minister for Interior and Federalism Abdirahman Mohamed Salah.
Beledweyne district commissioner Mohamed Osman Abdi Qallafow told Bar-kulan that the delegation is in Beledweyne to initiate peace talks between warring clan militias in various parts of the region including Defow, Kabhanley and Jerrey villages.
He added the deputy ministers will be holding talks with representatives from the warring sides, regional authorities, district officials and army officers in the region.
Qallafow added that the delegation’s arrival is to pave the way for a ministerial delegation led by the Interior and Federalism Minister Abdullahi Godah Barre which is expected in the region on Sunday.
Recent clashes between opposing clan militias in Defow village have left at least 11 people dead and over 13 others injured.
Children die due to hunger in Lower Shabelle
18 Jul- Source: Radio Goobjoog- 135 words
Reports from Lower Shabelle region indicates a severe humanitarian condition lashing areas under the province, where aid activities ranging from food distribution to health services are urgently needed.
Head of lower shabelle humanitarian department at the ministry of interior said a number of children died in the past hours due to clumped and multifaceted reasons.
The humanitarian officer at the ministry Abdukadir Abdullahi Hayow stated that the situation is worsening especially within the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who fled from the recently military operation.
However, Mr. Hayow said he is deeply concerned over the worsening humanitarian situation in the province and will report it to Aid agencies for them to visit and assess the humanitarian situation in the province and discuss ways to help the needy people.
Somaliland Cabinet issues statement on the Airspace management
18 Jul – Source: Horn Cable TV/Radio Goobjoog – 156 words
Somaliland’s Cabinet Ministers held their weekly session chaired by vice president Abdirahman Abdilahi Ismail at the presidential palace.
The Cabinet Ministers debated about the move by Somali Federal Government that it owns the airspace land and sea of Somali Republic and its management will be under the Somali federal government which Somaliland says it’s an act of aggression on its territory.
The Cabinet made clear the Somaliland stance over what they termed as “claims on their territory” asking the federal government of Somalia to refrain from doing so.
They stated that Somaliland has a clear and defined border which dates back to the colonial era. The borders are in compliance with the international law and the country’s national constitution defines it very clearly.
They issued a final statement warning anyone who tries to interfere Somaliland’s affairs, saying they have the right to protect their territory from foreign invasion and violations in compliance with the international law.
Three-day seminar on good governance concludes in Abudwak
18 Jul- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 100 words
A three-day seminar on good governance, peace, development and social dialogue has been concluded in Abduwak town in central Somali region of Galgadud.
160 people from various groups in Abudwak town participated in the seminar.
The seminar was offered by Centre for Peace and Development and was funded by USAID. It was jointly organized by Somalia’s Ministry of Interior and Federalism and Galgadud regional administration.
Khalif Abdisamad Ali who is the head of the district’s social services said seminars similar to this one will have a positive impact on the local communities.
Former Somali FM: The Report of the Monitoring Group was Fabricated
18 Jul- Source: Radio Dalsan/Radio Kulmiye/Radio Risaala/SNTV/Radio Mogadishu- 191 words
The former foreign affairs minister Fowsiya Haji Yussuf Adan said a preliminary report issued by UN Monitoring Group pointing out she was among government officials who mismanaged state funds was a fabricated one.
Fowsiya who is currently a member of parliament said the allegations against her were false and are based on information retrieved from hearsay forums. She said this is the second time her good reputation is being tarnished. She added that at the vanguard of those who are tainting her integrity for nothing is a group based in Nairobi, Kenya. “They always want to tarnish the reputation of the best among the leaders of the government of Somalia. They mentioned Yusur Abrar, the former chairperson of the Central Bank who submitted a false report,” Fowsiya said.
She said in contrary to the report, there are no funds she put into a personal bank account of hers. But she added that the former premier Abdi Farah Shirdoon aka Saaid ordered those funds to be deposited in an account for the Finance Ministry. She said she will sue the author of the report.
