July 3, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Somali legislator killed, another wounded after attack in Mogadishu

03 Jul- Source: Radio Shabelle/Radio Al Furaqan/Radio Mustaqbal- 120 words

Armed gunmen attacked two Somali parliamentarians on Thursday in Hamarweyne district of Mogadishu, killing one and injuring the other. Witnesses have confirmed that Mohamed Mohamud Hayd was assassinated whereas Abdullahi Ahmed Onka was severely wounded. The legislators were attacked as they exited Masjid Marwaaz, a mosque adjacent to the hotel they were staying at. The armed assailant allegedly shot at the MPs in a drive-by shooting before quickly fleeing in their vehicles. Lawmaker Abdi Barre Yusuf confirmed to Radio Shabelle that the MPs were getting ready to come to today’s parliament session. Pro Al Shabaab radio Al Furqqaan reported that al Shabaab militia group have claimed the responsibly for attack.

Key Headlines

Somali legislator killed another wounded after attack in Mogadishu (Radio Shabelle/Radio Al Furaqan)
We condemn the Murder of veteran MP Mohammed Mohamud Hayd (OPM)
Businessman shot dead in Baidoa Bay region (Radio Bar-kulan/Qurbejoog News)
Beledweyne general hospital receives cash aid from Diaspora community
(Goobjoog/Raasonews Online)
Himan and Heeb administration donates food aid to 40 families (Radio Bar-kulan/SNTV)
Somali lawmaker killed in Mogadishu: legislator (Reuters)
Hundreds of Somalis still held at Kasarani (Star-Kenya)
AMISOM’s Deputy head of mission Hon. Lydia Wanyoto Mutende Media briefing in Mogadishu (AMISOM)
Former Diplomat of Somalia Embassy in Nairobi Arrested (Radio Dalsan)
IED targets SNA soldiers on Waajid outskirts (Radio Shabelle)
Somalia says any Saudi camel import ban would hurt economy (Reuters)
Torrential Rains in Mogadishu Severe on the Vulnerable (Radio Dalsan)
Somaliland: Ethiopia Consulate office in Hargeisa fails to grant entry visas to two government officials(Somaliland Informer)
Fake records ‘used to give suspects IDs’ (Daily Nation)
Japanese officer to take command of international anti-piracy mission off Somalia (Japantimes)
UN: Yemen Somalia urgently need humanitarian aid (NZ Herald News/AP)
U.S. discloses secret Somalia military presence up to 120 troops (Reuters)
Central Texas man pleads guilty to attempting to support terrorists in Somalia (Fox News)

PRESS STATEMENT

We condemn the Murder of veteran MP Mohammed Mohamud Hayd

03 Jul- Source: Office of the Prime Minister- 135 words

His Excellency Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed sends his deepest and most heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of Veteran MP Mohammed Mohamud Hayd who was killed in Mogadishu today.

“This criminal act only promotes violence, distress and grief in our community. Taking a human life is abhorrent and only affects an innocent family and strikes them with grief. This criminal act will be investigated and justice will be brought forth” The Prime Minister said.

Mohammed Mohamud Hayd was a man who served his country and his people. We condemn this and any other murders especially during the holy month of Ramadhan. Islam does not support the killing of innocents, brothers slaying brothers and criminal acts. Mohammed Mohamud Hayd will be remembered for his unwavering patriotism and devotion to the great nation of Somalia.

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali legislator killed, another wounded after attack in Mogadishu

03 Jul- Source: Radio Shabelle/Radio Al Furaqan/Radio Mustaqbal- 120 words

Businessman shot dead in Baidoa, Bay region

03 Jul- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Qurbejoog/Raadraac News- 99 words

Gunmen shot dead a prominent businessman in Bardale neighborhood of Baidoa town, the provincial capital of Bay region, according to his relatives. Hussein Muktar Daysane was shot dead near his home on Wednesday night. The assailants immediately escaped from the scene. Security forces in the town arrived at the scene and carried out searches, however, no arrests were made in connection with the incident. It is the second time in two months that civilians are shot dead in Baidoa following last month’s brutal killings of two civilians in the city by gunmen.

