March 3, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.
AMISOM hands over vehicles to Somali Police Force
03 Mar – Source: Radio Mogadishu/SNTV/RBC – 224 words
The African Union Mission in Somalia has handed over ten Toyota Land Cruiser vehicles bought with donation from the Italian Government to the Somali Police Force as part of the mission’s mandate to build the capacity of the Somali Police Force.
During the handover, the AU Special Envoy, Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif reiterated AMISOM’s support in enhancing the capacity of the Somali Police to deliver critical services to its people.
“The donation will enable the Somali Police Force to carry out its duty easily and contribute to the continued improvement of peace and security in Somalia,” said Ambassador Annadif.
Somali Police Commissioner Brigadier General Abdihakim Dahir Sa’eed thanked AMISOM and the Italian government for their cooperation and continuous support, saying the donation will go along way in the delivery of service to the people.
“The vehicles will enable the Somali Police Force to establish the rule of law and create a safe and secure environment for the people of Somalia,” he said.
Key Headlines
- AMISOM concludes training in community based policing for Somali Police Force (AMISOM)
- AMISOM hands over vehicles to Somali Police Force (Radio Mogadishu/SNTV)
- Ministers return from Baidoa after failing to bring consensus on rival conferences (Raxanreeb)
- New Mogadishu mayor reshuffles his security (Radio Dalsan)
- How Somalia aid cash funds al Shabaab (Daily Nation)
- Somaliland: Government Ministers Should Stop Interfering in Judicial Matters – Judiciary(SomalilandPress)
- Westgate probe most extensive for Kenya (Daily Nation)
- Somali media association welcomes investigation into radio directors’ arrests (Sabahi Online )
- Somaliland leaders want female genitals to be cut (AFP)
- Landmine targets AU peacekeepers in Somalia (Anadolu Agency/Turkish Press)
PRESS RELEASE
AMISOM concludes training in community based policing for Somali Police Force
01 Mar – Source: AMISOM – 350 Words
AMISOM Police have concluded two-week training in Community Based Policing for 160 Somali Police Force (SPF) at the General Kaahiye Police Training Academy. Concerned by Al Shabaab’s increasing reliance on Improvised Explosive Devices, the joint forces are taking extra step to create awareness about the IEDs and making the police officers aware of the danger the explosives pose to the communities.
The officers received lessons on how to react in situations where they discover explosives, how to best protect the public and minimize civilian casualties, protect property, as well as protect themselves against the severe damage the explosives have the power to inflict.
In an afternoon class moderated by a senior SPF officer under the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Department, the trainees engaged in practical activity, putting into demonstration what they had learnt so far from the course which started on 10 February, 2014. The trainees were proud of their newly acquired skills, which they say make them more confident and informed to serve the community.
Speaking at the Academy, the Somali Police Force Deputy Director of Training and Operations, Dr. Abdullahi Abdirizak said they were happy about the improved ability of their forces to reduce the harm inflicted by al Shabaab. “We are working together with AMISOM to better equip these forces with all the necessary skills, and we will not stop on this one,” he said adding that SPF has so far received training in community policing, protection of VIPs, intelligence and investigations, among several other things aimed at creating a peaceful environment,” he says.
Dr. Benjamin Agordzo, the AMISOM Police Training Coordinator, said the trainers were encouraged by the passion the police officers had. “They are very eager to learn more and they have true love for their country. AMISOM will continue to support the SPF and all the other forces of Somalia, and we will continue to work hand in hand with their Department of Trainings and Planning to make peace continue to happen,” said Dr. Agordzo reiterating that they would not allow Al Shabaab to break down the peace we have already managed to create,” he said.
SOMALI MEDIA
AMISOM hands over vehicles to Somali Police Force
03 Mar – Source: Radio Mogadishu/SNTV/RBC – 224 words
The African Union Mission in Somalia has handed over ten Toyota Land Cruiser vehicles bought with donation from the Italian Government to the Somali Police Force as part of the mission’s mandate to build the capacity of the Somali Police Force.
