July 26, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Somali Cabinet meeting focuses on security, parliament summons interior minister

26 Jul – Source: Garowe Online /Raxanreeb/Universal TV/Mareeg Online/Radio Mustaqbal – 156 words

Somalia’s Cabinet ministers discussed the worsening security situation of Mogadishu and salaries for the government’s military and security branches during their weekly Cabinet meeting on Thursday. Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon presided over the meeting and the Federal cabinet ministers went on to debate the country’s most pressing issues with the security agenda at the forefront.

Speaking to the media afterwards, Somali Prime Minister’s spokesman Ridwan Haji Abdiweli said the Cabinet listened to reports relating to Mogadishu’s volatile security situation and their respective stabilization plans from the interior and the defense ministers.

“Following in-depth discussions, the Cabinet ministers agreed on the payment of salaries for the government forces including police, the intelligence and custodian corps and they intended to be given $160 to each and every soldier,” said Mr. Ridwan, adding: “They also discussed about allegations in the new report of the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea with Central Bank director present.”

Key Headlines

Somali President: International aid will not be paid to special zones (Radio Mogadishu/ SNTV/ al Shahid)
Somali Cabinet meeting focuses on security parliament summons interior minister (Garowe Online/Raxanreeb/Universal TV/Mareeg Online/Radio Mustaqbal)
US Deputy Defense Secretary Carter Visits Ethiopia (Saudi Press Agency)
One killed five others wounded in separate incidents in Mogadishu (RBC/ al Shahid)
Somalis flee South Africa for Mozambique (Radio Ergo)
Somali elders seek larger role in national politics (Sabahi Online)
Long-term dispatches to Somalia may disrupt MSDF’s regular duties (Japan News)
Covert US flights could signal new Somalia action (UPI News)
UN report links suspect to latest terror threat (Standard Media)

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali Cabinet meeting focuses on security, parliament summons interior minister

26 Jul – Source: Garowe Online /Raxanreeb/Universal TV/Mareeg Online/Radio Mustaqbal – 156 words

One killed, five others wounded in separate incidents in Mogadishu

26 Jul – Source: RBC/ al Shahid – 128 words

One person was killed and five others were injured in two separate incidents Thursday night in the Somali capital Mogadishu. Gunmen killed a civilian while he was driving his car at the intersection of Dabka road, Mogadishu, and gunmen fled the area after the attack, witnesses said.

In a separate incident, unknown assailants launched a grenade attack on a commercial market in Hodan district, Mogadishu, wounding five civilians.

Witnesses said that all of them are women and children, some of them their injuries are serious, and were taken to hospitals in Mogadishu for treatment. Not yet known the circumstances of the incidents, but the attacks raised concern of the people in Mogadishu.

Somalis flee South Africa for Mozambique

26 Jul – Source: Radio Ergo – 272 words

Hundreds of Somali business people have fled violence against them in South Africa and arrived in Mozambique over the past two months. Jamal Mohamed, who has moved to Nampula, Mozambique, said he witnessed firsthand some of the attacks against the Somali community in Cape Town.

“In the latest attack in Cape Town a young Somali man was stoned to death, and that made me fear for my own life, so I decided to leave South Africa. Here in Mozambique I have found more security and safety,” he told Radio Ergo’s reporter. Mohamed Isaac Afrah, who lived and traded in Cape Town for eight years, said the level of violence had made life very risky. He added that the South African people were hostile to foreigners.

“The tiny shops we ran also served as our sleeping places, because of the high cost of living. You can’t go outside because of insecurity; we got scared out of our skins whenever a customer put his hand in his pockets:

is he bringing out a gun to shoot you? South Africans are arrogant people, full of themselves; too difficult to deal with. Walking in the street, seven pistols were pointed at my head in one single day…that was when I decided to come to Mozambique, which I heard was a peaceful place,” Mohamed explained.