Beledweyne general hospital receives cash aid from Diaspora community

03 Jul – Source: Radio Goobjoog/Raasonews Online – 112 words

The Diaspora community of Beledweyn residing in Norway donated cash aid of $4,000 to Beledweyne general hospital, in Hiiraan province. The donation from the Norway community delivered by Ugas Abdirahim Ugas Khalif is meant to cover the basic needs of the hospital for the next six months including maintenance and salaries.

Ugas Abdirahim urged the hospital management to continue delivering the services to the community promising the support of both Diaspora and local people to keep the hospital maintain its operations.

However, Beledweyne general hospital was facing severe shortage of medical supplies that putted the hospital under the verge of closure since MSF withdrew its services in 2013 due to insecurity.

Himan and Heeb administration donates food aid to 40 families

03 Jul- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/SNTV- 90 words

Health Committee of Himan and Heeb administration has donated food aid to over 40 families in Adado district, Galgadud region. Each family received 75 KG of rice, wheat flour, sugar and 3 Liters of cooking oil according to Farhan Mohamed Dhore, head of the distributing committee. He stated that his administration will continue to assist the poor and the needy in Adodo. Dhore called on the business community in Adado town as well as the diaspora to contribute everything in their capacity to assist the needy families in the area.

AMISOM’s Deputy head of mission Hon. Lydia Wanyoto Mutende Media briefing in Mogadishu

03 Jul- Source: AMISOM- 575 words

My name is Lydia Wanyoto Mutende and I am the Deputy Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Mission in Somalia.

The purpose of this brief this morning is to update you on the progress of our efforts and engagement. It is important that you all now the state of affairs and it remains our endeavor to maintain a transparent and accountable operation.

In my short time here, I have had the opportunity to sit down with a diverse group of stakeholders from Somalia and the international community. I have listened to youth, women, elders, political leaders, humanitarian workers, security officials and religious leaders.

We as a mission are honoured to be present in Somalia at a time of monumental challenge. We remain committed to playing our part in the rebirth of a great nation. I have no doubt in my mind that we are on the right track. The determination of the Somali people to take charge of their destiny is a motivation for us.

Our 22,126 troops continue to work alongside the Somali National Army, the Somali Police Force and the National Intelligence and Security Agency. Our role here is to support these forces and to build their capacity and enable them to take charge of this country’s security.

Our joint offensive to liberate innocent civilians from the brutal rule of al Shabaab continues. We have liberated 10 key towns and we continue to consolidate the gains we have made.

During this holy month of Ramadan we have initiated extra measures especially within the urban areas. We are leaving no room for al Shabaab to wreak havoc and terrorize worshippers observing the holy month. Our day and night patrols as well as joint cordon and search operations are active in all our sectors.
We are confident in the ongoing political process. Our mandate is to ensure a safe and secure environment for the government and the people to conduct their business. We support the federal government in its endeavors to initiate key reforms to ensure we have elections in 2016.

We are encouraged by the consensus building efforts and dialogue amongst the political actors. Together with the rest of the international community, we have lent our support to the recent agreement between the South West 3 and South West 6 groups. It is our belief that ultimately it is up to the people of Somalia to decide their political future.

In my visits to Baidoa and Beledweyne in the last few days, the sight of reconstruction, stability and reinvigoration have reaffirmed my belief in the success of our campaigns. I have spent time with communities in these areas to hear about their hopes and aspirations. The one aspect that was repeated over and over in these discussions was the hope and optimism about the future. We share in that hope and optimism and we remain confident in the unlimited possibilities for the Somali people.

We continue to urge for better support for the Somali security forces. The training of the SNA at Jazeera Training Camp continues in earnest. We appeal for more support in equipment, logistics and direct assistance for the Somali National Army and the Somali Police Force.

We also ask aid agencies to closely monitor the humanitarian situation in Somalia. AMISOM stands ready to provide safe corridors for the movement of relief supplies and we will ensure that the most vulnerable communities are not cut off from critical supplies.

Former Diplomat of Somalia Embassy in Nairobi Arrested

03 Jul- Source: Radio Dalsan- 142 words

The Kenya Police arrested Abdisatar Hassan Ali who was formerly the Third Secretary of the Somali Embassy in Nairobi. The Kenya Police detained him on Tuesday while breaking fast at Laico Regency in the Central Business District of Nairobi. He is now being held at Kilimani Police Station in Nairobi where police are interrogating him. We tried to find out more on the arrest from the Somali Embassy but it opted to keep a low profile regarding the matter. However, his relatives said they don’t know as to why he was arrested.

