June 3, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

At least 74 dead in Somali/Ethiopian clash with al Shabaab

03 May– Source: rfi.fr- 284 words

At least 74 people were killed in fighting near Somalia’s border with Ethiopia on Sunday, according to officials and witnesses. Somali and Ethiopian forces attacked the bases of al Shabaab islamists near the south-western town of Ato.

Local people say that this is the worst fighting they have seen in the region and it is unclear how many were killed but the government claimed victory in this gruesome battle.

Hassan Ibrahim Lugbur, the deputy governor of Bakool region where Ato locates told RFI by phone that over 74 al Shabaab fighters were killed in the battle. “Somali forces along with those of the Ethiopian attacked bases manned by al Shabaab fighters near Ato killing 74 al Shabaab militia,” Lugbur said.

Key Headlines

Parliament Discusses the Attack on the Parliament (Radio Dalsan/Universal TV)
Security officials arrests 14 al Shabaab members after clashes in Galgadud (Radio Goobjoog)
Al Shabaab execute men they claim to be Spies (Radio Dalsan/Horseedmedia)
Al Shabab vows more attacks in Somali capital (Hiiraan Online)
Somaliland urged to respond to Djiboutian claims (Jamhuuriya/Somalilandnew Online)
Conference on the plight of women due to open in UK (Radio Goobjoog/Radio RBC)
USA: Somali teen leaves Minnesota to join Jihadists in Syria (Somali Current)
Somali national army apprehends al Shabaab member in Mahaas (Radio Mogadishu)
Somaliland: Suspected terrorist Bank-rollers apprehended at Egal Airport (Somaliland Sun)
Child killed by landmine in Galgudud (Radio Ergo)
Puntland President inaugurates new paved road in Bossaso Port City (Garowe Online)
Ugandan troops to remain in Somalia (The Africa Report)
Kenya: Police to re-open camps and posts along border with Somalia (Coastweek/Xinhua)
Brig Ondoga charged without following proper procedure says witness (Daily Monitor)
Somali officials to train in Japan for enhanced anti-piracy operations (Al Shahid)
At least 74 dead in Somali/Ethiopian clash with al Shabaab (rfi.fr)
UN food agency rings alarm bell over war-torn Somalia (AFP/VOA)
Death reigns in Somalia as displaced struggle to rebuild lives (The Independent)
Dozens of migrants bodies found along Yemen shores (AP)

SOMALI MEDIA

Parliament Discusses the Attack on the Parliament

03 May– Source: Radio Dalsan/Universal TV- 106 words

Parliamentarians are having an unusual session whereby they are discussing the attack on the parliament by al Shabaab last month. They are discussing how it has happened and who they think were behind its staging. The parliament’s security is tightened as different troops in the Somali army were deployed there.

Last month, al Shabaab attacked the parliament building and at least ten people died in that attack. However, al Shabaab assailants were not successful in entering the parliament building as they were blocked by police, army and AMISOM troops. That attack took hours and cause a lot of destruction in the area where the parliament is located.

Security officials arrests 14 al Shabaab members after clashes in Galgadud

03 Jun – Source: Radio Goobjoog/Soomaalidamaanta Online – 131 words

Somali federal government officials stated that they have captured 14 members of al Shabaab after heavy clash between government forces backed by AMISOM troops and al Shabaab fighters.

The administrator of Eel-Garas locality Hassan Sheikh Issa told Goobjoog FM that over thirty people consisting of the warring sides died and other dozens wounded.

The heavy clash embarked after al Shabaab attacked government bases the wee hours of the night.
The administrator also affirmed that the fight between the sides has once more started in Barrow and Dacar localities earlier today though the casualties is not clearly known.

Somali national army getting support from African union peacekeeping troops seized the control of Eel-Buur, a stronghold of al Shabaab in central regions of Somalia March this year, since then Al-shabab fighters carry regular attacks against government forces.

