June 19, 2012 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Somalia’s Roadmap signatories to meet in Nairobi
19 Jun – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 144 words
Signatories of Somalia’s political process dubbed “the Road Map” are scheduled to meet in Nairobi, on Wednesday, Somali embassy officials say. Somali envoy to Kenya Mohamed Ali Noor (Americo) confirmed to Bar-kulan that Somali leaders are expected to arrive in Nairobi where they will be holding a two day meeting.
During the meeting, Americo said, leaders will discuss the roadmap including speeding up of its implementation and strengthening the outcomes of the recent meetings in Garowe, Addis Ababa and Galkayo. The envoy added that the meeting was jointly organised by the signatories of the roadmap and the United Nations Political Office for Somalia.
President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, speaker of the Transitional Federal Parliament and officials from regional governments of Puntland and Galmudug as well as the Ahlu Sunna group are expected to jet into Nairobi for the talks.
Key Headlines
- Cabinet Ministers meet to discuss security issues (Office of the Prime Minister)
- Somalia’s Roadmap signatories to meet in Nairobi (Bar-kulan)
- Banadir Regional Admin to rebuild shopping complex in Mogadishu (Radio Mogadishu/SONNA/Universal TV)
- Kenyan defence minister Yussuf Haji takes over Internal Security docket (Capital News/NTV)
- Ethiopian troops make military maneuvers in southern Somali regions (Radio Kulmiye/Jowhar Online)
- Analysis: Somali rebels bruised but may dodge knockout blow (Reuters)
- Al Shabaab claims victory over fighting (Radio Kulmiye)
PRESS STATEMENT
Cabinet Ministers meet to discuss security issues
18 Jun – Source: Office of the Prime Minister – 303 words
The Somali cabinet ministers have yesterday convened for an impromptu meeting under the auspices of the Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali where they discussed strengthening the security of Mogadishu, how to stop the sprouting of the unauthorised check points in Mogadishu, the roadmap and the setting up of control in the al-Shabaab-freed areas.
The ministers heard a brief from the security agencies where the report said the security of the city is improving. They report, however stated the flourishing of checkpoints in various places of the city. The cabinet decided to form a committee for further investigation in order to differentiate the ones solely meant for security purpose from those that are there to extort money from trucks and road users.
The council of ministers also agreed to speedy the process of implementation of the roadmap to finish the tasks before the TFG. They also appealed to the feuding traditional elders to clear their differences and embark on the task of selecting the constituent assembly.The cabin et were also briefed by the committee assigned to formulate a framework for setting up control and administrations in areas which fell back into the hands of the TFG. The committee recommended:
1) The formation of temporary administrations for the al Shabaab-freed areas.
2) Consultations with the relevant public in the formation of the temporary administrations.
3) The reopening of medical centres.
4) The mobilization and creation of awareness amongst the people to cooperate and work with the government in pursuit of peace and reconciliation.
Finally, the cabinet discussed the ownership of private properties. They agreed on the following regarding private properties:
5) It is a crime to be holding onto private properties.
6) That anybody holding private properties should return it to the owner.
7) The security agencies and the judiciary should implement the above regulations.
SOMALI MEDIA
Banadir Regional Admin to rebuild shopping complex in Mogadishu
19 Jun – Source: Radio Mogadishu/SONNA/Universal TV – 160 words
Banadir regional administration has announced that the shopping complex in Hamar-weyne district will be repaired after people living in this compound are removed, official said.
Mayor of Mogadishu, Mohamud Ahmed Nor Tarsan who held press conference in the Somali capital revealed that textile shopping complex in Hamar-Weyne district would officially be reconstructed and would start its trade soon.
Mogadishu mayor said that his administration had in mind the reconstruction of that building but was not able since people were occupying it. Now the have a contract with a construction company that will rebuild the cloth shopping center.
