June 8, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Uhuru and Somalia President Yet To Reach Agreement On Dadaab Refugee Camp
08 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 444 Words
President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Somali counterpart President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud have failed to agree on the impending closure of the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya’s North Eastern region. The two heads of state held a marathon meeting of more than three hours at the Nairobi State House in a bid to strike a way forward. In a statement, PSCU said that two presidents discussed many issues including the ‘decision to close the Dadaab Refugee Camp, trade issues including rules affecting aviation between Kenya and Somalia, and cooperation on security.’
However, State House remained silent on whether the two states reached any agreement on the thorny issue with Kenya insisting that it will close the refugee camp as it is a threat to the national security. Recently, Deputy President William Ruto told the World Humanitarian Summit held in Istanbul, Turkey that it will proceed with its plan to shut down the camp that has continued to harbour Al-Shabaab militants as well as give them a training ground, something that compromises the war against extremism and terrorism. Ruto told the Western nations willing to support the refugees to send their donations to Somalia as the government will not backtrack on its decision.
President Mohamud who became the first sitting-Somalia Head of state to visit the Dadaab refugee Camp said he was ready to receive his people. He, however, said that the repatriation process should be done on a voluntary basis. “Let me assure you (Somali refugees) that we (Kenya, Somalia, and the UNHCR) have never discussed and agreed on your quick return to an uncertain future,” he told an audience that included camp leaders.
The international community and humanitarian bodies have opposed the closure of the camp saying that refugees should not be forced back home. UNHCR argues that refugees must be repatriated voluntarily and on condition that the basic amenities such as schools, clean water, proper sanitation, and security among others are well within reach. Despite these calls, the government went ahead to shut down the Department of Refugees which was under the Ministry of Interior saying that it was becoming expensive to run with an annual cost of over Ksh 1 billion. The two leaders are expected to go for another round of negotiations Wednesday to try and resolve the refugee crisis.
Key Headlines
- Uhuru and Somalia President Yet To Reach Agreement On Dadaab Refugee Camp (Goobjoog News)
- Former BBC Veteran Yussuf Garaad Nominated As The New Somalia Ambassador To The UN (Hiiraan Online)
- Kenya Launches Manhunt For Al-Shabaab Along Somalia Border (Goobjoog News)
- Puntland Election Commission Concludes Review Of Laws (Garowe Online)
- Lower Shabelle Administration Probes Into Root-causes Of Recurrent Clan Clashes (Radio Shabelle)
- Congress Asks How Accused War Criminal Became Airport Guard (CNN)
- After The Critical Africa Visit (Daily Sabah)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Former BBC Veteran, Yussuf Garaad Nominated As The New Somalia Ambassador To The UN
08 June – Source: Hiiraan Online – 160 Words
The former veteran journalist and the former editor of the BBC Somali Service Mr. Yussuf Garaad Omar Ahmed was recently nominated for the post of the Somali ambassador to the United Nations in New York. On the line to Mogadishu, Yussuf Garaad himself did confirm the nomination to Hiiraan Online news site last night.
Mr. Yussuf replaces the out-going Ambassador, Dr. Elmi Duaale who was the Somali Ambassador to the UN in New York for the last one decade. In 2012, Yussuf Garaad was a Somali presidential candidate. Prior to his nomination for this post of being the Somali ambassador to the UN, Mr. Yussuf was a media consultant for the President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
Kenya Launches Manhunt For Al-Shabaab Along Somalia Border
08 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 97 Words
Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and the anti-terror police unit jointly launched operations aimed at flushing out Al-Shabaab elements hiding along the border area of Kenya and Somalia. The joint manhunt by Kenyan security agents was launched in Mandera County and surrounding localities. The massive operations comes after police convoy patrolling LafeyFino Road ran over an improvised explosive device (IED) leaving three police officers injured. The injured police officers were treated and discharged. The porous Kenya and Somalia border is prone to attacks by the terrorist group Al-Shabaab.
Puntland Election Commission Concludes Review Of Laws
08 June – Source: Garowe Online – 229 Words
Transitional Puntland Electoral Commission (TPEC) members have concluded a seven-day review into two key laws. TPEC Chairman Ahmed Mohamed Ali said Tuesday that the reading of Local Council Elections Law and Political Associations Law have been concluded by the commissioners following in-depth roundtable deliberations.
“We have finished conducting a full review of the two laws. We have examined all clauses thoroughly word by word. We dropped some clauses and at the same time added others subject to parliamentary approval when the constitutional session begins on June 15,” said Ali. Puntland Electoral Commission convened for the first debating on May 31.
In mid-February, Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali and Parliament Speaker Ahmed Ali Hashi jointly announced nine nominees for TPEC in a move hailed as a step towards one person, one vote by EU envoy to Somalia, Ambassador Michele Cervone d’Urso. Puntland officially launched TPEC at a well-organized event that attracted members of diplomatic community in Garowe on May 11.
“Huge tasks including voter education awareness campaign, review into election laws, registration of political associations, voter registration, and announcement of official political parties lie ahead for the committee,” TPEC head said on launch day. TPEC is tasked with conducting and supervising state election under a renewed electoral Bill passed by the parliament on December 9, 2014.
