March 13, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
Car Bomb Blast Kills At Least Three
13 March – Source: Xinhua – 125 Words
At least three people were killed and three others were injured in a suicide car bomb blast in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Monday, officials and eye witnesses said. A minibus laden with explosives went off near a military training camp in Wadajir district, said a security official who declined to be identified. “The suicide bomber and two civilians were killed and three others were injured. The security forces have launched investigations,” he added. According to witnesses, the victims were passers-by in the explosion that ripped through the gate of a sweet factory opposite to the military base. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast, which came after a media worker was seriously injured in a similar attack in Mogadishu on Sunday.
Key Headlines
- Car Bomb Blast Kills At Least Three (Xinhua)
- President Farmaajo Sets Tuesday As National Prayer Day For Rain (Jowhar.com)
- Five Dead As Hunger Bites Mudug Region (Goobjoog News)
- Chief of Somali National Army Denies Reports Of Resignation (Jowhar.com)
- IGAD Nations Ink Deal To Improve Livestock Disease Surveillance (Daily Nation)
- Dear President Farmaajo We Need To Talk (Medium.com)
NATIONAL MEDIA
President Farmaajo Sets Tuesday As National Prayer Day For Rain
13 March – Source: Jowhar.com – 153 Words
Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo has announced that Tuesday will be a day to perform rain-seeking prayers as the drought in the country gets worse. President Farmaajo made the announcement at a meeting with the national drought response committee and Muslim scholars.
He called on the Somali people to participate in the prayers for the rain and forgive one another. “I call on the Somali public to participate in Tuesday’s rain-seeking prayers and take part in the ongoing efforts to help the drought-affected population.”
He urged the Somali businesspeople to take part in the efforts to rescue the lives of livestock and people affected by the drought. He praised the efforts being made by the national drought relief committee led by Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre, exhorting them to double their efforts. President Farmajo reiterated his call to Somalia’s friendly countries and aid agencies to come to the rescue of the drought-ravaged Somalis.
Five Dead As Hunger Bites Mudug Region
13 March – Source: Goobjoog News – 200 Words
Five people have been confirmed dead in Galkaayo district with dozens of children malnourished as drought continues to wreak havoc in the country. The five deaths have been reported in a village in the outskirt of Galkaayo, while the 70 other cases of malnutrition have been confirmed. Mohamed Abdi Ali, a local official in Galkaayo told the media that villages around Galkaayo town in the Mudug region are staring at starvation as the country faces cycle of famine-related deaths.
“Several people are weak and emaciated due to hunger. The areas have remained dry, leading to death of humans and livestock,” said Ali. The officer says the old people are among hundreds of starving villagers who have been hit hard by devastating drought that has swept across Somalia. Thousands have been arriving in Galkaayo town over recent days in search of food aid.
In the recent weeks there had been reports of many cases of diarrhea and malnutrition affecting both children and adults in the region. Somalia which is semi-arid had been hit by significant shortages of pasture and water following two year of rain shortage, leading to deaths of livestock in many parts of the country.
Chief of Somali National Army Denies Reports Of Resignation
13 March – Source: Jowhar.com – 164 Words
After yesterday’s protest by members of the Somali National Army in Mogadishu over unpaid salaries, news reports circulated that the chief of Somalia’s National Army Major General Mohamed Adan Ahmed has stepped down from his post. Responding to these reports, Major General Ahmed termed the reports as absurd. “The rumors regarding my resignation are false. I’ll hold those people who have spread the rumors accountable,” said the military boss.
After the soldiers went on strike, some senior military officials who spoke to local media houses in Mogadishu accused General Ahmed of diverting salaries of Mogadishu-based soldiers to Puntland to quell tension caused by angry Puntland forces who have been also complaining about unpaid salaries. Ahmed has not however commented on this allegation. Sunday’s protest by the soldiers was said to be the biggest staged by disgruntled members of the security forces in many years. Reports say it was meant to remind President Farmajo of his promise during his campaign trail to pay the army.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
IGAD Nations Ink Deal To Improve Livestock Disease Surveillance
13 March – Source: Daily Nation – 612 Words
Three member countries of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) are set to benefit from a new programme meant to control movement of livestock across the borders and tackle rustling. On Friday, Igad signed an agreement with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to help improve on livestock management systems. The deal means that Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia would improve disease surveillance, data collection on animal numbers and productivity, access to markets and enable them trace stolen animals.