Somalia signs prospecting agreement with petroleum company
18 Jul- Source: Radio RBC/Radio Goobjoog- 171 words
The federal government of Somalia through its Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources reached an agreement with a petroleum company registered in the United Arab Emirates in a bid to explore Somalia’s oil resources.
The cooperation agreement between United Arab Emirates , Mubadala Petroleum Company and the federal government of Somalia and its territories in the first half of 2014 to consider ways of working together to develop Somalia’s petroleum sector according to statement released by Mubadala Petroleum Company.
As part of the engagement, Mubadala Petroleum has signed a cooperation agreement with Somalia’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources aimed at sharing information, building the capacity of Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources staff and, over time, developing upstream opportunities in Somalia.
Musabbeh Al Kaabi, Chief Growth Officer of Mubadala Petroleum hailed the agreement describing it as a strategic agreement which will allow Mubadala Petroleum to begin a long term relationship with Somalia’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources to support its upstream sector.
Jubba Interim Administration says forces defeated al Shabaab
18 Jul- Source: Radio Mustaqbal/Radio RBC/Radio Kismaayo- 109 words
Jubba Administration official Mohamed Abdi Raamsade told the local media that the Jubba regional forces defeated al Shabaab militia in Abdulle Birole area, 36 km west of Kismayo city , adding that the locals in area joined the fighting against al Shabaab along with Jubba administration forces. The official said “we destroyed one of the enemy cars, killed 4 of their fighters and five others were injured in the attack.’’ The official confirmed there are no casualties on their side. The Senior official vowed their forces will advance to the remaining areas under the control of al Shabaab in the region. Al Shabaab are yet to comment on the incident.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Mubadala unit eyes oil opportunities in Somalia
18 Jul- Source: Arabianbusiness- 219 words
A unit of Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala has signed a cooperation agreement with the Somali government which could see it developing oil exploration and production opportunities in the African country.
Mubadala Petroleum said it has signed the agreement with the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources following talks between the UAE and Somali officials earlier this year.
The deal will consider ways in which the two countries might work together to further the development of the Somali petroleum sector, a statement said.
It added that over time Mubadala Petroleum could look at “developing upstream opportunities in Somalia”. The upstream oil sector is also commonly known as the exploration and production sector.
Al Shabaab forcefully enrolling children in indoctrination centre in Barawe
17 Jul- Source: Sabahi Online- 641 words
Al Shabaab has been forcefully abducting children from areas it controls under the guise of providing shelter and education to homeless and neglected youth, concerned parents and elders told Sabahi.
Coinciding with the start of Ramadan, al Shabaab announced the opening of al-Amal Centre in Barawe on June 29th.
The objective of the centre is to “rehabilitate” neglected children and provide them with religious education, al Shabaab’s leader in Lower Shabelle Sheikh Mohamed Abu Abdalla said in an audio message posted on the Radio Al-Furqaan website, a mouthpiece for the group.
“It is a centre to rehabilitate young children who have gone astray or are homeless and who have been neglected by the public,” Abdalla said at the opening ceremony.
In addition to orphans, he said, the centre will welcome other children who require rehabilitation and urged parents of school dropouts and families returning to Somalia from abroad to enrol their children.
Miraa prices fall as UK ban leads to surplus
17 Jul- Source: The Star- 116 words
Farmers of miraa which was recently banned in the UK have started recording a drop in value of sales as the local and regional markets suffer from oversupply.
Traders of miraa told the Star that farmers are getting less money because of influx of the product in the last major export market, Somalia where prices have dropped sharply.
A miraa trader in Eastleigh, Jotham Koome told the Star that prices in Somalia have halved since the ban became effective.
Various traders said the variety of miraa sold in Nairobi is of a higher grade than the one exported as it is more fresh hence the market here has not been affected by the ban in UK.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Iran provides aid to war veterans, orphans in Mogadishu
18 Jul- Source: Presstv- 208 words
The Islamic Republic of Iran has donated food aid to war veterans and orphans in the Somali capital Mogadishu.The aid was distributed to war veterans in Martini hospital where victims of the Ethiopian-Somalia war of 1977 are sheltered. The veterans, some in clutches and others in wheelchairs came to receive the aid. They say that Iran has been assisting them since their arrival to Somalia in mid-2011.The Iranian Red Crescent has brought food aid to the Somali War veterans. And it’s not just the war veterans that Iran has been assisting. The IRI through its various humanitarian organizations has been assisting the internally displaced persons throughout the famine period. More than 200 orphans also benefited from the aid.
