June 20, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Somalia Among Top Source Countries for Refugees

20 Jun- Source: VOA-214 Words

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says Somalia was among the world’s top three source countries for refugees last year. In a Friday report marking World Refugee Day, the agency said Afghanistan, Syria and Somalia together accounted for more than half of the world’s 16.7 million refugees in 2013.

It said many of the 1.1 million Somalis who left the country sought refuge from conflict, drought and famine in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia. Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo also have relatively high rankings on the agency’s top 10 list of source countries, together accounting for more than a million refugees. People from both countries have been dealing with the impact of conflict. Eritrea is in 10th place, accounting for 308,000 refugees.

In a statement, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres said that “peace is today dangerously in deficit.” He also said the international community needs to overcome its differences and find solutions to the conflicts in “South Sudan, Syria, Central African Republic and elsewhere.”

Key Headlines

Somalia will manage the $400 Million pledged during ACP Summit (Radio Bar-kulan/Radio RBC)
Police station in Galkayo bombed (Radio Shabelle/Radio Kulmiye)
Somalia Among Top Source Countries for Refugees (VOA)
One of the Somali Ships in Yemen Risk Sinking (Radio Dalsan)
7 people die of hunger in Bulo-burte Hiiran region (Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Goobjoog)
Uganda: Opposition: Get army out of Sudan Somalia (Daily Monitor)
Govt official killed in Eel-Adde Gedo (Radio Shabelle)
CCA Holds Symposium for Community Awareness and Peace Building in Mogadishu (Radio Dalsan/Radio Mogadishu)
Karaan administration arrest murder suspects (Radio Shabelle)
Somaliland President hosts Chris Allan deputy British ambassador to Ethiopia (Somaliland Informer)
Kenya: US issues fresh travel advisory as ambassador requests more security (Standard Media)
Al Shabaab repeats claims of dual attacks on Kenya’s coast (Africa Review)
KDF kills five Mpeketoni gunmen (Standard Media)
Qoryooley residents uncertain about fate of 20 traders abducted by al Shabaab (Sabahi Online)
Somali-Americans leave homes friends in Minnesota to fight alongside ISIS jihadis (Fox News)
Kenya Security Forces Kill 5 Coastal Attack Suspects (VOA)
Could the fate of Somali refugees in Kenya be decided soon? (BBC)
Americans arrested accused of supporting terrorists (Hawaii News Now)

PRESS STATEMENT

Somali President: “Dr Osman Mohammud Dufle’s Nomination for a Nobel Prize in Recognition of his Humanitarian Work is an Inspiration to All Somalis.”

20 Jun – Source: Office of the Prime Minister – 231 words

His Excellency President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud today paid a surprise visit to a meeting in Mogadishu that had been organized by MPs and members of the public. During the visit he met with Dr Osman Mohammud Dufle, who was recently nominated for a Noble Prize and, during a short speech which he gave the assembled citizens, he said: “Dr Osman Mohammud Dufle’s nomination for a Nobel Prize in recognition of his humanitarian work is an inspiration to all Somalis.”

H.E. the President continued, saying: “Dr Osman Mohammud Dufle stayed in Somalia throughout the years of lawlessness and provided humanitarian assistance on a voluntary basis in the Keysaney Hospital. He saw the results of bloodshed constantly including the horrific attack on December 3rd, 2009 on a group of graduating medical students.

He never wavered in providing assistance to the people without any bias and he was one of the founders of the Joint Medical Committee, an organisation that crossed divides and epitomised the motto of Somali doctors, ‘Medical Service for all.’ ”

HE the President concluded: “Dr Osman Mohammud Dofle is an inspiration and his selflessness and dedication is an example to us all. He shows us that, despite the images we see and the stories we hear, good Somalis carried on throughout the troubled times and they continue their good work now, as security and stability return to the country.”

SOMALI MEDIA

Somalia will manage the $400 Million pledged during ACP Summit

20 Jun- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Radio RBC- 171 words

Somalia’s Deputy Minister for Planning and International Cooperation, Prof. Abdullahi Sheikh Ali has stated that Somali government will manage the $400 Million it will receive from Cotonou Agreement following its accession to the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States.

Speaking to Bar-kulan, the deputy minister said that Somalia’s membership of African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States will help the country achieve its long term peace and developmental targets.

He hopes the emerging progress in Somalia will help the country regain its lost membership of various organizations and partnerships from regional and international players.

Somalia lost membership status in various organizations and partnerships due to the decades’ long civil war in the country.