Ethiopian troops make military maneuvers in southern Somali regions
19 Jun – Source: Radio Kulmiye/Jowhar Online – 110 words
Ethiopian troops are reportedly making military maneuvers in south and central Somalia in pursuit of al Shabaab fighters. The Ethiopian troops, with the help of Somali troops have made gains in some strategic regions in Somali’s south regions in recent past. Al Shabaab was reported to have returned to two towns — Mahas and Wabho after Ethiopian troops left. Residents said al Shabaab fighters beheaded two men accused of collaborating with the Ethiopians and dumped their headless bodies in one of the towns.
Ethiopia’s prime minister recently promised that Ethiopian forces would leave Somalia soon, Ethiopian forces still occupy the larger towns of Baidoa and Beledweyne.
Al Shabaab claims victory over fighting
19 Jun – Source: Radio Kulmiye – 80 words
Speaking to pro-al Shabaab Andlus radio, the spokesman for the military operations Sheikh Abdi-Asis Abuu Musab says the Mujahidiin have raided government troops in outskirt of Mogadishu. The spokesman claimed they have killed and wounded a number of government troops outside Mogadishu, al Shabaab has been conducting guerrilla attacks in southern Somalia regions where government troops and African Union peacekeepers of AMISOM are deployed. The spokesman had pointed out that al Shabaab will continue attacking the government troops and AMISOM.
Somalia tops failed states index for fifth year
19 Jun – Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Kulmiye – 141 words
Somalia has been named the world’s top 2012 failed-state index, which it has been heading for the last four straight years after continued struggles with lawlessness and piracy. According to a Washington-based nonprofit Fund for Peace, Somalia tops the 2012 Failed States Index because of “widespread lawlessness, ineffective government, terrorism, insurgency, crime, and well-publicized pirate attacks against foreign vessels.”
The group’s eighth annual list, which ranks instability risks of 177 nations based on 12 social, economic and political indicators, was published Monday by Foreign Policy magazine. It says the nations ranking high on the list aren’t necessarily failed states, but are facing enormous pressure stemming from factors such as uneven development, economic decline and human-rights issues. Several other African countries including Congo (D.R), Sudan, Chad, Zimbabwe, and Central African Republic are among those rated top ten failed states in the world.
Court sentences soldier to death after slaying civilian
18 Jun – Source: Garowe Online – 163 words
A soldier in the Somali forces was sentenced to death after being convicted of killing a woman in Afgoye, Garowe Online reports. Mahamud Hussein Ma’alin was sentenced to death on Sunday, after a military court in Afgoye found of him guilty of killing Zaynab Farah Takar last Friday.
Major Hasan Mohamed Hussien (Mungab), commander of the Somali forces in Afgoye held a press conference shortly after the court’s decision. The Major explained that Mr. Ma’alin killed in cold blood, Mrs. Takar and injured another 2 women, after opening fire on a vehicle carrying the women in the town of Afgoye.
“After 5 witnesses identified Mahamud Hussein Ma’alin as the shooter, the court found Mr. Ma’alin guilty of murder and attempted murder which under Islamic law, the military justice system and criminal justice system is punishable by death,” said Major Mungab. A date for the execution has not been specified but Major Mungab said that the soldier would be executed in the coming days.
Somalia’s Roadmap signatories to meet in Nairobi
19 Jun – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 144 words
Signatories of Somalia’s political process dubbed “the Road Map” are scheduled to meet in Nairobi, on Wednesday, Somali embassy officials say. Somali envoy to Kenya Mohamed Ali Noor (Americo) confirmed to Bar-kulan that Somali leaders are expected to arrive in Nairobi where they will be holding a two day meeting.
During the meeting, Americo said, leaders will discuss the roadmap including speeding up of its implementation and strengthening the outcomes of the recent meetings in Garowe, Addis Ababa and Galkayo. The envoy added that the meeting was jointly organised by the signatories of the roadmap and the United Nations Political Office for Somalia.
President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, speaker of the transitional federal parliament and officials from regional governments of Puntland and Galmudug as well as the Ahlu Sunna group are expected to jet into Nairobi for the talks.
