March 11, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report.
At Least Five People Injured In Jowhar Blast
11 March – Source: Somali Current – 97 Words
A heavy explosion rock Jowhar town last night leaving at least five people injured. Among the wounded were four civilians who happened to be near the scene.The target was a convoy carrying Officials from the National Army (SNA). It’s not clear whether any troops have sustained injuries or not. So far, no one has claimed the responsibilities of the attack.
In the past, similar explosion were reported in Jowhar Town, but recently the number of explosions have been on the decline. The explosion comes at a time when several Military Units from the National Army were deployed in the Jowhar.
Key Headlines
- Civil Society Interest Groups Hold Two-Day Consultations In Garowe (Radio Danan)
- Al-Shabaab Fighters Briefly Took Over Wanlaweyn Police Post (Radio Goobjoog)
- SNA Forces And KDF In Elwak Somalia Disagree (Radio Danan/Radio Risala)
- At Least Five People Injured In Jowhar Blast (Somali Current)
- Somalia To Make New Laws Addressing Illegal Fishing (Horseed Media)
- 93000 To Benefit From QRC Somalia Project (Peninsula Qatar)
- Officials Set Aside $15M To Combat Recruiting (Minnesota Daily)
- Western Girls Holiday In Kenya To Undergo FGM In Secret (Reuters)
- Kenya To Set Up Center To Tackle Proliferation Of Small Arms (Global Post/Xinhua)
- Prohibition Not The Only Solution (Warya Post)
- Somaliland: Somalia – Blind To The Past And Future (Wargane News Network)
SOMALI MEDIA
Civil Society Interest Groups Hold Two-Day Consultations In Garowe
11 March – Source: Radio Danan – 177 Words
The consortium for the civil society interest groups had a two-day consultation and training in Garowe, the capital of the semi-autonomous state of Puntland. The event was attended by 40 NGO staff members who are based in Puntland. The purpose of the event was to have consultation over Puntland laws governing NGOs. They wanted those laws to be debated in parliament in the near future before any amendments are made to them. Nuur Shire Ismaan, the director of the consortium Puntland Non State Actors (PUNSA) said the state should consult the beneficiaries of each and every law over those laws. Mr. Nuur added that it is appropriate for the Puntland government to convene consultative meetings so as to come up with good laws. The vision of PUNSA is to create a vibrant and credible platform for participation in decision making and policy formulation processes in Puntland that brings lasting peace and sustainable good governance where the rights of the citizens are equally protected.
Al-Shabaab Fighters Briefly Took Over Wanlaweyn Police Post
11 March – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 103 Words
Fighters from Al-Shabaab group has launched an attack on Wanlaweyn town, Lower Shabelle overnight and managed to control the police station there. The attack happened in the late hours of Wednesday night facing little resistance, they eventually made away with two vehicles when they withdrew the town. Residents reported loud chants of Allahu Akbar, “God is great” by Al-Shabaab in the city centre. Wanlaweyn is a strategic town on the main tar road linking Mogadishu to Baidao, it also falls just 10 km from the Balidogle former airbase where AMISOM troops are stationed now.
SNA Forces And KDF In Elwak Somalia Disagree
11 March – Source: Radio Danan/Radio Risala – 195 Words
SNA forces and KDF in Elwak Somalia in Gedo Region aka Borhache disagreed on certain issues. According to sources, the disagreement emerged following complaints from SNA that KDF negatively started interfering with the Somali National Army. To be particular, the SNA forces lamented that KDF officials sacked SNA officials at will. Col. Adan Jeele Faarah of the Somali National Forces said KDF officials also unnecessarily divided one unit of SNA to get two units which according to him is not possible and is wrong thing to do. “We disagreed with KDF because they violated the smooth-running of the work as they divided one unit of our forces to get two units and that is against the law of the forces,” the colonel said. The colonel pointed it out that they forwarded their complaints on the challenges they are facing to the Interim Jubbaland State authorities of which Gedo Region is part. However, many SNA forces in Elwak are on go-slow as they have been discouraged to report to their work stations where they worked with KDF. Kenya and the Interim Jubbaland State authorities have not yet commented on the matter.
At Least Five People Injured In Jowhar Blast
11 March – Source: Somali Current – 97 Words
A heavy explosion rock Jowhar town last night leaving at least five people injured. Among the wounded were four civilians who happened to be near the scene.The target was a convoy carrying Officials from the National Army (SNA). It’s not clear whether any troops have sustained injuries or not. So far, no one has claimed the responsibilities of the attack. In the past, similar explosion were reported in Jowhar Town, but recently the number of explosions have been on the decline. The explosion comes at a time when several Military Units from the National Army were deployed in the Jowhar.
Somalia To Make New Laws Addressing Illegal Fishing
10 March – Source: Horseed Media – 209 Words
Somalia has announced that it will form new laws soon for fishing in its waters, in a move to combat illegal fishing, a minister has revealed. For decades, foreign trawlers from Europe and other parts of the world have traveled to Somali waters to take what they can without permission or licenses. They use efficient mechanical equipment, taking massive numbers of fish stocks. It is estimated that Somalia loses more than $200 million per year because of these foreign trawlers. Somalia’s minister of Fisheries and Marine resources said they will make new international licenses which will help the government to fight against illegal fishing.