On Thursday, while attending the 99th Session of ACP in Nairobi, Somali Prime Minister, Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed and European Union Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs signed Somalia’s formal accession to the ACP member states.

African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) except Cuba signed the Cotonou Agreement with the European Union in Cotonou, Benin in 2000.

Police station in Galkayo bombed

20 Jun- Source: Radio Shabelle/Radio Kulmiye- 106 words

News reports from central Somali town of Galkayo indicate that armed assailants attacked a police base in Garsoor town in the provincial capital of Mudug region. The fighters threw IED bombs and it detonated near the station where officers from Puntland State police station were stationed.

The IED bomb caused severe fatalities to Puntland police officers at their town police base.

After the explosion, Puntland police officers and soldiers conducted thorough search crackdowns in Galkayo and arrested several people they believe were responsible for the bomb attack.

No comment or statement has been made or released by Puntland state officials in Galkayo regarding the explosion.

7 people die of hunger in Bulo-burte, Hiiran region

20 Jun- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Goobjoog- 108 words

At least seven people have died of hunger in Bula-burte and its environs in Hiiran region according to the officials in the area who talked to Bar-kulan. Bulo-burte Commissioner, Ahmed Addow Wehliye has confirmed the deaths of the seven people to Bar-kulan adding that there is a widespread famine in the region. Wehliye also stated residents in Bulo-burte and its surrounding areas are facing huge challenges including food shortages and lack of medical supplies. He said they need urgent food and medical supplies from relevant authorities to save the lives of thousands of people affected by the widespread famine.

One of the Somali Ships in Yemen Risk Sinking

20 Jun- Source: Radio Dalsan- 96 words

The consular of Somalia in Yemen has paid a visit to four ships belonging to Somalia which are in the custody of the Yemeni government. The Consular, Ahmed Sudan visited the port in Aden where the ships have been held since the collapse of the state 23 years ago. He expressed concern about the ships saying that one of them; named Osman Gedi Rage is at the risk of sinking. The consular spoke to the guards who told him the biggest risk is water that has rapidly entering into the ship which they now fear it may sink.

They said there was an urgent need to save the ship from sinking. The guards have asked the consular Ahmed Suldan to ask the Somali government to intervene, especially the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine. He in turn requested them to double their efforts. He promised that the Somali consulate in Yemen will do its best to help rescue the ship.

The four ships belong to Shifo Company and there has been a court against it since 2007 in which Yemeni business people claim they have paid money to the ships that were being managed by Engineer Munye.

Govt official killed in Eel-Adde, Gedo

20 Jun- Source: Radio Shabelle- 68 words

Armed fighters killed a Somali Federal Government official in Eel-Adde town of Gedo region. The official, Ali Salah, was shot dead by three men armed with pistols outside his house in Eel-Adde, witnesses reported to Shabelle. The murderers quickly fled the scene and no-one has allegedly been arrested on suspicion of the murder. No comment has been made by government officials in Eel-Adde regarding the murder of Ali Salah.

CCA Holds Symposium for Community Awareness and Peace Building in Mogadishu

20 Jun- Source: Radio Dalsan/Radio Mogadishu- 250 words

A symposium organized by CCA which is an organization that works on community awareness which was on peacebuilding and community awareness was held in Mogadishu.

This symposium was attended by many leaders and the first to give speech was Abdulaziiz District Commissioner Mr. Ismaan Muhyadiin Ariif in which he praised the symposium and he pointed out how the district administration is dedicated in improving the peace in the district. He also encouraged other participants of the symposium to contribute their ideas. He emphasised that awareness is the key to the development of the society.

Also, the chairman of CCA Mr. Mohamed Ali Ajiib who spoke at the event elaborated much on how awareness on peace building can be effectively done. Moreover, he explained the dedication of CCA in effectively functionalizing its process of sensitizing the Somali people on the goodness of peace. He acknowledged the participants for their time.

The symposium was attended by more than one hundred people from the different cross-sections of the society. Finally, recommendation on peace building initiatives were given. Different leaders including the Chairman of the Olympic Games of Middle Shabelle, Khalaf Adan Shangole, the director of CCA Mr. Mohamed Abdi Hassan aka Sandeere and the Deputy Chairperson for Abdulaziiz District for Politics and Peace, Mr. Hassan Haji Abuukar Ali who all encouraged the participants to translate what they have learnt there into action.

CCA has in the past organized similar symposiums in other districts in the country including other districts of Mogadishu.

