March 27, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.
President elected for South West state of Somalia
27 Mar- Source: Radio Shabelle/Radio Bar-kulan/Hiiraan Online-138 words
Delegates attending conference for the formation of a regional state for Bay, Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions have elected a president. The election happened Thursdaymorning at the conference room of Hotel Bakiin in Baidoa. The conference hall was crowded with around 700 participants that came from Bay, Bakool & the Lower Shabelle regions and it was expected that there would be up to 4 nominees for the post.
However, Before the elections started, 3 candidates quit the nomination process which meant the title of president was given to Mohamed Hajji Abdi Nur. When the delegates were asked for a vote of confidence, only 12 rejected the move but the remaining number agreed with his appointing. Tension is high in Baidoa as residents receive news of a new president for the 3-region south western state of Somalia.
Key Headlines
- President selected for South West state of Somalia (Radio Shabelle/Radio Bar-kulan/Hiiraan Online)
- Somali government plans to capture remaining areas under al Shabaab control (Radio Goobjoog)
- ‘‘Al Shabaab does not fight us’’ says AMISOM (Dhanaan Online)
- Ethiopia is playing neutral role in Somalia internal politics says Amb Asammen (Radio Dalsan)
- Prime Minister Abdiweli meets with South Sudan special envoy in Kampala (Radio Mogadishu/RBC)
- Somaliland will remain calm to avoid any full scale confrontations with Puntland-says Assistant Minister(Somaliland Informer)
- Inexperienced Somali troops brave al Shabaab (Al Jazeera English)
- Banadir regional sports commissioner elected (Al Shahid)
- Kenyan Somalis Cry Foul After Order to Return to Camps (VOA)
SOMALI MEDIA
President elected for South West state of Somalia
27 Mar- Source: Radio Shabelle/Radio Bar-kulan/Hiiraan Online-138 words
Delegates attending conference for formation of a regional state for Bay, Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions have elected a president. The election happened Thursday morning at the conference room of Hotel Bakiin in Baidoa. The conference hall was crowded with around 700 participants that came from Bay, Bakool & the Lower Shabelle regions and it was expected that there would be up to 4 nominees for the post.
However, Before the elections started, 3 candidates quit the nomination process which meant the title of president was given to Mohamed Hajji Abdi Nur. When the delegates were asked for a vote of confidence, only 12 rejected the move but the remaining number agreed with his appointing. Tension is high in Baidoa as residents receive news of a new president for the 3-region south western state of Somalia.
Somali government plans to capture remaining areas under al Shabaab control
27 Mar – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 123 words
The federal government of Somalia stated that it has taken over a number towns from al Shabaab through military offensive in some regions in South-central Somalia.
The Minister for Interior and federalism of federal government of Somalia Abdullahi Godah while giving exclusive interview to Goobjoog FM through telephone reiterated that the federal government will take hold of the remaining areas under the control of al Shabaab soon.
The minister added that before the start of the offensive military, the areas under al Shabaab were 25 in number but the Somali national army backed by AMISOM seized 8 areas from al Shabaab in Bay, Bakol, Lower Shabele, Hiran and central Somalia regions. On Wednesday, the forces have captured Eel Buur a stronghold city and economic hub of al Shabaab in Galgadud region.
‘‘Al Shabaab does not fight us’’ says AMISOM
27 Mar- Source: Dhanaan Online- 167 words
The spokesman of African Union Mission in Somalia(AMISOM) Col.Ali Adan Humud said al Shabaab does not fight with AMISOM but instead they harm the Somali civilians.
Speaking to one of the local radios in Mogadishu Col.Humud said‘‘They are not fighting with us, they are harassing the civilians,if they want to fight they should have fought with the Somali National Army and AMISOM troops.When we try to fight them they run away and try to engage hit and run attacks from the civilians areas to cause problems to the civilian population.’’ ‘‘An anti peace element always try to use the civilian sufferings and their worries,’’ he added.
