July 31, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Government forces and AMISOM conduct security operations in Bakara market
31 Jul- Source: Radio Mogadishu/Radio Goobjoog/Radio Shabelle- 86 words
Somali security forces backed by AMISOM police have on Thursday morning cordoned Bakara Market and launched intensive operation in the market. Government forces are conducting search operations in the market while AMISOM police blocked the main roads entering Bakara market as a local businessman told the media.
Unspecified number of people were arrested during these massive operations in the market and investigations are underway. This operation comes a time when government forces have killed two al Shabaab members who assassinated a security officer in Bakara market.
Key Headlines
- Government forces and AMISOM conduct security operations in Bakara market (Radio Mogadishu/Radio Goobjoog/Radio Shabelle)
- People flee from Buloburte town as access remains constricted (Radio RBC/Radio Star/BBC)
- Somaliland government does not want to extend term for President Silanyo- Somaliland Information Minister (Somaliland Informer)
- Security forces shot and kill two al Shabaab assassins in Bakara Market (Radio Shabelle/Goobjoog)
- 10 al Shabaab fighters killed on the outskirts of Kismayo (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Fierce clash erupts near Kismayo (radio Shabelle)
- Al Shabaab withdraws from Qansahdere district in Bay region (Radio Goobjoog)
- 24 youths arrested in security crackdown in Beled-Hawa town (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Kenya gets new Air Force commander (Daily Nation/Africa Review)
- UN envoy welcomes agreement of intent to form new central Somalia administration (UN News Centre)
SOMALI MEDIA
Government forces and AMISOM conduct security operations in Bakara market
31 Jul- Source: Radio Mogadishu/Radio Goobjoog/Radio Shabelle- 86 words
Somali security forces backed by AMISOM police have on Thursday morning cordoned Bakara Market and launched intensive operation in the market. Government forces are conducting search operations in the market while AMISOM police blocked the main roads entering Bakara market as a local businessman told the media.
Unspecified number of people were arrested during these massive operations in the market and investigations are underway. This operation comes a time when government forces have killed two al Shabaab members who assassinated a security officer in Bakara market.
People flee from Buloburte town as access remains constricted
31 Jul – Source: Radio RBC/Radio Star/BBC – 199 words
Residents in Somalia’s central town of Buloburte in Hiiraan region have begun to flee from the town as access remains constricted due to volatile security and road blockages imposed by Al Shabab fighters. The conflict in Somalia continues to be fluid, expansive and fragmented with each district displaying its particular dynamic.
Over 1,500 conflict incidents with humanitarian impact were reported in the first six months of the year, a 7 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2013. These incidents included military operations, active hostilities and other forms of violence against civilians.
The increase in incidents is attributable to the surge in attacks by non-state armed actors and the launch of the military offensive in southern and central regions, which started in March. Since the offensive began, some 73,000 people have been temporarily displaced from their homes.
The conflict remains most prevalent in areas in Bay, Bakool, Hiraan, Lower Shabelle and parts of Middle Shabelle. Whilst the operating environment is permissive enough for some aid work to continue, limitations remain severe in the newly recovered towns of Maaxas and Bulo Burto in Hiraan; Warsheikh in Middle Shabelle, Waajid in Bay and Ceel Bur in Galgaduud.
Somaliland government does not want to extend term for President Silanyo- Somaliland Information Minister
31 Jul- Source: Somaliland Informer- 198 words
Somaliland Government has formally spoken about her stance for extending the term for President Ahmed Silanyo once his term expires in 2015. Opposition political parties for the past issued statements revealing that they were vehemently against term extension for the ruling Kulmiye party.
They made clear that they will not accept the parliament to add the president’s term to more years to continue to serve as the president. They accused the Silanyo led government that it does not want to hold elections at the agreed time.
However, Somaliland Information Minister Abdilahi Mohamed Dahir U’kuse told the press yesterday that the government does not intend to seek term extension as the way forward and the issue ha nothing to do with the president’s wish. He reminded that it is a matter for the National Electoral Commission to decide about that issue.
He added that the speaker of the parliament got five year extension after his term expires in 2010. He advised that let the president finish his term and that will be the right time to address if president Silanyo is willing to get the extension.
Security forces shot and killed two al Shabaab assassins in Bakara Market
31 Jul – Source: Radio Shabelle/Goobjoog – 205 words
Somali government security forces have shot and killed two assassins linked to al Shabaab in the busy main market of Bakara on Wednesday shortly after a security officer was assassinated in the market. The market turned into killing zone as the people in Mogadishu continued to celebrate for the third day of Eidul Fitr when men armed with pistols shot and killed a security officer in Bakara market and led to fierce run and shooting in the market.