“The new policy is under progress and soon will be taken to the Parliament for endorsement. We can’t let our resources to be stolen anymore illegally….We will fight against this trawlers,’’ said the minister. Local Fishermen have continuously complained about foreign trawlers who are doing the illegal fishing and dumping waste. Some fishermen have gone missing while others are tortured by the trawlers who at times have allegedly sprayed boiling water from cannons. The waters off Somalia are among the most heavily fished in the world and the irresponsible approach to fishing there is heavily criticized.
REGIONAL MEDIA
93,000 To Benefit From QRC Somalia Project
11 March – Source: Peninsula Qatar – 266 Words
Qatar Charity (QC) will implement a relief and rehabilitation project in the Somalian province of Middle Shabelle, for the benefit of around 93,000 people.The QR3.3m project will offer support to people affected by the floods that have swept through the province during the past two years, and is expected to take around a year to complete. The project will help improve the living standards of the affected families by providing support to the agricultural and pastoral sector, establishing income-generating projects for the displaced and rehabilitating a number of essential facilities in the targeted areas, and that in a number of villages affiliated to the directorates of ‘Jawhar’ and ‘Bal’ad’ of Middle Shabelle governorate.
A land reclamation project is expected to reclaim 250 hectares of agricultural land in one of the most important agricultural provinces in Somalia and restore stability to 500 families in Shabelle who depend on agriculture and grazing which was affected by the floods. Four schools and four health centers will also be renovated and equipped, in addition to the rehabilitation of seven wells and provide them with new generators, the construction of 10km of irrigation canals, and the provision of alternative sources of income through small income-generating projects for 58 affected families.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Officials Set Aside $15M To Combat Recruiting
11 March – Source: Min Daily – 623 Words
The U.S. Department of Justice has set aside funding for Minneapolis to help combat young people’s recruitment into terrorist organizations, which has affected the Cedar-Riverside community for eight years.The city was chosen last month as one of three places across the country to receive $15 million in federal grants and private donations to start up new programs aimed at deterring young people from joining terrorist organizations, like ISIS and al-Shabaab. Though funding for the plan — called “Building Community Resilience” — is directed toward combatting recruitment, Cedar-Riverside community leaders said they hope to also use it for increasing young people’s access to college and jobs by expanding scholarships, boosting youth programs and increasing interactions between religious leaders and Somali youth. “It’s not just about combatting ISIS but getting kids opportunities,” said Minneapolis Somali community leader Mohamed Jama.
The Department of Justice chose the Twin Cities for the one-year pilot program because of the state’s large Somali population and history with terrorist recruitment. Since 2007, the department has confirmed more than 20 cases of Somali-Minnesotans leaving the U.S. to join the Somali militant group al-Shabaab according to a February fact sheet from the department. The plan — which was outlined at the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism late last month — will draw together local youth organizations, law enforcement and Somali leaders, said Ben Petok, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office. Boston and Los Angeles are the other two cities hosting similar pilot programs.
Western Girls Holiday In Kenya To Undergo FGM In Secret
11 March – Source: Reuters – 777 Words
Somali families living in Britain and the United States are bringing their daughters to Kenya to secretly undergo female genital mutilation (FGM) as their home countries crack down on the internationally condemned practice. Families pay up to $300 for a girl’s genitals to be cut, said circumcisers and an anti-FGM campaigner in Nairobi’s Eastleigh district, nicknamed Little Mogadishu as it is home to refugees from neighbouring war-torn Somalia and ethnic Somali Kenyans. “Somalis come from America and Europe,” said one elderly circumciser, wearing a purple and white tie-dye headscarf. “They always come to me because they are scared to do it there … During the holidays, they come and I cut them.” The circumciser, who learned the trade as a teenager in northern Kenya, declined to give her name as Kenya has stepped up prosecutions for FGM.
The ritual, which involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia, can cause haemorrhage, shock, childbirth complications, fistula and death. Under Kenya’s 2011 law, those practising FGM face a minimum of three years in jail or a fine, and life imprisonment if the girl dies. Some 50 cases are in court, with at least two people facing murder charges. Christmas is the cutting season in Kenya as schools close for six weeks. The government’s FGM prosecution unit took out newspaper adverts in November warning that it was monitoring communities that practise FGM. Around 27 percent of Kenyan women and girls have been cut. In Somalia the practice is almost universal. Cutters in Kenya are changing their methods in an attempt to evade the law, switching from infibulation — in which all external genitalia are removed and the vaginal opening stitched closed — to sunna, where only the clitoris is cut or removed.
Kenya To Set Up Center To Tackle Proliferation Of Small Arms
10 March – Source: Global Post/Xinhua – 260 Words
Kenya’s Cabinet on Tuesday approved the establishment of the Regional Center on Small Arms in the Great Lakes Region, the Horn of Africa, and the Bordering States (RECSA). A statement issued after the cabinet meeting chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta said the center will address the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons whose effects are seen in the insecurity occasioned in both urban and rural parts of the country. “It is for this reason that, Kenya has been at the forefront in ensuring that the issue of curbing the proliferation of small arms remains in the agenda regionally and globally,” the statement said.
