July 21, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
SNA And Jubaland Forces Attack Buuloguduud; Al-Shabaab Destroys Wirkoy Bridge
21 July – Source: Hiiraan Online – 116 Words
Somali National Forces (SNA) with Jubaland forces, backed by US air force fighter jets, attacked Al-Shabaab bases in Buuloguduud, 30 km from Kismayo, Lower Juba on Thursday.
American jets strategically bombarded Al-Shabaab positions enabling security forces to overrun the militant group’s compounds. Following the encounter, Al-Shabaab militias cut off Wirkoy bridge near Buuloguduud to hinder the security forces’ advancement.
Speaking on phone, a Jubaland forces spokesperson told Hiiraan Online they had taken control of Buuloguduud. He said the attack resulted in heavy casualties for Al-Shabaab. However, he did not give details on the death toll or injuries sustained by government security forces. Local residents confirmed that Al-Shabaab militants detonated explosives on the bridge intentionally destroying it.
Key Headlines
- Somali Leaders Introduce Mandatory Application Fee For Legislative Candidates (Goobjooge)
- Somali Women Advocate For Greater Political Participation In Upcoming Legislative Elections (AMISOM)
- SNA And Jubaland Forces Attack Buuloguduug; Al-Shabaab Destroys Wirkoy Bridge (Hiiraan Online)
- Puntland Parliament Sacks High Court Judges (Garowe Online)
- Washington State Woman Arrested for Funding Al Shabaab Terror Group (Breitbart News)
- Dar es Salaam Aware And Ready For Any Terrorist Threat Says Mahiga (Daily News)
- Somalia Women Want Tougher Laws On Sexual Violence (Al Jazeera)
- Campaign For House Seat Divides Minnesota’s Somali Community Even As It Confirms Political Stature (Minn Post)
- Is Somalia Set for Another Breakaway State? (Somalia Newsroom)
PRESS RELEASE
Somali Women Advocate For Greater Political Participation In Upcoming Legislative Elections
20 July – Source: AMISOM – 556 Words
A forum on women’s political participation in the upcoming legislative elections in Somalia was held in the capital Mogadishu today. Representatives from the Federal Government of Somalia, civil society organizations, political players and other interest groups, rooted for legislation that safeguards the 30-percent quota for women, at a workshop held with support from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
“The women could have been given 50% quota since we are the majority of the population, but that did not happen. Now, even the 30% is still not guaranteed. We need women MPs elected in these 2016 elections, without being subjected to hardship, such as being tied to clan elders. The government should facilitate this, since this is a legal requirement,” an advocate for women’s rights and founder of Ifrah Foundation Ms. Ifrah Ahmed stated.
AMISOM Political Affairs Officer Dr. Walters Samah commended the federal government for the establishment of a legal framework to support affirmative action for women, but emphasized commitment to achieve set goals.
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Leaders Introduce Mandatory Application Fee For Legislative Candidates
20 July – Source: Goobjooge – 146 Words
Somali national leaders have for the first time introduced a mandatory candidacy fee for all parliamentary and senatorial candidates in a bid to raise funds to execute the forthcoming electoral process. According to the new rules, the application fee requirement applies to every contesting member of the two Somali parliament houses. Every candidate is expected to pay a sum of US$5,000 and US$10,000 for the Lower and Upper Houses respectively.
Exclusive of the presidential application fee, the combined two houses of the National assembly are projected to accumulate close to six million US dollars, which is a huge amount of money to cover the reported funding shortfall in meeting the costs of the 2016 electoral process – if well spent. However, there are genuine concerns over the management of the money, given the lack of transparent financial regulatory benchmarks in the process.
Puntland Parliament Sacks High Court Judges
20 July – Source: Garowe Online – 156 Words
Top judges at Puntland’s High Court have lost their jobs during heated debate and subsequent vote in Parliament in a major blow to President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali on Wednesday. The President leader tried to extend the mandate of court’s Chief Judge, his deputy and three senior members of the judiciary by four months, but the MPs repealed the presidential decree through an overwhelming vote in Parliament.
