July 9, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Vehicle explodes in Somali capital, gunfire heard: witnesses

09 Jul – Source: Reuters/AFP/BBC – 145 words

A vehicle carrying men in the uniforms of government security forces exploded in a main market in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Tuesday and gunfire heard afterwards, witnesses said. Some witnesses said the casualties were carried away by other security forces, but it was not immediately clear if there were any fatalities. Police said they were gathering details.

“A four-wheel-drive car carrying men in government uniform exploded in … Bakara (market),” said one witness, Hussein Nur, a money exchanger. “Immediately gunfire opened up. We are not sure who is doing it. The men in the car looked like soldiers,” he said.

Al Shabaab militants have claimed responsibility. The group’s military operation spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab said its fighters had set off an improvised explosive device targeting security officials in the market, claiming to have killed three officials and wounded three others. “We planted a bomb in a planned operation to kill the security officials of Bakara,” Musab told AFP, accusing the men of “corruption and extortion”.

Key Headlines

Somali President receives warm welcome in South Sudan (Radio Mogadishu/SNTV/ al Shahid)
Defense minister dismisses talks with militant commander in Bay region (Radio Dalsan/Hiiraan Online/Bar-kulan/Garowe Online)
Vehicle explodes in Somali capital gunfire heard: witnesses (Reuters/AFP/BBC)
President Hassan calls on business community to help poor IDPs in Somalia (Radio Dalsan)
Representatives from Somalia Somaliland agree on common agendas (Radio Dalsan/al Shahid/Risaala/Shabelle)
Grenade attack injuries government soldier in Jowhar (Radio Bar-kulan)
Al Shabaab and allies assert violence is sole means to attain power (Sabahi Online)
Militant’s capture creates problem for Somalia (Financial Times)
Al Shabaab in Congo’s Ranks of Alliance of Democratic Forces (ADF-NALU) (Intelligence Briefs)

SOMALI MEDIA

Defense minister dismisses talks with militant commander in Bay region

09 Jul – Source: Radio Dalsan/Hiiraan Online/Bar-kulan/Garowe Online – 186 words

The Defense Minister of Somalia federal government Abdihakim Haji Mohamud Fiqi has dismissed emerging reports on possible negotiations between government officials in Bay region and Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansur, a militant commander who is in rift with al Shabaab’s top leader.

“We are here to know the livelihood situation of the people in Bay region and to hold meetings with the local stakeholders,” the defense minister asserted, while talking about the trip’s mission. On Monday, a high ranking delegation from the central government went to Baidoa, the regional capital of Baay. The delegation was spearheaded by the premier of Somalia federal government Abdi Farah Shirdoon.

“There were no any existing negotiation with Mukhtar Roobow or any other al Shabaab leader in this region. We recognize al Shabaab as the enemy of the nation,” the minister added. He said the main purpose of the premier’s tour to the region was to measure the security improvement and to engage the newly declared “Shabeel” mission which is due to begin soon amid to secure more regions in the southern part of the country.

Explosion rocks Mogadishu’s main market

09 Jul – Source: Radio Mustaqbal/Dalsan/Kulmiye – 144 words

An explosion rocked a car inside a market in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. Initial reports say that a car, carrying Somali government soldiers, exploded in the middle of Bakara market, causing unknown number of casualties.
Reporters say gunfire was heard after the explosion. Some witnesses said the casualties were carried away by other security forces, but it was not immediately clear if there were any fatalities. Police said they were gathering details. Heavily armed police have reached the scene as the market’s daily operation stopped.

Somalia’s al Shabaab militants claimed responsibility for the explosion. The group, which has launched several attacks in Mogadishu in the recent past, threatened last month to press its bombing campaign after launching an assault on July 19 against a United Nations base that killed 22 people.

