May 10, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Up to 3,000 African peacekeepers killed in Somalia since 2007: UN

10 May – Source: Reuters/New York Times – 173 words

As many as 3,000 African Union peacekeepers have been killed in Somalia in recent years in an attempt to end an Islamist insurgency and bring stability to the Horn of Africa nation, a senior U.N. official said on Thursday. “I want to pay tribute to the countries and to their soldiers who paid such an enormously heavy price,” U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson told reporters.

“You would be shocked to learn that maybe it is up to 3,000 AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia) soldiers that have been killed during these years that AMISOM has been there,” he said. The 17,700 strong African Union force began deploying to Somalia in 2007. It includes troops from Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, Sierra Leone and Djibouti.

“Uganda, Burundi have paid a tremendous price,” he added. “The Kenyan troops are, of course, also a large part of AMISOM.” By way of comparison, 3,096 U.N. peacekeepers have died since 1948, according to the website of the U.N. Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

Key Headlines

AMISOM and Somali police will work together to maintain security of Mogadishu: AMISOM Spokesman(Radio Mogadishu/ Radio Shabelle/Dalsan/SNTV/al Shahid)
Up to 3000 African peacekeepers killed in Somalia since 2007: UN (Reuters/New York Times)
National security officer killed in Afgoye (Radio Shabelle/al Furqaan/ Marka Cadey Online/al Shahid)
UN diplomat salutes role of AMISOM in Somalia (SACB News)
African MPs call for standby force for the region (New Vision)
Nairobi to host Somalia trade forum (Star News)
Al Shabaab leader dodges criticism in latest audio message to followers (Sabahi Online)

PRESS RELEASE

AU Special Representative has called on the Somali Diaspora in the UK to contribute towards their country’s reconstruction process

10 May – Source: AMISOM – 357 words

The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif has asked members of the Somali community living in the United Kingdom to further contribute to the reconstruction of their country. Ambassador Annadif while opening the two day meeting organized by AMISOM with the Somali Diaspora in London said there are lot of positive things taking place in the country that require increased contribution from Somalis living in the Diaspora.

“This meeting is intended to find possible areas in which those living in the Diaspora can contribute to the improving political and security situation in Somalia. There are positive things taking place back home and your contribution is needed. We are therefore expecting a lot from you.” He said. The AU Special Representative said he was hopeful that the two day event will also enhance appreciation by Somalis in the Diaspora of the mandate and activities of AMISOM in support of the peace process.

In her opening remarks, Ms. Jessica Phillips from the UK Foreign Office reaffirmed Her Majesty’s Government’s continued commitment to peace and stability in Somalia citing the hosting of the just ended conference on Somalia as an example.

She said the UK has been supporting peace efforts in Somalia by providing material and financial support to both AMISOM and the Federal Government of Somalia. “The past four days have been very exciting. The President of the Federal Government of Somalia, H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohammed co-chaired the Somali Conference here in London with Prime Minister David Cameron in which fifty to sixty countries and organizations attended.” She said.

Speaking on behalf of the Federal Government of Somalia, Mr. Ali Amer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs commended the role played by AMISOM in helping to bring peace to the country noting that the current

period of relative of peace being enjoyed in the country is a product of joint efforts by the Somali National Forces and AMISOM with support from international partners. The meeting which ends tomorrow has brought together participants from Somalis in the Diaspora including their community leaders, professionals, academics, women and youth groups.

SOMALI MEDIA

AMISOM and Somali police will work together to maintain security of Mogadishu: AMISOM Spokesman

10 May – Source: Radio Mogadishu/ Radio Shabelle/Dalsan/SNTV/al Shahid – 144 words

Spokesman for the African Union forces AMISOM, Colonel Ali Aden Hamoud said that AMISOM Police and Somali police are cooperating in maintaining the security of the capital Mogadishu.

Hamoud said at press conference in Mogadishu that the two sides are working together to prevent the bombings and attacks launched by elements of the youth movement.

He added that the AMISOM Police and Somali police will make sure to avert attacks in the capital, Mogadishu, after a suicide bomber driving his car bomb on a convoy of the Qatari delegation in Mogadishu. He regretted the recent suicide attack which he described as resulting in casualties among innocent civilians. Spokesman of AMISOM called on Somali people to work with the security forces and provide information, to prevent attacks and bombings in Mogadishu.

