March 20, 2018 | Morning Headlines
Pro Khaire MPs Say They Have Attained Quorum To Oust Speaker
19 March – Source: Radio Dalsan – 100 Words
MPs plotting to impeach Speaker of the Lower House now say they have reached the quorum for the motion of no confidence against Mohamed Osman Jawari. The MPs met at the SYL Hotel in the capital Mogadishu and among those present were ministers. They have once again asked for the embattled Speaker to resign. Jawari on Sunday gave the MPs to present the motion within ten days. They claimed to have secured the backing of 198 lawmakers to enable the motion to proceed in Parliament. The MPs have to secure the two-thirds votes of 184 parliamentarians needed to oust Speaker.
Key Headlines
- Pro Khaire MPs Say They Have Attained Quorum To Oust Speaker (Radio Dalsan)
- Deputy Commander of Puntland Darwish Forces Resigns (Halbeeg News)
- Mandera Governor Holds Security Talks with Somalia Leaders (Goobjoog News)
- Two Mombasa Men Arrested Headed To Somalia To Join Al-Shabaab (The Standard)
- Security Forces Operate Against Al-Shabaab in Somali Capital (Prensa Latina)
- Arab interests Ethiopia-Somalia Feud Play Out In Berbera Port Deal (The East African)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Deputy Commander of Puntland Darwish Forces Resigns
19 March – Source: Halbeeg News- 181 Words
Deputy of Commander of paramilitary forces in the semi-autonomous regional state of Puntland, Dayr Haji Abdi on Monday resigned from the office. Mr. Abdi who spoke to media in Garowe town said, he submitted his resignation to the Puntland President, Abdiweli Ali Gas.
The official did not disclose the reason behind his decision, though he several times complained against Puntland government over unpaid salaries of forces. The resignation comes two weeks after Puntland troops in Qardho town briefly staged a mutiny over a delay in the payment of salaries as well as poor working conditions. Dozens of soldiers seized the government’s Bank and offices as they blocked nearby streets in the town. The regional state had been facing troop mutinies over delayed payments in recent years. Since 2008, Puntland had been struggling to defeat Al-Shabab fighters in Galgala terrain Mountains. Al-Shabaab conducted several deadly attacks in the region including a car bomb which killed over 37 people and injured more than 50 others in early last year. Puntland, an arid region of north-east Somalia declared itself an autonomous state in August 1998.
Mandera Governor Holds Security Talks with Somalia Leaders
19 March – Source: Goobjoog News – 205 Words
Recent security meetings between Kenyan and Somali leaders are expected to boost counter terror efforts at the porous border town of Mandera. Over the past week, leaders from the two neighboring states have held a series of meetings aimed at finding a lasting solution to the security menace caused by the Al-Shabaab militants.
On Sunday, Mandera county governor Ali Roba held a meeting with delegates from Somalia’s Gedo region led by Gedo Governor Mr. Mohamoud Aden who visited the region to discuss security issues between their borders. According to the county boss, the meeting which was held at the Mandera county headquarters centered on border peace and security issues. “We discussed among other issues, proper border securitization, trade and integration of border communities in order to foster and enhance a good working relationship, “Governor said Roba.
On his part, Gedo governor Mohamud Aden said that the meeting, which is the first of that kind was crucial as the two neighboring communities shared many socio-economic ties. “The two communities share many socio-economic ties and having joint meetings in order to discuss important issues that need to be improved while at the same time highlighting the challenges that need to be addressed is crucial,” stated Governor Aden.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Two Mombasa Men Arrested Headed To Somalia To Join Al-Shabaab
19 March – Source: The Standard – 420 Words
Police are holding two men believed to be Al-Shabaab recruiters who were trying to sneak out of the country to join Al-Shabaab in Somalia. The two Kenyans Suleiman Hemed Mwandilo and Salama Salim Mohamed were apprehended in Takaba, Mandera on Wednesday March 14 by security officers while seeking to travel to Somalia.
Police say the two individuals are key Al-Shabaab facilitators and recruiters who were attempting to cross over to Somalia and continue with their recruitment and facilitation of terror activities. They include 37-year-old Salama Salim Mohamed who is a Digo fisherman from Maweni in Mombasa while Suleiman Hemedi Mwandilo, 39, is a resident of Bagani within Likoni, Mombasa.