FAO said the scheme would target communities living near the Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia borders. It would also involve educating communities on proper and economical animal farming, bearing in mind that the area is prone to drought. The Sh1 billion five-year project, to be funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Corporation, would be managed and implemented by FAO and Igad. But it would only begin when the three countries set up policies to tap into the programme.
FAO’s coordinator for Eastern Africa Patrick Kormawa said past experience had necessitated the development of the programme. “This programme embraces the principle of investing nationally while thinking regionally to ensure coherent and harmonised action across countries,” he said during a conference on drought resilience organised by Igad in Nairobi.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“History is rife with examples of nations self-imploding from one’s nationalist fervour. Be clear with regional neighbours on refraining from political meddling, but be mindful that they are your neighbours, who will one day serve as Somalia’s potential markets. No nation has ever thrived in a hostile region.”
Dear President Farmaajo, We Need To Talk
12 March – Source: Medium.com – 1,541 Words
I begin this prose by first congratulating you on your historic electoral win in Somalia on February 8, 2017. On the day of your election, I remember very vividly the hue of the young men in the Hodan district of Mogadishu, who with thin knees planted on the Mogadishu ground, palms secreting emotional sweat, tears betraying their hardened masculinity, bowing before God for granting us your ascension to the sought-after ‘Iron throne’ in Somalia.
I’m sure you know what your win means to your people, so I will spare you the gory details of how we all cried like neglected pre-schoolers, affirmed for the very first time in our lives. Instead I want to share some advice, gift-wrapped in eight simple policy steps that may aid you in the mandate to effectively govern the nation-state you’ve just inherited.
I know what you’re thinking. What can an insignificant writer tell you, a seasoned statesman, about ruling the nation clothed in the perpetual, media fan-favourite ‘failed state’ moniker for almost three decades. I get it, your mailbox is overwhelmed and fatigued with ‘suggestions’, and this one is most certainty no different. Still, despite your legitimate trepidation about the plethora of advice from self-decorated ‘experts’, I can promise you that these prescriptions are ones backed by pragmatism and dynamic political reform. I’m that confident.
Fire every head of your security institutions. In an alternate world where you could exercise your political might to try these unconscionable kleptocrats for treason, I would encourage the levelling of criminal charges. Unfortunately that’s an alternative world where Fox News and unicorns live, so I’ll advise from the real life, and encourage you to appoint Security heads who, I don’t know, know a thing or two about security.
If you can’t fire everyone, fire the deputies of the ones you can’t fire. I believe this prescription is one that needs little expounding, as you’ve inherited a disastrous security landscape where the need to reform institutions like the Somali National Army (SNA) in promotion of accountability, adherence to the military chain of commandment and operational discipline is at critical mass. Fail to do this, and be prepared to run an administration that sleeps in bulletproof vehicles with a handgun under their silk pillows.
TOP TWEETS
@NewsWcn : SOMALIA: Two separate car bombs kill at least 9 people in Mogadishu today. No group has claimed yet. #Somalia
@RadioErgo: #Somalia:Meeting needs of drought-affected in Jubaland is ‘beyond human ability’ says regional authority http://bit.ly/2nkSctE @Jubaland
@S_S_W_C : NCA, field visit #Somalia at SSWC Center with SSWC Director Amina ,NCA team, & beneficiaries #successstories #presentation. @amina_hajji1
@Abdi_AlSheikh : UK Government allocates £16 million to critical drought response in Somalia – Norwegian Refugee Council http://dlvr.it/NcQVcg #Somalia
HumanAppeal : More than 20 million people face the threat of starvation and famine in #Yemen, #Somalia, #SouthSudan and #Nigeria
IMAGE OF THE DAY
The Caawi Walaal organizing team stand for a group photo, after succeffully raising $15,000 in Mogadishu for the drought response.
Photo: @QueenNimco