March 11, 2016 | Morning Headlines
Resource Shortage For AMISOM And SNA Derailing War On Al-Shabaab – Africom
10 March – Source: Goobjoog News – 276 Words
An overstretched African Union (AU) force and endemic deficiencies within the Somali National Army risk providing impetus for Al-Shabaab’s increased operations in Somalia and the rest of East Africa, US Africa Command has warned. Africom chief Gen David Rodriguez said efforts by international forces to prop the Somali Army have not produced substantial gains adding that the army is still largely dependent on foreign support in its daily operations.
“The Somali National Army remains dependent on foreign forces to conduct operations and is challenged by leadership, logistical support and clan factionalism,” Gen Rodriguez told the US Senate panel. The European Union implemented its 20 per cent cut on Amisom support in January raising concerns among troops contributing countries to the mission, especially in what they termed as crucial phase for the Amisom operations in Somalia.
In his brief to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen Rodriquez warned though that Al-Shabaab had lost significant ground in Somalia. However, the group still had the capacity to regroup and launch attacks beyond Somalia: “Financial and territorial losses inside Somalia could bolster the group to broaden its terrorist agenda throughout East Africa.” His remarks come in the wake of heightened US air and ground operations in Somalia in the past week, which have resulted in deaths of over 150 Al-Shabaab militants.
A US drone strike last week hit Raso camp in Central Somalia killing over 150 Al-Shabaab militants. In another operation on Wednesday night, nearly 11 militants were killed. General Rodriguez said areas not under government control in Somalia were providing territory for Al-Shabaab from where they are able to evade security forces and continue launching attacks in regional countries,
Key Headlines
- Resource Shortage For AMISOM And SNA Derailing War On Al-Shabaab – Africom (Goobjoog News)
- Somali Special Force Played Key Part In Awdhigle Operation US Official (Radio Dalsan)
- Landmine Blast Wounds Policeman In Bardere City (Shabelle News)
- President Of Puntland Urges The General Public To Help Those Affected By Current Droughts (Wacaal Media)
- 6 Somali Groups Get Grant To Fight Terrorism Recruitment (Associated Press)
- Somali Terror Suspect ‘Just Awaiting Order’ Says Prosecutor (Ansa Online)
- QC Renovates Seven Wells In Somalia (The Peninsular)
- Elephant Back To Somalia For First Time In 2 Decades: Conservationists (Xinhua)
- Why Didn’t A Kenyan Make This Film About Shabaab In Nairobi? (Daily Nation)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Special Force Played Key Part In Awdhigle Operation, US Official
10 March – Source: Radio Dalsan – 144 Words
A senior US official has confirmed to the Voice of America (VOA) that Somali Special Forces and US commandos jointly carried out an attack on Al-Shabaab base in Awdhigle town. Top commanders of the armed group Al-Shabaab were killed in the operation, according to Somali National Army commander General Ali Bashi Mohamed Omar.
The latest narrative seeks to clarify the fact that the attack was a collaborative exercise and not a solo operation by foreign forces. US war crafts, according to the US official, were aiding the ground troops that carried out the attack on Tuesday night. The armed group earlier confirmed the attack but dismissed any casualties on their side. The group spokesman Sheikh Abdulaziz Abu Musab, who spoke to the media has also confirmed US drone strike on their training base last week but said the casualties by the US state department were exaggerated.
Landmine Blast Wounds Policeman In Bardere City
10 March – Source: Shabelle News – 108 Words
At least one policeman was confirmed wounded in a remote-controlled landmine blast at a police station in Bardere town, located in Gedo region, police said on Thursday. Bardere police chief Mohamed Ahmed Hussein, told Radio Shabelle that they foiled the bomb attack that was aimed at assassinating a senior police officer at the city’s police station. Following the incident, the security forces cordoned off the scene and arrested several people, including police force members in connection with the land-mine blast. Thursday’s bomb explosion at Bardere police station is the latest in a series of attacks targeting army barracks and Ethiopian troops in the former Al-Shabaab stronghold.