TFG Forces arrest 10 al Shabaab suspects in Mogadishu security operations
18 Jun – Source: Radio Mogadishu/Somalia Report – 79 words
Somali government security forces detained at least ten al Shabaab suspects in a massive security operation at Hiliwa district of Mogadishu on Monday. The district commissioner of Hiliwa, Omar Jafan, stated that they have arrested several criminals committing crimes against the Somali civilians.”We arrested these criminals as they dressed in military uniform and committed atrocities against local people living in Huriwa district,”Omar said. The DC vowed that the security operations will continue until they secure the district.
Somaliland President signs a new decree on agencies
18 Jun – Source: Somaliland Press – 99 words
Somaliland president Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo has signed a new decree on the appointment of five Director-Generals for five key government agencies to help him manage his government.
According to the presidential spokesman Abdullahi Mohamed Dahir the president has filled empty posts on Monday appointing Faisal Ali Sheikh as the Director-General of Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Ahmed Omar Fahiye became the first Director-General of Ministry of Interior while Abdulrashid Abdullahi Mohamed became first for Department of Religious Affairs.
Saleman Jama Diriye and Abdulrashid Jibril Yonis were announced as the Director-General of Ministry of Finance and Director-General of Ministry of Information respectively.
New newspaper launched in Somaliland
18 Jun – Source: Hadhwanaag Times – 90 words
A new political newspaper whose name is Isha was launched in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland. A well organized ceremony to launch the new weekly newspaper was held at Imperial Hotel in Hargeisa on Sunday. Somaliland minister of information, the SOLJA chairman, the Chairman of ODHA organization have attended the occasion. Sheikh Almis Yahia, who was among the dignitaries, spoke at the ceremony and welcomed the launching of new newspaper. For his part, the chairman of Somaliland Journalists Association Hassan Mohamed Yusuf urged the newspaper to be impartial in reporting.
10 Somali businessmen killed in South Africa
19 Jun – Source: Shabelle – 131 words
Armed Gangs have deliberately killed 10 Somali businessmen in the past five days after robbing their shopping centers across south Africa, reports said. Several Somali immigrants living in South Africa confirmed to Shabelle Media the killings, saying that they were very concerned about the deliberate killing against Somalis in South Africa in recent weeks. The latest reports from South Africa say that most of the Somali youngsters in country had decided to leave and go back home after failing to endure the endless deadly attacks against them by South African armed gangs who also accustomed to loot properties owned by Somalis. Somali community leaders in South Africa say they informed security agencies to protect and stop attacks against the innocent Somali immigrants living in that country.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Kenyan defence minister Yussuf Haji takes over Internal Security docket
19 Jun – Source: Capital News/NTV – 282 words
President Mwai Kibaki on Monday appointed Defence Minister Yussuf Mohamed Haji as acting Minister for Provincial Administration and Internal Security. Minister Haji will now be in charge of the Provincial Administration and Internal Security alongside his defence portfolio. The position fell vacant following the sudden demise of George Saitoti in a helicopter crash alongside his deputy Orwa Ojode and four police officers.
Haji has been working closely with the late Saitoti in Kenya’s military operation in southern Somalia. Kenyan troops were officially integrated into the African Union’s peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM), with Haji signing an agreement at AU headquarters early this month in Addis Ababa.
Kenyan tanks and troops rolled into Somalia in October following a series of kidnappings and attacks on Kenyan soil believed to have been carried out by al Shabaab insurgents linked to al Qaeda. In December, the AU said it backed the integration of Kenyan troops into its peacekeeping mission.
After Kismayu, the real battle begins
18 Jun – Source: Daily Nation – 522 words
The Kenya Defence Force is poised to wrest control of the strategic southern port city of Kismayu from the Somali insurgent group al Shabaab in the coming few weeks. The fall of Kismayu will deal the extremist group a major blow. A vital source of revenue that has underpinned its political prestige and influence and allowed it to mollify the clans and buy consent will be choked.