The police previously arrested the current Third Secretary of the Embassy, Mr. Ilyas Yussuf Warsame and months ago, they arrested the consular of the embassy even though he was later on released. The diplomatic relationship of Somalia and Kenya was becoming strained since Kenya started arresting and deportation of many Somalis.

IED targets SNA soldiers on Waajid outskirts

02 Jul – Source: Radio Shabelle – 73 words

Somali National Army soldiers were targeted in an IED blast on the outskirts of Waajid, a town in Bakool region which resulted in severe fatalities. Officials from the Somali Federal Government told Radio Shabelle that the explosion was caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) bomb and planted before the blast. Until now, no official from the government confirming the precise numbers of casualties and losses sustained.

Torrential Rains in Mogadishu Severe on the Vulnerable

02 Jul- Source: Radio Dalsan- 179 words

Vulnerable people especially the blind were affected adversely by the torrential rains that were pouring in Mogadishu in the last few hours. The floods which resulted from the heavy downpours destroyed the makeshift shelters of those blind people especially those who live on the outskirts of the capital Mogadishu. Moalim Ibrahim Adan Mohamed who is the chairman of the Blind People’s Consortium known as Daryeel told Dalsan Radio that there is a major problem facing the blind and the visually impaired people. ‘Allah can only explain our problem well. Human beings cannot explain it. We are people who live in make-shift houses and it was raining continuously for a day and a night.We are people who were never assisted. We are at least two hundred families including crippled people and blind people as well as elderly people and people who are suffering from paralyses,” He said. Moalim Ibrahim requested the community, the government and the aid agencies to assist them. He said he wants people to assist them for the sake of the holy month of Ramadan.

Somaliland: Ethiopia Consulate office in Hargeisa fails to grant entry visas to two government officials

02 Jul – Source: Somaliland Informer – 109 words

Ethiopian Consulate office in Hargeisa has failed to grant entry visas to government officials including the head of Civil Service Commission and head of government employees’ trainer.

The two officials were in a position to attend student’s graduation ceremony where students that hail from Somaliland are due to finish their tertiary education from local universities in Ethiopia.

The students have asked the two government officials to attend their graduation and the plan was that they were about to be accompanied by Director Generals. The Consulate told the two officials that they should get official invitation letters from the local universities as a matter of evidence.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Hundreds of Somalis still held at Kasarani

03 Jul- Source: Star-Kenya- 507 words

Hundreds of suspected illegal Somali immigrants rounded up in a security swoop after a series of terror attacks in the city are still languishing at the Safaricom Kasarani Stadium, months after they were detained.

A majority of the Somalis were flushed out of houses on the Eastleigh and South C estates but have not been repatriated to Somalia, even as Deputy President William Ruto said in a TV interview that the detention camp had been closed and the refugees sent home.

Yesterday, relatives, mainly Somali, were huddled outside the stadium after General Service Unit officers blocked them from visiting the detainees.

A distraught elderly man, who gave his name only as Muhumed, said his two sons are still detained, weeks after they were arrested in Eastleigh.

“My two sons have refugee documents, which I have with me. But the police could not let me see or release them. They were arrested three weeks ago. I don’t know what is happening inside there,” he said.

Fake records ‘used to give suspects IDs’

03 Jul – Source: Daily Nation – 130 words

Two chiefs from Mandera have disowned immigration documents used to clear four men accused in the Westgate Mall attack to obtain Kenyan identity cards. Minutes presented in the trial show that Mr Ali Mohammed Hassan and Mr Ibrahim Hussein Mahat participated in a vetting committee that approved the four to be issued with the IDs.

However, the chiefs, who gave evidence in court on Wednesday, said they did not take part in such a vetting.