Karaan administration arrest murder suspects

19 Jun – Source: Radio Shabelle – 101 words

The Karaan District Commissioner Ahmed Hassan Yalahow told Radio Shabelle that two police officers were killed in the district and that the suspected murderers were arrested. The officers that were killed were private guards for the Karaan Deputy District Commissioner for Social Affairs.

Mr. Yalahow said that the government troops have managed to pursue the murder suspects and that they will face justice, by being persecuted in a court of law.

The security situation in Karaan seems to be improving but planned assassinations continue nonetheless although the district administration have vowed to arrest any perpetrators of insecurity acts in the district.

Somaliland President hosts Chris Allan, deputy British ambassador to Ethiopia

19 Jun – Source: Somaliland Informer – 160 words

Somaliland President Ahmed Silanyo hosted British Deputy Ambassador to Ethiopia Mr. Chris Allan who has paid working visit to Somaliland. Once the meeting ended, Somaliland Foreign Minister Hon Mohamed Bihi Yonis has given a briefing to the local press and this is what he said:-

I want to take this opportunity to thank Chris Allan the UK envoy who came from the British embassy in Addis Ababa. Fm has informed the UK delegation that Somaliland is a peace loving people that have managed to maintain peace and tranquility for the past 23 years.

He stated firmly that the protection of civilians is the responsibility of Somaliland government. “We went to Taleh to stabilize and at the will of the people who are there.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Uganda: Opposition: Get army out of Sudan, Somalia

20 Jun – Source: Daily Monitor – 110 words

The Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Mr Wafula Oguttu, yesterday told the government to withdraw the country’s army from Somalia and South Sudan. Making his maiden reaction as LoP to President Museveni’s State-of-the-Nation address delivered last week, Mr Oguttu observed that Uganda’s Army cannot be “a permanent substitute for a Somali national army” even though the work it has done in the troubled Horn of Africa country is commendable.

He also said Uganda’s soldiers are dying in “a senseless war in South Sudan”. Demanding that government provides a timeline for troop pull-out, Mr Oguttu said UPDF soldiers are engaged in a power struggle between the leaders of South Sudan.

Kenya: US issues fresh travel advisory as ambassador requests more security

20 Jun- Source: Standard Media- 262 words

The US ambassador to Kenya has requested additional Kenyan and American security personnel and is reducing the size of the embassy staff because of an increase in terror threats in the country. The Associated Press said the ambassador made the requests in a letter sent to embassy employees Friday. Ambassador Robert Godec said additional police are already patrolling around the embassy and that more assets will arrive from Washington next week. The embassy warned Americans last week that it was taking new security steps because of recent threat information. Thursday, the US renewed travel advisory to its citizens, warning them against any travel to the coast region. “Based on the recent changes in Kenya’s security situation, the Embassy is also relocating some staff to other countries. However, the Embassy will remain open for normal operations. This replaces the Travel Warning of May 17, 2014, to update information about embassy staffing and current travel recommendations,” read the advisory on the US government website.

Al Shabaab repeats claims of dual attacks on Kenya’s coast

19 Jun – Source: Africa Review – 159 words

People who are familiar with the public relations modalities of al Shabaab, the Somalia-based Islamist terror group, consider genuine an audio message posted on the internet claiming responsibility for the Mpeketoni massacres in Kenya’s Lamu County on Sunday and Monday.

This is despite Kenyan authorities doubting the authenticity of al Shabaab’s claim and blaming the attacks on domestic opposition “political networks”. The audio message was accompanied by a picture of Sheikh Abdulaziz Abu Mus’ab, Al-Shabaab’s official spokesman on military operations, wearing army fatigues and with guards surrounding him.

The message was broadcast by the media in Mogadishu on Wednesday with the vivid voice of Sheikh Abu Mus’ab. Mincing no words, the sheikh started with verses of the Holy Quran and Hadith (sayings of Prophet Mohammed) that assaulting an enemy was an open option in the context of jihad.

KDF kills five Mpeketoni gunmen

19 Jun- Source: Standard Media – 344 words

Kenya Defence Forces ( KDF) have said they killed five of the gunmen who raided Mpeketoni and left more than 60 people dead. The soldiers said they shot dead the five in Bodei area in Garsen, Tana River near the Kenya-Somalia border on Wednesday night and recovered three AK 47 rifles. “Police will brief you later but we caught up with five of the attackers and killed them while the rest, who were the majority, managed to escape,” said a senior military officer who asked not to be named. The official said the KDF personnel were on normal patrols in the area when they clashed with the gunmen. The incident is said to have happened at about 10pm. Military personnel operate in Lamu and Ras Kamboni in Somalia. Police boss David Kimaiyo confirmed the incident, but said he did not have details on the same.