National security officer killed in Afgoye

10 May – Source: Radio Shabelle/al Furqaan/ Marka Cadey Online/al Shahid – 78 words

Unidentified gunmen assassinated on Thursday an element in the National Security Agency in the town of Afgoye, Lower Shabelle. The reports say that men armed with pistols assassinated an agent of the National Security Agency, and then they fled from the area. The security forces in the region began security operation after the attack, which have arrested dozens of people.

Security measures in Mogadishu hurting IDPs and the poor

10 May – Source: Radio Ergo – 264 words

Government roadblocks erected in the city in a bid to curb terrorist attacks are having negative effects on the movement of people trying to get to work. Those complaining most about the disruption are residents of IDP camps and people from low income areas.

Khadij Hassan Mannan, a mother of five, lives in an IDP camp in Hodan neighbourhood, near the former Gahayr University. She told Radio Ergo she was unable to feed her family because of the movement restrictions.

“I always used to go down very early in the morning, looking for wages, specifically I used to the Bakara market for manual jobs, but lately the roadblocks have affected us a great deal, stopping us going anywhere.. I’m now confined to the neighbourhood, doing some laundry work if I can get it, but it’s not enough for our children’s needs,” she said.

The Makka al -Mukarrama highway, which connects the presidential residence to the Aden Adde international airport, has been closed off since 30 April 2013. Other roads are areas that have been blocked off or severely restricted include Dabka road, Eelgaab road, the route connecting Banaadir, Taleeh, K4 section, Soobe and Tree Piano.

Somalia: Bay region gov’t forces clash while being accused of rape

09 May – Source: Garowe Online – 177 words

At least two people were killed after government forces battled in the outskirts of Baidoa on Thursday, Garowe Online reports. One civilian and one government troop were killed on Thursday following a battle between government forces stationed in Baidoa capital of Bay region.

According to government authorities, the troops who had initiated the clashes left the frontline where they were battling al Shabaab and arrived in Baidoa to complain about not being paid their salaries.

Authorities in Baidoa, gave an order to troops stationed in the city to remove the unhappy government forces out of town that led to the clashes. Also authorities stated that the upset government troops had carried out acts of robbery and rape.

Fishermen in Puntland cry foul at foreign trawler menace

09 May – Source: Radio Ergo – 281 words

Local fishermen in Garad, Mudug region, have been calling on the Puntland government to stop the decimation of their fishing resources by illegal foreign trawlers. A local elder, Jama Isa Hirsi Jindhe, told Radio Ergo’s local correspondent that large well armed foreign trawlers, of unknown origin, were plaguing the coastline. The menace comes just at the time when the region was trying to recover from sea piracy. Moreover, locals say the foreigners are being aided by Somali crews.

“Piracy plagued this region for more than four years, but has at last been defeated,” Jindhe said. “ But now we are seeing a different kind of banditry emerging, these are groups of Somali mercenaries leading large foreign fishing trawlers. They are causing large-scale depletion of the fish stocks. This is going on all along the coast from Ayl to Gara’ad.”

The deputy Minister for Ports and Counter-piracy Affairs, Abdishakur Mire Aden, confirmed the existence of such commercial fishing trawlers without naming their countries of origin. He also stated that local people were involved in assisting the illegal fishing crews. The local administration and the council of elders of Jariban district, in Gara’ad, say they do not have the ability to deal with the problem on their own.

Nordic Somali Youth Summit

10 May – Source: Somaliland Press – 185 words

The Nordic Somali Youth Summit (NSYS) gathers young people with Somali background from all over Scandinavia. This year’s summit will be held in Stockholm on June 7, with delegates from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland.

The Swedish artist Timbuktu is an ambassador for this year’s Summit and one of the speakers.The purpose of the Nordic Somali Youth Summit is to strengthen and connect engaged youths across the Nordic boarders and promote cross-national cooperation on education, employment, social entrepreneurship and political participation.After the success of the first Nordic Somali Youth Summit in Oslo in 2012, which led to the first Charter for Change, the idea was to organize an annual Nordic meeting to keep the momentum and motivation going forward.

”This year we aim at increasing participation and to attract youth from Malmoe, Gothenburg and the greater Stockholm area in Sweden as well as young people from Norway, Finland and Denmark”, says Lisa Cooper, from Leadership Foundation and project initiator of the Summit. ”This year we are also changing the theme around the Charter for Change: taking it from creation to implementation”, says Cooper.

Flood-hit Janale families suffer without health care

09 May – Source: Radio Ergo – 374 words

The residents of Janale district, one the areas worst affected by recent floods in Lower Shabelle region, are being forced to travel long distances to seek basic medical services that are unavailable locally.