Grenade attack injuries government soldier in Jowhar

09 Jul – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 119 words

A Somali Federal government soldier was reportedly injured in a grenade attack hurled at Hanti-wadaag neighborhood police station in Jowhar city, the capital of Middle Shabelle in southern Somalia on Mondaynight. Confirming the incident, a witness told Bar-kulan that a soldier of the Somali Federal government had been wounded in the attack, though he declined to give further information.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. The Somali insurgent group al Shabaab remains active in the Middle Shabelle as it has claimed repeated attacks in the area. On the other hand, many people had been killed by unidentified attackers in an area near Jowhar town four days ago as no one had been detained for the incident.

Somali President receives warm welcome in South Sudan

09 Jul – Source: Radio Mogadishu/SNTV/ al Shahid – 132 words

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud arrived on Monday on an official visit to Juba, the capital of South Sudan to attend the 2nd anniversary of the independence day of South Sudan. Somali President and his delegation attended last night a dinner hosted by host South Sudan President Salva Kiir, the leaders and other delegates.

The President of South Sudan in a speech at the dinner thanked Somali leadership for attending the occasion of Independence Day. The two leaders will discuss bilateral relations between the two countries.

Representatives from Somalia, Somaliland agree on common agendas

09 Jul – Source: Radio Dalsan/al Shahid/Risaala/Shabelle – 196 words

Representatives from Somalia federal government and the breakaway region of Somaliland have agreed on some common agendas to put forward to future talks between the two sides to design the country’s future. During their second day talks convened in Istanbul, Turkey the two sides have signed common agendas on the way forward to the coming talks. The two sides agreed;-

1- To facilitate the movement of the people from the two sides including politicians from northern regions who hold positions at the country’s federal government which Somaliland already banned.

2- To continue the talks inside the country whether in Mogadishu, the seat of the federal government or in Hargeisa, the Somaliland headquarters.

3- To establish special by-laws to steer up the upcoming talks between the two sides.

Meanwhile the participants of the talks from the federal government and the separatist administration noted down to refrain from any obstacles or media sentiments those could hinder the process of the talks. Analysts believe the meeting will bring fruitful consensus between the separatist region of Somaliland and the federal government of Somalia and may pave to the country’s unity.

Charcoal producers causing massive deforestation in central regions

09 Jul – Source: Radio Ergo – 323 words

Cutting down trees to produce charcoal is leading to massive deforestation and depletion of grazing land in the central regions of Somalia, the internal affairs minister of the Himan and Heeb regional administration, Omar Mohamed Diriye has announced.

Omar described the severe deforestation as especially alarming in Hin-Jilab, Biyo-Gaduud and Aado-Kibir. These are all locations situated to the west or east of Adado town, Galgadud region. The charcoal burning is mostly done by groups of young men from the nomadic community, who engage in it to earn their livelihoods. Omar Diriye described these groups as being connected to ruthless cartels that are out to cause devastating environmental damage in the country, and pay its youth to do exactly that.

The residents of Galgadud and Mudug regions are mostly pastoralists, who keep livestock. The internal affairs minister said both the people and their animals wholly rely on the vegetation growing in their surroundings. Omar warned that destruction of the forests and pastures would have huge long term negative impact in the regions, especially as they have no rivers.

President Hassan calls on business community to help poor, IDPs in Somalia

09 Jul – Source: Radio Dalsan – 202 words

Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has asked the country’s business community to help the poor and Internal Displaced families in the country on the eve of the Holy Ramadan month which is expected to start this week. President Hassan has invited more than hundred of the country’s top business people to ask them to help the most vulnerable families among them those who were displaced internally.

“On the aim of this meeting today, I want to highlight the importance of helping each other,” President Hassan told the businessmen including the owners of the telecommunication companies and the import and export firms.

“I ask our business men and women to stand this Holy Month of Ramadan and help their brothers and sisters.” he added. Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has promised to reduce the amount of tax paid by the business people in return for their help to the poor people.

Hargeisa Street Children received Reintegration support from Save Children and USWO

08 Jul – Source: Somaliland Informer – 644 words

USWO Minority Right Based NGO with presence Minister of Labour and Family Affairs, Child Rights Community Committees (CRCCs) from Dami A and B villages, and Ismail Yahya-Coordinator of Child Protection of Save the Children International (SCI) has begun the distribution package of support to the 60 Hargeisa minority street children in Dami A and B settlements in Hargeisa. Today, the first group of 20 street children had received one package of support containing 1 mattress plus 1 bed sheet for each every child.

