June 19, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report

Al-Shabaab Engages Government Forces In Fierce Gunfight After Raiding Their Camp In Gedo Region

19 June – Source: Wacaal Media – 130 Words

A fierce gun battle pitting government forces against Al-Shabaab militants has been reported in Gedo region. Fighting is said to have started after the militants raided a military camp located in an area between Luuq and Doolow towns in Gedo region. Sources say the gunfight lasted for close to an hour but we have so far not been able to establish the number of casualties on either side. The camp was reportedly setup to amass forces that will launch an offensive on Bardheere which is the only settlement in Gedo region that is still under the control of the militants. The fighting came at a time when Deputy Head of State of Jubbaland Gen. Fartaag is in Doolow in connection with security operations in the region.

Key Headlines

Al-Shabaab Engages Government Forces In Fierce Gunfight After Raiding Their Camp In Gedo Region(Wacaal Media)
Somali President Tours Examination Centres In Mogadishu (Goobjoog News)
Fewer Girls Graduate From High School In Buhodle (Radio Ergo)
Federal Cabinet Passes Judicial Bill (Garowe Online)
Jubbaland President Accepts UN Mediation With Federal Government (Goobjoog News)
AU Lauds Amisom And Somali Security Forces For Foiling Terror Attack In Adaado (Somali Current)
Al-Shabab Somalia Attacks: Military Base Stormed Hours After Raid On Government Building (International Business Times)
Kenyan Police Join In Manhunt For German ‘Al-Shabaab’ Suspect (Coast Week/Xinhua)
UAE People & Politics: Policy In Africa Is All About Stability And Cooperation (The National UAE)
Kenya To Hand Back Licences To 13 Somali Money Transfer Firms (Reuters)
Mediterranean Crisis: Migrants Detail Horrors That Caused Them to Flee (Human Rights Watch)

NATIONAL MEDIA

Somali President Tours Examination Centres In Mogadishu

19 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 266 Words

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has paid surprise visit to Yasin Osman primary and secondary which is one of the examination centres across Mogadishu. President Mohamud has commended Somali minister of education for her commitment to setting unitary national examination and making true the resurrection of National examination after two decades of hibernation due to lack of central government. “It is good start; I hope that the ministry will handle the national examinations fully in future” the president said. During his tour, the president met the supervisors and invigilators who were regulating the exam centres. On 15th January this year, Somali government has unveiled a unitary national examination, 25 years after such exercise was nationally executed in the country. Hundreds of candidates streamed into examination centres across Mogadishu.

Fewer Girls Graduate From High School In Buhodle

19 June – Source: Radio Ergo – 385 Words

Fewer girls graduated from high school in Buhodle this year compared to last year, in a trend that has disappointed education officials. Abdikarin Mohamed Elmi, chairman of the district education department, said 17 girls sat the final high school exam this month, compared to 36 last year. Kayse Mohamed Haji, administrator of Samatar Bahnan high school, said 15 of the 20 girls at the school failed to complete their studies. “Only five of them sat for the final exam, the rest dropped out of school for different circumstances. 10 of them were forced into early marriages and the remaining five left school due to financial constraints,” said Kayse. The high school charges students 15 dollars per month.

Kayse said some of the parents did not consider educating girls as important as educating boys. Dr Abdishafi Ahmed Ali, dean of East Africa University’s Buhodle campus, said there was obviously a knock-on effect in higher education. “The number of girls in school is sadly decreasing and this has been felt in higher education institutes. Since the opening of our university in 2011, we have admitted 10 girls. Seven of them failed to continue with their studies. Two of the three remaining are supported and encouraged by FAWE [Forum for African Women Educationalists], an organization that supports women’s education,” he said. He called for parents and community members to do more to keep teenage girls in education.

Hamdi Abdirzack, an Islamic education lecturer at East Africa University in Buhodle, told Radio Ergo most girls left school due to pressure from parents. “Girls are forced to drop out of school by their parents who send them to do housework. They don’t regard girls’ education as crucial,” she said. Asha Ahmed, a primary teacher at Darwish School for the last 30 years, said a shortage of female teachers was also a contributing factor to the problem. “There is not a single female high school teacher in the town. Girls need mentoring and special support from female teachers and if they don’t get this help, they will be disappointed,” she said. Abdikarin said there were only five female primary school teachers. He acknowledged that all 29 high school teachers in the area were male, and underscored the need to train more female teachers to improve girls’ enrolment and retention in schools.