Farhiyo Jimale, a resident of Abdulle village, 7 km west of Janale, said they were in dire need of basic health care facilities, especially during this time of the rains when many people were falling sick. He said patients had to be transported to Merka, some 25 km away, for treatment. They had to pay $150 or more for donkey carts to transport those who were unable to walk.

Khadija Noor Mohamed, from the same village, described life in the area as living “cut off from everything.” She said they had no health care services, and no wells or clean sources of drinking water. “It is as if we are stuck in the middle of nowhere!” she told a Radio Ergo reporter.

Sadiya Mohamed, chairperson of local community-based association SOCDO, said many villages in Janale lacked the very basic services needed to live. She named villages of Bulo Hamali, Bulo Sheikh Abukar, Bulo Dukaan and Anbanana. “Residents here suffer three times over, from poor incomes, bad health, and expensive services. For example, for a woman in childbirth, if her condition is more serious than local midwives can deal with, she has to be transported by donkey cart to Merka to save her life and her child. So you can see the problems that brings,” she said.

REGIONAL MEDIA

African MPs call for standby force for the region

10 May – Source: New Vision – 345 words

Members of the Pan African Parliament have supported the idea of establishing a standby force with a rapid deployment capability to contain outbreaks of conflict on the continent.

The MPs meeting for the Second Session of the Third Pan African Parliament in Midrand, South Africa, said it was embarrassing that Africa has to refer their conflicts to its former colonizers for solutions.

The Chairperson of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, Arcano Maria do Nascimento, said in a report on peace and security in Africa that an African standby force “is of critical importance to Africa’s peace efforts.”

Onyango Kakoba (Uganda) said Somalia still poses a threat of terrorism in the region. He appealed to African countries that promised to send troops to the troubled country to fulfill their pledges, as the African Union (AU) forces gains more ground in the country.

Al Shabaab leader dodges criticism in latest audio message to followers

09 May – Source: Sabahi Online – 1001 words

When word spread that al Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane released a new audio message to his followers on May 4th, there were expectations among some that he would address the controversial issues surrounding the group and its leadership.

But Godane, also known as Mukhtar Abu Zubayr, dodged the criticism and the growing opposition he faces from a number of top al Shabaab leaders, and steered clear of giving a clear explanation of the group’s military losses and political setbacks over the past year and a half.

Instead, Godane delivered a message he has repeated time and again — urging his loyal fighters to continue waging war against the Somali government, criticising the role of Westerners in Somalia and describing the government as allies of non-believers — and did not even attempt to unify and allay fears among the group’s foot soldiers.

Nairobi to host Somalia trade forum

09 May – Source: Star News – 141 words

REGIONAL private sector players and key policy makers are set to meet end May in Nairobi to discuss investment and rebuilding of Somalia, as the country emerges from decades of civil war.

Dubbed Somali reconstruction and investment conference and exhibition, the meeting to be held on May 28 and 29 will bring top decision makers from international and regional development organisations, and participants from the public and private sector.

“It is a time for reconstruction with new businesses and opportunities on the horizon. It is a new reality and one which will undoubtedly bring together all of us, from public and private sector in a new direction for rebuilding our country.”

said president of Somali Chamber of Commerce Mohamud Gabayre. After 22 years of civil war, almost all sectors and industries in Somalia need rebuilding from scratch, presenting limitless investment opportunities.

Fear prompts Somali journalists to carry guns

09 May – Source: al Jazeera – 2: 34 min

Journalists in Somalia have started arming themselves in response to a wave of targeted killings. At least 22 media workers have been murdered over the past year and a half.

Some journalists in the country say they have to protect themselves because the government is not doing enough to help them. Al Jazeera’s Peter Greste reports from the capital Mogadishu.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

UN diplomat salutes role of AMISOM in Somalia

10 May – Source: SACB News – 179 words

The United Nation’s number two diplomat has praised the role of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops in Somalia’s slow yet steady transformation. Despite heavy losses, AMISOM has played a key role in reclaiming large parts of the country from the al Qaeda linked militias that had ruled the failed state for years with Somalia’s government claiming the militias have been defeated as a fighting force.

Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson was addressing journalists in New York after attending the Somalia Conference in London earlier this week. As the country emerges to take its seat at the table of geo politics, the sacrifices have not only been borne by Somalis themselves.

“I want to pay tribute to the countries and their soldiers who paid such an enormously heavy price, you would be shocked to learn that maybe it’s up to two and three thousand AMISOM soldiers who have been killed during these years that AMISOM has been there,” says Eliasson.

