March 13, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report.
US Drone Attack In Somalia kills Westgate Terror Mastermind Adan Garaar
13 March – Source – Standard Digital – 326 Words
A suspected drone attack killed three members of Somalia’s al Shabaab Islamist rebel group on Thursday in southern Somalia while they were driving in a car, officials said. The attack took place Thursday evening in the village of Abaq Xaluul, outside the town of Bardhere in the southern part of Somalia. Security officials in Nairobi said they had been informed the attack targeted a car that belonged to Adan Garaar, a top official in al-Shabab’s security service, the Amniyat Garaar is believed to have links with the gunmen who attacked Westgate Mall in 2013, killing more than 70 people. “We have been informed that among those who died in the strike was Garaar. He organized the Westgate attack in Nairobi,” said a senior security official who asked not to be named.
The official said Garaar’s group had also planned attacks in Kampala and Mombasa but they were foiled in 2014. See also: Jihadi John’s schoolfriend recognised eyes of ISIS butcher in beheading videos A vehicle he had dispatched with explosives inside to Mombasa was intercepted after arriving there last year, officials said. The other victims were not immediately identified. Witnesses said the vehicle was destroyed in the drone strike. Earlier, al-Shabab claimed responsibility for an attack that targeted a key Somali political leader and left at least eight people dead in Baidoa.
Key Headlines
- Constitutional Review Commission Concludes First Phase Of The Constitution Review (Radio Goobjoog)
- President Hassan Sheikh leaves For Egypt (Wacal Media/Danan Radio)
- Governor Of Banadir Attends Showcasing of Service Delivery For Shibis District (Radio Muqdisho)
- Local NGO Gets Poor Children Into School (Radio Ergo)
- Mogadishu Hotels To Comply With New Security Regulation (Somali Update)
- US Drone Attack In Somalia Kills Westgate Terror Mastermind Adan Garaar (Standard Digital)
- IMF Says New Multi-Donor Fund Will Boost Somalia’s Development (Outlaw.com)
- Facing Death Row In Somalia (video.aljazeera.com)
- Art Hounds: Somali Poetry And Music/Improv Mashup (MPRNews)
- Will Kenya “Berlin Wall” Curb Infiltration Of Somalia-Based Terror Group? (Warya Post)
- Sincere Advice To President Gaas (Garowe Online)
- Will Somalia’s Al-Shabaab Take Similar Steps Of Boko Haram To Join ISIS(Horseed Media)
SOMALI MEDIA
Constitutional Review Commission Concludes First Phase Of The Constitution Review
13 March – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 249 Word
Constitutional Review Commission chairlady Asho Gelle who gave an exclusive interview to Goobjoog News said that the first phase of the constitution review was concluded successfully and that a commission will start second phase soon. “Before reviewing constitution, you have to persuade the public about what you are doing and that is not easy work but the commission did its best complete the first phase and concluded well,” Gelle said. She added that the earlier rifts between the government’s top leaders greatly affected their work. Gelle said that the work of first phase was to read the draft constitution so as to access defects within the constitution.
She said they found two main defects namely technical one and political decisions such as where to be the capital city and to determine the question of whether the country should have prime minister or deputy president. “85% of draft constitution requires technical solutions while 15% needs political decision such the sharing of resource in the country [and] boundaries need to [be specified]. Speaking about the obstacles they faced, the chairlady pointed out the need for finance to run the work which she said should be paid by the government so that the work can run smoothly instead of waiting for the international community give fund. “The main problem is expense, we are not suppose to be dependent on donors always, the government has to pay the expenditure the commission requires” the chairlady underlined. Finally, Gelle called ministry for constitution to collaborate with her commission.
President Hassan Sheikh Leaves For Egypt
13 March – Source: Wacal Media/Danan Radio – 109 Words
President of the federal republic of Somalia Hassan Sheikh and his delegation left for Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt to attend an economic conference today. The president was accompanied by several senior officials of his administration. The delegation will be joined by Foreign Minister Mr. Abdisalan Hadliye Omar who was already in Egypt to attend Arab foreign ministers meeting. Somalia normally attends Arab country meetings held in Egypt. Prof. Mohamed Dalha, Vice Chairman of Parliament’s foreign relations committee of Somalia last week came out strongly lambasting the Somali government for its laxity in following up with pledges made by Arab countries. He further accused them of heading to meeting with no clear agenda hence loosing out on many opportunities.
Governor Of Banadir Attends Showcasing Of Service Delivery For Shibis District
13 March – Source: Radio Muqdisho – 173 Words
Governor of Benadir Administration who is also Mayor of Mogadishu Hassan Mohamed Hussein last night attended a function organized by Shibis District to highlight service delivery to citizen. The event was held in Shibis Headquarter where the tasks and activities of the District was presented for the period of one year.