Al Shabaab execute men they claim to be Spies

03 May– Source: Radio Dalsan/Horseedmedia- 114 words

Al Shabaab executed men they said were part of the spies of the government and Kenya as well as USA. They killed those men in Barawe town, Lower Shabelle which is under their control. Al Shabaab also say some of these men work for the Americans. The men were three in number and their names were said to be Salah Fuaad Ismaan who is 24 years old whom they also accused of signing a government contract from BS on recruiting people, Mohamed Omar Diiriye who is 22 year old and who also got a contract from Bs to spy for the Americans and Mohamed Adan Ibrahim who is 26 and accused to be spy for KDF.

Al Shabab vows more attacks in Somali capital

03 May– Source: Hiiraan Online- 234 words

The al Qaeda-linked al Shabab militants have threatened they will carry out even bigger attacks in the country’s capital Mogadishu. Al Shabaab’s representative Sheik Ali Mohamed Hussein for the Banadir region where the capital Mogadishu is located said that their operations in Mogadishu will continue until they will have realized their targets.

“The attacks we are planning to carry out in Mogadishu will so much bigger and devastating than those we did in the past and I promise that the enemy in Mogadishu will not enjoy peace” said the Islamist militant whose voice was broadcasted by the group’s Al-Andalus radio.

He said the attacks will mainly target AMISOM and Somali government officials adding that, the increasing insecurity in the capital was disgraceful to President Hassan Sheik Mahmoud’s government.

Somaliland urged to respond to Djiboutian claims

03 May– Source: Jamhuuriya/Somalilandnew Online/ Horufadhi Online/Radio Goobjoog- 119 words

Two people a man and a woman who themselves in a western restaurant in Djibouti were Somalis who crossed from the border of Somaliland Djibouti as the interior ministry of Djibouti confirmed to media after intensive investigation.

The chairman of Kulmiye, the ruling party Muse Bihi Abdi asked Somaliland interior ministry to respond and substantiate the claims of Djiboutian ministry that the bombers are of Somali origin who crossed from Somaliland.

In his press conference the chairman described the security institutions of the breakaway state as passive since they failed to discover the bombers who stayed in Somaliland for week. Somaliland has declined to give immediate comment about the claims of Djibouti.

Conference on the plight of women due to open in UK

03 May– Source: Radio Goobjoog/Radio RBC- 202 words

The government of UK will horde a meeting to emphasize the predicament of Somali women, chiefly the Gender-based Violence against women on June 10th, Somalia’s Minister of Information Mustaf Dhuhulow said.

“We are grateful for the UK’s lead and commitment on this and we are working with UK to develop strategies and an action plan on dealing with all human rights violations and, in particular, sexual violence towards women,” Minister Dhuhulow said.

“Somalia will attend the upcoming UK conference on 10 June in order to highlight the plight of Somali women and the progress that has been made regarding sexual violence towards women,” he added.

Federal government information Minister spoke on the progress on Human Rights saying that the Ministry of Women & the Development of Human Rights ran a string of discussion and programs to prop up human rights and, in particular, the rights of women. These discussions centered upon sexual violence towards women in Somalia.

The Ministry also pointed out that over 80 countries will attend this conference and particular priority has been given to Somalia at this significant conference.

“It is our policy to stop all human rights violations in Somalia and in particular, violence against women,” the minister said.

USA: Somali teen leaves Minnesota to join Jihadists in Syria

02 Jun – Source: Somali Current – 147 words

Family of a missing Somali- American teenage in Minnesota told their son is allegedly suspected of joining what he said to be Jihad as FBI has confirmed to his families that Abdi Mohamed Nur, 20 years old teen to be currently in Turkey and heading to Syria.

Ifrah Mohamed Nur, sister of Mohamed Nur who is suspected of joining fight in Syria told VOA that her brother has left USA on Thursday and said, “We have informed FBI that our brother is missing and that we are not aware of where exactly he is right away, and that we want your help.

