June 4, 2015 | Morning Headlines

Main Story

Security Sweeps In Bossaso and Galkaayo Net Over 200

03 June – Source: Goobjoog News -146 Words

Puntland police commissioner has given details on Wednesday’s search operations in the Gulf of Aden port city of Bossaso and Galkaayo towns due to rising insecurity. Puntland Police Commander, Mohamed Saeed Jaqanaf who gave an exclusive interview to Goobjoog News said that the security sweeps conducted in the two towns of semi-autonomous regional state of Puntland are intended to beef up security of the towns. Speaking about Galkaayo operations he said, “after two people were killed in the town as the assailants disappeared in the other side of Gal-mudug but the soldiers apprehended many people have been arrested in connection to shooting death of the 2 people” Meanwhile, Jaqanaf underlined that the soldiers have also launched operations in which over 200 people were arrested. “The police apprehended…suspects and investigations are underway therefore within the forthcoming hours the police will release those proved not guilty” he said.

Key Headlines

Security Sweeps In Bossaso and Galkaayo Net Over 200 (Goobjoog News)
IJA Deputy Takes Security Meeting With District Commissioners And Police Officers (Goobjoog News)
Puntland Police Promise To Deal With Assassins (RBC Radio)
UNHCR Wants Kenyan Government To Separate Refugees’ Issues From Politics (Radio Dalsan)
Somalia To Start Exporting Livestock To Egypt (Horseed Media)
Puntland Leader Sacks Presidential Official Garowe Mayor (Garowe Online)
Somalia MPs Accuse Kenya Of Encroaching On Somalia’s Land (Somali Current)
UPDF Captures Somali Town From Al-Shabaab (New Vision)
Kenya-Somalia Boundary Commission A Good Idea (The Star)
Lewiston Somalis Give New Life To New Gloucester Pownal Farms (Lewiston-Auburn Sun Journal)
Kenya Fight Against Al-Shabaab Shifts To Its Own Backyard Where Militants Have Found A New Playground (Mail & Guardian Africa)

NATIONAL MEDIA

IJA Deputy Takes Security Meeting With District Commissioners And Police Officers

03 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 99 Words

Security Conference between the district commissioners and high ranking police officers was held in Kismayo, the capital administrative of Interim Jubba Administration. The conference was chaired by the deputy president of IJA Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail Fartaag. Matters concerning heightened security measures were covered, obstacles discussed and further solutions formulated. At the opening of the gathering, district commissioners under IJA Administration highlighted the outcomes of security operations carried out in their areas and the challenges they faced during the operations. Fartaag commended the police officials and district commissioners for the marvellous job they conducted and their commitment to maintain law and order.

Puntland Police Promise To Deal With Assassins

03 June – Source: Radio RBC – 98 Words

Puntland Police Commissioner, General Mohamed Saeed Jaqanaf, spoke to the media in Garowe about the spate of killings in Galka’ayo and Bosaso. General Jaqanaf said ” two people were killed in Galka’yo last night. The assassins fled to southern part of Galka’yo under the Galmudug administration. In Bosaso assassins killed a security man, and the security forces are investigating the murder case .” The Police Commissioner, accompanied by commander of Nugaal division of Puntland Defence Forces, paid a visit to Eyl district, where UNDP handed over to Puntland a newly built police station.

UNHCR Wants Kenyan Government to Separate Refugees’ Issues From Politics

03 June – Source: Dalsan Radio – 267 Words

The United Nation High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) wants Kenyan government to take more responsibility for the refugees and separate refugee issues from political rhetoric. UN High Commissioner for Refugees urged Kenyan government to also allocate more finance for refugee programs in the country saying those in country are not moving out of the country soon due to security situation in Somalia. According to the UN document, the government seems to have been telling the public one thing over refugees’ stay in the country while practically doing the opposite in the background.

For example, when last year the former Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku was publicly chasing away refugees, on July 1 the same year, the local commissioners for refugees adopted the Kenya Refugees Act 2006. The Act spells out the right of refugees, making it impossible for the country to legally kick them out. The UN also throws cold water on Kenya’s much hyped voluntary repatriation as a significant option to get the Somalis back home. Last year, the government had started the voluntary repatriation of 80,000 Somali refugees but only 485 were willing to return. The UN says that one of the reasons there are few volunteers is the limited financial assistance they are being offered. Each volunteer is given Sh9, 800 along with transportation to the border, shelter items and food support for three months. This latest call by UNHCR comes as officials from Kenya, Somalia and UNHCR meet in Mogadishu to discuss the repatriation of the refugees.

Somalia to Start Exporting Livestock To Egypt

03 June – Source: Horseed Media – 216 Words

Somalia’s Federal government has reached an agreement with the Egyptian authorities to resume livestock exports to the middle-eastern country, a minister has said. Minister of Livestock, Forestry and Range Saeed Hussein Iid and Egypt’s minister of Agriculture Dr.Salah Hilal signed a bilateral agreement to bolster the two sides’ exchange of local industries products after holding talks in Cairo. Minister Iid added that the Egyptian authorities accepted to help Somalia on rebuilding the agriculture, livestock and fisheries industry. Livestock is the mainstay of the Somali economy, contributing to about 40 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Every year, Millions of animals are exported through the ports of Berbera in Somaliland and Bossaso in Puntland.