Somalia: OCHA founded radio station turns words into action
17 Jul- Source: UN OCHA-595 Words
Hearing her voice on the radio, Farhia Hersi was overjoyed. She remembered speaking to a reporter about water shortages in Ceel Waq in southern Somalia’s Gedo region, but never imagined anything would come of it.
Here she was on the radio, appealing to listeners on behalf of her community about their urgent need for water. A week later, water trucks arrived thanks to an attentive and responsive local NGO.
There are many radio stations in Somalia vying for listeners, but Radio Ergo is the country’s only dedicated humanitarian radio service. Over the past three years, Radio Ergo has created a niche for itself by making a positive difference in the lives of people across Somalia.
Somalia, as is the case in many African countries, is predominantly an oral society, meaning radio is a powerful tool for communication.
Kenyan governor accused of links to tourist coast massacres
17 Jul – Source: AFP – 188 words
The governor of Kenya’s coastal region of Lamu appeared in court on Wednesday on allegations of links to a spate of massacres, with the prosecution requesting more time to complete investigations.
Governor Issa Timamy of Lamu county was arrested in connection with last month’s killings in the town of Mpeketoni and nearby villages, which were claimed by Somalia’s al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militia but blamed by the government on local political networks.
The governor, who has fiercely denied any connection to the massacre of close to 50 people, is currently on bail of five million Kenyan shillings ($57,000, 42,000 euros) — after the state failed in a bid to hold him for 14 days without charge.
In Wednesday’s hearing in the port city of Mombasa, senior prosecution counsel Alexander Muteti told Justice Martin Muya that the authorities needed two months to complete the probe. “The displacement of potential witnesses has made it rather difficult for the investigations. In two months’ time, we shall be through and return to court,” he said. Defence counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi, however, said the prosecution had no evidence and demanded the case be dropped.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“With the monitoring group now taking the side of ex-Central Bank chief Abrar, the latter is now coming off more like a hero than before for withstanding the corruption machine in Mogadishu and has likely won herself a verdict in the court of public opinion. Still, Abrar and the monitoring group could do more to advance their claims if hard evidence was provided (e.g., emails, documents, etc.) implicating specific individuals rather than allowing the he said-she said debate to be decided on the credibility gap alone. Releasing evidence suitable for a court of law would put pressure on Somali authorities and the international community to take more action against these individuals–or at the least sort out who is building a case of lies and who is not.”
Shulman Rogers, Somalia, and the Great Corruption Carousel
18 Jul- Source: Somalia Newsroom-1059 Words
A newly leaked United Nations monitoring group report on Somalia came to the same conclusion as ex-Central Bank chief Yusra Abrar in alleging the president, several advisors, the ex-Foreign Minister, and American law firm Shulman Rogers conspired to divert government assets frozen abroad for personal gain. Shulman Rogers was initially contracted by the Somali government to recover frozen assets in early 2010 under the administration of former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.
In legal documents submitted under the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), Shulman Rogers said the main point of contact would be the president’s office and a senior official for financial asset recovery and banking affairs named Ali Amilow–who was named as a co-conspirator in the monitoring group’s recent claims.
In addition, Shulman Rogers said its efforts “may also involve”–not will involve–work with the Central Bank and Finance Ministry, which was a strange caveat for a job that would require such a relationship. (Note: Other FARA documents indicated that Shulman Rogers added the Central Bank to its client list in September 2013.)
“The success of the first 150 Gaashan/Alpha Group/Danab commandos could have a profound effect. No doubt Gen. James Linder, commander of U.S. Africa Command’s Special Operations Forces, is considering sending in more A-Teams to help stand up more Somali commando units It’s the start of Somalia’s new American-made army. With competent troops leading from the front and American advisers not far behind, Mogadishu’s renewed war on Al Shabab could be just beginning.”