District Commissioner of Shibis Abdifatah Noor Ali who was speaking at the event about the achievement of the District for the period of last one year said they have achieved a lot for the citizens the district. The mayor who was guest speaker praised the administration of Shibis District in his closing speech. He also praised his own administration for setting up many service delivery centers through initiative of Build your Country which was launched by President Hassan Sheikh.
Local NGO Gets Poor Children Into School
12 March – Source: Radio Ergo – 306 Words
Local NGO Humanitarian Aid for Somali Education (SUHAYDA) is supporting the education of 860 children from poor and marginalized families in Mogadishu. SUHAYDA chairman, Mohamed Ali Dahir, said the programme was funded by 143 individual local donors. He described the programme as a ‘Somali-owned initiative.’ “My children now go to school with the children of my neighbours. In fact I am feeling happy!” said Amina Ahmed, whose four children, including two girls, have been supported by SUHAYDA.
Abdullahi Mohamed Omar, 15, comes from a poor family who dropped out of school as his parents were not able to pay the fees. “SUHAYDA supported me. I am now in form one in secondary school and my future is bright!” he said. The NGO is assisting 120 orphaned children. It also offers skills training for adults from deprived communities. Khadija Hashi Ga’al, 40, learned tailoring and is now providing for her family. “I work with a skill I learnt from SUHAYDA. My husband is jobless. I provide for the family, my children go to primary school and I hope they will have a good future,” Khadija said.
Mohamed Ali Dahir said poor and marginalized communities were struggling to keep up with the rest of society. Education was a way of bringing opportunity. Sabirin Hassan Ahmed, 14, is in class five of primary school. “I attend the Salman Farisi School. My parents have no money. I like to learn maths. I also want to study nursing in the future,” she said. Safiya Abdullahi, 43, a widow, said: “They helped three of my children go to school. My children don’t have a father and education is expensive in Mogadishu. Every month they pay $51 for the school fees of my two sons, who go to secondary school.”
Mogadishu Hotels to Comply With New Security Regulation
12 March – Source – Somali Update – 184 Words
All Mogadishu hotels will comply with new security regulation by the country’s security minister following terrorist attacks that hit several popular hotels in the capital, Somali Update reports. According to Spokesman for the Ministry of National Security, Mohamed Yusuf all hotels and guest houses in Mogadishu should update their licenses to the Ministry of Security. Hotel guests will be required to fill out forms with their personal details and bring copies of their passports.
The new regulation will also target specifically those holding foreign passports residing in Mogadishu hotels. The owners of the hotels and directors are also required to prove the details and contacts of hotel employees including valid identifications. The new regulation which is still in its first stage has come after Feb. 20 double suicide bombings that hit two major hotels in the capital city which killed more than 28 people, among them senior government officials. One of the two suicide bombers is believed to be a Dutch national woman hired as hotel receptionist four months before the deadly attack.
REGIONAL MEDIA
US Drone Attack In Somalia kills Westgate Terror Mastermind Adan Garaar
13 March – Source – Standard Digital – 326 Words
A suspected drone attack killed three members of Somalia’s al Shabaab Islamist rebel group on Thursday in southern Somalia while they were driving in a car, officials said. The attack took place Thursday evening in the village of Abaq Xaluul, outside the town of Bardhere in the southern part of Somalia. Security officials in Nairobi said they had been informed the attack targeted a car that belonged to Adan Garaar, a top official in al-Shabab’s security service, the Amniyat Garaar is believed to have links with the gunmen who attacked Westgate Mall in 2013, killing more than 70 people. “We have been informed that among those who died in the strike was Garaar. He organized the Westgate attack in Nairobi,” said a senior security official who asked not to be named.
The official said Garaar’s group had also planned attacks in Kampala and Mombasa but they were foiled in 2014. See also: Jihadi John’s schoolfriend recognised eyes of ISIS butcher in beheading videos A vehicle he had dispatched with explosives inside to Mombasa was intercepted after arriving there last year, officials said. The other victims were not immediately identified. Witnesses said the vehicle was destroyed in the drone strike. Earlier, al-Shabab claimed responsibility for an attack that targeted a key Somali political leader and left at least eight people dead in Baidoa.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
IMF Says New Multi-Donor Fund Will Boost Somalia’s Development
12 March – Source: Out-law.com – 496 Words
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has launched a multi-donor trust fund to help Somalia improve fiscal operations, central banking, and statistical systems over the next three years. The Somalia Trust Fund aims at improving macroeconomic institutions, policies, and data systems and will provide more than $9 million worth of technical assistance and training to the country over the next three years. The IMF said commitments to the fund have already been made by the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development ($3 million), the Canadian Department for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development ($2.5m), and the UK’s Department for International Development ($1.1m). Efforts are under way to “secure additional contributions to fully finance the trust fund’s budget”, the IMF said.