Then days later FBI has confirmed that our brother Abdi Nur is in Turkey and that he is being suspected of joining war in Syria.” She added that her brother’s mind has been changed within less than 2 months after he started to learn school.

Somali national army apprehends al Shabaab member in Mahaas

03 May– Source: Radio Mogadishu/Radio Goobjoog-121 words

Somali national army in Mahaas district of Hiran region have arrested a member of al Shabaab in a massive operation to ensure the safety of the resident and the authorities.

The commissioner of Mahaas district Mumin Eelay confirmed that the national forces captured an armed member of al Shabaab who was planning to carry out attacks in the district. This is the fourth person captured within a week.

Mr. Eelay also stated that last week the security forces have apprehended three al Shabaab members who are under custody.

He added that the security crackdown in the region especially district will continue until law and order is restored. Mahaas is one of the ten areas seized by the joint forces in a massive military operations.

Somaliland: Suspected terrorist Bank-rollers apprehended at Egal Airport

02 Jun – Source: Somaliland Sun – 99 words

Two men are under investigation on issues pertaining to association with the al Qaeda aligned al Shabaab organization. The two suspected of being financial supporters of al Shabaab, an Islamist organization battling the Somalia Federal Government-SFG for control of former Somalia –Italian were arrested by Somaliland immigration officers at the Egal International Airport on Sunday.

According to a senior Immigration officer the duo who are resident in the Emirates were apprehended while on a flight from Mogadishu and handed over to the CID headquarters in Hargeisa where police are conducting investigations especially as to ascertain the purpose of their visit to Somaliland.

Child killed by landmine in Galgudud

01 May– Source: Radio Ergo- 100 words

A landmine blast killed a child and injured two others in Balanbal district in Somalia’s Galgadud region last week. The landmine, which the children found on their way to the town’s market, exploded as they were playing, according to Bahsan Salad Hashi, mother of the 12-year old child who was killed. The wounded children were taken to Mudug’s regional capital of Galkayo. The area, which lies near the Somalia-Ethiopia border, is infested with landmines from the days of the Ogaden conflict in the late 1970s. The landmines planted in these areas during the war continue to kill dozens every year.

Puntland President inaugurates new paved road in Bossaso Port City

01 Jun – Source: Garowe Online – 114 words

The President of Somalia’s Puntland Government Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas has inaugurated new 5.9km paved road in the Gulf of Aden port city of Bossaso on Sunday, Garowe Online reports.

President Gaas alongside-cabinet Ministers, parliamentarians, Bari region Governor Abdisamad Mohamed Galan and Bossaso Mayor Hassan Abdalle Hassan arrived at the scene where he cut the rope for the new offshoot leading to Bossaso seaport.

Puntland leader initially expressed his pleasure over the UNHABITAT initiative that resulted in the construction of the paved facility. “I call on UNHABITAT, if you get $1 million don’t do anything else, just invest it in roads,” said Dr. Gaas.”We are keen to witness tangible things alone”.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Ugandan troops to remain in Somalia

03 Jun – Source: The Africa Report – 133 words

Uganda insists it will not pull out its troops from the troubled Somalia, despite an increase in attacks on its soldiers by Somali militants. Uganda’s Defence minister, Crispus Kiyonga told a press conference that an attack by al Shabaab militia, which killed three Ugandan soldiers late last month, was an act of cowardice.

He said Ugandan troops will continue with their peacekeeping mission in Somalia despite the attacks. “Africa and the troop-contributing countries will remain resolute in defeating the al Shabaab,” he thundered.

Late June, al Shabaab fighters, donning suicide vests stormed the Somali parliament building, shortly after detonating a car bomb, while parliament was in session.

Three Uganda soldiers, four Somali soldiers and one Somali policeman were killed in the attack. Uganda peacekeepers shot dead the 13 al Shabaab militants who carried out the attack.