Somali President: International aid will not be paid to special zones

26 Jul – Source: Radio Mogadishu/ SNTV/ al Shahid – 148 words

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud said that the international aid received by Somalia will benefit all the provinces of Somalia. He urged Somalis in Somalia’s various provinces to provide their needs to the Somali government, stressing that the international aid will be disbursed to all Somalis in the country. He said that on Wednesday during his meeting with international diplomats in Mogadishu.

He added that the Somali citizens wherever they have the right to benefit from aid to Somalia, pointing out that the people of the administrations of Somaliland and Puntland will receive a share of the aid based on their own needs.

The International Conference on Somalia scheduled to be held in Brussels, the coordination between the European Union and the Somali government will focus on support for Somalia in the areas of security, political and development.

Vaccinate Your Children, Somaliland First Lady Urges Women

26 Jul – Source: Somaliland Sun – 455 Words

Vaccination is very important towards safeguarding children from various ailments. This was informed by the somaliland First Lady Ms Amina-Weris Mohamed Jirdeh while launching a nationwide polio vaccination campaign in Hargeisa where she urged women to ensure that their never miss availing their children the benefits of vaccination whenever a campaign is on.

“I urge women nationwide to ignore propaganda negative propaganda against vaccination and ensure that children are availed the free services offered free of charge on a regular basis” said Ms Amina Weris

While wondering why a few people are spreading lies on the real purposes of vaccination the first lady stressed its importance as pertains to preventing a number of deadly diseases afflicting children who are most vulnerable especially at the age of five years and below. The campaign launched by the First Lady is a supplementary one occasioned by fears raised in East Africa from the May 9th, 2013 when Global Polio Eradication Initiative reported an outbreak of polio in Mogadishu.

Printing firm offers new services in Kismayo

26 Jul – Source: Radio Ergo – 189 words

A new printing business called Kismayo-Jet has opened in Kismayo and is expected to provide long awaited services for the people and authorities in Juba region. The company offers printing of books and certificates, as well as more specialist services including making advertisement boards, identity cards, and vehicle registration plates.

Kismayo-Jet’s manager, Abdisamad Ali Hashi Geele, said the services would play an important role in bringing order to the town and region. “The people here didn’t have anywhere they could print documents, and even the vehicles in Kismayo have not had licence plates.

So if a vehicle got involved in an accident, there was no identification process to settle the issue. Our printing press will provide many necessary services and we will even be participating in restoring peace and security,” he told Radio Ergo.

REGIONAL MEDIA

US Deputy Defense Secretary Carter Visits Ethiopia

26 Jul – Source: Saudi Press Agency – 205 words

US Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter visited Ethiopia, as well as the African Union, this week and met with senior government and military leaders to discuss the US Ethiopia security partnership and shared interests with respect to East Africa’s security challenges, the Pentagon said Thursday.

‘While in Ethiopia, Deputy Secretary Carter met with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and Chief of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces General Samora Yenus,’ Pentagon spokesman George Little said in a statement. ‘These meetings provided an opportunity to discuss the critical role that Ethiopia has played in stabilizing Somalia and providing peacekeepers along the border between Sudan and South Sudan.’

‘In his meeting at the African Union, Dr. Carter thanked Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission Erastus Mwencha for the African Union’s leadership in tackling Africa’s security challenges,’ Little said.

‘The two leaders exchanged views on the African Peace and Security Architecture, maritime security, and the conflicts in Somalia, Mali, the Central African Republic, and the Great Lakes region. ‘The deputy secretary also met with alumni from the Africa Center for Strategic Studies from across the continent who offered their perspectives on Africa’s progress in addressing its security and development challenges,’ Little said.

UN report links suspect to latest terror threat

26 Jul – Source: Standard Media – 258 words

A new UN report has linked Mombasa-based terror suspect Abubakar Shariff Ahmed alias Makaburi to an emerging terror threat across Kenya and Tanzania. The report accuses him of providing “operational direction and guidance” to terrorist groups.

Makaburi is now being associated with a Tanzanian group, Ansar Muslim Youth Centre, and Kenya’s Al Hijra, both deemed to be affiliated to al Shabaab. “He (Makaburi) is currently exerting a dominant influence over Al Hijra and intensifying his activities,” says the report in part.