During the handover, the AU Special Envoy, Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif reiterated AMISOM’s support in enhancing the capacity of the Somali Police to deliver critical services to its people.
“The donation will enable the Somali Police Force to carry out its duty easily and contribute to the continued improvement of peace and security in Somalia,” said Ambassador Annadif.
Somali Police Commissioner Brigadier General Abdihakim Dahir Sa’eed thanked AMISOM and the Italian government for their cooperation and continuous support, saying the donation will go along way in the delivery of service to the people.
“The vehicles will enable the Somali Police Force to establish the rule of law and create a safe and secure environment for the people of Somalia,” he said.
Ministers return from Baidoa after failing to bring consensus on rival conferences
03 Mar – Source: Raxanreeb – 183 words
Ministerial delegation visiting the town of Baidoa returned back to Mogadishu on Sunday evening after failing to bring consensus on the two rival conferences ongoing in Baidoa aiming to form each its own local administration.
The 10 ministers delegation reached Baidoa on Saturday to start negotiation with both sides leading the two rival conferences which the Federal Government of Somalia has showed its much concern over possible political confrontation in the Bay and Bakool regions.
“We have been in Baidoa for two days and we have seen the different sides leading the political conferences for the Southwestern regions and we have returned now back to Mogadishu to brief the council of the ministers,” Salim Ibrow, the the minister of Agricultural told the media in Mogadishu.
Mr Ibrow said despite an open dialogue with both sides they could not announce any result they have reached yet.
According to sources in Baidoa who spoke with Raxanreeb Online, the ministers suddenly left the town after the elders and politicians holding the rival conferences in Baidoa rejected to halt the conferences, as proposed by the ministers from Mogadishu.
New Mogadishu mayor reshuffles his security
03 Mar – Source: Radio Dalsan – 89 words
The new Mogadishu mayor Hassan Mohamed Hussein “Mungab” has restructured his security details. Mogadishu mayor who also doubles up as the governor of Benadir region is also reported to have deployed new security guards at his Mogadishu home.
This is an effort to improve and tighten the security detail of the city mayor who like other government officials is a major target of the armed group al Shabaab. Several residents of Mogadishu believe that the former court martial magistrate can improve the security situation in the capital Mogadishu.
Somaliland Police Arrest Six Suspects in Connection with Murder of Missing Woman
02 Mar – Source: Somaliland Press – 130 words
Police in Hargeisa have unearthed the remains of a young woman from a shallow grave inside the house owned by her assailants eight days after she went missing. The deceased woman who was identified as Ruqiya Said Ayanle, married and a mother of several children, went missing eight days ago and was killed after she went to demand debt she had earlier lent to her assailants who murdered her after the quarrel went bitter.
Police Boss Brigadier General Abdillahi Iman Fadal speaking to the media said, “We have in our custody six suspects connected to the murder of late Ruqiya Said Ayanle including one of them who we think is the prime suspect and whose house we found the buried remains of the deceased woman.”
Somaliland:Government Ministers Should Stop Interfering in Judicial Matters – Judiciary
02 Mar – Source: Somaliland Press – 137 words
Members of Somaliland Judiciary have accused the current government of interference of the independent judiciary and rulings of the courts in the country.
The Chairman of the Appeal court Judge Abdirashid Duraan and the chairman of Hargeisa district court Judge Feisal Abdillahi Ali and Prosecutor Hussein Belel during a press conference accused some cabinet ministers of pressuring them to release some suspects in custody and to drop all charges leveled against them.
The member of the judiciary in the press conference read letter writing and signed by the assistant Minister of Interior and in Charge of National Security Mr. Abdullah Abokor Osman ordering them to immediately release the suspects in question.
REGIONAL MEDIA
How Somalia aid cash funds al Shabaab
03 Mar – Source: Daily Nation – 174 words
Donor funds to Somalia are being diverted for personal use or to fund militia, thereby undermining the war-torn country’s reconstruction efforts.