Federal Cabinet Passes Judicial Bill

19 June – Source: Garowe Online – 203 Words

Amid a broad campaign to reform former judicial system laws, Federal Government of Somalia’s Council of Ministers passed a new bill defining the powers of federal high court and federal member state high courts on Thursday, Garowe Online reports. Justice Minister Gen. Abdullahi Ahmed Jama (Ilkajiir) chaired the weekly cabinet meeting in which cabinet members also discussed security, 2014 budget review and increased capacity building for Women Development and Human Rights Ministry.

The new judicial bill introduces the powers of various levels of national court structures and constitutional court. The cabinet listened to reports from Minister of Women Development and Human Rights Sahro Ali Samatar, Finance Minister Mohamed Adan Farageti and Security Minister Abdirizak Omar Mohamed. Samatar said, she travelled to Sweden at an invitation to discuss help for Somali women in business, politics and family development with Foreign Ministry officials.

Finance Minister, Farageti presented 2014 budget review in the meeting, unveiling that the review is approved by parliament after cabinet endorsement. Botched Al-Shabaab attack on building housing delegates of Adado conference was raised, with security minister briefing cabinet ministers on how security forces foiled the heinous plot. Somalia parliament approved judicial reform bill and a law establishing judicial service commission in 2014.

Jubbaland President Accepts UN Mediation With The Federal Government

19 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 226 Words

In a joint press conference, Jubbaland president Ahmed Madobe and visiting UN Envoy to Somalia Nicholas Kay have told the media that Jubbaland has agreed mediation efforts by the UN envoy with the federal government. Jubbaland has previously said it cut all ties with the federal government after the parliament passed a bill calling the Jubbaland assembly which was formed last month unconstitutional. Ahmed Madobe has said that they accepted to allow ministerial fact-finding mission to Kismayo so as to gather the necessary information about the basis of the disputed regional assembly.

Among the other things agreed upon was for Jubbaland to attend a consultative summit that brings together UN, Federal government and the regional administrations.This summit would be held in July and is expected to focus on the 2016 vision.“When I met with the UN Envoy we discusses about the 2016 vision, to clear the misunderstanding between us and the federal government, for Jubbaland I think we are not known to be opposing factor, we agreed to follow the correct procedure before jumping the gun, for 2016 we are still on the course to hold elections as agreed upon, we are trying harder to achieve that” said Ahmed Madobe. For his part, Ambassador Kay commended Jubbaland for holding the ground against rebels; he also urged the leaders to be more proactive for the sake of national cohesion.

AU Lauds Amisom And Somali Security Forces For Foiling Terror Attack In Adaado

18 June – Source : Somali Current – 169 Words

African Union special envoy to Somalia, Mamman Sidikou has lauded security forces in Adaado, Central Somalia for foiling a suicide attack at the ongoing conference aimed at forging regional government for Central regions. “The brave actions of AMISOM and the Somali security forces today have not only prevented loss of innocent lives but also demonstrated once again the effectiveness of joint operations between the two in ensuring security of the Somali people,” said a statement issued in Nairobi on Thursday.

On early Thursday morning, Amisom and Somali security forces manning the conference venue repelled three gunmen and the driver of a car packed with explosive at the gate of the conference. The special envoy noted the group still poses serious threat, warning the group is desperate to carry out suicide attacks in this month of Ramadan. He also urged both the Amisom and Somali security forces to prevent loss of innocent lives and property as the group vowed to carry deadly attacks in the country.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Kenyan Police Join In Manhunt For German ‘Al-Shabaab’ Suspect