The AMISOM spokesman clarifies al Shabaab tactics of fighting which he says only harm the Somali civilians. ‘‘Suicide car bombing, planting improvised explosive devices and hit and run attacks are something that only harm civilians,‘‘ added Col.Humud. Al Shabaab lost 10 towns to SNA and AMISOM troops since the operations begun in early March.
Ethiopia is playing neutral role in Somalia internal politics, says Amb Asammen
27 Mar- Source: Radio Dalsan- 243 words
The Ethiopian Ambassador to Somalia Wandimu Asammen has told Radio Dalsan that his country is playing a neutral role when it comes to dealing with Somalia’s internal political issues.
In a special interview with Radio Dalsan in Mogadishu, Amb Asammen said Ethiopian army part of African Union Mission in Somalia [AMISOM] helped Somalia army to liberate several main towns from al Shabaab, including Elbur town in Galgadud region which fallen for the joint forces on Wednesday.
“Peace in Somalia is more important for Ethiopia, as well Ethiopia’s peace is important for Somalia.” he said in the interview.
He said the Ethiopian Defense Forces were not only engaging in the fight against against al Shabaab militia, but also they were doing technical assistance for the local communities in repairing the water poles in the liberated districts, which he said were destroyed by the militants.
Asked on the specific issues that forced Ethiopia to join AMISOM, while Addis Ababa previously downplayed several calls from the AU, he said “We came Somalia and joined AMISOM to back the Federal Government of Somalia.”.
Many Somalis are suspecting on the role of Ethiopia by setting up a buffer zone regions and establishing puppet local states for individual allies, Ambassador Asammen denied by saying that Ethiopia has to respect the sovereignty and the nationhood of Somalia.
“It is the Federal Government of Somalia which has the responsibility to appoint the local administrations for the newly liberated regions.” he added.
Prime Minister Abdiweli meets with South Sudan special envoy in Kampala
27 Mar – Source: Radio Mogadishu/RBC – 175 words
Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed held a side meeting with special envoy for the Republic of South Sudan Minister Kwong Danhier Gatluak, to discuss the ongoing situation in South Sudan. The Prime Minister reiterated that there is a moral responsibility for the safety and lives of all civilians.
The pair highlighted the importance of humanitarian aid to be distributed in all regions of South Sudan including regions outside of government control and to continue the process of healing and reconciliation. The Prime Minister and Special envoy also discussed their hopes for a more stabilized and developed Somalia.
The Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed, said: “As a government and a community we understand and sympathise with the ongoing conflict in South Sudan.
“I stress the urgency in which the international community needs to respond and mobilise in order to effectively respond to growing concerns over food shortages, which if not addressed could turn into a humanitarian crisis. All parties must ensure the safe delivery of humanitarian supplies to ensure they reach all communities in need.
Somaliland will remain calm to avoid any full scale confrontations with Puntland-says Assistant Minister
27 Mar – Source; Somailand Informer – 215 words
Assistant Minister on Regional and Districts of the Interior Ministry Hon. Osman Garad Sofe on Wednesdayspeaking to the media strongly denied and vehemently said that the allegations made by Puntland leader who said that Somaliland government has friendly relations with al Shabab which fight in Southern Somalia was untrue.
The Assistant Minister said that Somaliland was taken aback by the statement made by Puntland leader and the same accusations were echoed by the information minister. The recent media attacks which Puntland first started will be raised within the forthcoming conference which Turkey is about to host and is going to be between Somaliland and Somalia, said Osman Soofe.
He categorically denied the existence of the ties claimed by Puntland that Somaliland has with terror group which pose real security threat to Somaliland. He said that the statement is totally baseless and is based on rumors and guesswork.
He told Information minister of Puntland that it is not appropriate to put the two neighboring countries ties into total jeopardy. Mr. Soofe said that Somaliland will do everything it can to refrain from any acts that may lead the two sides to full scale confrontations.