Proliferation of small arms is to blame for tribal skirmishes and cattle rustling in Kenya’s northern frontier districts.The East African nation is surrounded by neighboring countries that for a long time experienced civil strife which immensely contributed to the influx of the illegal weapons into the hands of gangsters and cattle rustlers. In rural northern Kenya, small arms have replaced traditional weapons in ethnic warfare over pasture, water and livestock.
The move comes as the government has issued a one week ultimatum on feuding communities in northwest region in possession of illegally acquired firearms to register, surrender them or face the full force of the law. National Security Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery on Sunday warned that the government will not condone acts of lawlessness.The establishment of the center came as the East African nation has been battling with threats from Al-Shabaab from Somalia who have vowed reprisals following Kenyan army’s cross border intervention.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Prohibition hasn’t been a solution to any of the problem with Khat. It has just exacerbated any existing problems as well as creating new ones associated with the inevitable illegal trade it generates.”
Prohibition, Not The Only Solution
11 March – Source: Warya Post – 456 Words
Over the past few months, a group of young Somalis aged between 18 and 25 set out to find the issues concerning the Somali community in London. Focus groups were held all around London with the aim of clarifying what the needs of the community are in terms of access to jobs, housing and health and whether they had any other problems with policing and security. It emerged that one of the main concerns most of the participants found common was the effects of the Khat Ban. Khat, a leafy plant which acts as a stimulant, native to the Horn of Africa and Southern Arabia was banned as a class C drug, June last year. A class C drug is in the category of tranquilizers, valium and anabolic steroids. It is illegal to have, give away or deal in this class of drugs.
Abukar Awale who was leading the Anti Khat campaign said, “As an ex-addict I can say there will be nights where you will sweat and have some nightmares, but people soon get over it.” Evidence, however, tells a different story. Participants of the focus groups in Somali Youth Development Resource Centre and Ocean Somali Community Association based in Tower hamlets raised concerns that the Khat Ban without rehabilitation strategy in place will not achieve much. As it is the ban now encourages individuals that have been partaking the drug to fill the void with more detrimental lifestyle choices such as heavy drinking and engaging in other different drugs. Khat addiction is a complex medical problem with negative consequences that can affect almost every part of a persons life. Drug use is a matter of health and education.
“When optimism and enthusiasm withers, I believe Somaliland citizens shouldn’t lose sight of the main reason they formed this country!It is the responsibility of the current leaders and the opposition parties to work towards a unified country! Somaliland evolution to its present state occurred under the mantle of visionary leader like the late president Egal, and couldn’t have happened without his leadership! ”
Somaliland: Somalia – Blind To The Past And Future
10 March – Source: Wargane News Network – 1219 Words
To those of us who came of age after the collapse of Somali government in 1991, the need for something a kin to lucid and thoughtful conversation about how the Somali Union was formed is demanding. So much would seem, upon reflection obvious. But beyond the catchy phrases (Muqadas), the misleading crass, and dishonest language a serious historical look into the issue of the union is required. To Some history is boring stuff. They can forget about it and it doesn’t matter anymore, but if you are a Somali person history is your friend. It is your guide through the contours of Somali politics.
Somaliland rights to secede can’t be overcome by verbal magic, but by historical facts. Let us consider the Unionist agenda of One Somalia more carefully from historical perspective. If, as appears likely, Unionist wants to ignore history, then their point collapses upon slightest scrutiny. When a shared premise of understanding history is lacking there is the untoward consequence of big misunderstanding! We all know the State of Somalia came about into existence in 1960, resulting from merger of Southern Somalia, an Italian trust territory and Northern Somaliland, a British protectorate. In the words of the eminent Somali scholar Professor Ahmed Samatar these were the two original “lands”. It is indeed true all these other mini-states utterly baffles the mind.
Top tweets
@Yassinjuma With tens of #Tanzania and #Kenya shabab fighters having sneaked in from #Somalia in the last 1 month alone Dar and Nrb should be concerned
@AU_PSD Agenda of #AUPSC–#UNSC Joint Consultative meeting includes: #GreatLakes #CAR #BokoHaram #Mali &#Sahel, #Libya #Somalia #SouthSudan #Darfur
@RadioErgo Toghdeer pastoralists in distress #Somaliahttp://bit.ly/1EaNAsu
@Somalia111 Good meeting with @Aynte #Somali Minister of Planning to discuss outreach to interim admins on national dev plan
@stability_fund ·@OfficialSOMGIT tractors have reached#Balcad & #Jowhar & are already working on the field #Somalia#Horusocod
@UNLazzarini ·Aid workers visited sites of forced evictions in#Mogadishu on Sunday. #IDPs lost belongings & moved to areas with limited or no services.
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Mogadishu is being transformed from war ravaged to fast growing city with beautiful buildings.
Photo: @SalahOsman0