June 18, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

National Education Conference kicks off in Mogadishu

18 Jun- Source: Radio Mustaqbal/Radio Mogadishu- 147 words

Somali National Education Conference has kicked off in Mogadishu on Tuesday, which will be participated by members of different educational sectors in the regions of the State and the city. The three-day conference brings around 150 education experts to the Somali capital and is hosted by the Ministry of Human Development and Social Services, supported by UNESCO and UNICEF. Government policymakers, representative from regional authorities, religious leaders, academics, universities, diaspora Somalis, civil society groups, private schools and international partners are in attendance.

While opening the conference, Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon said “Education must be at the heart of every civilised country’s agenda and Somalia is no different,”adding that “Through education we fight poverty, illiteracy and ignorance and we promote social development. Now that peace has returned to most of Somalia, we urgently need to re-establish our education system, which has been devastated by two decades of fighting. We have already lost a generation through war. Now is the time for Somalia to show what we can achieve together and reap the dividends of peace. Without education we will not build a new Somalia.”

Key Headlines

Explosion hits Kenyan military vehicle in Kismayo (Hiiraan Online/Dhanaan Online/ Kismaayo News)
National Education Conference kicks off in Mogadishu (Radio mustaqbal/Radio Mogadishu)
Government troops and AMISOM troops gain control of new areas in lower Shabelle region (Radio Shabelle/Universal TV)
Families displaced by fighting in Janale appeal for help (Radio Ergo)
Jubaland leader in Addis Ababa to seek support (Radio Shabelle/Mareeg Online/Kismaayonews)
One person Killed and two others wounded in Afgoye explosion (RBC/al Shahid)
Al Shabaab release photos of captured Kenyan Police officers Weapons (Radio Mustaqbal/Hiiraan Online)
United Nations envoy discusses Somali security with Guelleh (Sabahi online)
Djibouti forces in Beledweyne donate ammunition to Somali military (Radio Kulmiye)
Over 500000 Somali refugees “ready to return home” (Capital News)
West African piracy exceeds Somali attacks report Says (New York Times)
Kenya Seeks Asian Support For Efforts To Repatriate Somali Refugees (Bernama)
Government denies rejecting Somali refugees (SBS)

PRESS STATEMENT

Education will be the foundation of a new Somalia, Prime Minister says, opening a landmark National Education Conference in Mogadishu

18 Jun- Source: Office of the Prime Minister- 414 words

A new national education system will underpin brighter futures for a new generation of Somalis, His Excellency Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon said today, opening a three-day National Education Conference in Mogadishu.

“Education must be at the heart of every civilised country’s agenda and Somalia is no different,” the Prime Minister said. “Through education we fight poverty, illiteracy and ignorance and we promote social development. Now that peace has returned to most of Somalia, we urgently need to re-establish our education system, which has been devastated by two decades of fighting. We have already lost a generation through war. Now is the time for Somalia to show what we can achieve together and reap the dividends of peace. Without education we will not build a new Somalia.”

The three-day conference, which brings around 150 education experts to the Somali capital, is hosted by the Ministry of Human Development and Social Services, supported by UNESCO and UNICEF. Apart from government policymakers, representation comes from regional authorities, religious leaders, academics, universities, diaspora Somalis, civil society groups, private schools and international partners.

The education experts will focus on the current education situation; access to basic primary and secondary education, especially to vulnerable groups; teacher education and a Somali curriculum; strengthening ministries; skills training; improving tertiary education. The conference is due to conclude with an agreed action plan that will deliver benefits to a new generation of Somali children.

“Every child has a constitutional right to primary and secondary education free of charge,” the Prime Minister said. “In recent years too many young Somalis have been led astray by false religious training. A new education system must deliver proper religious instruction, rise above clannism, improve the position of teachers and enhance the condition of school buildings.”

He called on the conference to rise to the challenge and develop plans for a national curriculum so that Somali children could receive the education and training they deserved.

“Today is hugely important for Somalia. Seeing all these education experts here today makes me proud to lead a country emerging from traumatic times. I commend your devotion to improving Somali lives and I congratulate you for making this conference happen. With your help we will establish a solid foundation for education in Somalia – from primary school to university – which will be the bedrock of our children’s brighter futures. They deserve nothing less.”

SOMALI MEDIA

Explosion hits Kenyan military vehicle in Kismayo

18 Jun- Source: Hiiraan Online/Dhanaan Online/ Kismaayo News/ Al Xikma Online/Shabelle- 72 words

Reports from Kismayo, the capital of the province of Lower Juba says that a landmine explosion targeted a military vehicle carrying Kenyan soldiers.
The explosion happened in the city’s via Afmadow neighbourhood. Three Kenyan soldiers were wounded in the explosion, according to Abdi Buluh Mohammed, a government soldier who was at the scene of the explosion.