More significant, the fall of the city may sow further dissension in its ranks and foment a fatal process of internal organisational disintegration and decomposition, impossible to reverse. But one must not lose sight of the potential military pitfalls.
Owing to the city’s economic, political and symbolic significance, it is highly likely al Shabaab hard-liners may attempt to put up a stiff resistance, even though there have been reports clan elders have been busy piling the pressure on the movement to avoid a blood bath and to pull out.
Even if this pressure succeeds and the Kenyan forces and their AMISOM allies take the city without any major combat, the struggle to secure Kismayu and maintain control could prove long, arduous and complicated. Remnants of al Shabaab will continue to wage a low-intensity guerrilla campaign and operate discreetly in some pockets of the vast city.
Uganda police nab six terror suspects
18 Jun – Source: Daily Monitor – 360 words
Security operatives in Ntoroko District have arrested six people suspected to be terrorists, including six foreign nationals. They were arrested last week (Wednesday night) at Ntoroko Landing Site, while crossing into the country on a boat. The Western Regional Police Commander, Mr Wilson Kwanya, said the suspects travelled to DR Congo through Mpondwe border in Kasese District and then proceeded to Ntoroko Landing Site.
“This is a rebel threat area, so by moving through these areas we think they must have interacted with the rebels, and you know the Allied Democratic Force rebels are terrorists, so we cannot take them for granted. This is the only way we can fight terrorism,” Mr Kwanya said.
The police said the suspects were arrested by security operatives attached to Kanara Landing Site. However, when they were told to identify themselves, they refused. When they were searched, they did not have any identification documents. They had bags but Mr Kwanya declined to reveal the contents.
The arrest of the six men comes at a time when Uganda is on high alert after the Inspector General of Police, Lt. Gen. Kale Kayihura, revealed that several suspected al Shabaab militants had entered the country through Kenya. Al Shabaab militants have in the past threatened to carry out attacks in Uganda, in revenge of UPDF’s presence in Somalia.
Kenya-Somalia Border under watch, says DC
18 Jun – Source: Star – 282 words
Security personnel are on high alert along the Kenya Somali border in Ras Kamboni to prevent any suspected al Shabaab militia men from entering Kenya. This follows the recent arrests by Kenyan security personnel of foreigners suspected to be from the terror group at Boni Forest. Lamu East DC Pius Murugu assured the public and tourists that the Kenya-Somali border is under 24-hour surveillance to prevent the al Shabaab from entering Kenya.
Speaking at Faza Island at the weekend he said the Kenya Police reservist at Boni Forest have also helped the security forces in reporting cases of the militia men attempting to sneak into the country. “The area is safe , crime rate has gone down and security personnel are on a 24-hour surveillance to detect any suspected al Shabaab militia men who want to enter the country,’’ he said.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Analysis: Somali rebels bruised, but may dodge knockout blow
19 Jun – Source: Reuters – 1192 words
Expelled from a string of strategic towns, cut off from revenue sources and struggling for its survival, Somalia’s Islamist militant group al Shabaab is steeling for an anticipated assault on its last bastion by Western-backed African forces.
But while the capture of the southern port and militant stronghold of Kismayu in coming weeks could weaken the al Qaeda-linked rebels, it is unlikely to deliver the knock-out blow hoped for by Mogadishu and its allies.
Kenyan forces operating in Somalia seized the southern rebel stronghold of Afmadow in late May. This opened the way for what Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said would be a “final onslaught” on Kismayu, Somalia’s second biggest city which is a hub for al Shabaab and a main base for its foreign fighters. Kismayu would be taken by August, Odinga said this month.
Somalia: WHO reopens health clinic after al Shabaab retreat
18 Jun – Source: Global Post – 849 words
For nearly four years no one in this central Somali town had seen a doctor. Cancers spread, tumors and cists grew, wounds were roughly stitched with unsterilized needles, fractures healed unevenly on their own, mothers died and babies were born, all without medical care.
