March 1, 2016 | Morning Headlines
President Chairs An Emergency Meeting On Security
29 February – Source: Shabelle News- 132 Words
The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has presided over an emergency ministerial meeting to discuss on the country’s security following deadly Al- Shabaab attacks.The chiefs of the police and National Intelligence and security agency (NISA) were in attendance at the meeting and briefed the Cabinet on the security situation of the country, especially latest Al-Shabaab attacks in Mogadishu and Baidoa.
The closed door meeting was held on Sunday night at the heavily fortified presidential palace of Somalia (Villa Somalia) in Mogadishu, whereby the security chiefs unveiled new measures that will immediately alleviate the security.During the special meeting, the leaders have agreed to step up the military operations aimed at driving Al-Shabaab militants out of their current strongholds in the south and central Somalia.
Key Headlines
- President Chairs An Emergency Meeting On Security (Shabelle News)
- Erdogan Intends To Visit Somalia Again This Year (Garowe Online)
- Somalia Announces Police Shake-up After Attacks (Mareeg Media)
- 6 Arrested In Al-Shabab Attack On Somali Town (VOA News)
- US Police Shoot Somali Teen Refugee Triggering Protest (Al Jazeera English)
- Weak Central Government Makes Security A Local Issue In Somalia (World Politics Review)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Erdogan Intends To Visit Somalia Again This Year
29 February – Source:Garowe Online – 316 Words
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will again travel to Somalia this year in a sign of Ankara’s growing strategic interests in the East African country, Garowe Online reports.In a column titled: “Burgeoning ties, common future,” President Erdogan Monday said that Turkish people always saw their African brothers and sisters as their equals and built bridges on the basis of mutual respect and appreciation.On Sunday evening, Erdogan landed in Abidjan where he was holding talks with his Ivorian counterpart in the first stop of his western Africa tour that also includes Ghana, Nigeria and Guinea. He boasted that Turkey unlike colonial powers has a history in Africa without dark chapters.
Turkish leader who last year visited Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti is leading a large delegation of cabinet ministers, parliamentarians, other government officials and members of the business community. Turkey is keen to build closer ties with African nations, with deeper cooperation in political, economic and commercial areas. Turkey will host the Third Turkey-Africa cooperation summit in 2019.On Somalia, Turkish President praised role in Somalia, noting Turkey’s efforts in Somalia, among other places, represent one of the greatest accomplishments of humanitarian diplomacy.Erdogan marked the first non-African leader to visit bullet-ridden Mogadishu in a rare move of raising awareness about devastating drought in the region in August, 2011.
Ankara welcomed Somali political leaders to Sixth Somali Compact High Level Partnership Forum held in the Turkish city of Istanbul earlier last week.He also hailed the fact that Turkey’s rebuilding mission has earned respect and recognition from international community. “I intend to visit Mogadishu again this year to inaugurate a valuable symbol of the importance Turkey attaches to the African continent,” President Erdogan unveiled in his concluding remarks. Turkey is criticized for its diplomatic and humanitarian concentration in the capital. Speaking under customary condition of anonymity, Puntland politicians faulted Turkey on partisan initiatives centred in Mogadishu.
Somalia Announces Police Shake-up After Attacks
29 February – Source: Mareeg Media – 138 Words
The national police service command has announced new changes in the leading officers of the force after a spate of bomb attacks and insecurity in Mogadishu and some parts of the country.Somali police chief Gen Mohamed Sheikh Hassan Hamud, told reporters in Mogadishu that there are undergoing process to new measures he hopes will address public concerns about the security.Mr Hamud has urged the citizens to assist police in the efforts to restore peace and stability. The chief said he will make police shake-up to deal with the insecurity.“We want the support of the public in preventing the increasing Al-Shabaab attacks in Somalia,” said Somali police boss.The commander’s comments came as Al shabaab staged massive attacks in Mogadishu and Baidoa in the past few days, killing dozens of people, including soldiers and high-ranking officials.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
6 Arrested In Al-Shabab Attack On Somali Town
29 February – Source: VoA News – 426 Words
Somali authorities arrested six people in connection with Sunday’s double bomb attack by al-Shabab in the town of Baidoa that killed at least 32 people and wounded more than 60 others.“We have arrested six people suspected to be the organizers and the masterminds of the explosion, and they will be brought before justice,” said Abdullahi Ali Watiin, the district commissioner of Baidoa.Police and the local government said the center of the town, located 245 kilometers west of Mogadishu, was very busy when a car bomb exploded near the main market.A second blast, believed to be from a suicide bomber, went off moments later at a restaurant.
Meanwhile, Somali Cabinet ministers held an extraordinary security meeting late Sunday in Mogadishu to discuss recent al-Shabab attacks.Security Minister Abdirisaq Omar Mohamed spoke to VOA Somali about the effort to defeat the militant group.“We know, only military force cannot defeat al-Shabab. We need to launch an ideological war against them so that we can at least convince the young Somalis they brainwashed to refrain from the violence, and of course political solution for those who want to take the peaceful way is a vital,” Mohamed said.