Lower Shabelle Administration Probes Into Root-causes Of Recurrent Clan Clashes
08 June – Source: Radio Shabelle – 135 Words
Authorities in Somalia say they are investigating the root-causes of the intermittent clan clashes in the southern region of Lower Shabelle after early peace deals have failed to come into force. Speaking to Radio Shabelle, Ibrahim Aden Ali (Najah) has accused a third party of fueling the conflict.
“In terms of reconciliation, there are some people who don’t want to reach a lasting peace and solution for the conflict, so we are working on prosecuting the peace spoilers,” said Najah. Clan fighting coupled with Al-Shabaab attacks on Government security forces and AMISOM bases have ravaged the Lower Shabelle region of Somalia for the past four years. Several efforts to end the conflict have failed to produce a solution.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Congress Asks How Accused War Criminal Became Airport Guard
08 June – Source: CNN – 368 Words
Members of Congress are asking the Department of Homeland Security for answers about how an accused war criminal was able to become a security guard at one of the nation’s busiest airports. As CNN exclusively first reported last week, Yusuf Abdi Ali, who is accused of committing atrocities while he was a military commander during Somalia’s brutal civil war, has been living outside Washington for about 20 years. A CNN camera captured him guarding a security exit at Dulles International Airport where ticketed passengers leave. He denies the allegations against him and has been placed on administrative leave from his job.
In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, and Rep. Barbara Comstock say they were “disturbed” by the reports of Ali working at the airport, adding “this case not only has implications for our immigration policy, but also for our aviation and homeland security.” The letter requests the immigration files of Ali and his wife, Intisar Farah, to “better understand how the couple was able to legally enter the U.S. without raising any red flags.”
Ali was able to enter the U.S. with a visa through his wife — a Somali woman who became a U.S. citizen — despite the fact that she was convicted of immigration fraud for lying when she claimed she was a refugee from the very Somali clan that Ali is accused of torturing. DHS has known about the allegations against Ali for years, but he passed an FBI criminal background check and a TSA threat assessment to become a security guard at the airport.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“But why is such importance attached to Somalia? Above all, the country, which was tormented by colonialism and ravaged by chaos and civil war, has a 100 percent Muslim population. This aspect prompts Turkey to guard the country. It is also a strategically significant port. Controlling this location is sensible to rebalance our consolidation of the Middle East. Moreover, aiding this neglected area aligns with Turkey’s principle of siding with the oppressed.”
After The Critical Africa Visit
08 June – Source: Daily Sabah – 672 Words
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan set out on a trip to East Africa last week, which was crucial in many aspects. I was among the journalists on the trip and traveled on the presidential plane. The first stop was Uganda, followed by Kenya and Somalia. Before the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) came to power, Africa was a continent that barely had a place in Turkey’s foreign policies. Almost no contact was made with the continent until the AK Party came to power. We did not have embassies in most African countries and we did not have any commercial relations or social contact.
Thanks to the changing perspective in foreign policy in recent years, Turkey turned its face to the east, north and south instead of solely focusing on the West, which introduced some serious changes. With the aid Erdoğan provided to less fortunate regions, Turkey came to have a unique place in those areas. Africa is one of them, and East Africa in particular. The most soul-shattering part of the trip was Somalia. Since 2011, Erdoğan has visited this unfortunate country three times. It must be noted that Turkey is the only country whose president or prime minister has paid a visit to Somalia since 1999.
The civil war and al-Shabaab terrorism has turned Somalia’s capital Mogadishu into a ghost town. Since the security threat is so high, United Nations officials and those of other countries make contacts at the airport and quickly leave the country. Erdoğan, on the other hand, has been clamping down on this threat. Although al-Shabaab attacked a hotel and killed 15 people the day before Erdoğan’s visit, apparently to intimidate him, no change was made in the schedule of his visit. Turkey provides a great deal of financial aid to Somalia.
With this visit, an additional $2 million will be added to the budget contribution margin each month. Along with humanitarian aid, Turkey also contributed to the construction of the road that connects the airport to the city and the city’s greatest general hospital. In the following days, we will also kick off building a harbor and a parliamentary building in Mogadishu. Turkey is now even restructuring the Somali military.
TOP TWEETS
@chinafrica1: #AU beefs up security in #Somalia‘s Mogadishu during Ramadan: http://goo.gl/r7ZBNK
@Daudoo: #AlShabaab militants ambush government troops vehicle in #Mogadishu‘s Suqa Holaha last evening, claimed to have killed six of them. #Somalia
@Eye_on_Somalia : #hiiraan Kenya, Somalia to continue talks on Dadaab closure: President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday hel…http://bit.ly/25LDfRp #somalia
@addisstandard : Congress asks how accused war criminal became airport guard http://edition.cnn.com/2016/
@Atulinda_Allan : #Somalia gov’t to set plans in to accommodate its refugees if #Kenya closes Dadaab camp where they have been living.
@Somaliupdate : #Somalia Government Condemns Acts of Terrorism in #Istanbul http://somaliupdate.com/
@Vatescorp: #Kenya reduces security checks for airline passengers from #Somalia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Majority Leader Aden Duale receives Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
Photo: Ahmed Mohamed