“Uganda, Burundi has paid a tremendous price so I really want to pay tribute to AMISOM and to their role also and the Kenyan troops are also to a large extend part of the AMISOM”.

Up to 3,000 African peacekeepers killed in Somalia since 2007: UN

10 May – Source: Reuters/New York Times – 173 words

The centre holds, but only just

10 May – Source: Economist – 686 words

At the end of the colonial era Somalia was arguably in ethnic terms the most homogeneous country in sub-Saharan Africa. The nearest to it was probably Botswana, which is four-fifths Tswana—and turned out to be peaceful and prosperous, suggesting to some that countries populated and run by a single big tribe have a better chance of stability than those with a hotch-potch of smaller ones.

Somalia, however, became a byword for conflict, poverty and ungovernability. Yet its ethnic homogeneity is misleading. Despite also sharing a single language and religion, it is divided into more than 500 clans and sub-clans, who are notoriously fractious and competitive. This, as well as their largely nomadic way of life, has made many Somalis fiercely loth to accept the edicts of a central government.

Flash floods kill 7 children; displace 50,000 in S. Somalia

09 May – Source: China News/ Xinhua – 340 words

Flash floods from heavy rains in southern Somalia have killed seven children, displaced 50,000 others and inundated 6,400 hectares of farmland in parts of the Horn of Africa nation, the UN said on Thursday.

UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Somalia Public information officer Roberta Russo said the flooding, which began during the main rainy season, has affected Baidoa, Jowhar, Miido and Lower Shebelle areas of southern Somalia.

“So far we have seven children who have been killed and about 50,000 people have been displaced because of the main rainy season started in March,” Russo told Xinhua by telephone in Nairobi.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“The new Somalia, the young sapling, can become a tree standing tall in the African bush, offering shade and protection to its people once again. The conference has given Somalia the platform from which to start anew. It is a clear example of international solidarity in action.”

Somalia: What a difference a Year Makes

09 May – Source: FCO Blog – 346 Words

Prime Minister David Cameron and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia co-hosted an important conference on Somalia in London on 7 May. As I told Vatican Radio, the conference was held under very different circumstances from the February 2012 London Somalia conference. Shortly before then, Benedict XVI had called on the world to act in response to the conflict, famine and humanitarian crisis Somalia faced.

In a joint communiqué with the British Government, the Holy See had encouraged the international community “to support a coherent strategy on Somalia in order to end the crisis there, placing as a priority the protection and welfare of the people of the Horn of Africa”.

Britain responded to that appeal. The February 2012 Conference saw real progress. Since then, Al Shabaab’s field of operations and control of territory has been drastically reduced. Somalia has a new President and government. And the international community has been mobilised.

At London-Somalia 2013, representatives of 54 countries and organisations attended, pledging further support and committing themselves to backing Somalia’s plans to improve security and policing, strengthen judicial institutions, and re-establish well-managed and transparent public finances.

The United Kingdom and Somalia are bound by living ties stretching back into history. Our international and global concerns mean that it is for Britain a duty and in our clear interest to help the Government of Somalia end the threat of war, terrorism, piracy and famine which have dominated Somalis’ lives far too long, and to seize this opportunity to build peace and stability for all Somalis and the wider region.

“The main themes of the al Shabaab discord myth are the isolation of foreign fighters and the division amid al Shabaab’s foremost leaders, but the reality on the ground shows that al Shabaab has become even more international the past few years than it has ever been. More importantly, the movement’s top leaders have shown in the past two years that they could capably operate in isolated war theaters despite gaps in terrain and direct communication while staying completely within the organizational standard.”

Debunking the Popular Myth of al Shabaab’s Internal Rift

09 May – Source: Dissident Nation – 1058 Words

To start with a cliche; tell a life often, and soon the people will begin to believe it.

So seems to be the case with al Shabaab and the long-fabled rift that’s been playing out since mid-2011. The scenario was likely born out of the colorful imaginings of self-titled Somali analysts, and it’s been sold further downstream to an eager band of incompetent Western policymakers who have embraced the myth as a means to project a ray of hope amid the dismal failure known as the War on Terror.

For about two years now, dubious elements of the Somali blogosphere have been calling our attention to the split widening in the al Shabaab movement, sometimes even citing supposed clashes. Strangely, these trumped-up events are almost entirely absent from the Somali-language press, and the situation on the ground has never shown itself to reflect these cleavages. And yet, this tall tale has found embrace in bizarre places.