During the street children sleeping package distribution event, the USWO chairman Mr. Abdilahi Hassan Digaale requested the parents of these minority street children to commit that their children shall no more continue staying and working in the streets.

e also thanked to SCI and the Somaliland government for their continue keen consideration on child protection issues particularly to the most vulnerable minority street children. Mr. Digaale added “this support is not the first of it’s kind provided by Save Children International, but also it has provided direct family support including income generation and livelihood to families from minority communities in Hargeisa.

Three maternal deaths in Geriley

06 Jul – Source: Radio Ergo – 182 words

Three women who suffered childbirth complications died last week, according to Geriley deputy commissioner, Hilowle Mohamed. The commissioner said two men also died during the same week of unconfirmed illnesses.

Geriley is populated by around 1,200 families, mostly farmers, pastoralists and small traders. There is no heath facility. The nearest hospitals are in Wajir in Kenya, 150 km away, and Elwaq 180 km away. Insecurity in the area prevents people from travelling safely and has cut off supply routes.

No aid agencies have yet come to provide any assistance to the people of Geriley, the deputy commissioner told Radio Ergo. Haredo Ali, a local resident, said women in Geriley rely on the services of untrained traditional midwifes. They do not have the medical skills needed to cope with emergencies.

Haredo said when a woman is in an emergency situation, getting to Wajir requires accessing Kenyan identification papers or a visa. Poor roads make the journey to other areas almost impossible. Geriley is situated at the crossroads between Juba and Gedo regions, and lies on the Kenya-Somali border.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Al Shabaab in Congo’s Ranks of Alliance of Democratic Forces (ADF-NALU)

09 Jul – Source: Intelligence Briefs – 101 words

Al Shabaab militants have sent their operatives to serve in Congo to work with Alliance of Democratic Forces against Uganda’s government. The confirmation of the presence of these terrorists among the ranks of ADF is worrying though intelligence shows they have been involved in destabilizing DRC.

Kidnapping and killing of civilians in North Kivu in Eastern DRC is reported as a worrying security challenge facilitated by these militants. Intelligence gathered by Strategic Intelligence verify a warning issued by our analysts in January that al Shabaab cells were active in Uganda and Eastern DRC.

Al Shabaab and allies assert violence is sole means to attain power

09 Jul – Source: Sabahi Online – 711 words

Al Shabaab and its Kenyan affiliate the Muslim Youth Centre (MYC) attempted to distort the recent upheaval in Egypt through a series of messages on Twitter last week, denouncing the democratic system of government and advocating that power can only be attained through violence.

“It is time to remove those rose-tinted spectacles and see the world as accurately as it is, change comes by the bullet alone; NOT the ballot,” al Shabaab tweeted on July 4th.

“Democracy is worth nothing […] Democracy is cursed!” MYC tweeted the same day. These are just a few examples of the dozens of tweets that al Shabaab and the MYC issued on July 3rd and 4th.

Garissa leaders, locals pray for peace

08 Jul – Source: Star (Kenya) – 155 words

Security was tight as about 4,000 Garissa town residents from various faiths led by Governor Nadhif Jama had a prayer service for peace. There have been various attacks on residents in Garissa town.

The special prayer session was held at the Garissa Primary School grounds and was led by the Garissa chief Imam Sheikh Hassan Mohamed. It was organised by the county government in collaboration with the county commissioner’s office and was attended by local leaders including Garissa county commissioner Rashid Khator and MP Shukran Gure.