Former Somali Intelligence Chief Ahmed Fiqi said the Islamist militant group was given a chance to plan and carry out their attacks because no major military operation against the group’s hideouts has been launched in the past two years.“The last two years, no major attack to pursue the militants were taken,” Fiqi told VOA. “So that gave them a chance to think and plan their attacks accordingly, whether it is guerilla and hit-and-run attacks on the AU bases or suicide attacks on civilian targets.”
He said the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia lacks central command and pursues different agendas.”To my knowledge, the troops involving into the mission take the final orders from their individual countries, not a central command run by the mission commanders. We also know that each troop-contributing country focuses on [its] interests rather than the return of peace in Somalia. So, how can they succeed their mission?” he asked.
US Police Shoot Somali Teen Refugee, Triggering Protest
29 February – Source: Al Jazeera English – 302 Words
Hundreds of people have rallied in Salt Lake City in the US state of Utah to protest against a police shooting that left a 17-year-old Somali refugee critically wounded.The Monday night protest in Utah – where speakers urged people to stand up to police and demand accountability – highlighted the latest flashpoint in the national discussion about police use of force, especially with minority victims.
The teenager, Abdi Mohamed, was shot twice in the torso by police on Saturday night. Officer say the incident occurred in downtown Salt Lake City when Mohamed and another person attacked somebody with metal sticks, the AP news agency reported.Citing his family, local media reported that Mohamed is now out of a coma.On Monday night, protesters held signs saying “Stop killer cops” as they questioned why the police had to use lethal force to combat the teenager and his offsider.Despite calls for police to release the video from body cameras worn by the officers involved in the incident, authorities have so far withheld the footage, saying it would be prejudicial to the ongoing investigation.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Two suicide bombs went off Sunday in Baidoa, Somalia, leaving at least 20 people dead and 60 injured, in an attack claimed by the Islamist militant group al-Shabab. In an email interview, Ken Menkhaus, a professor of political science at Davidson University, discussed the fight against Al-Shabaab and the security situation in Somalia,”
Weak Central Government Makes Security A Local Issue In Somalia
29 February – Source: World Politics Review – 593 Words
World Politics Review: What is the current security situation in Somalia, and how much does it vary locally across the country?
Ken Menkhaus: The security situation across Somalia is harder to generalize than one might expect. Most media reports give the impression that Somalia is uniformly dangerous, but actual security conditions for local communities vary tremendously along regional, neighborhood, class and ethnic lines. Regionally, most of the north of the country, including Somaliland and Puntland, is more peaceful and less crime-ridden than the south of the country. In Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, businesses operate freely; political and civic leaders move about without the need for private security; and citizens walk the street day and night with little concern about violent crime. By contrast, in Mogadishu, the country’s capital, armed protection is essential for businesses and prominent people. The threat of targeted political violence, violent crime, communal clashes and al-Shabab terrorist attacks continues to be very high in the south. But even within Mogadishu there is significant variation in security. Some neighborhoods—where a combination of private business security, government forces, and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) peacekeepers are present—are viewed as much safer than others. Dramatic differences in the value of real estate across different parts of the city are driven by variations in security.Class also plays a complex role. Wealthier Somalis can afford private security and walled compounds, while poor displaced families are easy prey for violent criminals. But Somalis with high status are also more likely to be targeted for revenge killings or political assassinations. Finally, some Somalis enjoy much greater security than others due to their identity in powerful clans, which are a strong deterrent.
The most insecure places in all of Somalia have been contested zones where al-Shabab has clashed with Somali National Army and AMISOM forces. These are mainly in areas south of Mogadishu, toward the Kenya border. But political clashes over regional borders inside Somalia have, over the past two years, also contributed to insecurity in several hotspots.
WPR: How far-reaching and effective is the central government and its international partners’ security writ in Somalia?
Menkhaus: The Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) remains very weak and has little to no political control over most of the country. Even in the capital Mogadishu, most neighborhoods are under the de facto control of clan-based district commissioners and their paramilitaries. The Somali National Army is also poorly controlled by the government; its brigades tend to act as clan paramilitaries pursuing their own interests. The FGS’s nominal control over areas of the country not held by al-Shabab is actually a mediated relationship with self-declared regional authorities that have varying levels of commitment to the FGS. AMISOM forces maintain a strong presence across most of southern Somalia, but that presence rarely translates into any influence over local political affairs. The exception is the Ethiopian-Somali border regions, where Ethiopian forces have a more robust capacity to shape local politics and security.
WPR: What decentralized approaches have been implemented locally in Somalia to address security issues in areas where the central government lacks a presence, and how successful have they been?
Menkhaus: Most day-to-day security in Somalia is the result of informal, local arrangements, ranging from clan protection to neighborhood watch groups to private security. Security is very much commoditized in Somalia, and is only a public good in a few fortunate locations. The international community has sought to support nascent regional administrations and their security sectors, with variable success. Predictably, support to subnational security providers creates tension with the central government.