The obscure and wholly baseless story of al Shabaab’s internal feud may have been rightfully ignored by reputable journalists and news services, but it has been played to death by one particular multilingual news service; SabahiOnline.com, though we aren’t surprised. Sabahi is an web-based publication sponsored by United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) a year and some months ago.

“…no prominent pro-al Shabaab sites have carried news about Hammami’s death; no influential al-Shabaab leaders–or even Hammami through his likely twitter account– have issued an update on the situation. In absence of info from these sources, rumors of Hammami’s death are once again based on unconfirmed and circular reporting, and there has been at least one retraction.”

Assessing Rumors of Omar Hammami’s Death…Again

09 May – Source: Somalia Newsroom – 515 Words

Yet again, media sources–sparked by a UN-funded Bar Kulan report–are speculating that fighters loyal to al Shabaab’s top leader Ahmed Abdi Godane (aka Abu Zubeyr) killed embattled American jihadi Omar Hammami (aka Abu Mansur al-Amriki).

For a background of the conflict between Hammami, foreign fighters, and other al Shabaab factions, see here and here. The initial Bar Kulan report alleged that senior leader Fuad Shongole gave a sermon in Buulo Burde town mosque in which he described killing of Hammami during an ambush on him and his allied fighters in Rama Cadeey village in Somalia’s Bay region.

However, no other credible news agencies independently verified the report, and observers of the saga doubt the veracity of the claim due to the nature of Bar Kulan as the sole source.News site Dayniile–which initially piggy-backed on the Bar Kulan report (and is not always reliable)–already has backtracked from claims of Hammami’s death.

“Somalia’s young population could be its greatest strength, but only if it tackles the sky-high unemployment and economic disenfranchisement.”

Somalia’s lost generation: why youth employment is key to stability

08 May – Source: The Guardian – 1068 Words

Where can you search for hope when all you have ever known is conflict, poverty, loss and displacement? This is the profound question facing Somalia’s lost generation.

More than half of Somalia’s population is under 18, with the majority born after the overthrow of Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991, the pivotal event that sent the country spiralling into a deeper anarchy.

Since then much has been written about the internecine violence that has shaped this tragic era in the Horn of Africa and more has been said this week during the international conference on the region, jointly hosted by the UK and Somalia. The purpose of the summit was to help the government of Somalia deliver on priorities including rebuilding its armed forces, police, coastguard, justice and public financial management systems.

“Even with the cracks and the bullet holes and the decay, there is no denying the beauty of the magnifient buildings and homes that once stood on those streets and overlooked the water. Magnificent Mogadishu stood for hundreds and hundreds of years. It faltered, but it did not collapse.”

Once upon a time in Xamar Weyne

09 May – Source: Voices Of Africa Blog – 853 Words

Last November, during my trip back home to Somalia, my uncle took my dad and me on a stroll around Xamar Weyne, one of the oldest districts in Mogadishu. The historic and beautiful neighbourhood was hit hard by the civil war in the 1990s, and many buildings and homes were destroyed. My father grew up here, made his memories here.

On our ‘tour’, we stopped in the middle of a street market. I tried to make a note of exact locations but after a while the streets and buildings all became the same to me. My uncle pointed out my great aunt’s house which overlooks the ocean. She married an Italian soldier during colonial times and moved to Italy where she still lives. Writing that sounds so simplistic and almost funny – “colonial times” is a period so foreign to me I can’t even conceptualise it.

My father was squinting peculiarly at a building. He told me it used to be a cinema. His cinema. The cinema he spent his Friday nights in, where he hung out with friends after a day playing soccer on the beach. I looked curiously at the building which now contained just an ordinary shop. We stood there staring for what seemed like a lifetime, until I noticed that our behaviour was attracting the attention of local folk.

Top tweets

http://sco.lt/70itn7 #esINT #somalia #piracy.

@Hamza_Africa #AlShabaab attacking #Kismayu with increased frequency. They attacked the airport, again, last night. #Somalia.

@Adesoafrica “Every day the guns are silent is an important day.” Inspiring video from @UNDP on a new#Somalia. http://bit.ly/18wvqCl #ANewSomalia.

‏@Margotnpxu A bottom up approach is key to post conflict peace-building. The country needs to heal via peace and reconciliation efforts. #somalia #hope.

@africaupdate JEAS Special Issue: Effects of ‘statelessness’: dynamics of Somali politics, economy and society since 1991http://goo.gl/E1gC8 #Somalia.

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Image of the day

Image of the day AMISOM meeting with Somali diaspora in London. Photo: @JamesGadin.