Kenya: Police to re-open camps and posts along border with Somalia

03 May– Source: Coastweek/Xinhua- 321 words

Kenyan authorities planned to reopen police posts which had been closed in the border town of Mandera following increased attacks by militants from Somalia. Mandera County Administration Police Commander Albert Hama on Monday said the government will soon open all the police camps that were closed in 2013 for insufficient police officers.

The East African nation has been rocked by a string of grenade and bomb attacks since it sent troops into Somalia more than two years ago in pursuit of Islamist al Shabaab insurgents whom it blamed for kidnapping its security personnel and Western tourists.

Brig Ondoga charged without following proper procedure, says witness

03 Jun- Source: Daily Monitor-250 Words

The former commander of Ugandan troops in Somalia, Brig Michael Ondoga, was arraigned in court without following the appropriate legal procedures, the General Court Martial heard yesterday. A prosecution witness, Maj Nuwagaba told the court that he was interviewed by the investigations team a month after Brig Ondoga had been arraigned in court and remanded.

“I learnt about the false accusations against Brig Ondoga on January 22, 2014 when I was interviewed by the investigation team. And in March this year, I received a telephone call from Brig Leopold Kyanda who informed me that investigations were completed,” testified Maj Nuwagaba, a former battalion commander under Battle Group X in Somalia.

The witness was testifying against Brig Ondoga in a case of alleged false accusations before the court chaired by Brig Moses Ddiba Ssentongo. He, however, testified that he did not witness his former boss writing the letter in which it is alleged that Brig Ondoga lied to his superiors in the report that accused junior commanders of undermining his command.

Somali officials to train in Japan for enhanced anti-piracy operations

02 Jun – Source: Al Shahid – 158 words

Three Somali government officials will undergo three weeks of training in Japan from Monday to better tackle piracy off the Horn of Africa. In recent interviews with Kyodo News, the three expressed their desire to learn more from Japan, whose Maritime Self-Defense Force has been engaged in anti-piracy operations in the waters.

The three will be trained by the Japan Coast Guard in the cities of Kitakyushu, Yokohama, and Kure. Their training has been organized by the coast guard and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Somalia had long been without a functioning government since its civil war in 1991. But since a government was formally launched around a year and a half ago, the number of piracy incidents has been declining, though Islamist terrorist attacks continue to rock the country’s capital and other locations.

Abdiaziz Mohamed Shire, director of counterterrorism and maritime security at the Ministry of National Security, said the public’s expectations of the government are rising.

Kenya tightens noose on terror suspects through review of bail rules

02 May– Source: Sabahi Online- 1083 words

Kenya is taking steps to close loopholes in the constitution that allow courts to grant bail to terrorism and capital offence suspects with the formation of a special joint task force headed by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga.

The taskforce, established May 13th and comprising five members each from the parliament, the judiciary and the public prosecutor’s office, is developing guidelines judges and magistrates across the country will have to consider before granting bail to suspects in the most serious cases.

The guidelines, expected to be completed by the end of June, will be operational once gazetted by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) without need for additional parliamentary approval, officials said.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

At least 74 dead in Somali/Ethiopian clash with al Shabaab

03 May– Source: rfi.fr- 284 words

Local people say that this is the worst fighting they have seen in the region and it is unclear how many were killed but the government claimed victory in this gruesome battle.

UN food agency rings alarm bell over war-torn Somalia

02 Jun – Source: AFP/VOA – 216 words

The United Nations food agency, the FAO, on Monday issued a stark warning over food security in war-torn Somalia, launching an urgent appeal for $18 million to stop hunger spreading. Last year’s harvest was already poor and prices are rising as food stocks from 2013 are being rapidly depleted, the FAO warned in a statement.

The situation has been exacerbated by late rains, erratic weather and the conflict wracking the impoverished African country, the FAO said. The agency estimated there were 860,000 people in need of humanitarian assistance in Somalia, including 200,000 malnourished children under the age of five.