Qoryooley residents uncertain about fate of 20 traders abducted by al Shabaab

19 Jun- Source: Sabahi Online- 609 words

Residents of Qoryooley in Lower Shabelle region say they are worried and perplexed after al Shabaab abducted 20 local traders on June 14th as they were traveling between the villages of Bula Sheikh and Bufo. “We do not know the reason why those people were abducted and the exact location they were taken to,” said Yasin Ali, a 55-year-old elder from Qoryooley. He told Sabahi there were four women among those taken, and al Shabaab reportedly set fire to their vehicle after abducting them.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somalia Among Top Source Countries for Refugees

20 Jun- Source: VOA-214 Words

Somali-Americans leave homes, friends in Minnesota to fight alongside ISIS jihadis

19 Jun- Source: Fox News- 669 words

As many as 15 Somali-American men have left their homes in Minnesota in recent months to travel to the Middle East and join up with ISIS, the jihadist army at war with Syria and Iraq, according to Minnesota Public Radio.

The fighters appear to have made the decision to go fight with Islamic State of Iraq and Syria/Levant while the terror group was fighting to overthrow Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, but some may now be in Iraq, where the marauding group is seeking to topple Baghdad.

“A Muslim has to stand up for [what’s] right,” Abdirahmaan Muhumed told MPR News through a series of Facebook messages dating back to the beginning of the year. “I give up this worldly life for Allah.”

Kenya Security Forces Kill 5 Coastal Attack Suspects

19 Jun – Source: VOA- 131 words

Kenya’s security forces have shot dead five people suspected of involvement in attacks on the coast this week that killed about 65 people, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday.

Somalia’s al Shabaab Islamist militant group, the usual suspects in such attacks, claimed responsibility for this week’s assaults that were 24 hours apart on the town of Mpeketoni and a nearby village. Both areas are near the coast in Lamu County.

President Uhuru Kenyatta dismissed the group’s claim and accused his political rivals of being behind the attacks, saying they wanted to stoke ethnic tensions. The opposition swiftly denied the charge, which risks deepening political divisions.

“Five suspected attackers shot dead while escaping, three AK-47 guns and several ammunitions recovered,” the Interior Ministry said on Twitter, locating the incident in Lamu County.

Could the fate of Somali refugees in Kenya be decided soon?

19 Jun- Source: BBC Newsday-03:06mins

Wide ranging talks between Kenya and Somalia are set to resume after claims that refugees were mistreated in Kenya briefly threw them off course. Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed told the BBC’s Emmanuel Igunza that Nairobi has assured him that all refugees will be treated humanely.

Americans arrested, accused of supporting terrorists

19 Jun – Source: Hawaii News Now – 108 words

Two American men are in custody Thursday morning, charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. Rahatul Khan is accused of attempting to join an al Qaeda-linked terror group in Somalia, and Michael Todd Wolfe allegedly tried to join radical groups in Syria.

A SWAT team surrounded 23-year-old Khan’s home in Austin. According to a criminal complaint, Khan used internet chat rooms “to spot and assess potential recruits for committing violent jihad overseas.”

Wolfe, also 23, was arrested at Houston’s George H.W. Bush Airport before boarding a flight to Europe where he allegedly planned to enter into Syria through Turkey, providing “his services to radical groups.”

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“Farmers will not plant if they are not near their land and livestock herders will struggle to find water sources across frontlines. Humanitarian organisations are concerned that the looming food crisis could push and an already vulnerable community into further stress, similar to the 2011 crisis.”

Somali refugees concerned about returning home due to insecurity and looming food crisis

20 Jun- Source: Europa Blog-915 Words

The 2011 famine in Somalia killed more than a quarter of a million people and displaced hundreds of thousands within the country and elsewhere throughout the Horn and East Africa region. This was a double blow to the people of Somalia who were and still are being displaced by conflict.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Somalia has been responding to the displacement with a variety of programs ranging from healthcare to cash vouchers. The IRC in Kenya also runs a hospital in Hagadera, part of the sprawling Dadaab refugee complex in northern Kenya, treated hundreds of severely malnourished children at the height of the crisis. The IRC has been operating health and nutrition programs there since 2009 as well as Protection and Women’s Empowerment initiatives.

The European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) has, since 2009, been funding the IRC’s health services at Dadaab’s main hospital; five health posts; hospital and community level nutrition services as well as protection in both Hagadera and Kambioos refugee camps.