19 June – Source: Coastweek/Xinhua – 719 Words
Kenya’s anti-terrorism police have launched major manhunt for a German national who sneaked into the east African nation to plan terrorist attacks in the country. Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere has also summoned Ahmed Khaled Muller to surrender to the nearest police station for questioning over ‘al-Shabaab’ links. “The Kenya Police has cause to believe that this person could be in possession of information on planned ‘al-Shabaab’ criminal activities,” Iteere said in a statement released in Nairobi on Saturday. The police chief also appealed to Kenyans to help the anti- terrorism police officers to arrest the German whose alias names are Andreas Martin Muller and Abu Nusaibah and whose picture has also been circulated

“Kenya Police would wish to inform the public that one person going by the name Ahmed Khaled Mueller, a German national is believed to have entered the country either illegally or by disguising himself and the nature of his mission in Kenya,” he said. A string of grenade attacks in Nairobi and Mombasa recently have sent Kenyans living in other cities in the East African nation, specifically Nakuru, Kisumu and Eldoret, into panic as they fear terrorists may strike in their towns. The latest development comes a week after the police chief released the photograph of Amar whom the police said was behind the recent grenade attacks in Nairobi which left at least two people dead and more than 15 others injured. The police said Amar’s picture was taken in a beach in Kismayu a few months ago before he returned to Kenya to carry out grenade attack on God’s House of Miracles International Church in Nairobi on April 29 which ‘al-Shabaab’ has since claimed responsibility.

More than 30 people have been killed in Kenya mostly in northern region blamed on ‘al-Shabaab’ who have since joined al Qaida network to cause terror attacks in the East African nation. The deaths have been recorded after Kenya sent its troops into Somalia in October 2011 to hunt down the insurgents who were blamed for a series of murders and kidnapping on the Kenya soil. The Kenyan police have particularly warned against the laxity in the screening of cars for explosives at all shopping malls and any business or social gatherings with at least 10 people at any given moment that these might be vulnerable to attacks. Iteere ordered Mueller to report to the nearest police station from where he will be handed over to the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit. “Any person who knows the whereabouts of the said Mueller is requested to give this information to the nearest police officer, security officer or police station,” Iteere said. “The public is also warned that this person is possibly armed. Mueller is also believed to use alias names Andreas Martin Muller and Abu Nusaibah,” Iteere said.

Al-Shabab Somalia Attacks: Military Base Stormed Hours After Raid On Government Building

18 June – Source: International Business Times – 246 Words

Al-Shabab militants stormed a military base Thursday in southwest Somalia and killed 16 government soldiers, just hours after the terrorists launched a separate deadly attack in central Somalia. The Islamist militant group later claimed responsibility for the deadly dual attacks on a pro-insurgent news site, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Somalia’s army said Thursday it foiled a suicide attack by al-Shabab militants at a regional government meeting where local leaders were adopting constitutions for the Galguduud and Mudug regions, which are in the process of forming a new state.

The al Qaeda-linked group targeted the gathering in the central town of Adado with a suicide car bomber. A civilian near the scene was killed, but Somali forces killed the four militants including the suicide bomber, Anadolu Agency reported. Three Somali soldiers were also killed, a senior security source told South Africa’s News24. Somalia’s army said Thursday it foiled a suicide attack by al-Shabab militants at a regional government meeting where local leaders were adopting constitutions for the Galguduud and Mudug regions, which are in the process of forming a new state. The al Qaeda-linked group targeted the gathering in the central town of Adado with a suicide car bomber. A civilian near the scene was killed, but Somali forces killed the four militants including the suicide bomber, Anadolu Agency reported. Three Somali soldiers were also killed, a senior security source told South Africa’s News24.

UAE People & Politics: Policy In Africa Is All About Stability And Cooperation

18 June – Source: The National, UAE – 589 Words

The UAE conducts a “nodal” foreign policy in parts of the Mena region and Africa, meaning it groups countries for political, economic and security purposes. This modus operandi has been evident in the past week as Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Foreign Minister, visited Somalia, Kenya and Uganda. That these countries are looked upon as areas of interest is significant. Kenya and Somalia have been plagued by attacks from Al-Shabaab terrorists, but both hold economic potential. Uganda, a landlocked central African country, is an ideal starting point for Emirati investment to grow eastwards towards Kenya and Somalia, helping Kampala reach the Indian Ocean and new trade opportunities.