The Spokesman of the Ministry of the National Security Mohamed Osman Yusuf has confirmed that two al Shabaab members were killed by the security forces after they assassinated a security officer named Abdifatah Nur Barre who was tasked for the security of the market.
“These killers attempted to escape from the crime scene but fortunately for the braveness and the vigilance of our security forces they were killed before they could run,” Mr Yusuf added. He said the security forces are committed to arrest any al Shabaab member but if they attempt to escape “he will be shot and killed”.
“”We will deal with them how they act, they are murderers and they must taste hard punishment,” the spokesman said speaking to the reporters in Bakara Market.
10 al Shabaab fighters killed on the outskirts of Kismayo
31 Jul- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 123 words
Interim Jubba Administration officials stated to have killed at least ten al Shabaab fighters on the outskirts of Kismayo city following armed confrontations between the two sides on Wednesday.
Iftin Hassan Basto who is the head of IJA head of military operations against al Shabaab militants said the ten were killed in Abdi-dhore villages which lies 48 KM west of Kismayo, the provincial capital of Lower Jubba region.
The forces of the interim administration took over the area from the militant group and are now carrying out searches in a bid to find al Shabaab remnants according to the officer. He vowed the forces will continue their fight against Al Shabaab militant group.
Fierce clash erupts near Kismayo
31 Jul- Source: Radio Shabelle- 105 words
An intense conflict erupted Wednesday night on the outskirts of Kismayo in the Lower Shabelle region between Interim Jubba Administration troops against the al Shabaab terrorist insurgents.
The confrontation was initiated after al Shabaab terrorist fighters attacked an area near the Kismayo Universities area where Interim Jubba Administration forces and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) were based.
Radio Shabelle was unable to contact security officials of the Interim Jubba Administration in Kismayo or local residents over the phone. Until now there has been no official statement from the administration over the extent of the caused by the fierce physical violence last night.
Al Shabaab withdraws from Qansahdere district in Bay region
31 Jul- Source: Radio Goobjoog- 97 words
Reports from Qansahdere in Bay region states that al Shabaab withdrew from the district that was one their strongholds in the region.
Bardale district commissioner Mohamed Osman Caracas confirmed to the media that al Shabaab pulled out of the district Wednesday night. The commissioner added that government and AMISOM troops have headed to Qansahdere to taken over and maintain the security of the areas withdrawn by al Shabaab.
The real motive of al Shabaab’s withdrawal is not clearly known but government forces and African union peacekeeping troops were planning to attack the district.
24 youths arrested in security crackdown in Beled-Hawa town
31 Jul- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 164 words
Somali government forces in Beled-Hawa town of Gedo region Wednesday arrested 24 youths in a security operation. The youths were accused of carrying out activities to undermine the security of the town.
Speaking to Bar-kulan, the chief security officer in Beled-Hawa town Ismail Kofi said the group is accused of carrying out illegal activities during the night including robbery in various parts of the town.
He vowed the security forces will continue to crackdown on groups that undermine the security of the town and called on the parents to keep a close eye on their children.
He warned that the authorities will not tolerate anyone trying to jeopardize the peace and the stability of the Kenya-Somalia border town and the wider Gedo region.
The youths that were arrested in the crackdown belonged to a group calling itself Boko Haram, a reference to Nigeria’s armed group which carries out suicide attacks and explosions in northern Nigeria.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Kenya gets new Air Force commander
31 Jul – Source: Daily Nation/Africa Review – 120 words
The Kenya Air Force commander, Major General Joff Otieno, retired on Wednesday on age grounds.
He was succeeded by Maj Gen Samuel Ng’ang’a Thuita, who was promoted from the rank of Brigadier and transferred from Defence headquarters where he was Vice Chief of KDF responsible for logistics and personnel.
Maj Gen Samuel Wesonga Nandwa will take over as the Assistant Chief of Defence Forces responsible for personnel and logistics. The succession also saw the Air Force get a new Deputy Commander — Brigadier Francis Omondi Ogolla — a fighter pilot.
Moi Air Base will now be commanded by Col Mohamed Abdalla Badi while the new commander for the Laikipia Air Base will be Brig Eric Kinuthia.
There were also new commanders for the Eastern and Western commands in the major changes effected by the Defence Council, which is chaired by Defence Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo and endorsed by President Uhuru Kenyatta, according to an announcement from Department of Defence headquarters. Maj Gen Otieno, an engineer, is a decorated officer who played a major in the operations against al Shabaab in Somalia.