Meanwhile, unknown militiamen attacked a convoy carrying officials of the Jubbaland administration, injuring former head of Kismayo administration Yasin Radar, and the current governor of the city Abdulahi Qaldan. According to reports, the officials were trying to remove checkpoints from the city during the attack. The governor is currently receiving treatment at the the Kismayo general hospital where he is in a critical condition. There is no group which has come out to claim responsibility for the two different incidents in Kismayo.

National Education Conference kicks off in Mogadishu

18 Jun- Source: Radio Mustaqbal/Radio Mogadishu- 147 words

Government troops and AMISOM troops gain control of new areas in lower Shabelle region

18 Jun- Source: Radio Shabelle/Universal TV/ SNTV- 107 words

Somali government troops and AMISOM troops took control of several towns in the lower Shabelle region of Somalia. The troops gained control of Mubarak,Ugunji,Nuun and Furuqley towns which fall under Qoryoley and Audinley districts in the lower Shabelle region.

Al Shabaab which previously controlled these area, were forced out by the surging troops who are on a mission to expand government controlled areas in Somalia. Government officials in the region said that they will not stop there and will advance deeply until the whole region is liberated from the al Shabaab militia.

Families displaced by fighting in Janale appeal for help

18 Jun- Source: Radio Ergo- 176 words

Three hundred families displaced from their villages by fighting towards the west of Janale, Lower Shabelle region, are living in poor conditions in a makeshift camp. They fled a recent outbreak of fighting and insecurity in Kulaas and Boordi villages, 5 km west of Janale, in March. They have put up grass-made huts to live in on the outskirts of Janale.

Hassan Abdi, one of the IDPs, told Radio Ergo they needed food and decent shelter. “People came here empty handed; they left behind all their belongings, fearing for their lives, because we were caught in the crossfire of conflict.”

Halima Hassan Mohamed, a mother of five, said she fled her farm and her only source of livelihood in Kulaas village because of the fighting.

Mohamed Idris Abdi, the commissioner of Janale location, explained that these families were displaced from their homes by clashes between AMISOM and Al-Shabaab fighters. He also appealed to the federal government and aid agencies to come to the assistance of the IDPs.

Jubaland leader in Addis Ababa to seek support

18 June- Source: Radio Shabelle/Mareeg Online/Kismaayonews/Dhanaan Online-144

The spokesman of Ras Kamboni Brigade Abdinasir Serar who held a press conference elaborated on Jubaland leader, Ahmed Mohamed Islam’s visit to Ethiopia and the reason behind the visit. Serar said that the leader paid a visit to Addis Ababa to seek support from the Ethiopian government and inform the Ethiopian prime minister of the recent development made by elders of Jubaland who named a new federal administration for the region. Serar added that Madobe explained how his administration will work and be part of the federal state.

The spokesman of Ras Kamboni Brigade finally said that his administration will not take part in the proposed meeting in Mogadishu which is being organized by the federal government of Somalia. Serar contradicted Ahmed Madobe who recently announced that his administration will participate in the proposed meeting which will be held in the capital Mogadishu.

One person Killed and two others wounded in Afgoye explosion

18 Jun- Source: RBC/ al Shahid- 92 words

A civilian was killed and two others were injured on Monday in an explosion in the town of Afgoye in Lower Shabelle province, south of the capital Mogadishu. The blast targeted Somali forces at a checkpoint in the town, killing a civilian was near the place and wounding two others. At least seven people were killed when a bomb exploded at a tea shop popular with government troops in the Somali town of Wanlaweyn on Saturday.

Garissa’s main market burns down

18 Jun- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Star FM/Risaala FM (Kenya)- 92 words

Property worth millions of shillings was destroyed after a huge fire gutted down the largest market in Kenya’s north eastern town of Garissa. Reports from the area indicate that at least 30 shops had been burnt down on Monday night inferno.

Garissa Market (better known as Suuq-Mugdi) is the largest in Kenya’s north eastern region as the cause of the fire is yet to be established. Last year the market was also burnt down following chaos that erupted after three Kenyan Defense Forces soldiers were gunned down in the town.