It said it was “urgently seeking” $18 million (13 million euros) to scale up what it called “rapid interventions” to prevent the food security situation getting even worse. “Conditions are expected to improve slightly in August and September when the harvest is ready for consumption, but the positive impact is likely to be moderate given the unfavourable prospects of the current season,” the FAO judged.

Prices for staples such as maize and sorghum have risen by as much as 60 and 80 percent compared to April last year. “The people of Somalia cannot simply wait for the results of the next harvest. They need urgent help,” said Luca Alinovi, FAO officer for Somalia and Kenya.

Death reigns in Somalia as displaced struggle to rebuild lives

02 Jun- Source: The Independent-358 Words

Mogadishu remains a city in chaos, haunted by its tortured past, and fearful of its uncertain future. Every street bears the scars of war, with whole districts still no more than rubble, and amid this rubble, sleep the multitude of homeless, hiding from the oppressive sun, cowering with nowhere to go.

The shell of the once beautiful cathedral plays home to alcoholics, despite the threat of 60 public lashes, and alongside them shanty towns fill the once magnificent Italian districts. The remnants of animal carcasses lie covered in flies around the city, and children play among the rubbish.

Around the country al-Shabaab remain a potent force, able to launch attacks at will while blending in among the population. They have shifted their tactics to become a guerrilla force, and continue to have both money and success.

Whole cities pay them extortion fees, in some cases earning them $500,000 (£300,000) a month. They are able to move freely around the countryside, and have a seemingly endless supply of weapons flowing in from Yemen.

Dozens of migrants bodies found along Yemen shores

02 Jun – Source: AP – 108 words

A Yemeni security official and witnesses say the bodies of dozens of illegal immigrants, mostly from Somalia and Ethiopia, have been found on western beaches after their boat capsized in the Red Sea.

Witnesses said Monday that about 50 bodies were found starting Friday and buried near the town of Zoubab. Mohammed Yahia, who witnessed the burial, says that residents brought a bulldozer and buried them in a mass grave.

The official, who could not be named in accordance with Yemeni practice, says the immigrants’ boat capsized. A second boat loaded with 45 migrants was seized and those aboard were arrested. The immigrants were headed for Saudi Arabia.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“As the saying goes, if you can’t defeat them, join them! And that’s exactly what Somali’s Hawala companies should do now before every bank in the Western world refuses to handle their money afraid of litigation from the US government. Hawalas understand their business, they understand the risk and the profits involved, and they understand the Somali politics in Somalia, thus, they should step up their game and start their own national bank here in US.”

Rethinking Hawalas

02 Jun- Source: Somali Current-803 Words

Informal money transfer systems—is ramping up in US and the UK. As The Wall Street Journal reported last month, Amaana Money Transfer Co. of Minneapolis has received a notice letter from its Banker, Merchants Bank of California saying, “Due to the ever-changing regulatory requirements and expenses,” Amaana’s bank account will be closed on June 20th of this year. Similarly, other banks such as Barclays, Wells Fargo, US Bancorp (US Bank), and other smaller banks that Somali Hawalas have had accounts have ended their business links with the Hawalas or are in the process to end such as the Barclays bank.

Barclays bank declared late last year that that it will close accounts of Money Transfer Companies due to the intensive financial oversight and scrutiny that these businesses bring and the risk involved in this line of business. Dahabshiil, one of the largest money transfer companies in Somalia that profited and benefited from the US government’s designation of Al-Barakat Hawala as a terrorist organization in 2001, is now battling with Barclays to keep its accounts open.

“Stringent measures must be put in place to thoroughly scrutinise people who hire armed police escorts, for it is now apparent the same police are unwittingly being used to abet crime.”

Security lapse by police may be costly

02 Jun- Source: Standard Media-300 Words

A report appearing in yesterday’s issue of this newspaper highlighting how members of the Kenya Police Service were hired to escort an unidentified white woman to visit Kenya Defence Force soldiers in Ras Kamboni, Somalia is quite disturbing. Police and military installations are protected zones that require authorisation to enter and photograph. It is surprising that an anonymous foreigner could hire members of the police force to be taken to these installations for inspection without authorisation and authentication of her credentials.