Significantly, the UAE is taking the lead on regional matters because Abu Dhabi sees an “arc of instability” across the north of Africa. Crises in Burundi, South Sudan, Somalia and Libya are a major focus. Abu Dhabi’s efforts are backed by the Arab League, African Union and the European Union, while the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is also supportive of the UAE’s remedies for fighting poverty in these countries. Somalia, Kenya and Uganda all offer opportunities for UAE investors. The idea is to firstly stabilise the end of the arc closest to the Arabian Peninsula and hope that prosperity breeds. However, diplomacy is also under way on the west coast of Africa, with Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos in Abu Dhabi for talks with Sheikh Abdullah earlier this week.

This was one of several interactions between the two in recent months and shows that the UAE is keen to attack the arc from both sides. In addition to Sheikh Abdullah, three others play constructive roles in the nodal approach. Firstly, Minister of State Reem Al Hashemy has a critical role when it comes to east Africa and also Uganda, which is a key focus in tourism, energy, infrastructure and oil, among other industries. Through the minister’s efforts, Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni and his foreign minister, Henry Oryem Okello, signed a double tax avoidance agreement with Abu Dhabi that will improve trade. The UAE also supports plans to build airports or airstrips in the Ugandan districts of Arua, Pakuba, Hoima (Kabaale) and Kasese, develop tourism around Lake Victoria, the construction of an oil pipeline from Uganda to Mombasa, agriculture processing, infrastructure, minerals and investments in renewables.

Last month, Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways started flying to Entebbe International, Uganda’s principal airport. The second major Emirati player in this nodal approach is DP World chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, who is seeking to build and refurbish ports in Africa but also implement the port operator’s unique social corporate responsibility approach and develop small and medium-sized businesses in Somalia and Kenya. The UAE hopes that DP World’s investment will help to eradicate the drivers of extremism by focusing on health care, road networks, micro-financing and job creation. Thirdly, the UAE Ambassador to Somalia, Mohammed Al Hammadi, is key when it comes to tackling Somali policy as he cooperates with Somali officials to deliver UAE assistance to the Sunni Muslim majority country in areas such as finance, health and national security. That Sheikh Abdullah visited Somalia is a boost to Mr Al Hammadi’s progress in that complex country. Overall, the UAE point of view is that Africa is experiencing rapid population growth and is fertile ground for foreign investment. Abu Dhabi sees its proximity to Africa as an opportunity to benefit from its growth, while promoting security in areas near its own borders.

Kenya To Hand Back Licences To 13 Somali Money Transfer Firms

18 June – Source: Reuters – 293 Words

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday said Kenya will return licences to 13 money transfer firms that were banned after a deadly attack on a university in April and whose names are on a list of 85 entities with alleged links to Somalia’s al Shabaab. The killing of 148 students by al Shabaab militants at Garissa, some 200 km (120 miles) from the border, had piled pressure on Kenyatta to deal with the Islamists who have killed more than 400 people in Kenya in the last two years.Rights groups say the ban has had a devastating impact on Kenya’s Somali community, numbering just over 1 million people, as it is heavily reliant on cash from workers abroad.
Kenyatta said in a message to Muslims on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan that he had been briefed about proposals to lift the ban as part of investigations into terrorism funding.”In the light of this, I direct the Central Bank of Kenya to immediately issue comprehensive regulations that guide the operation of MRPs, upon which their suspension would be lifted,” he said, referring to so-called Money Remittance Providers.He did not say whether the firms would be taken off the list of al Shabaab-linked entities.Abdirashid Duale, chief executive officer of Dahabshiil, a leading remittance firm, welcomed the move and denied any link between his firm and al Shabaab.”Dahabshiil has always been committed to existing regulations of the Central Bank of Kenya and commits itself to any new set of regulations the bank issues,” he said in a statement. The owner of another of the banned remittance firms told Reuters the companies have not been told how long it will be before they can start operating in Kenya again

OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE

“According to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, over 60 percent of those taking the journey come from Syria, Somalia, and Afghanistan, countries torn apart by war and generalized political violence, or from Eritrea, which is ruled by a highly repressive government. Asylum seekers, including children, from these four countries who arrived in Italy and Greece in May described to Human Rights Watch the indiscriminate fighting, threats from insurgent groups such as the Taliban, Al-Shabaab, and ISIS, forced conscription and recruitment by armed groups, attacks on schools, and other abuses that forced them to flee.”

