July 9, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report
Ethiopian Troops Enter Somalia For Attack On Al-Shabaab
09 July – Source: VoA – 161 Words
Witnesses said at least 3,000 Ethiopian troops have entered Somalia, reportedly for an attack on Al-Shabaab militants. Residents of the southwestern Gedo region said troops with tanks and armored vehicles began crossing the border Monday and have been seen in the town of Luuq. Earlier, authorities in the region told VOA that forces are being mobilized for an offensive in areas still controlled by Al-Shabaab, including the group’s last major stronghold, the town of Bhardeere.
The Islamist militants have lost most of the territory they once controlled in Somalia but still carry out large-scale attacks. On Tuesday, an Al-Shabaab raid on homes in northeastern Kenya killed 14 people. Ethiopian forces invaded Somalia in 2006 to oust an Islamic government and since then, Ethiopia has frequently sent troops across the border.The Ethiopians often work in tandem with the African Union mission in Somalia, AMISOM, which played a major role in driving Al-Shabaab out of the capital, Mogadishu, and other areas.
Key Headlines
- Ethiopian Troops Enter Somalia For Attack On Al-Shabaab (VoA)
- US Ambassador Says Proposed Kenyan Border Wall Not Good Idea (Radio Dalsan)
- President Hassan And Security Agencies Address Armed Forces Welfare (Goobjoog News)
- Uneasy Calm Returns To Luuq District In Gedo Region After Thursday Morning Al-shabaab Raid(Wacaal Media)
- Puntland Parliament Approves Adjusted Budget (Goobjoog News)
- EU Says Piracy Off Somalia Suppressed (Shabelle News)
- Somalia To Present Case At UN Court In Maritime Spat With Kenya (Bloomberg)
- Minnesota Cracks Down On Child Care Assistance Fraud (Star Tribune )
- 3 Somali Youth Track Stars Racing Through Record Books In Minneapolis (Fox9.com)
- Somali-American Songwriter Rayzak Details The Immigrant Experience In ‘The Garden’ (Okayafrica)
NATIONAL MEDIA
US Ambassador Says Proposed Kenyan Border Wall Not Good Idea
09 July – Radio Dalsan – 266 Words
US Ambassador to Kenya ambassador Robert Godec has said Kenyan government should rethink construction of the wall with its border with Somalia and instead enhance security patrols to win war against armed group Al-Shabaab. “Kenya should enhance patrols on its border with Somalia rather than constructing a wall as it’s expensive,” he said. Ambassador Godec who was speaking in Mombasa before he joined Muslims for breaking the fast (iftar) during the Holy month of Ramadhan in order to address the terror threat posed by the Al-Shabaab said the Kenyan security personnel should find ways of detecting the terrorists to prevent more terror attacks. “The best way to address terrorism is for the Kenyan police to be vigilant in detecting the terrorists so that they can be dealt with before they attack to prevent loss of life,” he said.
He added that Kenyan police should up their game to deal with modern violent crimes including terrorism in the country. He also called on the Kenyan government to closely work with religious denominations in the country to address the radicalization issue of the young population. “We must work with both Christians and Muslims for them to live in harmony as well as help address the radicalization of youth,” he said. Asked about the Kenyan government’s plan to close down refugee camps for security purpose, he said he does not think Somali refugees are threat to Kenyan security and they should be left alone until peace is restored in their country. He said US government will support Kenya on fight against Al-Shabaab and all forms of terrorism.
President Hassan And Security Agencies Address Armed Forces Welfare
09 July – Source: Goobjoog News – 124 Words
The president had invited the heads of Somali security forces and members of the Nation Security Committee to an iftar programme in the presidential palace to discuss matters concerning The Armed Forces of Somalia.President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud addressing the gathering told the officials that it has a paramount for the government to take care of its forces, including paying the salaries, their health wise and to enforce good discipline in the force.This comes at a time when the Somali National Army and other armed forces have not received their salaries for more than four months. On Wednesday the parliament select committee on defense has been grilling the defense minister on why the armed forces did not get their salaries for months.
Uneasy Calm Returns To Luuq District In Gedo Region After Thursday Morning Al-Shabaab Raid
09 July – Source: Wacaal Media – 103 Words
Reports reaching our news desk from Luuq district in Gedo region indicate that Al-Shabaab militants raided the town early today resulting in a fierce gunfight. The militants launched series of attacks from different sides of the town targeting military and local administration installations in the district. Sources told Wacaal media that Somali forces in collaboration with their Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama’a colleagues were up to the task and repulsed the attackers. Somali military officials claimed victory saying they inflicted a lot of damages on the aggressors. Uneasy calm has returned to the town with businesses reopening in the town which lies close to the Kenyan border.