The response made by Somaliland came following the allegations that Puntland president said that Somaliland has closer ties with al Shabaab.
President Hassan meets Somali community in Kuwait
27 Mar- Source: Radio Mogadishu/Radio Goobjoog/SNTV- 130 words
The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud who is in an official visit to Kuwait met with the Somali community in the country Wednesday night.
President Mohamud in a long speech during the meeting with the Somali community in Kuwait city has briefed the situation of the country and explained to them the plans of the federal government to take over the areas under al Shabaab in the country and establish an interim administration in the seized areas.
The President noted that the government is making effort to rebuild the country and asked the Somali community in Kuwait to contribute a meaningful role in the reconstruction and invest in their country. The President of Somalia and his delegates participated in the Arab League summit held in Kuwait.
Somaliland’s Commerce and Foreign Investment minister leaves for Kenya
27 Mar- Source: Somalilandinformer/SLNTV- 124 words
Somaliland Minister of Commerce and foreign investment Hon. Mohamed Abdilahi Omar has travelled to Kenya on Wednesday and stated that he will meet with Kenyan government officials and business sector during his stay in Nairobi.
The Minister said that the talks will focus on encouraging Kenyan nationals to invest in Somaliland. The minister spoke to the national TV hours before he departed from Egal airport on his way to Kenya.
The minister affirmed that he will meet with Kenyan officials and business people that are willing to invest the country and establish trade ties between the two countries. The minister has said that he will attend meetings which will be addressed on the above mentioned issues.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Inexperienced Somali troops brave al Shabaab
27 Mar- Source: Al Jazeera -02:28mins
Many al Shabaab fighters from re-taken towns have gone to Somalia’s capital Mogadishu to carry out revenge attacks.In the last two weeks, at least 1,000 suspected fighters have been arrested and weapons seized. While the government continues to face the security challenge, people in Mogadishu remain hopeful that their government can do better.Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi reports from Mogadishu.
Banadir regional sports commissioner elected
27 Mar – Source: Al Shahid – 210 words
As part of the implementation of the long-term strategy drawn by the veteran president of Somali National Olympic committee Mr. Abdullahi Ahmed Tarabi which illustrates that all regional sports committee leaders must come through elections, the stakeholders of the Banadir region where Somali capital is located on Wednesday elected Mr. Nur Ali barrow as the region’s sports commissioner.
The long-time Yaqshid district sports commissioner and sports-loving businessman Nur Ali Barrow popularly known as ‘Nur Estaro’ won the election in a landslide victory after accumulating 13 votes out of the 16 votes casted during the election which was monitored by Somali NOC executive committee member and head for regional development Mr. Ibrahim Hussein Ali (Roombe).
Mr. Barrow defeated his challenger Mohamed Rashid of Hodon district. “I would like to promise here in front of you that I will closely work with my colleague Nur Ali Barrow—we have been friends for a long time and we will be working together” Mohamed Rashid told the media after election.
“You elected me as your regional sports commissioner, this is a very huge responsibility so I am requesting you to develop good cooperation with me to help our region’s sports to top high” the newly-elected Banadir regional sports commissioner Nur Ali Barrow told the stakeholders.
Somali refugees: threat or victims?
26 Mar- Source: Al Jazeeera English-25:00mins
Tens of thousands of Somali refugees in Kenya are being forced to return to remote and overcrowded camps. They are being threatened with prosecution if they don’t and Kenyans are being encouraged to report those who refuse.
The Kenyan government says it is to help prevent attacks by armed groups opposed to Kenya’s intervention in Somalia. Al Shabaab in Somalia said it was behind the Westgate Mall siege in Nairobi in September in which 67 people were killed, and on Sunday gunmen killed six people at a church near the coastal city of Mombasa.
Al Shabaab has threatened more attacks if Kenyan troops do not withdraw from Somalia, where they form part of an African Union peacekeeping force. Rights groups have described Kenya’s directive as a ‘dangerous precedent’ that could endanger millions worldwide.