Documents made available to this writer show that millions of dollars in aid to the current government, mostly from Arab countries, have not been deposited in the Central Bank of Somalia, and there is no official record of how the funds were used.
An investigative report by Abdirazak Fartaag, who was head of Somalia’s Public Finance Management Unit under the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) between 2009 and 2011, shows that the United Arab Emirates’ annual budgetary support to Somalia, totalling $48 million in 2013, was not recorded in the Central Bank and that only one-fifth of the $25 million contributed by Qatar was accounted for.
Similarly, Iran’s $20 million cash donation to Somalia in July 2013 has not been deposited in any public financial institution. The report says that some of the diverted/unrecorded funds may have been used to fund Islamic militia linked to politicians or to reward clan-based cartels and cronies.
Westgate probe most extensive for Kenya
03 Mar- Source: Daily Nation-383 Words
By most expert accounts, the investigation into the Westgate attack has involved the most extensive intelligence gathering and sharing operation ever carried out in post-independence Kenya. The investigation has now extended to nearly four continents, and leading the multinational and multi-agency operation are hundreds of some of the best counter-terrorism experts and forensic detectives from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Mossad, MI6 and Interpol, among other organisations.
The intense global interest and nature of the operation has put additional strain on the Kenyan security services, reeling from the huge public criticism of their handling of the Westgate attack. Just minutes after the attack, highly-sophisticated spy satellites were redirected from their usual orbit and trained on the unfolding drama at the Westgate Shopping Mall, experts told the Nation. Night vision equipment and thermo-imaging cameras helped the lead assault teams to locate and corner the militants and rescue civilians.
Somali media association welcomes investigation into radio directors’ arrests
02 Mar – Source: Sabahi Online – 108 words
The Somali Independent Media House Association (SIMHA) welcomed the Somali Ministry of Information’s decision to launch an investigation into the arrest and alleged torture of two independent radio directors by Somalia’s National Security Agency in mid-February.
Minister for Information Mustafa Ahmed Dhuhulow has formed a committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the detention of Mohamed Barre Haji, owner and director of Dalsan Radio, and Ibrahim Mohamed Yare, director of Haatuf Radio, who were arrested after they broadcast and published photographs of a wounded government official.
The committee is comprised of officials from the Ministry of Information, members of the National Union of Somali Journalists and representatives from SIMHA.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somaliland leaders want female genitals to be cut
03 Mar – Source: AFP/The News International – 206 words
The 30 Somali teenagers both boys and girls all agreed: Female genital mutilation is harmful and the practice should be abandoned. But what they really meant, they revealed moments later, is that girls should have their genitalia cut just not sewn shut.
“It’s our tradition and if the girls are not subjected to suna(cutting) she will not be accepted for marriage,” said Asthma Ibrahim Jabril, 17.
The students, who are part of an after school club in Somaliland which the UN children’s agency helps fund, discuss issues like child labour, early marriage, and female genital mutilation in a classroom with several large hearts scrawled along the walls.
Unicef is weaving a delicate campaign to educate communities in Somaliland about the harms of female genital mutilation and to get leaders, who are meeting there this month to debate the practice, to denounce it.
Child rights advocates in nearly 30 countries are fighting to reduce the number of girls subjected to the cutting of their genitalia, a practice that goes back thousands of years and that Somali practitioners often link to Islamic requirements.
Landmine targets UN peacekeepers in Somalia
02 Mar- Source: Anadolu Agency/Turkish Press-139 Words
A landmine targeted a convoy of African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) on Sunday, leaving an unspecified number of peacekeepers injured, eyewitnesses said.
“The explosion was very powerful and inflicted casualties among AMISOM soldiers,” an eyewitness told Anadolu Agency, without giving exact figures. The blast took place in Arafat district, north of Mogadishu.
“The African forces opened fire after the explosion, causing further civilian casualties,” added the eyewitness.