The Holy Quran was cited after which the Garissa Chief Imam prayed for peace, stability, economic prosperity and security. Speaking during the occasion, Governor Nadhif said the special prayer was intended to seek God’s intervention in the county’s security challenges. He said the insecurity menace is being propagated by people from neighbouring Somalia and urged residents to identify the perpetrators to the authorities.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Vehicle explodes in Somali capital, gunfire heard: witnesses

09 Jul – Source: Reuters/AFP/BBC – 145 words

US slowly steps up diplomacy in Somalia

09 Jul – Source: AP – 1203 words

Twenty years after the U.S. military’s “Black Hawk Down” disaster, the Obama administration is slowly stepping up relations with Somalia even though security requires American officials to be sheltered behind blast walls and unable to see nearly any of the chaotic country.

The high caution in Somalia sharply displays the frustrating balance of fostering diplomacy in a country recovering from war while avoiding risks to American personnel after last September’s killing of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans at a diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. Diplomats live in near lockdown conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan, have limited ability to travel in Pakistan and Lebanon, and are under tightly guarded protection in Jordan and Nigeria.

But several diplomats say they are frustrated with what one called “a huge Benghazi hangover” in U.S. foreign policy in general.

Militant’s capture creates problem for Somalia

09 Jul – Source: Financial Times – 792 Words

The capture of a senior al Qaeda-linked militant leader in Somalia may seem like a fresh victory for the western-backed government. But the arrest of Hassan Dahir Aweys, the spiritual leader of al Shabaab, late in June has presented the fragile administration with a difficult dilemma.

In recent years, UN-backed African troops have pushed al Shabaab militants out of the capital Mogadishu, increasing hopes for stability in a country known for piracy and terrorism and torn apart by civil war for nearly 20 years.

Now international diplomats want Mr Aweys to face justice in court, either in Somalia or elsewhere, for his alleged role in suicide bombings and terror attacks in the Horn of Africa. “We believe Aweys should be brought to justice,” Brian Phipps, acting special representative for Somalia for the US, told the Financial Times.

But the government in Mogadishu fears this will destabilise a fragile peace. “It is a nightmare. I wish we had not got him,” a senior government official told the FT. “We are risking attack from al Shabaab; we are risking attack from the clan,” he said. The weak and isolated government relies on support from Mr Aweys’ clan, which has complained about the handling of the case.

HomeSend launches services to Somaliland’s Telesom

09 Jul – Source: Stock Market Wire – 233 Words

eServGlobal has announced the launch of HomeSend remittance services to Telesom, the leading mobile network operator in Somaliland. Telesom operates a successful mobile money programme in Somaliland called Telesom ZAAD.

Launched in 2009, Telesom ZAAD quickly gained traction and is currently used by over 40% of Telesom’s customers. Telesom ZAAD is one of the 14 GSMA Mobile Money Sprinters and is recognised as one of the most successful mobile money services in the world.

eServGlobal says formal banking infrastructure in Somaliland is extremely limited and the ZAAD mobile money service was launched with the specific objective to bring financial inclusion to Somaliland and to bring the informal economy into the formal space.

The World Bank’s Global Financial Inclusion Database (Findex) identified Somalia as one of the most attractive mobile money markets: 26% of the population reported using mobiles to pay bills, which is the highest rate in the world, and 32% to send and receive money. Most of this mobile money activity has been driven by Telesom ZAAD.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“A Jubaland warlord backed by Kenya flew to another semi-autonomous region in Somalia and was hailed this weekend as Jubaland’s president.”

Is Kenya birthing a new country named Jubaland?

08 Jul – Source: CS Monitor – 869 Words

A row on the Horn of Africa between Somalia and Kenya over a border area inside Somalia called Jubaland took another twist — as a former militia leader backed by Kenya but not recognized by Somalia flew to a prominent northern city and was received there as the president of Jubaland.

In recent weeks the government of Somalia has been claiming Kenya, an old ally, of quietly and tacitly creating a buffer state out of the territory of Jubaland, one that Kenya would hold sway in.

On July 1 Somali authorities said that Kenyan forces, deployed in Somalia as part of an African Union peacekeeping force, were taking sides and should leave, and that they were complicit in a small massacre in May in the Jubaland port of Kismayo that left dozens dead and some 155 wounded.