They are prosecution witnesses in a case in which Mr Hussein Hassan Mustafata, Mr Aden Dheq, Mr Liban Abdiraham and Mr Mohammed Ahmed Abdi are on trial for charges relating to the attack on Nairobi’s Westgate Mall on September 21, last year. The prosecution’s case is that the four men obtained Kenyan identification documents fraudulently.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somali lawmaker killed in Mogadishu: legislator

03 Jul- Source: Reuters- 98 words

A Somali lawmaker was shot dead in Mogadishu on Thursday, a fellow legislator said. It was not clear who carried out the attack but in the past militant group al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for similar attacks on government officials. The group has carried out four attacks since the start of the Ramadan fasting monthon Sunday, vowing to target the Western-backed government in Mogadishu. “Our colleague legislator Mohamed Mohamud Hayd and his bodyguard died – another lawmaker and a secretary for the parliamentary were also injured in the exchange of fire,” lawmaker Dahir Amin Jesow told Reuters

Japanese officer to take command of international anti-piracy mission off Somalia

03 Jul- Source: Japantimes -265 words

A senior officer of the Self-Defense Forces will take over the rotating command of the multinational anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia, a government source said Thursday.

The Abe administration determined there are no legal problems with an SDF officer commanding troops of other countries despite Japan’s very strict rules on the use of military force, the source said.

From the legal perspective, SDF activities in the fight against piracy amount to no more than “the use of police authority” and SDF personnel are not being integrated into foreign forces that are using weapons, according to the government.

Somalia says any Saudi camel import ban would hurt economy

03 Jul- Source: Reuters-390 Words

Somalia said on Thursday its economy would suffer if Saudi Arabia banned camel imports from the Horn of Africa nation over suspicions the animals could carry a potentially deadly virus and said it was ready to help find what caused the illness.

The Somali prime minister’s office also said in a statement to Reuters that there had been no reported case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS in Somalia since the virus was first discovered in humans in 2012.

Senior Saudi scientist, Tariq Madani, told Reuters last week that Saudi Arabia suspected the virus may have arrived in camels from the Horn of Africa and could ban imports until it knows more. Somalia is a big livestock exporter to the kingdom.

“Since 2012 – when first discovered in Saudi Arabia – there has been no MERS case reported in Somalia,” the Somali statement said. “Evidently any change to Somalia’s ability to export its camels would have an economic impact.”

“But more importantly, it is very important to find the cause of this virus and we would be very open to working with the World Health Organisation and other international partners to identify the cause and the solutions,” it added.

UN: Yemen, Somalia urgently need humanitarian aid

03 Jul – Source: NZ Herald News/AP – 155 words

The Director of U.N. humanitarian operations appealed for hundreds of millions of dollars to alleviate major humanitarian emergencies in Yemen, where 10.5 million people need food, and in Somalia, where all the indicators point to a repeat of its 2011 famine.

John Ging, who visited both countries last week, told a news conference Wednesday that the U.N.’s response is limited because it has received only $195 million of the $529 million it needs in Yemen this year and only $232 million of the $933 million it needs in Somalia.

“Neither of these countries are doomed to fail” because they have clear plans, very good national leaders and “real opportunities,” he said. “But the difference right now between whether they will go on a trajectory which is positive or … continue a decline into the abyss is fundamentally down to … the money that the international community will mobilize for both of these countries.”

U.S. discloses secret Somalia military presence, up to 120 troops

02 Jul – Source: Reuters – 107 words

US military advisors have secretly operated in Somalia since around 2007 and Washington plans to deepen its security assistance to help the country fend off threats by Islamist militant group al Shabaab, US officials said.

The comments are the first detailed public acknowledgement of a US military presence in Somalia dating back since the US administration of George W. Bush and add to other signs of a deepening US commitment to Somalia’s government, which the Obama administration recognized last year.

The deployments, consisting of up to 120 troops on the ground, go beyond the Pentagon’s January announcement that it had sent a handful of advisors in October. That was seen at the time as the first assignment of US troops to Somalia since 1993 when two US helicopters were shot down and 18 American troops killed in the “Black Hawk Down” disaster.

Central Texas man pleads guilty to attempting to support terrorists in Somalia

02 Jul – Source: Fox News – 124 words

A Central Texas man pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges of attempting to recruit and support terrorists to fight a holy war overseas. Rahatul Khan, a 23-year-old University of Texas student, entered his plea in federal court and faces up to 15 years in prison when sentenced, federal prosecutors said.

Khan, who prosecutors said is a Bangladesh-born American citizen, was arrested in June on charges of attempting to provide material support to terrorists. Investigators said Khan was recruiting fighters to go to Somalia for “jihad” — an Arabic term sometimes used to mean a Muslim holy war.