The AMISOM has not commented on the reported attack. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab usually claims attacks against government and African troops.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Sunday night, the spotlight will shine briefly toward Somalia. American foreign policy should hijack that spotlight and use it for a renewed push to shore up American national security by stabilizing Somalia. They should look to the Somali-American diaspora — including success stories like Abdi — for a lesson on how to create a better life from the ashes of war.”
‘Captain Phillips’ misplaced story line: Column
01 Feb- Source: USA Today-751 Words
Sunday night, Barkhad Abdi, the actor who portrays the pirate leader in Captain Phillips, will exit a limousine onto the red carpet hoping for an Oscar. Two years ago, he was driving limousines in Minneapolis, scratching together a living like more than 100,000 other Somalis in America. Abdi’s story — on screen and off — symbolizes two trends. Neither is in tonight’s spotlight. First, Somali-Americans like Abdi are building a 21st century American dream despite unimaginable adversity. Second, there’s one small problem with the Hollywood spotlight on Somali piracy: there were no hijackings off the coast of Somalia in 2013. None.
Abdi’s dramatization of Somali piracy in Captain Phillips is electrifying, but it draws attention to the fading story of piracy while obscuring the central plot line: Somalia is a failed state, a forgotten poster-child of human suffering and a geopolitical security risk. We cannot afford to ignore it.
Since 1988, Somalia has suffered a fierce civil war that ruptured into anarchy after Siad Barre’s regime was overthrown in 1991. The 1993 Black Hawk Down incident eliminated the appetite for international intervention. Since, there have been various efforts to strengthen government authority. Despite some progress, the government is weak. Clan-based strongmen still profit from instability.
“Governance and economics together are essential to the stability and sustainable success of the country. The drivers for decentralization are already in place, and hostility or suspicion of centralized economic policy may be a brake on growth.”
Compatibility Issues in Somalia: Governance and Economics
28 Feb- Source: Council on Foreign Relation-363 Words
Somalia continues to improve after a nearly a quarter century of war, but integrating economics and governance remains difficult. IRIN identifies five core challenges for Somalia’s economic reconstruction. Potentially, the country offers interesting prospects to investors, including vast herds of livestock, bountiful fisheries, oil and gas reserves, and a long coastline with natural deep water ports. However, IRIN highlights such brakes on investment as security uncertainty, inconsistent trade and financial policy, and an unstable currency. These problems are not insurmountable. As the report shows, by formalizing institutions, increasing transparency, and generating cooperation between federal, regional, and tribal administrations, progress can be made.
A second report, “Decentralization Options for Somalia,” published by African Arguments, focuses on governance. It lays out various forms of decentralization as options for Somalia. Little enthusiasm exists for a return to a centralized government structure after the fall of the Siad Barre regime in 1991 and federalism is already endorsed by the Provisional Constitution of Somalia. The report also explains that distrust in and among the political elite, animosity between Mogadishu and the hinterlands, and the desire for widespread political participation have driven Somalia towards decentralization. Diffusing power to the regional states is the most stable way forward, and the most likely one.
Top tweets
@somecoforum Somalia has one of the most economically active diasporas in Africa in terms of remittances According to the World Bank. #SEFDakar
@SomaliPM Arrived (Sunday) tonight in #Abu Dhabi for futher cooperations .UAE will take part of rebuilding our gov institutions.#Somalia pic.twitter.com/BEuxFSBgIV
@Somalia111 Long list of building projects in #Mogadishu. Good to remember much achieved recently & more to come.#Somalia http://www.mmsomalia.com/2013/
@SandraBulling1 Watch what messages refugees from#Somalia tell refugees from #Syria! Quite touching and inspiring. http://bit.ly/1i6eRot @CAREJordan
@amisomsomalia Join us for a Q&A with James Gadin@JamesGadin on Moday 3rd March 2014 from 10.00 AM to 12.00 Noon #AskAMISOM pic.twitter.com/xx9dJzpFGN
Image of the day
#Ethiopian troops on the move again in Central #Somalia. Just military manoeuvres or sign of imminent offensive? Photo: @harunmaruf