Puntland Parliament Approves Adjusted Budget
09 July – Source: Goobjoog News – 81 Words
Puntland parliament has on Wednesday approved an adjusted budget brought to the house by the finance ministry of Puntland.This came after the administration suffered budget deficit due to the lack of funds from the World Bank. 46 members of parliament out of 48 voted for the new budget as announced by the Speaker of the House, Saed Hassan Shire. Puntland Minister of Finance, Abdullahi Sheik Ahmed who addressed the house about the budget said that they would make sure to spend the budget accordingly.
EU Says Piracy Off Somalia Suppressed
09 July – Source: Shabelle News- 125 Words
The commander of the EU anti-piracy mission off Somalia, Major General Martin Smith Wednesday said the mission called EUNAVFOR-Atalanta has been a “successful operation.” Speaking at a press conference in Brussels, he said In 2011 there were 736 hostages held by pirates in Somalia and 32 ships.“There are now 26 hostages but no ships and there have been no pirate attacks in the last six months” he said. nBut he warned that the threat of piracy “still very much exists. We have suppressed it. So there is still need for an operation,” he added. Smith said non-EU countries like Serbia, Montenegro and New Zealand are taking part in the mission and in future Chile, Colombia and South Korea will also join the EU operation.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia To Present Case At UN Court In Maritime Spat With Kenya
09 July – Source: Bloomberg – 290 Words
Somalia, which has mainland Africa’s longest coastline, plans to pursue its case in a maritime dispute with Kenya at the International Court of Justice next week, Information Minister Mohamed Abdi Maareeye said. The Horn of African nation is trying to capitalize on its natural resources as it seeks to rebuild an economy decimated by almost 25 years of clan warfare and an Islamist militant insurgency. The government’s plan to develop the fishing industry and explore the oil and gas potential off the country’s more than 3,000-kilometer (1,864-mile) shoreline has been held back by a dispute with Kenya over the maritime boundary separating the neighboring countries. “The issue of the Kenyan government violations against our territorial waters has continued for a long time, so it’s the right time to end its fake claim in court,” Maareeye told reporters on Wednesday in the capital, Mogadishu.
Out-of-court negotiations have failed to come up with a solution, he said. A group of international lawyers representing the Somali government will present a 150-page court filing at the ICJ on July 13, which Kenya will later respond to, said Maareeye. Kenya contributes troops to an African Union force in Somalia trying to stop the militant group al-Shabaab from imposing Shariah, or Islamic law. While lawlessness in Somalia had allowed piracy to flourish off the country’s Indian Ocean coast, anti-piracy patrols have improved security and reduced the number of attacks on ships in recent years. Somalia initially started proceedings at the ICJ, which is the United Nations’ top judicial body, in August. Kenya’s Energy Ministry in 2013 said it proposed the boundary run in a straight line, similar to the one established in the south with Tanzania, where rich offshore natural-gas deposits have been discovered.
Minnesota Cracks Down On Child Care Assistance Fraud
08 July – Source: Star Tribune – 906 Words
The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) has gained sweeping new powers to investigate and prosecute child care fraud, following the discovery that some providers are exploiting poor parents and their children to obtain cash assistance from the state. State investigators say they have uncovered an elaborate pattern of fraud involving the unauthorized billing of Minnesota’s $226 million, state-funded child care subsidy program for poor families. In many cases, child care providers actively recruit low-income parents as employees on the condition that they enroll their children using public subsidies. The schemes, which reach into the millions of dollars, capitalize on poor children and divert taxpayer money away from the intended families, state officials say. In response, the 2015 Legislature gave the agency a host of new anti-fraud powers.
Starting this month, the DHS Office of Inspector General has the authority to recoup payments from child care centers that fail to document that services were actually provided. The law also makes it a criminal offense for child care providers to recruit employees based on eligibility for public benefits or family status.Already, more than a dozen investigations of child care fraud are underway statewide, and state officials expect to ratchet up enforcement efforts as the new powers go into effect later this summer. “We hope that providers are going to wake up and notice that it’s not business as usual anymore for billing child care assistance,” said DHS Inspector General Jerry Kerber. “There is a whole new level of accountability.” Kerber declined to discuss the pending investigations, but said that “significant dollars are involved.” Some of the centers bill the state more than $100,000 per month, he said.
The reforms are designed to close long-standing gaps in the regulation of the state’s publicly funded Child Care Assistance Program, or CCAP, which subsidizes the child care expenses of about 30,000 low-income children per month. Until now, the prosecution and investigation of fraud in the CCAP fell to Minnesota’s 87 individual county prosecutors, who often lacked the staff and resources to pursue complicated fraud cases that spanned multiple counties. The result was a patchwork of enforcement efforts that enabled child care centers to continue billing for services even when there was little or no documentation showing the children were actually present. In some cases, child care owners would recruit low-income parents as employees and then provide the parents with fictitious pay stubs to ensure eligibility for assistance, DHS officials said.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“I want to change when people say ‘I want to run like a Kenyan’ to ‘I want to run like a Somalian.’” Salad said. “Changing that whole perspective of Somali people. I want to represent my country, my people, and go to the Olympics someday.”