In addition, the IMF said its legal department will draw up blueprints for anti-money laundering and fiscal legislation for Somalia over the coming year. The IMF formally recognised the establishment of a federal government in Somalia in April 2013 as the country emerged from a long period of civil war. “Building on the IMF’s long experience in fragile and post-conflict countries, the capacity development program for Somalia under the trust fund will comprise technical assistance, training, and professional attachments of Somali officials in counterpart institutions in other countries in the region,” the IMF said.
According to the IMF, a fact-finding mission to Somalia in 2013 found “a very active private sector resurgence in the services industry, driven mainly by a return of diaspora Somalis, notably in the communications, construction, and money transfer sectors”. “In the absence of licensed commercial banks, a number of informal financial institutions have evolved in Somalia, most of which provide shadow banking services on a nationwide basis and deal in money transfer operations,” the IMF said. “In particular, money transfer companies have spread rapidly throughout the country, and are now estimated to handle more than $2 billion in remittances and considerable more in commercial trade.”
Facing Death Row In Somalia
12 March – Source: video.aljazeera.com – video – 2:09 Minutes
Somalia’s government has executed more people than any other country in Sub Saharan Africa, according to Amnesty International.It says more than 150 death sentences have been handed down since 2013 and 86 people have been executed.Al Jazeera’s Hamza Mohamed visited the death row wing at a prison in the city of Bossasso, in Somalia’s Puntland region.
Art Hounds: Somali Poetry And A Music/Improv Mashup
12 March – Source: MPR News – 234 words
This week on Art Hounds, we take in a Somali poetry reading, an Elk River art show, and a music/improv mash-up.Tom Gitaa, publisher of Mshale, is excited to check out “Saved by Faith and Verse,”an evening of Somali poetry this Saturday at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. Curated by poet Nimo Farah, the evening will include poetry in both Somali and English. Gitaa says he will attend poetry readings in Somali, even though he doesn’t speak the language, because he finds the poetry so musical.
Writer/performer/podcaster Mark Sweeney says it’s not often you see comedians come up with a new form of improv, but that’s just what the duo Ferrari McSpeedy(Mike Fotis and Joe Bozic) have done with their show “What!” The two riff off of a wildly diverse music playlist, creating a different scene for each song. Sweeney says the result is high volume hilarity.
Metal sculptor Gene Olson invites everyone to drive on over to Elk River to check out the Elk River Arts Alliance’s member exhibition, up through March 28. The exhibit features watercolors, pastels and paintings as well as wood carving, pottery and sculpture. Olson reports there are at least 300 members of the alliance, and some drove from hours away to contribute artwork. He says you can’t miss the alliance — it’s right next to the big metal ladle on Main Street.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“To be sure, once Somalia attains peace and life returns to normalcy, Eastleigh will be emptied of its traders and Lamu will sleep in peaceful breeze. It is a fact that in the heart of every human being there is a sense of dignity that is never satisfied as long as one is a sojourner. That is why our focus must be on praying for and working towards peace in Somalia. It is in their internal amity that we will find our peace.”
Will Kenya “Berlin Wall” Curb Infiltration Of Somalia-Based Terror Group?
12 March – Source: Warya Post- 803 Words
My first reaction to the news that the government intends to construct a wall between Kenya and Somalia was only excitement. I had personally contemplated this as a possible solution to the menace of illegal immigrants crossing from the war-torn nation.And indeed, Lamu Governor Issa Timamy is reported to be in full support of the proposed wall.Of course the wall, whose construction is expected to be complete before the end of the year, is hoped to curb the infiltration of the Somalia based terrorists – a welcome thought indeed. But on second thoughts, the idea is not that attractive, especially in the long term.
When the government of East Germany was faced with mass defections into West Germany, it resorted to building a barbed wire and concrete wall between East and West Berlin. And so the construction began on 13 August, 1961, ostensibly to keep Western “fascists” from entering East Germany and undermining the socialist state.
Unfortunately, the Berlin Wall did not stem the flow of refugees from East to West as expected. Consequently, the makeshift wall was replaced with a 12-foot-tall, 4-foot-wide reinforced concrete wall.