President Of Puntland Urges The General Public To Help Those Affected By Current Drought
10 March – Source: Wacaal Media – 93 Words
The President of Puntland Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gas has appealed to the general public at home and in the Diaspora to help those hit by the current droughts being experienced across the country. Speaking in Ohio, USA where he is currently on official tour, the head of Puntland government said five regions in Puntland have been badly hit by the prevailing droughts and local residents need urgent intervention. Dr. Abdiweli said his government was doing everything possible to mitigate effects of the droughts but needed support from development partners and individual citizens.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
6 Somali Groups Get Grant To Fight Terrorism Recruitment
10 March – Source: Associated Press – 670 Words
Six organizations that work with young Somalis in Minnesota have been awarded $300,000 in grants as part of a federal pilot project designed to combat terrorism recruitment, the nonprofit group that is administering the funds announced Thursday.
The grant recipients include a youth athletics group, a program that empowers Somali parents, an organization that plans to enhance youth employment opportunities and a group that addresses mental health issues for refugees. An additional $100,000 has been set aside to help with professional development and other efforts designed to build up the programs so they can sustain themselves in the future.
Marcus Pope, director of partnerships and external relations for Youthprise, the nonprofit administering the money, said investing in youth development is crucial. He said Minnesota is home to many young Somalis who are creative and bright, but a lot of them face “formidable challenges, including a sense of alienation, a search for identity as new immigrants, unemployment and poverty that can open them to recruitment by extremist groups.”
Boston and Los Angeles are also participating in the federal pilot project, which the Obama administration launched in 2014. Each of the three cities received $216,000 from the federal government, and Minnesota secured additional funding from the private sector. Minneapolis’ program focuses on the state’s large Somali community, which has been a target for terrorism recruiters. More than 22 men have left the state since 2007 to join al-Shabab in Somalia, and roughly a dozen people have left in recent years to join militants in Syria.
Ben Petok, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota, called the grant announcement “an important milestone for the hundreds of Somali community leaders and volunteers who have worked on this effort for the past 18 months.” Last month, U.S. Attorney Andy Luger said he was working on getting additional funding, both federal and private. President Barack Obama signed a bill into law in December that includes $50 million for efforts that combat terrorism, with $10 million of that appropriation specifically for states’ efforts to prevent violent extremism. It’s not yet known how much of that money will flow to Minnesota.
In a parallel effort, Minnesota lawmakers have also allocated $250,000 to programs designed to combat terrorism recruiting, and the process of awarding those grants will start soon. Meanwhile, House Democrats have announced they’ll push for another $2 million to prevent recruiting in Minnesota.
Somali Terror Suspect ‘Just Awaiting Order’ Says Prosecutor
10 March – Source: Ansa Online – 58 Words
A prosecutor said Thursday that a 22-year-old Somali asylum seeker detained on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack in Rome was just awaiting an order from a superior to act. “Up to now he was waiting for developments,” Campobasso Prosecutor Armando D’Alterio told ANSA. “He was waiting for orders from above. That was all he was waiting for”.
QC Renovates Seven Wells In Somalia
10 March – The Peninsular – 221 Words
Qatar Charity (QC) has renovated seven surface water wells annexed with cattle troughs to provide drinking water to needy people of Middle Shabelle in Somalia. Over 24,500 people and tens of thousands of cattle could benefit from the new water facilities a day. Mohammed Hussein Omar, Director of QC office in Somalia, said, “QC launched projects in Somalia such as those related to education, health and drinking water.
“The new project will meet the people’s need for drinking water. The floods damaged the wells causing severe shortage of drinking water. As a result, many people left these areas. They walked miles looking for drinking water.” QC, in collaboration with its office, conducted a study to upgrade the wells by increasing the depth and fixing their network pipes. Pumps with generators were also added to the wells
“In 2013 and 2014, Somalia witnessed many natural disasters. QC implemented the project to support the affected families and help them overcome such a humanitarian disaster,” he added. QC’s office thanked the Qatari philanthropists and people in Qatar for great efforts and said they reflect the true face of the generous Qatari society: “We offer our help to Somalia in the fields of shelter, food and medication, among others, on humanitarian ground that connects us to the needy people around the world,” he added.