Al Shabaab release photos of captured Kenyan Police officers, Weapons

18 Jun- Source: Radio Mustaqbal/Hiiraan Online/Mareeg Online/Sabahi Online/Radio Kulmiye- 191 words

Photographs al Shabaab posted Sunday (June 16th) on Twitter of two Kenyan police officers abducted last month are authentic, Dadaab District Commissioner Albert Kimathi told Sabahi.

He identified the officers as Fredrick Chirchir and Joseph Wambugu, who were abducted during raids on two police stations in Damajaleh last month.
“It is unfortunate the group claims that the two officers are prisoners of war, yet they were abducted away from the battlefield,” he said, adding that the government is working to provide psychological counseling to the victims’ families.

“These two Kafirs now bring the total number of Kenyan PoWs to 7, after one was executed a few months ago,” al Shabaab posted on Twitter.
Kimathi expressed relief that some of the government officers abducted from Kenya are still alive. “We do not know who was killed yet as the group claims but it raises hope all may be alive,” he said.

In the initial raids, al Shabaab killed six people including a 15-year-old boy, two police officers, a Red Cross official and two civilians. Kimathi said security has been increased in villages along the border with Somalia.

Djibouti forces in Beledweyne donate ammunition to Somali military

18 Jun- Source: Radio Kulmiye- 116 words

Djibouti forces which are part of the AMISOM in Beledweyne have donated ammunition to the military of Somalia. The donation is from the Djibouti president Isma’el Omar Guelleh. The AMISOM army chief in Beledweyn Col. Osman Dubad handed over all the donation to the officers of the government in Hiiraan region. Col.Osman Dubad told the government soldiers that they need to put all their strength to the security of the province, promising that his contingents will give the support required.

Kismayo security situation to be improved

17 Jun- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 141 words

Spokesman of Jubaland administration led by Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Ahmed Madobe), Abdinasir Serar stated that they will do something about the unstable and fragile Kismayo security. Speaking in a news conference held in Kismayo, Abdinasir Serar indicated that there is security disorder in the southern port city of Kismayo as immediate action to bring peace and stability in the town will be taken.

Serar added that the security situation in the city has been getting out of hands since fierce fighting erupted in the port city last month. Jubaland administration also commented on Ahmed Madobe, the Jubaland president’s recent visit to Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

Serar said that Ahmed Madobe received an official invitation from the Ethiopian authority, as the two sides are expected to discuss wide range of issues including the Kismayo political turmoil.

REGIONAL MEDIA

United Nations envoy discusses Somali security with Guelleh

17 Jun – Source: Sabahi online – 108 words

United Nations Special Representative to Somalia Nicholas Kay visited Djibouti Saturday (June 15th) for talks with President Ismail Omar Guelleh, the Djiboutian Information Agency reported. Kay informed Guelleh of the new missions in Somalia, as well as challenges in the country’s evolving security situation. The United Nations will support new democratic institutions and strengthen Somalia’s ability to defend itself, he said. “The rebirth of Somalia has never been as close as it is today,” Kay told the press after the meeting.

Over 500,000 Somali refugees “ready to return home”

17 Jun- Source: Capital News- 353 words

Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed said on Monday that plans are at an advanced stage for Kenya to start repatriating Somali refugees to their country. Mohammed said a major conference to agree on modalities of repatriating the over one million Somali refugees will be held in Nairobi in August.

“For now I am happy because about 50 percent of them [refugees] are willing to voluntarily return. I can assure you that we will do it in an orderly and most humane manner which upholds the dignity to our visitors,” she said at a breakfast meeting hosted in honour of ambassadors from Asian countries.

Kenya to employ drones to thwart gunrunners, al Shabaab

17 Jun- Source: Sabahi online- 472 words

Kenya is preparing to employ drones as part of increased security operations along its borders with Somalia and Ethiopia to monitor and halt the movements of al Shabaab and gunrunners, security officials told Sabahi. Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, are needed to help Kenyan security forces on the ground patrol the country’s frontiers, said Patrick Ochieng, director of the Kenya National Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons.

“We face an unprecedented security challenge,” he told Sabahi. “Not only do we have threats from within the country, but also from al Shabaab insurgents.”

Gunrunning and infiltration by al Shabaab into Kenya’s north-eastern region have brought insecurity with deadly effects, he said, adding that the past two years have seen an increase in violence from illegal guns, with criminals and gunrunners devising new ways to smuggle in firearms.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

West African piracy exceeds Somali attacks, report Says

18 Jun- Source: New York Times- 524 words

In a marked shift for maritime piracy, three leading organizations reported Tuesday that for the first time the number of ships and sailors attacked off West Africa in 2012 exceeded those assaulted by pirates based in Somalia.

