July 4, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
Over 17 Al-Shabaab Fighters Killed In Lower Jubba Region
04 July – Source: Halbeeg News – 218 Words
At least 18 Al-Shabaab fighters have been killed in southern Somalia after the group engaged in fierce fighting with Somali National Army (SNA) on Tuesday evening, a military official confirmed on Wednesday. Somali forces in collaboration with their allied forces in Jubaland areas have recently stepped up the war against Al-Shabaab fighters. The heavily armed Al-Shabaab fighters raided the Somali military base in Muse-Hajji village of Lower Shabelle region.
Local sources in the area say a massive blast was heard near the base before fierce fighting broke out. Both sides, however, gave conflicting versions on the latest battle.. Speaking to military owned radio, SNA force commander of the 43rd Battalion, Ismail Sheikh Issack, said Somali troops had managed to repulse the Al-Shabaab following their on the SNA military base in the outskirts of Kismayo town.
The commander told the radio station that SNA soldiers shot dead a suicide car bomber before he reached the gate of the army base. Mr. Issack said 17 other Al-Shabaab fighters were killed in the attack. He did not comment on the casualties on the side of Somali forces. On the other hand, Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack on the base saying its fighters killed over three Somali soldiers. Al-Shabab, which once controlled much of Somalia, wants to topple the Somali government.
Key Headlines
- Over 17 Al-Shabaab Fighters Killed In Lower Jubba Region (Halbeeg News)
- Federal Government To Fight Off Arms Importation By Al-Shabaab (Radio Dalsan)
- Herders Welcome Livestock Vaccination Campaign In Somaliland (Radio Ergo)
- Somalia Seeks To Issue Identification For Citizens (Xinhua)
- How US-Somalis Are Deported ‘To A Foreign Land’ (BBC)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Federal Government To Fight Off Arms Importation By Al-Shabaab
04 July – Source: Radio Dalsan – 178 Words
A consultative meeting between the Federal Government Security Ministry officials and the regional governments security ministries has noted the urgent need of preventing arms importation by Al-Shabaab and ISIL, especially from coastal towns still under the militia groups’ control.
Deputy Minister of National Security Abdi Nasser Said, mentioned that the government was fully committed to prevent Al-Shabaab from importing arms through the coastal towns and ports of the nation. “We want to prevent the importation of firearms by Al-Shabaab and ISIS from the territories that are currently under their control, which they use to harm the Somali public. We have accordingly resolved to beef up security along the Somali coastal stretch in order to fight against importation of illegal arms by terrorist groups like Al-shabaab.” said deputy Minister, Abdi Nasser.
The Somali coastline is currently manned by foreign naval ships that are fighting piracy off the coast of Somalia, which has been reported to have greatly reduced. Similarly, Somali businessmen with fishing boats have recently been complaining of harassment by foreign naval ships off the coast of Somalia.
Herders Welcome Livestock Vaccination Campaign In Somaliland
03 July – Source: Radio Ergo – 311 Words
Mass livestock herd immunity campaigns have been conducted in parts of Somaliland over the last two months, aimed at vaccinating 3.1 million goats and camels. The vaccinations are geared at preventing spread of the Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP) and other respiratory diseases that are prevalent during the dry season. Awdal, Sahil, Maroodi-Jeh, Togdher, Sanaag, and Sool regions all received vaccination teams.
According to the deputy director of Somaliland’s livestock ministry, Mustafe Omar Jibriil, 60 groups of four vaccinators were fielded, targeting the camps and water sources where the livestock come to drink. The exercise concluded on 28 June. Seynab Ali Ahmed, a pastoralist in Odanle village, 190 km south of Burao, told Radio Ergo she took 33 of her goats that survived the drought to a nearby well to be vaccinated. She left the younger ones behind thinking they would be fine, but she later regretted the choice as they now appear to be weak and have developed running noses as the dry season begins. The last time Seynab’s herd received any vaccination or treatment was in 2016. The livestock provide an important lifeline for Seynab and her six children.
Abshir Omar Mohamed took his livestock to a vaccination centre in Gumur village, in North-West region. He told Radio Ergo that 21 of his goats had previously died of CCPP, so now he never skips vaccination opportunities. Ashir, a father of 13, supports his family with the income he gets from his 30 camels and 243 goats. This is the second consecutive year that his livestock are being vaccinated.
In March, 153,000 drought-hit animals in the coastal areas of Somaliland were treated by the Ministry of Livestock supported by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation. Livestock treatment for malnutrition and vaccination for measles and CCPP were last conducted in all regions by the ministry in August 2017.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Seeks To Issue Identification For Citizens
04 July – Source: Xinhua – 333 Words
Somalia has kicked off a new program aimed at providing identification for all Somalis, a government official said on Tuesday. Nur Dirie Hersi Fursade, Chief Strategist in the Office of the President of Somalia and Head the Digital ID Program, said the Somali National Identity Program, the first of its kind for the Horn of Africa nation, will attempt to implement a foundational identification system based on biometric data. “The Somali government is rapidly developing governance structures that will be able to respond to citizen needs,” Fursade said in a statement issued after holding a meeting with senior World Bank officials and development partners to brief them on a new government-led program.