Khan told undercover FBI agents or informants about a desire to join Muslim insurgents, and discussed guns, training and preparing for a Third World War, prosecutors said.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“I followed her trail to South Africa where, in 2008, she was introduced to her second husband by the radical preacher Sheikh Abdullah el-Faisal. And then onto Kenya. She is married into a family with deep connections to key people in al Qaeda. But it seems unlikely that this strand of radical and violent Islam would support a British woman as a frontline soldier let alone a leader.”

The search for Samantha Lewthwaite

02 Jul- Source: BBC-621 Words

On 22 September last year, smoke billowed over the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. Troops and police ducked between buildings amidst sporadic gunfire as militants from Somalia’s al Shabaab network carried out an assault that left dozens dead. I’d landed a few hours earlier, in search of a 29-year-old English woman, Samantha Lewthwaite. The widow of one of the 7/7 bombers, she was on the run in East Africa.

A few hundred metres from the mall – with the attackers and the hostages inside – the media were encamped. Reporters stood on top of satellite trucks, or sat on the curb filing from laptops. Rumours billowed. The front pages of our newspapers soon accused Samantha Lewthwaite of masterminding the operation that killed more than fifty people. Other reports claimed that she had “blood on her hands”.

So was the so-called “white widow” the leader of this gang of terrorists, the builder of bombs, and wielder of an AK47?

For the last year, I’ve been tracing Samantha’s life from her hometown in Aylesbury, where she converted to Islam shortly after completing her A-Levels. From then, she seems to have drifted slowly from a benign version of Islam to a more violent creed. She met Germaine Lindsay on a Stop the War demonstration in 2002. Three years later, he killed himself and 26 others on the London tube.

“The decision to voluntarily repatriate refugees has been welcomed by some but the majority of refugees are still uncertain about the whole process. It is reported that more than 60,000 refugees have already returned to Somalia.”

The Refugee Magazine: ‘Is it the right time for home?’

02 Jul- Source: Film Aid-541 Words

Unique content from The Refugee – a magazine written by those living in refugee camps – will now be showcased on FilmAid’s blog. The Refugee Magazine seeks to inform, entertain, as well as give a voice to the voiceless. It was started in 2009 by people living in Ifo refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya who had a passion for journalism but with no access to national newspapers. The group reached out to FilmAid for support on their project, and since then 10 editions of The Refugee newsletter have been published and distributed free of charge among three major refugee camps in the country.

The magazine addresses popular topics such as culture, gender and business while also aiming to provide useful information about issues frequently faced by those living in the camps, such as repatriation and access to medicine. This week we are sharing an abridged article by Mohamed Bashi Mohamed from The Refugee, Dadaab Edition No. 1, 2014.

This is the question that has for months now been running through the unsettled minds of refugees living in Dadaab camps in Fafi region, since the Government of Kenya, Federal Somali Government and the UNHCR signed a tripartite agreement to repatriate Somali refugees voluntarily in a span of three years. The move that was initiated by the Kenyan side, after terrorists linked to the terror group, al Shabaab, took control of a shopping mall in a siege that lasted for three days.

Top tweets

@OxfamInSOM “#Remittances mean I can feed my family”#SomaliLifeline Sign the petition- http://chn.ge/1lQoRlg #Somalia pic.twitter.com/fRmNPUq4Hy

@OCHASom Concerted international efforts needed to avert crisis in #Somalia say UN Emergency Directors:http://bit.ly/TQBHFJ pic.twitter.com/BtDON9NKr0

@WFPSomalia UN Emergency Directors visit #Somalia &call for sustained funding to sustain assistance to most vulnerable#Somalis. pic.twitter.com/DpbKOl7oHy

@amisomsomalia #Ramadan message from #AMISOM deputy head, Hon. Lydia Wanyoto-Mutende http://bit.ly/1z4xZZA

@BariisIyoHilib Light output of Hargeisa, Bosaaso, Garowe and Mogadishu. 1993 and 2009. #Somalia #Somaliland #Puntland pic.twitter.com/Khs3QiR7QZ

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Image of the day

Image of the day Deputy Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (DSRCC) Lydia Wanyoto-Mutende, delivers a speech during a meeting for Female peacekeepers held on 1st July 2014 in Mogadishu, Somalia. Photo: AMISOM/ David Mutua