One of the installations visited by the mysterious woman, suspected in some quarters to be wanted terrorist Samantha Lewthwaite, also known as the “White Widow” is the Mukokoni police post, possibly for reconnaissance. What are the procedures to be followed in hiring police escorts within the country? Unwitting pawns? Who, least of all the police themselves, could think of stopping and searching someone under police escort? This type of laxity exposes the country to unnecessary security risks.

“The challenge for both AFRICOM and its African partners is to devise strategies that will ensure that security objectives are not pursued at the expense of democracy, military professionalization and respect for human rights.”

The consequences of the U.S. war on terrorism in Africa

02 Jun- Source: Al Jazeera America-1402 Words

On May 5, President Barack Obama hosted his Djiboutian counterpart, Ismail Omar Guelleh, at the White House. The two leaders signed a 20-year lease agreement for the Djibouti-based Camp Lemonnier, the biggest U.S. military base in Africa. Covering 500 acres, the installation is a crucial launching site for U.S. military operations against militant groups in the Horn of Africa and Yemen. The U.S. agreed to pay an annual fee of $70 million for the site, which now hosts more than 4,000 U.S. military personnel and civilians.

The base is a key part of Pentagon’s plans “to maximize the impact of a relatively small U.S. presence in Africa,” according to the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review, a congressional panel that conducts assessments of U.S. defense strategy and priorities. All African countries except Eritrea receive some form of U.S. military assistance, according to data from the U.S. State Department. Most of this assistance is channeled through the department’s International Military Education and Training program, which facilitates professional relationships with African militaries.

“According to the report, terrorist groups are using social-media sites—including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Flickr—to spread their propaganda and raise funds, as well as to recruit and train new members.”

Why Terrorists Love Twitter

02 Jun- Source: Defense One-1288 Words

“Try to think like a terrorist for a second. Would you like to get—free-of-charge—satellite services? Of course, you would,” says Gabriel Weimann. “Now think about Google Earth.”

Indeed, it was Google Earth that members of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Tayyiba used to help plan the 2008 Mumbai terror spree that killed more than 150 people, says Weimann, a leading scholar of terrorism and media. The attackers used the satellite imagines to memorize landmarks, helping them to better coordinate and carry out the string of shootings and bombings. Terrorist groups around the world have quickly learned how to manipulate the Web and social media, an invention of the West, against the West, and it is reshaping the war on terror.

Weimann, a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center and professor at Haifa University in Israel, has been studying the relationship between terrorism and mass media since the early days of the Internet and has just published a new report titled “New Terrorism and New Media.”

Top tweets

@OCHASom Maxaas town in #Somalia, where aid workers traveled last week to visit to assess the community’s#humanitarian needs pic.twitter.com/V7zyFrNdbF

@amisomsomalia PHOTOS: #AMISOM head handing over equipment to the Ministry Of Livestock #Somalia http://bit.ly/1ucjYpk pic.twitter.com/hTgEIbeh4k

@UNSomalia WATCH: A new movie retraces #Somalia‘s developments over the past 12 months since establishment of@UNSomalia https://vimeo.com/97109174

@harunmaruf Sources: Liyuu Police militias are fighting 60KMs inside #Somalia, seized #Shabab base in La Galaay (btw Rabdhure and Garasweyne) on Sunday.

@UN Somalia: Late, erratic rainfall raises concerns about harvest prospects & food security: http://bit.ly/1kALeWV via@FAOemergencies

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Image of the day

Image of the day AMISOM head Amb. Mahamet Saleh Anadif and Director of the Ministry of Livestock, Dr. Sowda Roble, shake hands and exhange documents during a handover of five compuers to the MInistry of Livestock from AMISOM on 2nd June 2014 at the office of the SRCC in Mogadishu. Photo: AMISOM