Elephant Back To Somalia For First Time In 2 Decades: Conservationists
10 March – Source: Xinhua – 498 Words
An elephant marched hundreds of kilometers from Kenya and crossed the border into Somalia for the first time in 20 years, confirming that elephants continue to survive in the Horn of Africa nation, according to conservationists. Morgan, a striking bull elephant in his mid-30s, began an extraordinary 220-km journey on Feb. 16 when he left the Tana River Delta in coastal Kenya and began marching “purposefully north”.
The conservationists watching his progress became increasingly fascinated with what became one of the most exceptional elephant movements yet recorded. Iain Douglas-Hamilton of Save the Elephants, the Kenya-based organisation that tracks elephants to assist the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and others in protecting the nation’s elephants, said Morgan had something in his mind about where he was going.
“That first night he streaked across 20 kilometres of open country, before finding thick bush an hour and a half after dawn. He hid there all day, moving only a couple of kilometres, before resuming his journey at night,” Douglas-Hamilton said in a joint statement received by Xinhua on Thursday: “He’s adopted this extreme form of survival strategy to traverse one of the most dangerous places for elephants in their African range,” he added.
According to the conservationists, Morgan crossed over the Somalia border earlier this month after days of 12-mile marches and nights spent hiding in the forest. Then after about a day of looking fruitlessly for mates, he turned back. Douglas-Hamilton said Morgan’s motives were a fascinating matter for speculation, but that it was most likely to be a search for females.
“Although he was among females when collared he never spent much time with them, suggesting that either they were already pregnant or he’d been prevented getting close by another bull. Given Morgan’s stature the latter seems unlikely,” he said.The elephant was collared on the mid-December 2015 during an operation. For the first two months, Morgan remained in the same riverine habitat with the other collared elephants before starting his journey.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Though the Westgate story happened in Kenya and most of the people who died were Kenyans, it does not mean someone like Steven Spielberg is under obligation to give a village girl or boy from Makueni a lead role should he choose to make a film about it.” – Onyango Obbo, editor of Mail & Guardian Africa.
Why Didn’t A Kenyan Make This Film About Shabaab In Nairobi?
10 March – Source: Daily Nation – 732 Words
I have not yet watched the 2015 film, Eye in the Sky, but having seen an extended preview, I think it is worthwhile and I will now do it. The Somali-American actor, Barkhad Abdi, who made a name for himself in the pirate film, Captain Phillips, and got an Oscar nomination, is in the film.
You guessed it: Al-Shabaab is part of the story. A bunch of its militants are holed up in a house in the Nairobi suburbs. The British are running a drone operation, along with operatives on the ground, to capture the Al-Shabaab terrorists. An insect-like drone is launched and when it peeps into the house, it sees a line of suicide vests and other terror merchandise spread out.
The fellows are planning a bloody attack, so the mission changes to stopping them. Then a complication arises because a nine-year-old innocent girl enters the area playing, thus the big moral dilemma. Kill the terrorists with the girl – or spare the girl, and therefore the terrorists, and thus possibly allow them to carry out their suicide mission.
That is when it struck me. Somali piracy was an East African story. And the Shabaab and their attacks, most notably on Westgate and Garissa University College, are also Kenyan stories. The most extensive reporting on the ins and outs of Somali piracy, and the Al-Shabaab, has been done in the Kenyan media. But so far, a Kenyan has not taken that story to film. Yet there is almost certainly a film on the Westgate siege on some Hollywood director’s laptop.
But if and when the film gets made, the main star will not be Kenyan. To give it some local aroma, someone like Lupita Nyong’o might get a supporting role. You might think this is a preamble to a quarrel about how the West comes here, steals our stories, and goes and distorts them in big films, and our people do not get to shine as lead men and women. It is a beef that South Africans have had about the Nelson Mandela films, where no South African got to play the big man.