Security officers intercepted the two at a roadblock in Takaba as they were planning to cross over to Somalia through the El-Wak – Boroache route. The two who were presented in court initially claimed they were heading to El-Wak to market fish products; police were allowed to hold them for 30 days to complete their investigations. The two are said to have been active members in the Al-Shabaab facilitation and recruitment network in Mombasa.
According to police, the two men were also engaged in drug peddling and other petty crimes in Likoni, Mombasa and were being monitored by security agencies for some time before their arrests. A police report also shows that the two were part of Ramadhan Hamisi Kufungwa’s network. Ramadhan is a Kenyan fighter and a middle level commander within Al-Shabaab ranks and file in Somalia. He is also a key recruiter and facilitator who has recruited and facilitated youths mostly from Majengo and South Coast to join Al-Shabab in Somalia. Ramadhan was born in Ukunda, Kibundani area and schooled in Bongwe Primary School after which he proceeded for religious studies at Ijtihaad Madrassa and Maganyakulo Madrasatul Tawheed Islaamiya.
Security Forces Operate Against Al-Shabaab in Somali Capital
19 March – Source: Prensa Latina – 162 Words
Somali security forces executed today a raid against the Al-Shabaab organization in this capital, following the most recent attacks by the armed group, press reports stressed. According to Radio Shabelle, the actions were carried out again in the Kahda neighborhood, in the south of the city and caused an unknown number of wounded.
Last week the intelligence services operated against the faction in the Kahda neighborhood, after a series of attacks perpetrated in that area. Somalia faces an escalation of attacks by Al Shabab, both in this capital and in other areas of the southern region, recalled other media, highlighting the persistence of the actions of the armed group that confronted the central authority to which it does not recognize legitimacy. Last November, the Prime Minister of Somalia, Hasan Ali Kaire, promised that he would eliminate that militia and that he would do everything possible to expel it from the areas it controls in the south and center of this country.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Somaliland has declared itself an autonomous region since 1991, after the collapse Somalia’s central government and has been fighting to officially separate from Somalia for close to three decades without much success. In 2001 referendum and 97.1 per cent of the two-thirds of eligible voters who took part voted for its separation, from Somalia which has been heavily objected by Somalia,”
Arab interests, Ethiopia-Somalia Feud Play Out In Berbera Port Deal
17 March – Source: The East African – 780 Words
Ethiopia’s latest attempt to overcome its geographical and economic disadvantage as a landlocked country by acquiring a stake in the Somaliland port of Berbera earlier this month has re-ignited a long-standing rivalry between the Federal Republic of Somalia and the self-declared autonomous region of Somaliland over the latter’s determination to separate from Somalia. Sources privy to the matter say that the controversial deal which was signed on March 1 has opened old wounds of the decades-long discord between the two countries, in a major diplomatic stand-off that has sucked in several Arab countries.
Sharmarke Jama, principal consultant at UAE-based consultancy Clear Horn Ltd and a former Somaliland trade and economic adviser, said that Mogadishu’s resistance to the deal could be linked to the involvement of Ethiopia, which has traditionally conflicted with Somalia for over six decades. “Somalia feels betrayed by Somaliland,” said Mr Jama. Through the tripartite agreement, Ethiopia acquired a 19 per cent stake in the Berbera port for $80 million, while UAE logistics firm DP World and the Republic of Somaliland retained 51 per cent and 30 per cent stakes respectively. Somalia opposed the deal involving Ethiopia, declaring it null and void on the grounds that it breached international standards and violates the sovereignty of Somalia, a stance that Somaliland and DP World have dismissed. This week, the dispute exacerbated with Somalia’s Upper and Lower Houses voting in a Bill declaring the deal defective and banning DP World from Somalia. The Somaliland parliament responded by voting unanimously to approve the deal.
The East African has learnt that the deal is yet to be formally approved, as the concession agreement, including the new shareholding, is yet to be tabled before the Somaliland parliament. DP World has been running the port since May 2016, when it took a 65 per cent stake after it won a 30-year concession billed at $442 million for the development and management of a multi-purpose Port of Berbera. Somalia argues that Somaliland cannot enter such international contracts with other countries as the responsibility to sign such agreements remains to the Federal Government of Somalia, but Somaliland said that it is a sovereign state that can enter into independent agreements.