But in a swift rebuttal, Makaburi, who is facing terror and incitement charges, denied any association with these two groups, terming the UN report as a fabrication by the US. He added that the “UN are looking for ways to kill Muslims to get a scapegoat to go and steal abundant natural resources from Somalia.”

Somali elders seek larger role in national politics

25 Jul – Source: Sabahi Online – 620 Words

Somali traditional elders, who were instrumental in creating the federal government, met this month to discuss how to increase their role in reconciliation and helping President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s administration expand its authority nationwide.

Traditional elders helped prepare for the end of the Transitional Federal Government in August 2012 by choosing the committee that endorsed the current constitution and also selecting members of parliament. Now, they hope to play a new mediatory role in Mohamud’s government.

“We decided to create an atmosphere of understanding between the security forces and the public because there is mutual mistrust among the two groups,” Mogadishu traditional elder Mohamed Hassan Haad said after the July 14th meeting. “We also decided to work on educating the public about the government.”

As a way to spearhead lasting peace, elders also will hold private meetings in distant villages with communities among warring tribes, said elder Sultan Warsame Sultan Ibrow of the Lower Shabelle region. “We are working on how to build the government with grassroots methods,” he told Sabahi. “We will hold meetings to educate the public on the federal system.”

Kenya to host Great Lakes summit next week

25 Jul – Source: Capital FM – 330 words

Kenya is set to host a special summit of Heads of State and Governments of the Great Lakes region on July 31. The national coordinator and director of the summit, Ken Vitisia says this will be a good platform for the country to articulate its foreign policy.

He said Kenya will also seek support of a common regional position on Somalia and on its effort to take refugees from there back to their country.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Long-term dispatches to Somalia may disrupt MSDF’s regular duties

26 Jul – Source: Japan News – 366 words

Although a pair of Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers have been dispatched off the coast of Somalia, participating in antipiracy missions could negatively impact the MSDF’s operations.

A total of up to six vessels will need to be reassigned from their regular duties in order to escort commercial ships in a seamless manner. The four additional ships include two that will leave Japan for Somali waters to replace the currently dispatched destroyers. The other two will be retasked with antipiracy training in Japan.

The MSDF has 48 destroyers. However, a senior MSDF official said, “Because we have to remain vigilant and continue surveillance activities in the East China Sea, where China has stepped up its military presence, it’s very difficult for us to send that many vessels.”

Covert US flights could signal new Somalia action

25 Jul – Source: UPI News – 170 words

The United States is reported to be escalating its largely secret war against al Qaeda in the turbulent Horn of Africa state of Somalia amid signs the al Shabaab Islamist network remains a danger despite recent setbacks.

The insurgents, who suffered a series of military defeats in 2011-12 in their battle against a shaky Western-backed transitional federal government installed in late 2006, have been written off several times before and regrouped — just as they appear to be doing now.

In 2012, after al Shabaab had been driven out of Mogadishu, Somalia’s war-battered capital, the southern port of Kismayu, its financial center, and other major towns by African Union forces supported by the United States, France and Britain, the US administration of President Barack Obama was proclaiming Somalia a major success in the global war against al Qaeda.

The Americans provided satellite and drone intelligence to the African forces led by Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia, as well as arms supplies during their year-long offensive that ultimately drove the Islamist fighters into the countryside.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“Throughout her captivity, she tried to gather evidence about her captors – making detailed descriptions of them and trying to gather their DNA when they touched her torch, or her notebook – hoping that one day they would be caught and be held accountable. But she says she does not want her kidnappers dead. And she doesn’t want to be consumed by the desire for revenge.”

Judith Tebbutt: My six months held hostage by Somali pirates

26 Jul – Source: BBC – 1138 Words

Judith and David Tebbutt were on holiday in Kenya when they were attacked by a group of armed men. David was murdered and Judith was taken to Somalia where she was held hostage for six months. Just over a year after being freed, she describes her extraordinary determination to survive.

