June 30, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report
Ethiopian Forces Take Charge Of Leego Army Base
30 June – Source: Somali Current – 141 Words
Ethiopian forces, which are part of the AMISOM forces in Somalia, Monday night took over the charge of Leego military base that was left yesterday by the AMISOM forces, citing tactical retreat. The Ethiopian forces have also barricaded the major roads that lead to the town that lies on the Lower Shabelle region of Somalia. Anticipating an eminent face-off between the Ethiopian forces and Al Shabab, section of the resident could be seen leaving the town Tuesday morning. The new development comes after the militant group Al Shabab on Friday attacked Leego army base where at least 20 Burundian forces were killed.A sizeable number of militants are believed to have stormed the base with some reports adding that at least 15 suicide bombers set off their explosives at the main gate to the base, creating a passage for the militants.
Key Headlines
- Ethiopian Forces Take Charge Of Leego Army Base (Somali Current)
- Application For The Galmudug Presidential Candidates Opens Today(Goobjoog News)
- MPs Grill Interior And Federalism Minister About Independent Commissions (Goobjoog News)
- Ethiopia Tells Somali´s Leaders To Solve Their Own Problems (Somali Current)
- Africa Energy Withdraws From Puntland Somalia Blocks (Market Watch)
- Kenya Somalia In talks To End Border Row Out Of UN court (Business Daily)
- UoN Students On Al- Shabaab Payroll – Police (The Star Kenya)
- On The Other Side Of The Camp (White House Blogs)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Application For The Galmudug Presidential Candidates Opens Today
30 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 85 Words
The Newly formed regional electoral committee has announced that the application for presidential candidates and their deputies opens today.Chairman for the electoral commission Mohamed Adan Osman has said “From30th June, 2015 the applications are open, and would close on 1st July, 2015 on 12:00PM”.The candidates would be briefed on the modalities of the election, and would also receive advice on the requirements for a candidate to stand for the post.More than 10 candidates are vying for the Galmudug presidential post.
MPs Grill Interior And Federalism Minister About Independent Commissions
30 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 148 Words
The MPs of federal parliament of Somalia have questioned the Minister Abdirahman Mohamed Hussein on the integrity of members of two independent commissions namely The Electoral Commission and The Federalism and Boundaries Commission. Both commissions are in the parliament for approval.
Though the minister insisted that his ministry had selected the best applicants on the grounds of their knowledge and expertise, MPs didn’t buy that and instead asked him to bring the full list of applicants to scrutinize whether some suitable candidates were left behind in favor of the current members.
Another MP suggested that the ministry didn’t follow the procedure required in the constitution by not consulting with the federal units, but the minister said that the constitution doesn’t specify the nature of the consultation. But some MPs opted for the endorsement of the commissions without delay as the country is fast approaching the 2016 election date.
Ethiopia Tells Somali´s Leaders To Solve Their Own Problems
29 June – Source: Somali Current – 135 Words
Ethiopia foreign Minister Dr. Tedros Adhanom told the Somali leaders to solve their own problems without external involvement.The minister was speaking during a meeting with Jubbaland administrator, Ahmed Mohamed Islam in Addis Ababa.Delegates from Jubbaland are in Addis Ababa on a mission to resolve differences with the South West regional administration.Dr, Tedros exuded confidence that the two administration will solve their differences in peaceful manner in short possible time.
Jubbaland are also at a cross road with the central government after Somalia federal parliament passed no confidence motion against recently established Jubbaland assembly. Whenever dispute a rises within the Somali leaders , many opt to go to Ethiopia to settle their dispute and differences , triggering heavy criticism from the Somali nationals.Ethiopia has mediated several differences within the Somali leaders in the past years.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Africa Energy Withdraws From Puntland, Somalia Blocks
30 June – Source: Market Watch – 155 Words
Africa Energy Corp. (AFE) (“Africa Energy”, previously Horn Petroleum Corp., or the “Company”) reports that it has provided notice to the Puntland State of Somalia advising of its intention to withdraw from the January 2007 productions sharing agreements (“PSAs”) in respect of the Nugaal Block and the Dharoor Block, each made among the Company, the Government of Puntland and Range Resources, effective immediately.
In its notice to the Puntland Petroleum and Minerals Agency, the Company cited the uncertainty of the current political climate in Somalia, especially in respect of the disagreement between the Federal Government of Somalia and the regional government of Puntland, Somalia over the legitimacy of the PSAs, and potential territorial claims on the Nugaal Block, as the principal reasons for its decisions.As discussed in the Company’s March 11, 2015 news release, Africa Energy will continue to focus on its new corporate strategy of aggressively pursuing other upstream oil opportunities in Africa
Kenya, Somalia In talks To End Border Row Out Of UN court
30 June – Source: Business Daily – 408 Words
Kenya and Somalia are seeking an out-of-court settlement over the long-running border dispute linked to lucrative oil and gas reserves in the Indian Ocean.Foreign Affairs secretary Amina Mohammed told Parliament that Somalia had agreed to pursue arbitration outside the United Nation’s highest court which was preparing to start hearing the suit.