A report published in London Suggested that while sailors attacked in the Gulf of Guinea spent far less time in captivity than those held in Somalia, they faced the risk of much greater violence.

Kenya Seeks Asian Support For Efforts To Repatriate Somali Refugees

18 Jun- Source: Bernama -320 words

The Kenyan government has called on Asian countries to support its efforts to repatriate the hundreds of thousands of Somalia refugees now in refugee camps in Kenya, ahead of an international conference on the subject to be held in August this year.

Speaking during a breakfast meeting with a group of ambassadors from Asian countries here Monday, Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary (Minister) Amina Mohammed said the plans for the repatriation of all Somalia refugees was critical and she hoped the Asian countries would give their financial and economic support.

Amina said that currently there were more than one million Somali refugees in Kenya, of whom 600,000 were formally registered. “The good news is that almost 50 per cent of the refugees have been asking to go back to their country and therefore it will be a voluntary process,” she said.

Government denies rejecting Somali refugees

18 Jun- Source:SBS- 280 words

The federal government has rejected claims that Somali refugees in Indonesia are being forced to come to Australia by boat because Australia refuses to resettle them. The federal government has rejected claims that Somali refugees in Indonesia would not be accepted through Australia’s resettlement programs.It follows Australian media reports that Somali refugees had been advised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees that Indonesia will not resettle Africans, even if they had been granted refugee status by the UN.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“Somalia appears to be a perfect storm of action game clichés, each one rhythmically flowing into the next. There’s a cover-shooter section; multiple close-quarters combat scenes; a car chase; an assassination; a panicked escape; and finally an aerial extraction, albeit each unique in presentation and execution – that is to say, forcing the player to deal with each scenario through the use of QTEs or motion control (yes, there’s that wonderfully dated Sixaxis control here), rather than typical gunplay and combat.”

Dave takes a closer look at Beyond’s Somalia demo.

18 June- Source: Video Gamer-805 Words

As Beyond: Two Souls’ ‘Somalia’ scene loads up, producer Guillaume de Fondaumiere explains his reasons for bringing Quantic Dream’s latest demo to E3. “We’ve chosen this scene because we think it’s a very interesting to showcase how Jodie and Aidan can collaborate,” he says. “It’s also a scene that’s interesting to showcase how the game plays, because it’s always the same with the games that we’re doing: everyone always wonders how [the game plays].”

Thirty minutes later, I’m still left wondering. Beyond: Two Souls appears to be a ‘game’ in the loosest of senses, and it’s telling, perhaps, that de Fondaumiere chooses not to use the word ‘gameplay’ throughout the entirety of the demo – the linearity and significant non-interactivity on show here means there’s very little that could be reasonably labelled as such. Indeed, it’s often so one-dimensional that, for the most part, it can seem as if Beyond is nothing more than an interactive cutscene – every bit the movie/game hybrid Quantic Dream’s ‘interactive drama’ label suggests.

The demo catches up with Jodie Holmes two-thirds of the way through the game, Beyond’s mysterious protagonist who is now a military-trained CIA operative sent into the heart of war-torn Somalia to kill a warlord named Jamaal. The scenario itself is enough to start asking questions. Why, for a game marketed as an emotional thriller, has the player suddenly been thrust into the centre of a war zone? Without context, the scene’s inclusion in Beyond – let alone its use as a promotional demo – is unexpected, confusing and concerning, particularly given director David Cage’s recent comments about video game violence and the industry’s immaturity.

Top tweets

‏@amisomsomalia PHOTO OF THE DAY: A #Somali woman & her child await medical treatment from #AMISOM doctorshttp://on.fb.me/QqTSeN w pic.twitter.com/CphmCt0nJ6

@USAforSOMALIA Join us today a Webchat on ending violent extremism in Somalia featuring famous #Somali cartoonist Amin Amir. http://goo.gl/X9pfD

@Anisa_Hajimumin While I fully support #BooksForAfrica and their initiative of sending books to #Somalia & #somaliland, we need books in #somali

@LORNAWARDNEWS Fantastic basketball match at weekend between #Burundi troops & #Somali Army; Burundi won but close call & Somali team had noisier fan club!

@OCHASom Door 2 door vaccinations ongoing in #Somaliafollowing confirmation of polio in May. Latest: http://bit.ly/10rlrNL http://twitpic.com/cxu61b

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Image of the day

Image of the day Nicholas Kay, head of the new UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), (centre) is seen with health workers on the roof of a hospital in Hargeisa during his visit to Somaliland. Photo: UN Photo/Stuart Price