He said the National ID systems designed to be the nucleus of a new national identification infrastructure and will act an entry point for service delivery for Somali authorities, civil society, development partners and the private sector. “Parallel to these developments, we need to make sure that Somali citizens and eligible residents are provided with identification credentials, which will enable access to vital services including aid and money transfer services,” said Fursade. He said the new ID system acts as an effective and neutral entry point for addressing the effects of the global de-risking agenda by the Somali authorities.
The ID document improves the security situation in the country by enabling law enforcement agencies to verify citizens’ identities. IDs would also play a crucial role in security, displacement and democratization processes. The Horn of Africa nation has never had a centralized identification system for its citizens and eligible residents, though decentralized manual identification systems were operational in local municipalities prior to 1991.
Fursade said he proposed the World Bank’s role in the Somali National Identity Program, which would include having the Bank support the government in convening stakeholders, and providing technical assistance to support project team. He said the new ID system aims to promote linkages with delivery of services by the private sector, link IDs with electronic Know Your Customer (KYC) verification in the financial sector and coordinate social protection programs such as unconditional cash transfers.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“Ahmed had started two non-profit organisations for young Somalis, aimed at preventing gang violence and Islamist extremism. He had married and had two children. Now he is in Mogadishu, 8,200 miles (13,000km) away from his family, in a country which the US State Department says you should not travel to because of “crime, terrorism, and piracy”.
How US-Somalis Are Deported ‘To A Foreign Land’
03 July – Source: BBC – 1110 Words
The sun was burning brightly when Ahmed arrived in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, on a deportation flight from the US earlier this year. The tropical trees swayed slowly in the warm wind, oblivious to his anxiety and the torturous months that led to this moment. It was a city this 32-year-old man had last seen as a 10-year-old boy. “It was surreal. On the one hand: ‘I am free’. But on the other: ‘I am here,'” he says.
Liberated in March from immigration detention, where disease and threats were allegedly rife, he had been sent to a city ravaged by decades of civil war and terror. He told me his story but asked for his real name to be withheld as he feared being targeted by the Islamist al-Shabab group because of his work warning young people in the US about the dangers of recruitment by Somali militants.
Six months earlier, in a small town in Minnesota – which is home to the largest population of Somalis living in the US – it was dawn when Ahmed was driving his daughter to nursery. He noticed a large vehicle with tinted windows beginning to follow him. It seems officers from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) had been watching him closely and, after getting him to pull over, he was shackled and taken into custody. It was the start of a nightmare which would see him shifted between 10 detention centres in the US over the course of six months. At some point, he caught active tuberculosis.
According to another deportee, who was sent back to the The Gambia in March, this is not unusual. One detention centre was even nicknamed the “TB unit” following an outbreak of the disease, he told me. One guard reportedly admitted that his colleagues refused to work there. Not that the officers appeared to have much sympathy for their captives, according to Ahmed. “They mistreated us, they beat us up and they tortured us,” he recalls.
Fellow Somali deportee Anwar Mohamed, 30, alleges they all experienced abuse: “Being maced with the gas. Being threatened to be killed. “While we were shackled they were just throwing us against the wall and on the ground.” Ice says it takes all allegations of abuse very seriously, and has a zero-tolerance policy towards any such actions.
TOP TWEETS
@Free_Somaliweyn: Fierce clashes erupt in a rural town in Mudug province #Somalia after local villagers take up arms against AL Shabaab militants after the militants demanded the villagers handover there youth to become child soldiers
@HarunMaruf: Mogadishu authority cancels all previous permits allowing individuals to build lands belonging to the Govt; occupants have been given one month, effective today, to vacate. #Somalia
@UNDPSomalia: The Chief Justice of #Somaliland, High Judicial Commission (HJC) members, & judges from across Somaliland take part in 2-day consultation to develop a judicial reform strategy, building greater accountability &#AccessToJustice. The event was run by HJC w/ the support of UNDP
@hacoffirm: Somalia needs a massive reconstruction and investments in the near future after decades of conflict and civil unrest. Peace, governance and state building are key critical emphasis. @FBAFolke @SwedeninSomalia
@MoCASomalia: @MoCASomalia and MOIFAR ministers@HoshAbdi and Sebriye Co-chairs the retreat conference among FNTC and I inclusive politics cluster that will discuss how the agreements reached in baydabo will be translated into constitutional language.
@RadioDanan: #Somali government plans to prevent the military weapons imported by Al-Shabaab at several unofficial seaports.#Somalia.
@USAIDEastAfrica: With better planning, we can reduce the risk of famine stalking at least 12 million people in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. Instead of relying on food aid to save them from persistent droughts, they can change their futures with a new normal. http://ow.ly/1fD430kG0tL @FEWSNET
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo last night during an appreciation dinner which he hosted for Independence Day celebrations organizers.
Photo: @MunicipalityMog