Somalia had asked the International Court of Justice in The Hague to determine the maritime boundary between the two neighbours which disagree on the right to explore and collect revenue from oil discoveries.“We have received a pledge from the Federal Government of Somalia indicating readiness to withdraw a case it filed in New York against us and pull out of the case for us to resolve maritime boundary issues,” said Ms Mohammed.
Somalia had also filed a formal claim for a bigger chunk of the continental shelf at the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) based in New York. Somalia wants the maritime border to continue along the line of the land border, to the southeast diagonally and says a horizontal border would be unfair. Kenya, however, wants the sea border to go in a straight line east, giving it more sea territory.
UoN Students On Al- Shabaab Payroll – Police
30 June – Source : The Star, Kenya – 411 Words
Some University of Nairobi students are paid members of ISIS and al Shabaab, the head of the National Counter Terrorism Center has said.”We will come for you before you come for us,” NCTC Director Isaac Ochieng’ told a university audience yesterday. He said he has”evidence some students are on the payroll” of the two terror groups in Nairobi and elsewhere. He was addressing a forum on countering violent extremism hosted by the University of Nairobi and the Interior Ministry at the university’s Taifa Hall.
He surprised panelists, including Interior PS Monica Juma and Vice Chancellor Peter Mbithi ,when he said ISIS is actively recruiting Kenyans on college and university campuses.”We have serious evidence some students here in this hall are on the payroll of ISIS in Syria and Iraq,” Ochieng said.The counter terrorism center falls under the spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, headed by Director General Philip Kameru. He did not elaborate on the “evidence” or say how many students are estimated to be on terror payrolls. Ochieng also did not say what the government is doing with its “evidence”.”There is a very serious resurgence of homegrown terrorism aimed at establishing an East African Caliphate by al Qaeda and al Shabaab. You think that we don’t know. We will come for you before you come for us,” Ochieng told the audience that included hundreds of students and experts on international terrorism from around the world.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“But soon, due to a combination of wildfires and overpopulation, our camp was ordered to shut down. My family, like many others, faced tough decisions. One was whether to return to Somalia in the height of civil war. Another was whether to send their small child — me — to live with a relative in a far-off land in hopes of better opportunities.On our last day at the camp, I watched my parents and brother sail off in one of the colorful boats shuttling the many faces — men, women, and children — who once inhabited this camp, back to Somalia.”
On The Other Side Of The Camp
29 June – Source : White House Blogs – 1029 Words
I was born in Somalia, but mostly what I remember are flashes of a carefree child, happily unaware of the world beyond the Utanga Refugee Camp in Kenya. About half a mile from our UNHCR-issued blue tent was the fence that surrounded the camp. Beyond the fence was an endless blue horizon of ocean. And if you stood close enough, on the slight precipice before the fence, you could see where the beach welcomed the waves — its sand, sometimes clear and brightly glistening; other times, dark and dusky, casting sad grayish hues. It felt abandoned and desolate. I never saw any people down there. But sometimes I would catch the sight of boats with colorful sails drifting over the waves.
Most of the other children congregated over at the dumpsites and water wells, fashioning toys out of trash and rocks. I kept to myself, a quiet but curious observer exploring the neighborhoods within the camp. I would often come home well past sundown, only to be rightfully scolded by a concerned parent. But those daily, miles-long excursions only left me hungry for more.Some days on my walks, I would see mischievous schoolboys steal little goodies from the local store, finding themselves chased by the angry words of the elderly storeowner flailing his bakoorat (walking cane). Except the store wasn’t really a store, just a rug over a patch of dirt, neatly displaying unused rations of food along with a few knickknacks. I would see women grinding wheat with wooden pestles and mortars while quietly humming lullabies to the infants strapped to their bare backs. Sometimes, two women, standing side by side and each holding a pestle, would rhythmically take turns crushing grains of wheat to dusty, powdery flour.I would hear the chatter across adjacent makeshift kitchens, and the cacophony of radios broadcasting news and music of the neighboring country we recently fled.
TOP TWEETS
@amisomsomalia :’We believe that it is Somalis themselves who can rebuild #Somalia‘ ~ Pres. Hassan Sheikh. Watch full interview here http://bit.ly/1R003J6
@Abdi_AlSheikh :Africa Energy withdraws from Puntland, Somalia blocks – OilVoice http://dlvr.it/BMvvwh #Somalia
@joaoscarpelini #Gender #equality – the work is never done!#Somalia via @UNDPSomalia http://www.undp.org/content/
@SomaliaNewsroom: Umm. #Ethiopia FM told the Somali leaders to solve their own problems “without external involvement” http://www.somalicurrent.com/
@AU_PSD Head of @amisomsomalia SRCC@MamanSidikou1 briefs AMISOM MOCC on political & security situation in #Somalia
@KnowSomalia :President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud says Somalia is Making a Comeback http://bit.ly/1KqvGYy #HorumarkaanGaarney #Somalia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
The President of Interim South West Administration (ISWA), Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, and the AMISOM Chief of Staff, Amb. Epiphanie Kabushemeye, attended a function.
Photo:AMISOM