Somali woman killed for not wearing veil, relatives say
31 Jul – Source: Walta Info – 145 words
Militant Islamists in Somalia have shot dead a Muslim woman for refusing to wear a veil, her relatives say. Ruqiya Farah Yarow was killed outside her hut near the southern Somali town of Hosingow by gunmen belonging to the al Shabaab group, they say.
The militants had ordered her to put on a veil, and then killed her after returning and finding she was still not wearing one, the relatives said. An al Shabaab spokesman denied the group had killed the woman.
Al Shabaab does not fully control the area where she was living, he added. Relatives, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals.
She was shot twice and died instantly, they added. She is survived by her husband and children, the relatives said. Al Shabaab, which controls much of southern and central Somalia, imposes strict rules of behaviour, including dress codes for men and women.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
UN envoy welcomes agreement of intent to form new central Somalia administration
31 Jul- Source: UN News Centre- 340 words
The United Nations envoy in Somalia welcomed the agreement stating intent and principles for forming a new regional administration in the central part of the country.
“This is another encouraging sign for Somalia’s progress to meet the goals set out in ‘Vision 2016’ and the Provisional Federal Constitution” said the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Nicholas Kay.
Under the leadership of the Federal Government, representatives from the region signed a document stating they would work together towards the establishment of a new administration in central Somalia.
The ‘Vision 2016 National Conference’ was held in Mogadishu, Somalia, on September 2013 by the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) – which Mr. Kay heads – to discuss the region’s future and express UN support of a concrete vision to move Somalia towards democracy by 2016.
Two journalists arrested in Somaliland
30 Jul- Source: Reporters Without Borders – 240 words
Reporters Without Borders is very concerned about Baligubadle Online Media editor Ahmed Adan Robleh and Universal TV director Mohamed Aabi, who were arrested in Hargeisa, the capital of the breakaway northwestern territory of Somaliland, on 27 July.
The two journalists, who are about to spend their fourth night in detention, are being detained illegally for the sole purpose of intimidating and gagging all of the region’s journalists, Reporters Without Borders said.
Robleh is being held for allegedly “spreading false information” about Somaliland President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Silanyo’s health. He was ordered to report to the Criminal Investigation Department the day before his arrest.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“After infiltrating the Kenya military Twitter account on Monday, for instance, Anon_0x03 posted: “#cartels run Kenya, #sugar, #insecurityKE, #corruptionKE, #ivorytraffickingKE, #rhinopoachingKE”.”
How Anonymous and other hacktivists are waging war on Kenya
30 Jul- Source: Washington Post Blog-1175 Words
Hackers and other cyber criminals on the prowl are wreaking havoc in Kenya, threatening to turn the East African country’s dream of launching an e-government into a nightmare. Hundreds of Web sites operated by government ministries and state-level institutions have been cracked, hacked and defaced in the last two years, with the hackers recording their biggest haul in January 2012 when an Indonesian intruder Direxer struck down 103 Web sites in one night.
With over 21 million Internet users out of its 44-million population, Kenya ranks fourth in cybercrime cases in Africa behind South Africa, Egypt and Algeria, according to latest statistics by Kaspersky Lab. The security breaches are boding ill for Nairobi’s quest to become an African tech hub. Kenya has launched a global charm offensive to woo investors to its $14.5 billion Konza Techno City, which has been billed as Africa’s Silicon Savannah.
The attacks by international hacktivist groups— including the notorious Anonymous, Gaza, TiGER-M@TE and Dz Mafia— have also put the current government, which pitched itself as a digital player in last year’s elections, to shame. President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto have on several occasions claimed to be tech-savvy leaders, and Kenyatta was recently declared Africa’s most followed head of state on Twitter.
Top tweets
@SomaliaEU Federal #Somalia on a roll; Agreement signed for administration in Central Somalia & witnessed by AU, EU, IGAD & UN pic.twitter.com/wDw8nAkk7z
@BacdaDhuuqso Top: #IJA purchased 2 new speedy patrol boats to curb both piracy and illegal fishing. #Somalia@Jubaland #Kismayo pic.twitter.com/802CwT96ym
@SomaliPM Peaceful state-building and reconciliation has been achieved today.Signing of the Central Regions State formation is a massive step forward
@UNSomalia Transcript of remarks by @Somalia111 at today’s agreement of intent to form central #Somalia regional administration: http://bit.ly/1qL8tao
@PPG_Movement A self employment – Donkey carts are common sight. a nuisance for drivers, gift for doing deliveries#Mogadishu pic.twitter.com/RidP3OMn2D
Image of the day
Participants at the signing ceremony of the central regions Somalia agreement in Mogadishu. Photo: OPM Flickr