Mediterranean Crisis: Migrants Detail Horrors That Caused Them to Flee

19 June – Source: Human Rights Watch – 1, 142 Words

EU leaders should put human rights at the heart of its response. EU leaders will meet on June 25 and 26, 2015, to discuss European Commission proposals toward a “European Migration Agenda.” The 33-page report, “The Mediterranean Migration Crisis: Why People Flee, What the EU Should Do,” documents the human rights abuses driving people to make the dangerous sea crossing and the shortcomings of EU migration and asylum policies. The report is based on over 150 interviews in May with recently-arrived migrants and asylum seekers inItaly – Lampedusa, Catania, and Milan – and Greece – the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Leros, and Kos. The conclusions are also based on extensive Human Rights Watch research in Syria, Eritrea, Afghanistan, and Somalia – the home countries of many of those arriving by sea.

“The majority of those crossing the Mediterranean are taking terrible risks because they have to, not because they want to,” said Judith Sunderland, senior Western Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch and author of the report. “Saving lives and increasing safe pathways into Europe should be the EU’s priorities, while ensuring that all cooperation with countries of origin and transit countries respects international human rights standards.” Over 100,000 migrants and asylum seekers have crossed the Mediterranean since the beginning of 2015. According to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, over 60 percent of those taking the journey come from Syria, Somalia, and Afghanistan, countries torn apart by war and generalized political violence, or from Eritrea, which is ruled by a highly repressive government. Asylum seekers, including children, from these four countries who arrived in Italy and Greece in May described to Human Rights Watch the indiscriminate fighting, threats from insurgent groups such as the Taliban, Al-Shabaab, and ISIS, forced conscription and recruitment by armed groups, attacks on schools, and other abuses that forced them to flee.

Mubarek, from Parwan, in northern Afghanistan, left the country with his wife and three young sons in March to escape the Taliban. “Every day the Taliban would take people and children for suicide bombings,” he said. “I was worried about my children, my sons, that they would be forced to become suicide bombers.” While many of those coming from other countries – Nigeria, The Gambia, Senegal, Mali – want to improve their economic opportunities or to live in more open and safe societies, some among them may be fleeing persecution or other serious harm. Some migrants who have lived in Libya since before the current hostilities broke out in May 2014, are fleeing insecurity and violence there. Every year thousands of unaccompanied children make the journey across the Mediterranean without parents or other caregivers. In 2014, over 10,500 children traveled alone to Italy by sea. In Greece, over 1,100 unaccompanied children were registered in 2014. The International Organization for Migration has identified the Mediterranean as the world’s deadliest migration route. The EU has recently taken some positive steps to save lives in the Mediterranean, but it remains focused primarily on ways to limit arrivals to European shores. But the severe human rights situations that people are fleeing shows why the EU’s priorities need to change, Human Rights Watch said.

TOP TWEETS

@radiogarowe #Somalia: Federal cabinet passes judicial billhttp://bit.ly/1Io8Jz4

@SomaliaNewsroom Interesting: UN Appoints Peter de Clercq as new Deputy #Somalia envoy and Resident Humanitarian Coordinator http://www.un.org/press/en/2015/

@RedCrescentTR We hold #Somalia‘s hand and stand with them. #Ramadan

@LaetitiaBader 60% of boat asylum seekers in Mediterranean r from 4 countries, incl. #Somalia ,new report highlights why they fled http://bit.ly/1K1FHcT

@Oxfam #YemenCrisis has consequences for the broader region, as refugees from #Somalia are driven back homehttp://oxf.am/Zdkw #WorldRefugeeDay

@ActForSomalia The Somalia they never show you: Gaaceyte Hotel in the Coastal Town of Boosaso.#Somalia

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IMAGE OF THE DAY

Abdullahi Ahmed Jama, Somali Minister of Justice signs the new joint flagship program between the Somali Government and the UN which is part of the New Deal program in Mogadishu. Flanked by the deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia, Philippe Lazzarini and Abdirahman Aynte, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation.

Photo: UNSOM