When Somalia’s Islamist extremists, al Shabaab, took over Hudur town in Bakool region in 2008, they evicted the only aid agencies operating in the town and looted the storerooms at the town’s only medical center, a maternal health clinic. Since then the clinic was largely abandoned. The town’s five midwives continued to do what they could, but with neither pay nor supplies.
This week all that changed with the opening of a new medical center, equipped with an operating theater, a ward and a well-stocked pharmacy. Set up by the World Health Organization (WHO) the clinic offers free medical care to the people of Hudur, just two months after al Shabaab were kicked out.
The biggest refugee camp in the world is not a refuge anymore
19 Jun – Source: MSF – 777 words
Amina arrived in Dadaab in 1992, when she was one year old. Born in Afmadow, Somalia, she fled from her own country because of violence, drought and a lack of food. In the refugee camp, she shares a shelter with her husband, her young daughter and another 12 members of her extended family.
Amina thinks there is a lot that could be improved in the camps: the overcrowding, the water shortages, the food, the quality of the shelters, the poorly trained teachers in the camps’ primary schools. Living in the camps, she is often afraid: there are frequent attacks by bandits, and she has heard of incidents of looting, stealing and women being raped while out collecting firewood.
In 20 years she has never left the camps. She believes that, had she been able to continue her education, she could have had a bright future. Now her only hope for the future is to be resettled in a third country. One year after the emergency, we at MSF are still alarmed by conditions in Dadaab and concerned for the welfare of the refugees sheltering there.
While mortality rates are coming down, and we have fewer severely malnourished children in our nutritional programmes than before, the refugees are still in an extremely precarious situation. Their circumstances make them vulnerable to a host of external factors, including epidemics, natural hazards, or another large influx of refugees to the camps, as happened in 2011.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“One of the negative aspects of the road map is that its implementation is exclusively left to the six signatories. So far 2 of the road map signatories have officially declared their candidacy to run for the office of the president. These are the very same people who handpicked their own clan elders to assure their loyalists dominate the new parliament. This move completely eliminates principled and qualified citizens from joining the parliament. In a legal term this is considered “a conflict of interest”…”
ROAD MAP IMPLEMENTATION: urgent corrections required
18 Jun – Source: Hiiraan Online – 757 Words
Somalia is finally heading to the right direction with the wind of peace beginning to blow in Mogadishu (the city that has suffered most), thanks to our African soldiers from Uganda, Burundi, and the generous financial support of the US and European Union. More importantly, the unconditional commitment of Turkish government to helping Somalia has certainly played a great role in reviving the Somali spirit.
On August 20, 2012, Somalia is scheduled to move away from a transitional government to a more stable one. This marks a great opportunity for Somalia to come back as a respected partner in the international community. Nevertheless, there is a lot of task ahead explicitly the need of achieving a safer transition that will embrace the creation of a quality parliament leading to an election of a respectable speaker and a president.
Top tweets
@KateA100 AU forces hoping to seize #AlShabaab last bastion Kismayu in #Somalia soon. Hopefully there will be enough security for July’s elections!
@challiss Bad news for southern #Somalia: FEWSNet says poor crop outlook this year due to erratic rainfall, crop infestations. http://www.fews.net/docs/
@IanOxfam Hopefully this is the last time RT@UNHCRSomalia: #Somalia tops failed states index for fifth year http://bit.ly/MJVkEf.
@JamaDeperani1 #Somalia changes is like a film,# Ethiopia & Ahlu Suna Waljamaca fleeing from districts while the #AL-Shabaab re-seizing these districts.
@IRIglobal Preparations for the much anticipated talks between #Somaliland & #Somalia starts on Wednesday 20 June in London http://ow.ly/bEu4j.
Image of the day
Officials hold copies of a new weekly newspaper, ISHA which was launched on Monday in Hargeisa, the capital of self-declared republic of Somaliland. Photo: Hadhwanaag Times.