You meet Judith Tebbutt – she likes to be called Jude – and you wonder how, after six months in a filthy, cramped room, on starvation rations of potato and rice, insulted, humiliated and occasionally threatened with summary execution, she could appear so untouched and so resilient.

She was determined to survive, and that’s her motivation for writing a book about her experience, A Long Walk Home, and for speaking to the BBC in one of her only interviews about the ordeal. Jude, from Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, wants to be an encouragement and example to others held for ransom.

“Addressing Somali piracy in earnest requires shifting from a military-centric strategy towards the implementation of a more comprehensive approach based on wide engagement with local and regional actors. Pirate gangs are embedded in economic, political and social life, and piracy represents a significant source of income for local communities and economic development.”

Somali Piracy: Is Taking the Fight to Land the Solution?

25 Jul – Source: Fair Observer – 681 Words

Years of naval counter-piracy operations have so far failed to strategically defeat Somali pirates. The presence of more warships and armed guards on civilian ships has pushed pirates to adapt to the evolving situation. It was in this context that, on March 23, 2012, the Council of the European Union decided to extend Operation Atlanta (officially known as the EU Naval Force Somalia) to allow military strikes on land. This new mandate represents a substantial step-up in operations and shift in strategy.

The decision, which appears to have been a compromise between different European perspectives, allows soldiers to intervene in Somalia but only by helicopter, with no troops being deployed on the ground. Despite careful limitations, however, the new mandate immediately raised criticism due to the high risks linked to such an aggressive policy. The escalation in the fight against piracy and the intensity of conflict with armed gangs might have unintended consequences, and perhaps revive bitter memories of “Black Hawk Down” in 1993, when two US helicopters were downed by Somali militants.

The first EU air strike on Somali soil on May 15, 2012, added to these concerns as pirates threatened to kill the hostages if attacked on land again. Indeed, aggressive military actions carried out along the Somali coasts not only pose risks for EU forces, but could also contribute to civilian casualties, for aerial surveillance can hardly make distinctions between fishermen and pirates. If Somali civilians were to suffer, local communities’ support for international actors would diminish and this could end up strengthening pirate gangs.

Somalia: The Yugoslavia of Africa

25 Jul – Source: Somalia Online Forum – 140 Words

The Ankara talks are failing. Somalia will become just like Yugoslavia. The different clans of Somalia are similar to the different ethnic groups that formed Yugoslavia. The big question is, Yugoslavia disintegrated, but will Somalia disintegrate into Sovereign Clan-states?

Will Mogadishu or the “Forces for Union” allow Somaliland, Jubbaland, Puntland and other states within Somalia to have sovereign statuses in the near future?

Slobodan MiloševiÄ‡, the Serbian leader of the Former Yugoslavia once said, “If Croatia wants us to allow them to secede from Yugoslavia, they have to allow the Serbians living in Croatia to secede from Croatia as well.”

That’s the argument that’s being used today against Somaliland’s secession from Somalia, where Unionists clans living in Northern Somalia, mainly Sool, Sanaag and Cayn are arguing that if Somaliland can secede from Somalia, then SSC regions can secede from Somaliland.

Top tweets

@SomaliPM Latest beautiful images of our beautful land from great blog Discover #Somalia – they are real patriotshttp://discoversomalia.tumblr.com.

@Hamza_Africa #Somali cabinet approves pay rise for government soldiers from $100 a month to $160. #Somalia #Mogadishu.

@amisomsomalia New deal conference will endorse#NewDeal compact that will commit #Somali people & their international partners to a set of key priorities.

@WFP_europe Check out these beautiful pics from @eu_echofunded cash distribution to #Somali refugees in #Ethiopi a http://wfp.tumblr.com.

@cctvnewsafrica Video: Normalcy returns to #Somali port of #Kismayu . @TrevOmbija tells us more. http://ow.ly/nhyFt.

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Image of the day

Image of the day An Iftar event at UNSOM hosted by the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General Nicolas Kay. In attendance: Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon Saaid, Deputy Prime Minister Fawzia Yusuf Adam, and AU Special Envoy for Somalia Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif.