March 21, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Djiboutian President: Djibouti will continue to support Somalia
21 Mar- Source: Radio Goobjoog/ Radio Mustaqbal/Radio Kulmiye/Hiiraan Online- 177 words
The President of Djibouti, Ismaïl Omar Guelleh in Djibouti airport while receiving the bodies of six Djiboutian soldiers who were killed in a suicide car bomb in Bulo-Burde carried out by al Shabaab said that the soldiers are heroes and died while in national service.
The bodies of the six soldiers were moved from Mogadishu days after al Shabaab waged fatal suicide attack against government forces and AMISOM base in Bulo-Burde killing over 10 people consisting of civilians and army.
President Guelleh stated that Djibouti will continue giving support to the federal government of Somalia and its troops will strengthen the fight against al-shabab so as to restore law and order. He added Djiboutian troops will not withdraw from Somalia until peace and stability is regained.
He sent condolence to the families, relatives and friends who lost their dear ones in the suicide attack which al Shabaab claimed its responsibility. Djibouti sent 1000 troops under AMISOM to back the federal government of Somalia.
Key Headlines
- Djiboutian President: Djibouti will continue to support Somalia (Radio Kulmiye)
- AMISOM Somali forces work in tandem in areas liberated from al Shabaab (Sabahi Online)
- Italian president receives credentials from Somali Ambassador (Hiiraan Online)
- Bodies of 6 soldiers killed in Somalia repatriated to Djibouti (Xinhua)
- ASWJ Federal Government feud on military operation cooperation (Radio Shabelle)
- Somaliland Vice-President Inspect Construction Work at Egal International Airport (Somaliland Sun)
- Challenges as Somalia seeks to formalise its economic recovery (East African)
- Somaliland Information Minister in horrible car accident set to be flown to Djibouti (Somaliland Informer)
- Two al Shabaab men jailed for illegal stay in Kenya (Daily Nation)
- Somaliland Presidents Returns Back to Hargeisa (Somaliland Sun)
- Hajj Official Meets Somali Endowments Minister (Saudi Press Agency)
- Short-term costs of military gains in Somalia (Irinnews)
- Kenya’s Eastleigh melting pot of regional cultures (Shanghaidaily/Xinhua)
- The man who established Somaliland’s ‘yellow cab’ service (CNN)
SOMALI MEDIA
Djiboutian President: Djibouti will continue to support Somalia
21 Mar- Source: Radio Goobjoog/ Radio Mustaqbal/Radio Kulmiye/Hiiraan Online- 177 words
The President of Djibouti, Ismaïl Omar Guelleh in Djibouti airport while receiving the bodies of six Djiboutian soldiers who were killed in a suicide car bomb in Bulo-Burde carried out by al Shabaab said that the soldiers are heroes and died while in national service.
The bodies of the six soldiers were moved from Mogadishu days after al Shabaab waged fatal suicide attack against government forces and AMISOM base in Bulo-Burde killing over 10 people consisting of civilians and army.
President Guelleh stated that Djibouti will continue giving support to the federal government of Somalia and its troops will strengthen the fight against al-shabab so as to restore law and order. He added Djiboutian troops will not withdraw from Somalia until peace and stability is regained.
He sent condolence to the families, relatives and friends who lost their dear ones in the suicide attack which al Shabaab claimed its responsibility. Djibouti sent 1000 troops under AMISOM to back the federal government of Somalia.
Italian president receives credentials from Somali Ambassador
21 Mar – Source: Hiiraan Online – 133 words
Somali ambassador to Italy Mr. Muse Hassan Abdulle has handed over his credential letters to the president of Italy Giorgio Napolitano during a meeting at the presidential palace in Rome, Somalia’s state-run media reported on Thursday.
Ambassador Abdulle held a lengthy meeting with president Napolitano, as both discussed on the strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries and the role that the former colonial power can play in the peace building process and the reconstruction in Somalia.
“I want to thank the government and the people of Italy for their assistance to Somalia and in particularly in the fields of humanity, politics and security” Ambassador Abdulle told the Italian president during the meeting.
He delivered a message of greetings and goodwill from Somali president to Mr. Giorgio Napolitano, the President of Italy.
Somaliland Information Minister in horrible car accident, set to be flown to Djibouti
21 Mar- Source: Somaliland Informer- 91 words
Some sources within Government claim Minister of Information Hon. Abdilahi Mohamed Dahir aka Ukuse is due to be flown to Djibouti to get treatment after his left hand broke over the fateful accident.
Ukuse and Ahmed were accompanying Somaliland President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud (Siilaanyo) who departed Togdheer regional capital of Burco while returning to Hargeisa, Somaliland capital city on Thursday.
Minister of Health Hon. Suleiman Ahmed Isse and president’s press secretary Mr. Ahmed Sulieman Dhuhul sustained minor injuries over the collision that led to the injuries sustained by them and the information minister.
ASWJ, Federal Government feud on military operation cooperation
21 Mar- Source: Radio Shabelle-168 Words
After meetings in Dhuusamareeb the provincial capital city of Galgaduud between Ministers of the Federal Government of Somalia and leaders from Ahlusunna Waljamaaca, it was said that they were unable to come to an agreement according to sources.
The Ministerial delegation was led by the Minister of Interior & Federalism and included the Minister of National Security, Minister of Information and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Somali Government.
The contentious issue was Ahlusunna Waljamaaca refusal to take part in the military offensives to wipe out al Shabaab under the command of Somali government.
Ahlusunna Waljamaaca requested to have their names publicized in order for their militia to participate with the Somali National Army and African Union troops to battle al Shabaab in the country;s regions. Despite the negative outcome of this meeting, further gatherings are expected between both sides to discuss the matters.
Somaliland Presidents Returns Back to Hargeisa
20 Mar – Source: Somaliland Sun – 158 words
Somaliland President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud Silanyo accompanied by a Government delegation consisting of cabinet ministers and senior public officials are back in the city after a week long official visit of the countryside that saw initiate various Government projects in the different regions that he toured.
Whilst used to highly charge welcoming ceremonies hosted for his receptions and a large crowd of people escorting him in his departures, the presidential delegation met a contrary atmosphere to their anticipation with no large crowds of people coming out to receiving them like in the case witnessed at regional levels.
There were just a handful of women ululating & clapping along the main road leading to the presidential residence. This is in contravention of effort recently spearheaded by the leadership of Local Government of Hargeisa who in the last couple of days were mobilizing the city residents to come out in big numbers in preparation of events leading to reception of the Head of State.
Somaliland Vice-President Inspect Construction Work at Egal International Airport
20 Mar – Source: Somaliland Sun – 152 words
Somaliland Vice-President Hon. Abdirahman Abdillahi Ismail Zeilii with a delegation of members of the House of Representatives made an inspection tour of Egal International Airport.
To ascertain the impact of the ongoing construction that is now in its second phase and the fencing project that is yet to be concluded.
Without prior consultation with the line ministry of civil aviation the V-P led delegation conducted an impromptu visit to Hargeisa airport much to the chagrin of the minister who was of late embarking on a vigorous exercise of airport modernization countrywide.
When the V-P arrived at the airport premises he was received and subsequently briefed on the projects at hand by the Director General (D.G.) Mr. Omar Abdillahi, the head of the facility Mr. Mohamed Yussuf, experts from the Kuwait based organization that is funding the project as well as the engineers of China Hono Group that is undertaking the construction.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Challenges as Somalia seeks to formalise its economic recovery
21 Mar – Source: East African – 104 words
Somalia’s economy has managed to survive collapse, maintaining reasonable levels of output throughout the two-decade-long civil war. Now, with political recovery and transition slowly underway, the country’s economy faces new hurdles. Investors have arrived in Somalia looking to cash in on the rebuilding process and abundant natural resources in areas such as agriculture and livestock, fisheries, oil and gas.
More innovative fields, such as mobile technology, have also been taking off, although they still only impact a minority of the population (22.5 out of every 100 inhabitants have a mobile phone subscription in Somalia, significantly lower than the developing world average of 84.3).
AMISOM, Somali forces work in tandem in areas liberated from al Shabaab
20 Mar- Source: Sabahi Online-733 Words
In a recent interview with Sabahi, African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) spokesperson Colonel Ali Aden Humad elaborated on the recent successes achieved in the fight against al Shabaab in the first two weeks of March.
Humad spoke about the co-operation between the Somali National Army and AMISOM forces, their humanitarian assistance to the Somali people in liberated areas and the extent of AMISOM’s involvement in the federalism process.
Sabahi: What can you tell us about the recent military offensive you launched in central and southern Somalia?
Colonel Ali Aden Humad: We have liberated a large portion of land from al Shabaab. We are close to where we wanted to reach and the area we wanted to liberate. They flee each time we launch an attack on an area where they are located.
Two al Shabaab men jailed for illegal stay in Kenya
20 Mar- Source: Daily Nation-430 Words
Two suspected al Shabaab militants arrested in a sting operation in Nairobi after allegedly sneaking into the country from Somalia to conduct a mass recruitment drive have been jailed for a year for being in Kenya illegally.
Mr Jabreen Ahmad alias Harun Osama and Mohammed Salim Alias Daud pleaded guilty to a charge of being found unlawfully present in the country after they were arrested on February 25 along the Nairobi-Kamiti road.
But they denied separate charges linking them to terrorism. Through an Arabic translator the prosecution said they were members of al Shabaab terror group and were found with photographs and video downloads “used in instigating the commission of terrorist activities.”
Mr Ahmad was further charged with collection of information for preparation of terrorism activities, a charge he denied.
Hajj Official Meets Somali Endowments Minister
20 Mar- Source: Saudi Press Agency- 61 words
The Chairman of Board of Directors of National Foundation for Pilgrim Guides of Arab countries Faisal bin Mohammed Noah met with a delegation from Somalia’s Pilgrims Affairs Office headed by the Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs Dr. Ridwan Mohammed. During the meeting, they discussed the affairs relating to 7,000 Somali pilgrims for this year’s Hajj season.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Bodies of 6 soldiers killed in Somalia repatriated to Djibouti
21 Mar- Source: Xinhua-148 Words
The bodies of six Djiboutian soldiers killed Monday in Somalia have been repatriated to the Red Sea country. The soldiers died in their vehicle targeted by al Shabaab fighters in Somalia’s central town of Bulo-Burde, where they were deployed under the auspices of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). The attack also left seven Djiboutian soldiers injured.
The bodies were received at the airport on Thursday afternoon by Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh, accompanied by senior government and military officials, as well as family members of the slain soldiers.
In response to the worst attack targeting Djiboutian troops since their deployment to Somalia three years ago under AMISOM, President Guelleh reiterated the determination to help pacify and reconstruct Somalia.
Short-term costs of military gains in Somalia
21 Mar- Source: Irinnews- 856 words
A major military offensive by Somali and African Union (AU) forces against insurgents may well contribute to Somalia’s long-term stability, but in the short-term the military action has led to the displacement of around 40,000 civilians, price hikes and the destruction of some basic infrastructure.
The Somali National Armed Forces (SNAF) and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), are engaged, with UN backing, in what UN envoy Nicholas Kay has described as “the most significant and geographically extensive military advance since AMISOM started” in 2007.
Since the offensive began in early March, six towns in the regions of Hiraan, Bay and Bakool have been captured from the Al-Shabaab insurgency: Hudur, Rabdhure, Ted, Weel Dheyn, Burdhubow and Buule Burde.
“Buule Burde in Hiraan region was a strategic town for the al Shabaab. It was their supply nerve centre and home to hundreds of the al Qaeda-linked terrorists,” said AU envoy and AMISOM head Mahamat Saleh Annadif in a recent statement.
Kenya’s Eastleigh, melting pot of regional cultures
21 Mar- Source: Shanghaidaily/Xinhua- 219 words
Eastleigh, a commercial hub on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, is widely known as small Mogadishu due to the huge number of Somali immigrants inhabiting the town.
The Somalis’ vibrant engagement in business makes them stand out in the district. Their huge population, which has eclipsed that of locals, has made them own the town.
But Eastleigh is not all about Somalis. Tens of other immigrants from countries neighboring Kenya, majority of them in conflict, also reside there giving Somalis a run for their money.
They include immigrants from Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Tanzania and Congo. While their numbers may not be as big as that of Somalis, these nationals have made Eastleigh a melting pot of regional cultures.
The man who established Somaliland’s ‘yellow cab’ service
20 Mar- Source: CNN-1312 Words
It’s a typically buttoned-up, breezy night in Hargeisa when a child is born in one of Abdikarim Salah Mohamud’s minivan cabs. The cab’s driver stands at the side of a dusty backstreet. It’s 3 a.m. In the back of the minivan lies a young woman and her newborn son, his impromptu arrival relayed anxiously via phone to the Hargeisa Taxi office.
Mohamud’s assistant, a soft-spoken beanpole called Ahmed, coaches his charge calmly throughout as the baby makes his unscripted world debut. “No one even woke me!” Mohamud says. Ahmed sits next to him and smiles, presumably at his own professionalism: “The roads probably did it for her.”
Hargeisa is the capital city of Somaliland, a breakaway state that clamors for independence from its terror-torn neighbor — Somalia. Shattered by decades of civil war, dictatorship and terror, the city is racing toward a better future: bright new office blocks poke out from the desert and markets, once empty, throng daily. But there’s still only one well-paved street in Hargeisa.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“From the top of the mosque’s minaret you get a wide panoramic view of the city. It struck me that Kampala is experiencing a semi-Nairobification, with shiny high-rise office buildings springing up in small clusters and the inevitable mall construction happening apace. And just like Nairobi, Kampala is a possible target for another attack by the Somali islamist group, al Shabaab.”
Gaddafi, al Shabaab and beautiful Kampala
20 Mar- Source: African Arguments 1013 Words
I took a couple of hours out today to visit what used to be called the ‘Gadaffi Mosque’ in ‘Old Kampala’. This, according to the testimony of my tour guide, is the oldest part of the city, and the hill on which the mosque sits was where the British first set up camp. The story goes that this was a place where many Impala were then found, so the settlement was naturally named ‘Camp Impala’, which over the years became Campala, and then to translate it into Luganda (the language of the local Baganda people) the C was replaced with a K and ‘Kampala’ was born.
On the hill now stands the biggest mosque in the country, the initial idea for which came about in the early 1970s under the regime of Idi Amin, but was then abandoned for over 30 years with scarcely more than the foundations having been built. This was until Colonel Muammar Gaddafi visited the city in 2002 and offered to pay for the construction of a new mosque on the site. The Brother Leader’s visit coincided with the period in which he sets his sights on becoming the head of a loosely affiliated African empire and much largesse was bestowed upon African friends, Yoweri Museveni – whose position at the top of the Ugandan tree is reaching Gaddafi-like lengths – being one of them. Gaddafi last visited Kampala as recently as 2010 for the AU summit held in the city that year.
“Why are convicted high-seas bandits being sent to the Somali region that profits from their crimes?”
Puntland Is for Pirates
20 Mar- Source: Foreign Policy Blog-2011 Words
Mowlid Ahmed Abidoon stands quietly in the small prison cell where he has lived for nearly two years. Slot windows on one wall let in only a little sunlight, leaving his face almost entirely obscured in darkness. Yet there are splashes of color all around: The room’s bunk beds are covered in sheets with bright floral and geometric patterns, over which hang canopies of blue mosquito nets — cells within the cell.
Clad in a striped polo shirt and prison-uniform pants, Mowlid estimates that he is about 20 years old; the last traces of baby fat still cling to his cheeks. He insists that he shouldn’t be behind bars. “I’m a fisherman, not a pirate,” he says flatly, as though he has delivered this speech a hundred times before.
Court documents from Seychelles say otherwise. On Dec. 6, 2009, Mowlid and a band of fellow Somali pirates used firearms and explosives to attack the Topaz, a Seychelles Coast Guard patrol vessel. (Seychelles, an island nation, is about 825 miles southeast of Mogadishu, Somalia’s coastal capital.) They were arrested, convicted, and sentenced to 24 years in prison. That’s how Mowlid ended up in Hargeisa Central Prison, home to 29 Somali pirates.
“Germany’s Bundeswehr is currently involved in military mission in seven African countries. Somalia is about to become the eighth, after Germany’s cabinet approved the deployment of up to 20 military instructors.”
Atta-Asamoah: “20 German soldiers are significant”
20 Mar- Source: Deutsche Welle- 620 Words
The instructors are to participate in an EU training mission in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu. Their deployment is being seen as part of a more active foreign policy role now being pursued by Germany under Chancellor Angela Merkel.
DW: 20 Soldiers from a country as powerful, influential and as wealthy as Germany. From an analyst’s perspective isn’t that being too cautious?
Andrews Atta-Asamoah: You are right. They are being too cautious, particularly if you look at the fact that they were very skeptical with initial move into Mogadishu. But if you look at the mandate, the role that they will be contributing to, then you can also appreciate the fact that 20 [soldiers] are quite significant. This is because they will be adding to an EU training mission team and therefore they will be basically instructors in various fields. In that sense 20 [soldiers] will be quite useful, it would not be too much and it wouldn’t be too little, because their role will be instructing and capacity building.
“The idea of federalism is so nascent that it so far only exists as a means to [1] serve as a venue for clan politics or [2] offer an opportunity to stake questionable claims on an important resources or line of boundaries–and not toward a genuine discussion of how to institutionalize and implement local social service delivery, create effective links between district and regional administrations, and move toward one person-one vote/non-clan oriented electoral and political party systems.”
Somalia’s Federalism Woes Challenge Stability Amid Military Offensive
19 Mar- Source: Somalia Newsroom-1940 Words
Federalism was supposed to help decentralize power from the Somali federal government (SFG) in order to give more authority to potentially more effective local administrations. So far, the process has led to a fight among local and foreign elites over power in all its facets and served as an obstacle to short- and mid-term stability.
As AMISOM/Somalia forces seek to oust al Shabaab from its territories in part in order to create the space for local political processes under the umbrella of federalism, a contentious federalism process will continue to contribute to political instability (and, therefore, social service delivery) in areas taken over from al-Shabaab. The matter of who appoints administrations in liberated territories and the nature and length of their mandate will be especially important for legitimacy in these areas.
Additionally, Somalia and its international partners in IGAD, UNSOM, and AMISOM have applied patch-up or unhelpful responses to federalism crises that do not address the causes of the conflict and merely add more layers of complexity.
Top tweets
@AfricasaCountry “A story of pirates in Somalia told from the perspective of a struggling, young Somali fisherman” (yes, from@VICE) https://www.youtube.com/watch?
@EUNAVFOR Spanish MPRA contingents hold handover ceremony at the air base in Djibouti http://bit.ly/NxzFa0 #counterpiracy pic.twitter.com/igsHftx4zu
@TheVillaSomalia Reaping the peace dividend from traditional & critical part of #Somalia economy: agriculturehttp://www.newvision.co.ug/
@SomaliaNewsroom #Somalia Cabinet Ministers/MPs meet w/#ASWJ in Dhuusamarreeb to organize offensive against#Shabaab in Galgaduud pic.twitter.com/yrwmsqNShi
@amisomsomalia #AMISOM The capture of Qurolow town by SNA & AMISOM troops brings to 7 the number of towns liberated this month alone. #alshabaabontherun
Image of the day
@SomaliPM and @ilo signed the agreement at an official ceremony held at ILO headquarters in Geneva. #Somalia. Photo: @Ridwaanhaji