With twelve checkpoints atop, the wall was designed to make climbing over nearly impossible. Furthermore, on the East German side was created a highly sophisticated buffer zone of soft sand, floodlights, vicious dogs, trip-wire machine guns, and patrolling soldiers with orders to shoot escapees on sight.But even this did not make escape from East Germany impossible. By the time the wall came down in 1989, it is estimated that more than 5,000 East Germans had managed to cross the border by jumping out of windows adjacent to the wall, climbing over the barbed wire, flying in hot air balloons, crawling through sewers, or driving through unfortified parts of the wall at high speeds.
“Many analysts argue that due to many challenges Al- Shabaab is facing currently, it will move forward to join the so-called Islamic caliphate which has overshadowed Al-Qaeda network due to its harsh actions and drawn media attention. Areas that al-Shabaab is desperate to fix which they are struggling with for so long are; access to arms and funding.”
Will Somalia’s Al Shabaab Take Similar Steps Of Boko Haram To Join ISIS
12 March – Source: Horseed Media – 516
Over the weekend, Nigeria based militant group Boko Haram pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq. The move which was anticipated came at a crucial moment – the group facing a major battle from the coalition forces of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger and started to lose territories. Boko Haram has continued to carry out brutal attacks across Nigerian territory – mostly in the northern part dominated by the Muslims. In fact not only in Nigeria, it has already proved its capabilities by crossing into other borders and labelling attacks such as Cameroon, Chad and Niger. However, the Somali extremists have not been actively operating in Somalia since losing large territories to the Somali government forces and African Union troops. It no longer controls towns that they used to generate income from though they are still present in large swathes in rural areas.
But they have managed to launch deadly attacks in Mogadishu, targeting government officials and foreign nationals working for humanitarian organisations. Since its former powerful leader Ahmed Abdi Godane was killed in a U.S airstrike in September last year, members of the group have disagreed on ways of continuing their campaigns with some suggesting new initiatives. In the past two months, the group’s top officials have been arguing on whether to pledge allegiance to ISIS or bolster the ties with Al-Qaeda which they formally joined in 2012. There is no indication that IS has a formal presence in Somalia. It certainly would have a rhetorical interest in expanding to Somalia. After all, given its wish to install an Islamic caliphate, it would ideally want to take over Islamic nations worldwide.
“Mr. President you have a multitude options to energize people’s desire by lightening unemployment rate, strengthening security and conspiring relations with the opposition figures in a bureaucratic way. A better, more active policy on region forces is also needed. “
Sincere Advice To President Gaas
12 March – Source: Garowe Online – 403 Words
Puntland people have been full of buoyancy, when president Gaas got elected as the Puntland’s fifth president on January 2014. The last year, it counts a lot to Puntland people and still questioning on what president Gaas’s administration discounted with no overstatement. The dual citizenship president has won unprecedented election after potholed rounds of election race with outweigh politicians including Abdurahman Farole, Former Puntland president and other dazzling candidates.
Political analysts in the region believe that Abdiwali Gaas has entirely botched to address mounting Al-shabab threats, rampant exploitation and worst economic tragedy that the people experiences for a nearly decades. In his post election plan, the incumbent president made promises regarding on socio-economic step up and stretched security strategies, but alas, the president has disregarded every promise he made before election and spent the year a type of commemorative politics. The administration is on the brink to mislay fragile cozy relations with the elite community elders and military commanders while Al-shabaab continue snuffing soldiers in a row in Gal-gala rigid mountains and Puntland’s commercial hub of Bosaaso repetitively.
Top tweets
@amisomsomalia · From SRCC @MamanSidikou1 “These are desperate attempts by Al Shabaab to seek relevance.” http://bit.ly/1wZmvJh #Baidoa
@AmbassadorPower ·Applaud AU efforts in #Somalia. Improving security, promote post-conflict reconstruction & weaken al-Shabaab. US & #UNSC supports AU in this
@SomaliaJunkie You need to know about #Somalia: Delicious cuisine, beaches sprinkled with beautiful sand, hydrocarbon, sprawling streams N wandering herds
@UNSomalia · Calling all Somali poets! 21st March is world poetry day. Which Somali poets inspire, motivate, & challenge you? #worldpoetryday
@namitabohara Dr.Hawa Abdi @DHAFoundation has been working tirelessly 4 human rights&sustainable institutions in Somalia. #inspiresme @SriSri @voicesofiwc
@Somalia111 · In #Garowe again to see steady progress. Thanks to President & citizens 4 warm welcome & commitment to democratisation
@amisomsomalia ·Somali Women Development Center (SWDC) conducted a male targeted forum. Its aim: changing the attitudes towards #GBV http://bit.ly/1NRqXPi
Image of the day
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia Nicholas Kay enjoys afternoon tea with Puntland elders in Garowe to discuss peace stability & progress Somalia.
Photo:UNSOM