“By the most liberal estimates of world-wide populations, all Somalis are less than 20 million today, 10.2 million of which are in Somalia proper. Projections of world-wide populations put Somalia alone at 40 million by the year 2050. All other things being equal to current status quo, other non-Somalia Somalis will more or less match that projected number of Somalia. All in all, the population of all Somalis in the Horn of Africa will at the most generous estimate be at about 80 million by 2050, against more than 400 million of Ethiopia and 135 million of Kenya by the same year.”

A Threat to the Existence of Somalis in the Horn of Africa?

19 Jun- Source: Wardheernews-1553 Words

For eons, the Somalis inhabited the Horn of Africa in seclusion. On one side, Somalis were protected from people-to-people invasions by the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea; and, on the other side, a harsh semi-desert which forbade conquering. Also, the few batches of fertile lands, along the two rivers in the south, the Somalis defended their territories with fierceness that dissuaded others to try. Of course, the European colonialists had invaded Somali lands with shear military armada, the result of which had been the cut up of what would have otherwise been a one contiguous Somali Peninsula into 5 slices, 2 of 5 making up Somalia.

In the not too distant future, what if there will be a very serious threat against all Somalis in the Horn of Africa? I do not mean to alarm any one inordinately, for this threat is not imminent; nor will it happen in one or two decades; but it is very real. What is this threat about, one might ask? It is about an explosive population growth of others surrounding the Somalis, which will inevitably perhaps one day erase Somalis, their language and culture from existence!

Somali neighbors have been growing by leaps and bounds. Today, Ethiopia’s population stands at about 96 million with a ranking of the 13th most populous nation in the World. Ethiopia is the second largest populous country in Africa, behind Nigeria. By the year 2030 (in 16 years), Ethiopian population is projected to be more than 210 million. By 2050 (in 36 years), Ethiopia would cross a more than 400 million population mark with a distinction of the 7th most populous nation! Get this: Ethiopia will have 1.6 billion by the year 2100—that is in 86 years. And that is only on one side of the Somali border.

“There have been numerous failed attempts to restore collapsed Somalia over the past two decades. A nation-building model that takes into account the society’s nomadic culture and the deeply embedded historical narratives that shape the people’s worldviews stands a chance.”

The way forward for Somalia

18 Jun- Source: Pampazuka News-1669 Words

Finding the right framework for a workable governance system for Somalia has been problematic for both governments in the West and academics from around the world for more than two decades. To this day, the need to reconstruct the Somali state is being merely considered as a means to counter Terrorism and Piracy, with little urgency for the highly important issue of what to do with the overall nature of state failure. It’s also seen, albeit with less importance, as having the potential to destabilise the East African region.

But the response to the conflict has so far been inadequate, because the policy-makers continuously misunderstand the Somali social structures and cultural narratives. Therefore, the issue of state building has become an endless academic discourse, and the actual resolution to the conflict eluding everyone involved for so long. Since 1991, every attempt to find some sort of a centralised governance system for Somalia – the latest one being the blurred and poorly defined federal system – has so far failed.

In fact inadequate knowledge and skills can prolong conflicts (as we now see in Somalia and Afghanistan) and are a major problem when it comes to reaching trust building levels. And a cognitive cultural misunderstanding can create deficiency in policy making processes and can mislead those trying to find solutions to the conflicts.

Top tweets

@LiveFrMogadishu Waayaha Cusub spreading a message of peace to former child soldiers in #Somalia #WorldRefugeeDay pic.twitter.com/dPTHyFG1zM

‏@Payitforward87 Hawo Tako, the symbol behind Somali resistance to Italian colonialism in the south. #Somalia pic.twitter.com/3WwbGutBAX

@martinlidegaard Discussing #Somalia. DK will host important high level meeting in November, we need to tackle the challenges #dkpol pic.twitter.com/9V4TlPZkQL

@BobGodec @IOM Medical Kakuma w/Somali family receiving vaccinations, soon on their way to the US! #WorldRefugeeDay @CDCKenya pic.twitter.com/O0jHeggLq5

@SomaliaEU #Somali Prime Minister signed today Som’s 1st EC-NIP programme of 286 million EUR, more on http://www.eu-somalia.eu pic.twitter.com/Tpa6YCPjYB

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Image of the day

Image of the day @SomaliPM and @APiebalgsEU signed Somalia’s first National Indicative Programme.#Somalia. Photo: @Ridwaanhaji