They also allege that Kenya is backing Sheikh Ahmed Madobe, the leader of a militia called Ras Kamboni, that has fought in Jubaland with Kenyan troops in an effort to drive out the al Qaeda-linked radical forces of al Shabaab.

“It is conceptually realistic to encourage the current talks between Somaliland and Somalia as regards the experiences of the prior an African political history i.e. Ethiopia and Eritrea, Sudan and South Sudan because there were repeated clashes occurred aftermath of the independence of Eritrea and South Sudan doing so, this familiarity concerning of the context and tragic lessons learnt from these events, the subsequent points reasoning the way forward of the two state solutions.”

Time for International Community to accept two State Solutions

08 Jul – Source: Somaliland Sun – 6320 Words

There is no getting away from the fact that Somalia is a Quasi State that relies on international community-IC support thus now it has arrived at a period that the international community is courageously facilitating an end to twenty two years of political transition in the once chaotic country.

While various IC governments are in the rush to beat each other in their recognition of the Somalia Federal Government-SFG authorities of Mogadishu, Somaliland whose political behavior and state attributes have attracted regional and international acclaim at diverse diplomatic and political spheres, deserves to be rewarded as a communal good partner in the region and globally as well and it’s cordially appreciated current international community mediations, this is a longstanding anticipation of Somaliland to talk its credible counterpart of Somalia, in order to contemplate meaningful way of the dissolution in1960, which Somaliland reviewed to dissolve in May 1991 at Burao first grand conference.

As a result, it is the right time international community to change the game and accept two state solutions that paving the way Somaliland’s international recognition which appears regionally and internationally imperative course of action, in order to maintain fragile regional peace and stability, it has shed the light that talks between Somaliland and Somalia at moment focusing thematic issues and building two sides optimism of the future relations.

“What is clear is that the effects of the Shifta war are still manifested in the region in the form of insecurity and the persistent feeling by its residents that they are not part of Kenya.”

Greater Somalia dream sparks and fuels rebellion in the northern Kenya

07 Jul – Source: Daily Nation – 531 Words

November 1963; The Shifta war erupted on the eve of independence, fuelled by the dream to unite all Somali-occupied territories in the Horn of Africa under one nation. These were the former Italian Somaliland, British Somaliland, French Somaliland (currently Djibouti), the Ogaden region in Ethiopia, and Kenya’s Northern Frontier District (NFD). In 1960, while granting British Somaliland independence, the British government declared that all Somali areas should be unified in one administrative region.

However, after the dissolution of the former British colonies in East Africa, Britain granted administration of the NFD to Kenya despite overwhelming support of the Kenyan Somali for unification with Somalia.

In 1962, 87 per cent of NFD’s inhabitants had chosen union with the Somali republic in a plebiscite conducted by the British. But the incoming African government fiercely resisted secession. The issue became a powder keg. The Northern People’s Progressive Party (NPPP) openly rejected inclusion in Kenya and in November 1963, Somalis began attacks on police camps, which marked the beginning of the war.

Top tweets

‏@NickKristof No one braver than a Somalia journalist RT@pressfreedom: Gunmen kill #Somalia journalist in Puntlandhttp://cpj.org/x/55f0.

@t_mcconnell Bringing home the herd: camels at evening time day’s in Afgoye, #Somalia http://instagram.com/p/bidQmxwfc0/ via @GlobalPost.

@Hamza_M_O_Egal War destroys all the good of a people. Their culture, humanity and dignity. As a result the young have nothing to inherit mentally #Somalia.

@Rooble2009 Delegations of #Somaliland & #Somalia could not agree on agenda points for the talks in #Turkey. Talks continued until late last night.

@OCHASom Round 4 polio campaign #Somalia ends, 1-7 July, 3rd round achieved over 85% coverage @WHOsom @UNICEFsomalia http://twitpic.com/d1nisr.

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Image of the day

Image of the day Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud inspects a guard of honour on his arrival at Juba Airport in South Sudan. Photo: Hiiraan Online.