Approximately $250 million is generated from the export of goats, sheep and camels to the Gulf countries annually. In a report released weeks ago by the Food and Agricultural organization (FAO), Somalia recorded one of its highest exports of livestock in a single year since the collapse of the central government in 1991 by transporting 5 million livestock to markets in the Gulf of Arabia. But since the conflict erupted in Yemen this year, the export of livestock from Somalia to the gulf countries has been halted due to security reasons. Egypt and Somalia have had long historical bilateral relations.

Puntland Leader Sacks Presidential Official, Garowe Mayor

03 June – Source: Garowe Online – 144 Words

The President of Somalia’s Puntland Government Abdiweli Mohamed Ali has sacked administration director of presidency and the mayor of the state capital by decree as part of anticipated shakeup on Wednesday, Garowe Online reports. In the presidential decree, President Ali replaced Abdi Mahdi Abshir whose firing went viral in advance with Abdinasir Mohamud Gurey. Moreover, Puntland President dissolved Garowe Municipal Council, in turn assigning Ahmed Saed Gelle to the mayoral post and firing incumbent Abdinur Elmi Kor. Meanwhile, the reshuffle effected Directors-General at Interior, Justice and women development ministries. The sackings and appointments come less than a week after Ali disbanded Bossaso Municipal Council in similar move in which Bari Governor Abdisamad Mohamed Galan and Bossaso mayor Hassan Abdalle Hassan were replaced. In an interview with VOA Somali Service earlier on May 26, Puntland President stated that administrative shakeup looms over what he described as ‘incompetence’.

Somalia MPs Accuse Kenya Of Encroaching On Somalia’s Land

03 June – Source: Somali Current – 150 Words

A number of Somali MPs have accused Kenyan government of encouraging on Somalia’s land amid the construction of security wall along Somalia border. The lawmakers argued the construction of the security wall are infringing on Somali territory. Kenya is planning to build a 700 KM wall along its border with Somalia in bid to prevent Al-Shabaab fighters infiltrating Kenya. The wall is expected to stretch from Mandera to the Coastal town of Lamu. On Sunday, hundreds of Bula Huwa resident took to the streets against the wall and called on Somalia President to protect Somalia’s land. The lawmakers asked Kenyan government to move their construction equipment and military hardware with immediate effect. Early this year, Somalia National Army in Gedo region commander Yasi Bare, dismissed Kenya’s security wall saying Kenya has taken 10 KM of Somalia’s land.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

UPDF captures Somali town from Al-Shabaab

03 June – Source: New Vision – 426 Words

The Uganda People’s Defence Forces in collaboration with the Somali National Army have captured another major town from the Islamist group, Al-Shabaab, deputy army spokesperson, Maj. Henry Obbo, has said. “The Al-Shabaab has again on June 2, 2015 suffered a major setback following the capture of another town by the Somali National Army, supported by African Union forces from the Ugandan contingent,” Obbo noted in a statement. Obbo said in an operation code named ‘Western Sweep’, Uganda Battle Group XV, under the command of Col. Silvio Aguma, drove the militants away from Torotoro town, 100km South West of Mogadishu.

According to Aguma, the AMISOM forces started the advance from Awdigile to Torotoro at 1500HRS on June 1, 2015 and by Tuesday 5:35AM, they had covered 40km and fully captured the town. “We can confirm that we are fully in charge of the town but we are making a firm base in case of a counter attack,” Aguma said in a telephone interview with Obbo, a few minutes after the capture of the town. Aguma added that the defeated Al-Shabaab force fled westwards towards Dugul and Bulwakaba which is 40km away from Torotoro. “Intelligence indicates that they are likely to settle at a presumably safe distance from us of up to 100km at Dinsur. But there is nowhere safe for them,” Aguma added.

The town of Torotoro had continued to provide a safe haven to Al-Shabaab militants since the liberation of Mogadishu and key towns of lower Shabelle by AMISOM and Somali National Army. The Al-Shabaab had freely operated in this area recruiting, training, indoctrinating and laying improvised explosive devises along Afgoye – Marka – Barawe routes. “The town also harboured key Al-Shabaab leaders, including foreign fighters who planned and coordinated terrorist activities in Mogadishu and Lower Shebelle,” Aguma explained.

Kenya-Somalia Boundary Commission A Good Idea

03 June – Source: The Star – 211 Words

Somalia MPs yesterday strongly protested Kenya’s move to build a separation long fence or wall along the border between the two countries. The MPs proposed a bilateral border commission, comprising Kenya and Somali members, to ensure Somalia land is not encroached. This is a good idea that deserves support especially since land grabbing by the political and other elites is rampant inside Kenya. Demonstrators in Beled Hawo near Mandera spoke of “colonial tendencies” by Kenya and urged President Hassan Shiekh Mohamud to stand up and be counted in the protection of Somalia land.