Somalia’s Got a New Commando Squad
17 Jul- Source: Medium-785 Words
In the last year, Somali terror group al Shabaab has spread from the Lower Shabelle region back into Mogadishu, a city struggling to rebuild after decades of open warfare. Al Shabab’s brazen daylight suicide bombings and coordinate gun attacks target the fledgling government’s political and judicial infrastructure. Civilians get caught in the crossfire. But the Somali government and its U.S. backers are hitting back.
Following months of rumor and innuendo, Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamed leaked some very encouraging news. Somalia has a new counterterrorism force—the Gaashan, which translates as “the shield.” The 150—so far—Gaashan commandos got some of the best training in the world, thanks to America’s own CIA and Special Operations Command. The Gaashan has become a “fundamental part of Somalia’s security and intelligence architecture,” a former Somali chief of staff said.
On April 14, 2013, an al Shabaab commando unit blasted the Benadir regional court complex, killing 29 people. The smoke was still furling from the burning compound when al Shabaab launched another coordinated attack along the main road heading toward Mogadishu’s Aden Adde International airport. A remote-detonated vehicle born improvised explosive device struck a convoy of Turkish aid workers, killing a Somali driver.
“An investment in Africa’s education could be the catalyst in winning the war against Islamic extremism. Radical clerics continue to preach hatred, and aid in recruiting young boys to join the ranks of al Qaeda. Military action alone against the insurgents will not end terrorism. The U.S. spends millions of dollars on military armaments, yet education has taken a back seat. Without basic education, eradication of poverty will be difficult. Poverty’s companion is hopelessness–and radical Islam’s supporters are there to fill the void. I believe there is a direct correlation between poverty, education, and terrorism in Muslim societies.”
Education is the Most Effective Way to Counter Radical Islam
17 Jul- Source: International Policy Digest-1378 Words
On June 10, 2014 our family returned to Africa as we do every year. Kenya’s Masai Mara was again selected. There were fourteen of us, including twelve family members and two close friends, ranging in age from eight to eighty. The youngest family member had been to Africa six times. Marcia and I first visited Africa in 1970, on a fact-finding mission to review CARE, UNICEF and World Food Program operations in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. We have since been to over twenty-five countries–some a number of times. As U.S. ambassador from 2002 to 2005, I oversaw three Indian Ocean island nations off the coast of Africa–Mauritius, Comoros and Seychelles.
On our visit this year we stayed in two tented camps–Bateleur at Kichwa Tembo and Cottar’s Camp. In addition to enjoying the vast savannah with its abundance of wild life, we visited the Emurutoto Primary School again. Since our first visit twelve years ago the school had grown to almost 400 students with fifteen teachers. The school administrator reviewed with us a list of immediate needs, including adequate toilet facilities for the students, and new housing for the teachers. At the time construction was underway and was being sponsored by Angels in Africa for a new dormitory to house up to 200 girls, who have been sleeping on the dining hall floor.
Top tweets
@OCHASom In #Somalia, female genital mutilation afflicts an estimated 98% of women. This must stop. #GirlSummit@UNICEF pic.twitter.com/dPc6tt61Rx
@amisomsomalia #TBT Somali Voices: The voice of Abdi Mohamed Shuieb, #Somali Translator with the #BurundiContingent http://bit.ly/1rtmZAs
@PPG_Movement 2 young children helpin out with their colourful family shop this morning. Keeping neat & tidy#Mogadishu #Mashallah pic.twitter.com/lgoqKwggv6
@questMO IST, a Turkish firm in #Somalia is busy transforming Mogadishu airport into an international standards.pic.twitter.com/9PLEGjXMjU
@MattBryden Time alone will not defeat AS. Strategy and competence also required: Defeat of #Somalia‘s Shebab ‘matter of time’ http://www.newvision.co.ug/
Image of the day
Young #Somali boys look on as police officers serving with #AMISOM patrol near the seaport in Mogadishu. @amisomsomalia