The term of the judicial officials, who needed the backing of at least 35 MPs to continue serving in the High Court, will now go home at the end on July 22. Chief Judge Abdulkadir Sheikh Ahmed—brother of Finance Minister— previously secured a controversial seven-month term. The lawmakers’ move comes amid debate regarding the effectiveness of Parliament and independence of the judiciary.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Washington State Woman Arrested For Funding Al Shabaab Terror Group
20 July – Source: Breitbart News – 590 Words
A woman accused of funneling money to the al-Qaeda-linked group al Shabaab willingly admitted that she is an ardent supporter of the Somalia-based terrorist organization on the first day of her trial. Her defense attorney, Paula Deutsch, has acknowledged that her client supports the jihadist group, arguing that does not prove that she provided financial aid to the al Shabaab terrorists. All her client did was “talk” about supporting al Shabaab without taking action, argues her public defender.
In July 2014, Hinda Osman Dhirane, 44 years old and a mother of six, was arrested at her home in Kent, Washington, “on charges of providing material support to al-Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization that is conducting a violent insurgency campaign in Somalia,” reported the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Her trial, which is taking place at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, began on July 11. Court records show Dhirane funneled small amounts of money to the terrorist group to avoid detection — as low as $50 or $100 at a time, for a total of less than $5,000.
During the trial, Dhirane’s attorney said her client’s support for al Shabaab stems from Somalia’s history of corrupt and, at times, nonexistent government. Somalis “saw al-Shabaab as the hope to establish peace and order and a Sharia system of law,” declared Deutsch.
Dar es Salaam Aware And Ready For Any Terrorist Threat, Says Mahiga
21 July – Source: Daily News – 566 Words
Foreign Affairs, East African, Regional and International Cooperation Minister, Dr Augustine Mahiga, said yesterday that while Tanzania was aware of the terrorist threat in the region, its defence and security forces will always be attentive to any unusual movement in its midst. He further said that terrorism in the Horn of Africa and the East African region were among the major issues that were discussed at the 27th African Union (AU) Summit in Kigali, Rwanda. The minister said that to this effect, African leaders have agreed to allocate a special fund to fight terrorism in the Horn of Africa and East Africa region.
According to Dr Mahiga, African leaders expressed their concern on the increase of terrorist acts in the region and agreed to take measures, including allocating funds to boost military operations against the menace. Dr Mahiga agreed that reports from reliable sources indicate that some Tanzanian youth were among Al-Shabaab fighters who have been arrested or killed by Somalia government and AU troops. He said the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, Mr Smail Chergui, told him recently that Tanzanian youth were in the list of killed or arrested Al-Shabaab fighters in Somalia. “I met Mr Chergui recently.
He told me that some Tanzanian youth are fighting in Somalia. He confided with me that whenever they arrest Al-Shabaab fighters, they always find Tanzania nationals among them,” Dr Mahiga told reporters. Dr Mahiga said the AU peace and Security commission advised him to take measures that could help to stop youth from joining terrorist groups and protect the country and innocent civilians from being attacked. “We are very grateful to our security forces; they are doing a very good job.So far, Tanzania is safe. We expect such a situation to prevail,” he said.
Somalia Women Want Tougher Laws On Sexual Violence
20 July – Source: Al Jazeera – Video: 2:20 Mins
Women are demanding action against sexual violence in Somalia. Hundreds have been displaced during two decades of conflict and many say it has left them vulnerable. Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Adow reports from Mogadishu.
Campaign For House Seat Divides Minnesota’s Somali Community, Even As It Confirms Political Stature
20 July – Source: Minn Post – 1,515 Words
When Mahamoud Wardere made a bid for mayor of Minneapolis in 2001, he knew he wasn’t going to win. All he wanted was to introduce his then little-known Somali-American community to more Minnesotans. At the time, Somalis were a relatively small but growing community of refugees still reeling from the civil war that uprooted them from their East African home. In Minnesota, they struggled to come to terms with the hard reality of establishing a new life in a place dominated by a vastly different culture, language and religion.