3 Somali Youth Track Stars Racing Through Record Books In Minneapolis
09 July – Source: Fox9.com – 327 Words
Three young Minneapolis kids are racing through the record books in Minneapolis. They’ve got dreams of Olympic gold in track and field, and once you see how fast they are, you’ll know why. Mahamad Salad, Teysir Yussuf and Musa Ali are members of the Cedar-Riverside community school’s running club. Last month, at a USA Track and Field meet in Minnesota for youth, the running club was very well represented on the winner’s podium. Salad ran the 3,000 meter in 9:51, a pace on par to qualify him for nationals, while Yussuf came in first in his age group, and Ali placed third in his — even though he ran an extra lap, and was wearing a polo shirt because he overslept. “I like challenges,” Salad said. “I like things that are hard for me. I don’t like things that are easy.” But this weekend, the group will be facing their toughest test yet, at the regional track competition in Iowa.
“When you are running, you are playing against yourself,” Salad said. “You have to push yourself, talk to yourself, push your limits, nobody else’s. That’s one of the things I love about running.” Coach Jennifer Weber said after three years of competing in 5k, one and two mile races, the so-called “soaring eagles” are ready to stretch their legs. “I think we have a lot of kids who have Olympic potential,” Weber said. They say life isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. But for these “soaring eagles,” the sky’s the limit. “I want to change when people say ‘I want to run like a Kenyan’ to ‘I want to run like a Somalian.’” Salad said. “Changing that whole perspective of Somalian people. I want to represent my country, my people, and go to the Olympics someday.” The running club has been so popular that members of the Somali community are even raising money to help pay for running clothes and shoes.
“The Garden” was inspired by the time I spent in different North American communities where Somalis now live. Hearing their stories, I noticed that they all shared a common theme of young kids gravitating to the new culture and the parents were struggling to understand the new culture yet trying to coexist with the differences at home”
Somali-American Songwriter Rayzak Details The Immigrant Experience In ‘The Garden’
08 July – Source: Okayafrica – 572 Words
Rayzak was born into a musical family in northwestern Somalia and moved to the United States at the early age of 9, before the outbreak of the Somali Civil War, where he lived across Texas, Kansas, and Ohio. This constant state of motion is the main influence behind his debut Born In Transit EP, which consists of 7 tracks that thread traditional Somali music through a contemporary pop and blues frame, and see Rayzak stepping out into the limelight after touring the globe alongside close friend and collaborator K’naan. Stream our premiere of Rayzak’s “The Garden,” the lead single off his upcoming EP, and read our interview with the Somali-American songwriter below. “The Garden” is available now on iTunes.
Okayafrica: Tell us about your Born In Transit EP. What was the inspiration behind it? When did you start writing it?
Rayzak: My upcoming EP, called Born in Transit was inspired by my musical experiences from my childhood up until now. What influenced me most while growing up was a compilation of music from East Africa as well as North America; whether it was Motown or Blues and Somali Music, my early exposure to music was from traditional Somali music and Somali plays.
OKA: What are the Somali influences on your songwriting? How do you reconcile them with the influences you’ve picked up living across the US?
R: What really blends the two cultures together are the melodies I’ve picked up from both cultures. Many melodies come from traditional Somali music. I merged the two and they seemed to work together. My love for Motown and Blues made it easy to blend the two because to me, they are melodically similar.
TOP TWEETS
@TheVillaSomalia: President Hassan meets Swedish Ambassador to #Somalia @MikaelLindvall, discuss bilateral issues.
@AMB_A_Mohammed: I welcomed Somalia ambassador designate to Kenya H.E. Gamal Mohamed Hassan, who paid me a courtesy call in my office.
@Fatumaabdulahi : #Somalia will soon be top African holiday destination, unparalleled stunning beaches run 4 days and most are empty!
@worldnews_net: Ethiopian Troops Enter Somalia for Attack on al-Shabab http://ift.tt/1LWZNHr #Voice #America #voa #news
@HodanTV: Why am I so passionate about #Somalia? B/c Charity starts at home & millions are counting on us!#ChangeStartsWithYou
IMAGE OF THE DAY
The Deputy SRCC Hon.Lydia Wanyoto Mutende opened a meeting of the AU Adhoc Committee of Experts at the AMISOM Mission Headquarters in Mogadishu. The Committee is in Mogadishu to consult with various stakeholders as follow-up to the joint AU/UN Benchmarking Exercise held in April this year.
Photo: AMISOM