Kuwait, Somalia discuss ways to boost bilateral relations
26 Mar- Source: Kuwait News Agency- 126 words
First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah met with Somali Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Abdirahman Duale Beileh on the sidelines of his participation at the in the 25th Arab summit, which concluded here on Wednesday. During the meeting, the two sides discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to consolidate them in all domains.
Somalia’s situation improving steadily: Ambassador Wondimu
26 Mar- Source: Walta Information Centre- 300 words
Ambassador of Ethiopia to Somalia Wondimu Asamnew said the security situation in Somalia has improved significantly since the presence of Ethiopian troops as part of AMISOM.
Ethiopian forces officially joined AMISOM in January 22, 2014 as earlier approved by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2124.
“The deployment of Ethiopian troops to Somalia as part of AMISOM is a game changer to relieve the country from the scourge of al-Shabaab and other related problems,” he told.
Ethiopian troops have liberated major towns and key strategic sites of Somalia from al-Shabaab since its deployment two months ago, he pointed out.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Kenyan Somalis Cry Foul After Order to Return to Camps
27 Mar – Source: VOA – 147 words
Kenya has again ordered Somali refugees across the country to return to designated camps, following recent attacks and threats in the country attributed to Somali militants. The Somali community says the directive unfairly punishes innocent people.
On Wednesday, Kenyan Interior Minister Joseph Ole Lenku issued a statement ordering all refugees residing the country to return to camps in Dadaab and Kakuma. Any refugees caught violating the directive “will be dealt with in accordance with the law.”
The directive could affect tens of thousands of refugees living and working outside the camps. They include Mohammed Mahamud Alasow, a taxi driver in Nairobi who came from Somalia 20 years ago.
“For Somalis like us,” he says, “who are in Kenya, especially in Nairobi and big towns, we see this as unjust and to repeat the same statement over and over again is something that does not comply with the
law.”
Piracy: FAO, Puntland President launch Somali fishermen database
27 Mar- Source: FAO Somalia-541 Words
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Puntland authorities have launched the first database for Somali fishermen in decades aimed at improving management of fisheries in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.
In the last 12 months, over 3100 fishermen, nearly 50 percent of Puntland’s estimated 6,500 fishermen have been registered using a biometrics system that uniquely identifies individuals by their fingerprints background and physical features, according to Jorge Torrens, the fisheries officer managing the project funded under the New York Anti-piracy Trust Fund.
With a surge in piracy attacks on the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden in 2009, fishermen have since been largely impeded from accessing much of the seas due international anti-piracy activities. It is hoped that the fisheries database will be used by different stakeholders on land and at sea to allow fisher folks to better access certain areas and for general identification purposes.
‘I’ve seen American special forces with African troops in Somalia”, Mark Doyle tells Newsday
27 Mar- Source: BBC-03:30mins
The BBC’s International Development Correspondent Mark Doyle is embedded with African Union troops fighting the Islamist al Shabaab in Somalia. This is one of a series of audio diaries he’s written for Newsday.
Refugees International Condemns Kenyan Order to Forcibly Relocate Refugees
26 Mar- Source: Refugee International-326 Words
Refugees International (RI) condemns Kenya’s decision on Tuesday to order tens of thousands of city-dwelling Somali refugees into camps. A similar decision in 2012 was declared unconstitutional by the Kenyan High Court, but not before it sparked violence, harassment, and extortion against refugees at the hands of Kenyan security services. RI calls on the Kenyan government to immediately withdraw this order, and RI asks the United Nations and donor countries to publicly oppose its implementation.
“Kenya has signed international conventions that allow freedom of movement for refugees, and Tuesday’s decision flies in the face of those assurances,” said RI Senior Advocate Mark Yarnell. “For years, Kenya was a generous host to Somali refugees, permitting many to become self-sufficient and contribute to the country’s economy and society. This decision marks a disturbing shift in the wrong direction, and it should not stand.”
In July 2013, the Kenyan High Court struck down a 2012 directive to force all refugees into camps. In his decision, Judge D.S. Majanja wrote that the order “threatens the rights and fundamental freedoms of the petitioners and other refugees residing in urban areas and is a violation of freedom of movement…right to dignity…and violates the State’s responsibility towards persons in vulnerable situations.”
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“With the violence in Baidoa threatening to mimic that of earlier fighting in Kismayo during the Jubaland crisis, the last thing that is needed is an Addis Agreement 2.0: a non-inclusive and unimplemented deal reached in brief talks. At least in this case, the responsibility of the outcome–bad or good–falls more squarely on the shoulders of the Somali government, rather than foreign officials.”
Somalia’s Response to the Federalism Crisis in Baidoa
26 Mar- Source: Somalia Newsroom-1685 Words
Violent political tensions in the Bay region capital of Baidoa have been growing steadily as the city has become the most recent flashpoint in Somalia’s federalism crisis. Protests by supporters of an effort to create Southwest State with six regions (“SW6″ – Bay, Bakool, Lower Shabelle, Gedo, Middle/Lower Juba) against their counterparts “SW3″ (Bay, Bakool, Lower Shabelle) have resulted in exchanges of fire and casualties.
In one reported incident, men guarding ex-Parliament Speaker/SW3 aspirant leader Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan’s house allegedly responded to pressure from protestors by shooting a 16-year-old boy who later died from his injuries. There have been several past and present triggers leading to the current tensions:
“I reflected on her fate with guilt, sorrow and most of all anger. The seed of The Orchard of Lost Souls was sown from that reflection, what does war mean when you strip it of machismo and romanticism? What does it mean for elderly women? The disabled? Street girls? What would it have meant for me if we hadn’t left?”
‘What Did You Do in the War, Mother?’
26 Mar- Source: Huffington Post Blog-727 Words
What is it like to know that you must leave your home this instant? What would you take with you? Where would you go? These were the questions that I asked my cousin, my aunts and former neighbors, but to be precise, I asked, “What was it like? What did you take with you? Where did you go?”, because all of these women had been forced to flee the Somali civil war in the late eighties. My cousin was separated from her parents on the first day of fighting, my aunt carried three very young boys to the Ethiopian border, while it took the war for a family friend to realize that her husband of many years had lied about his own background. The stories that emerged were of heroism and cowardice, despair and hope, a violent normality disturbed by abnormal violence.
I left Hargeisa in northern Somalia as a child but was born in a hospital that symbolized the brutality of the regime; my mother was nearly turned away from the labor ward as I had the temerity to want to arrive after the curfew, doctors who tried to improve the hospital were arrested on trumped-up charges and given life sentences, and during the war it became the site of unimaginable abuses. To return to this world of sadness was no easy act but one story kept leading me forward, demanding to be told and that was of my grandmother, my namesake, Nadifa.
Top tweets
@Abdikarim_Abdi3 Minister of Transport & Aviation announces plans to rebuild Dayniile airport in northern #Mogadishu.#Somalia pic.twitter.com/R6pltUPbqO
@Semhar #Somalia: @OCHASom on humanitarian impact of military operation. Unconfirmed reports nearly 40k displaced by fighting http://reliefweb.int/sites/
@storyofcourage Preview of @IlwadElman talk ‘How to change the world’ http://bit.ly/1jviZ1X “..we’re at a pivotal point in#Somalia. Times are changing”
@nupinytt A way out of #AlShabaab? #NUPIseminar 3.4 about possibilities for disengagement and deradicalization in#Somalia http://www.nupi.no/
@GenoWorldview Oscar-nominated #Somalia actor Barkhad Abdi will throw ceremonial 1st pitch at Minnesota @Twinsopening game! Story http://ow.ly/v26qV
Image of the day
Puntland’s President Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali is welcomed onboard an EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Operation Atalanta warship FS Siroco during the launch of first database for Somali fishermen in decades. Photo: FAO Somalia