As noted by the protesters, Kenya and Somalia are members of the AU and eastern African nations that enjoy longstanding international relations. There is no need for Kenya therefore to act unilaterally in such a vast undertaking as the erection of a more than 500km border fence or wall. Accusations of land grabbing will become inevitable in a project in which Somalia plays only the role of an embarrassed and aggrieved bystander. Allegations of a 500km long land grab could colour Kenya-Somalia relations for decades and add to existing tensions.The hostility towards the KDF detachments providing security for the construction crews does not augur well for Kenyan unilateralism on a project of this scale and long-term implications.

Lewiston Somalis Give New Life To New Gloucester, Pownal Farms

03 June – Source: Lewiston-Auburn Sun Journal – 637 Words

A new season, a new chapter, and new beginnings are taking root for an immigrant community and unused farmland. Intervale Farm, which ended its nearly 20-year run of harvesting and selling popular pumpkins and gourds last October, has a new crop of farmers. The Somali Bantu Community Association of Maine, a Lewiston-based nonprofit organization that helps refugees transition to life in Maine, began farming the land off Route 231 in early May. The organization also farms on land leased in Pownal, but the demand for land there forced it to look elsewhere. Muhidin Libah, the organization’s executive director, said he was put in touch with the owners of Intervale Farm, Jan and Carl Wilcox, through a friend in the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Somali Bantu Community is leasing three acres at $300 each from the Wilcoxes, who still live on the land. The lease runs until December. “Right now we have 34 plots,” Libah said, divided between 39 community members. Each plot is a 10th of an acre. “Our goal wasn’t to lease,” Jan Wilcox said. “It just kind of happened.” Each plot is farmed by a family, and almost everything is done by hand, without the use of pesticides or added chemicals. “They’re all experienced in African farming, but not all of them are experienced in Maine farming,” Libah said. He said new refugees have a learning curve with the cold and frost. “In Africa, you don’t have to wait for snow to melt, you just have to wait for the rain,” he said, adding that their main crop of corn “takes three days” to sprout in Somalia. “It can take up to three weeks here because of the frozen ground.”

In addition to corn, Libah said each family is given seedlings for other vegetables, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, onions, peppers, and eggplant. Everything the organization provides is free to the farmers, paid for by grants. The only thing the farmers have to pay for are any extra seedlings. “People have difficult times paying their bills,” Libah said. “(But) we don’t bother people to pay. All they have to do is show up.” Farmers come and go as they please, with access to the land from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., although farmers will sometimes stay later, until nightfall. Libah said it’s rare if all the farmers are there at once, because most people fit in farming time around their work schedules.

OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE

“He nevertheless stressed that any pull-out from Somalia was dependent on Kenya’s African Union troop-contributing partners, according to Capital FM, and notably the possibility of finding another country that could take Kenya’s place in southern Somalia.”

Kenya Fight Against Al-Shabaab Shifts To Its Own Backyard Where Militants Have Found A New Playground

03 June – Source: Mail & Guardian Africa – 794 Words

The chairman of the Kenyan Senate’s National Security and Foreign Relations Committee signalled that a Somalia exit strategy was no longer taboo. From hit and run attacks and massacres to a shopping trip, Somali-led Al-Shabaab militants are on the march in northeastern Kenya. With large numbers of troops in southern Somalia but seemingly unable to effectively police its own outer regions, Kenya must react quickly to stop the al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamists from gaining significant ground and finding a new generation of recruits, Western security officials say. “The Somalia theatre is no longer of interest to the Shabaab,” a Western security source told AFP. “They’ve been defeated there. They are losing momentum, and their rare operations there don’t get much media attention. It’s the opposite in Kenya, where they have found a new playground for their jihad, a new source of recruits and a very strong potential to destabilise.”

The upsurge in cross-border attacks and the emergence of Kenya-based Shebab cells is now Kenya’s number-one security headache, and a strategic blow given that it deployed troops into southern Somalia in 2011 in the hope they would serve as a buffer and protect the long, porous border. Instead, Shabaab units—hunted by African Union troops and US drones inside Somalia—have flanked the Kenyan contingent to mount a string of gruesome cross-border raids. In the Mandera region, 28 passengers were dragged from a bus and executed late last year. Days later, 36 quarry workers were pulled from their tents at night and murdered. In Garissa, just half a day’s drive from the capital Nairobi, a small group of gunmen stormed the town’s university in April and massacred nearly 150 students during a day-long siege.

While the heavy death tolls and high-profile attacks grab the headlines, security sources say that a series of low profile, non-deadly operations—during which the militants briefly fill the space left vacant by the Kenyan security apparatus—are equally worrying. Last month the militants entered a village in Garissa County and delivered a hardline sermon to a captive audience before withdrawing unhindered. This week, suspected Shabaab members moved into a village in Mandera County, another impoverished border region, forcing schools to close and some residents to flee, the Nation newspaper reported. The paper said the gunmen chatted with residents who remained in the village, and even shopped for goats. “It’s a repeat of the strategy of AQIM (Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb),” commented another Western security official, pointing to the growth strategy of the Islamists in the Sahara, notably into northern Mali.