“They were really confused,” Wardere explained. “Many expected the war to end, thinking they would go back to Somalia. There was a sense of isolation. They thought they would always be foreigners in Minnesota.”
Even as Somalis began to gradually integrate into the broader community, they remained little known to many Minnesotans, which is why Wardere decided to make his bid for office. “I wanted the politicians to know we existed, to listen to us and ask for our vote,” he says. And so he became the first Somali-American to appear on a ballot anywhere in the United States.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“But there remains an important exception to this provision. It seems for now that Galmudug and Puntland administrations may be able to continue sharing Galkayo city and Mudug region, despite the ongoing debate about whether the provisional constitution allows federal states to do so. If Galmudug and Puntland can receive an exception, Hiiraan may claim that it should receive such a break as well.”
Is Somalia Set for Another Breakaway State?
21 July – Source: Somalia Newsroom – 560 Words
Elders in Somalia’s Hiiraan region have threatened to establish their own administration as the crisis to form the latest regional state continues to stall. Horn Cable TV has more:
“Immediately after we wrap-up the inauguration ceremony to crown Chief Hassan who will be the next Chief of the Xawaadle clan, we shall focus on forming Hiiraan regional state with a President, deputy President and members of parliament and we shall be an independent State from the federal government of Somalia unlike the other regional states in the country,” said Chief Ali Ugaas Mohamed Ugaas Shafeec.”
Hiiraan elders, particularly from the Xawaadle clan, have disputed about how the state formation process with Middle Shabelle should occur. And this past June, Xawaadle leaders felt spited again as the leader of clan was left off a list of 135 elders who will pick members of the electoral college in upcoming elections. The elders probably do not seek to outright secede from Somalia, as the language may seem to indicate. Rather, they likely intend to gain concessions from international mediators and the federal government.
First of all, they may want to exploit the contested rules regarding the boundaries of Somalia’s federal member states. A federal state comprising only of Hiiraan region (without Middle Shabelle) would violate Article 49(6) of the provisional constitution stipulating that federal states must be comprised of two or more regions. But there remains an important exception to this provision. It seems for now that Galmudug and Puntland administrations may be able to continue sharing Galkayo city and Mudug region, despite the ongoing debate about whether the provisional constitution allows federal states to do so. If Galmudug and Puntland can receive an exception, Hiiraan may claim that it should receive such a break as well.
TOP TWEETS
@Vatescorp: #Somalia: FEIT chairman and fmr Presidential advisor all but admits elections delay, says will ‘announce new dates’
@AJENews: Somali teenage girl raped by four men: “I am a prisoner at home, while they roam freely” http://aje.io/kyse
@HarunMaruf: Somali and US forces in “supportive role” clashed with Al-Shabab fighters in Bulogudud area lateWednesday; casualties not known: residents.
@Osman_Yusuf: #Somalia is healing from civil war wounds and rising again. #MogadishuMovingForward.https://pbs.twimg.com/media/
@engyarisow: Football tournament between regions of#Somalia is underway in #Mogadishu as a result of security improvements: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/
@amisomsomalia: Somali women advocate for greater political participation in upcoming legislative elections.http://goo.gl/bjeF2j https://pbs.twimg.com/media/
@Vatescorp: #Somalia: Puntland Parliament sacks high court judges http://ow.ly/5iGq302sgom
@Vatescorp: #Somalia: Hiiraan traditional elders say that they will form an independent regional State: http://www.hctv.tv/?p=36341
@fqdayib: The upper house should’ve been established by now. None of the other goals have been met either. An extension of mandate is likely. #Somalia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
#Somali women leaders at a workshop to enhance women’s political participation in Somalia
PHOTO: @UNSomalia