May 10, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somali Commandos And Foreign Forces Raid Al-Shabaab Base
10 May – Source: Shabelle News – 129 Words
Somali commandos, along with foreign forces have conducted an overnight raid in a militant-controlled base in Lower Shabelle region, targeting top Al-Shabaab leaders in a meeting. Using helicopters armed with modern military hardware, including guns with night-vision scopes, the Somalia’s well trained Commandos and troops possibly from US, have swooped into Toratorow area, approximately 90Km south-west of Mogadishu, according to residents.
Reliable sources say the special raid was aimed to free several hostages held at a secret prison in the southern town that is run by Al-Shabaab militants. Al-Shabaab fighters resisted the attack after engaging a heavy gunfire with the invading Somali commandos and the foreign forces, but no casualties reported. When the fighting was over, the allied forces later retreated back to their base.
Key Headlines
- Somali Commandos And Foreign Forces Raid Al-Shabaab Base (Shabelle News)
- Al-Shabaab Became Weak Says Somali President (Goobjoog News)
- Al-Shabaab Became Weak Says Somali President (Hiiraan Online)
- Hundreds Displaced As Floods Hit Several Villages In The Sool Region (Goobjoog News)
- Explosives-laden Car seized in Mogadishu (Shabelle News)
- Minnesota IS Terror Case Underway (Voice of America)
- Qatar Condemns Attack On Traffic Police Headquarters In Somalia (Bernama.com)
- Refugees And Migrants: A Crisis Of Solidarity (Huffington Post)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Al-Shabaab Became Weak, Says Somali President
10 May – Source: Goobjoog News – 250 Words
Al-Shabaab, the Somalia based terrorist group has become weak and the Somali National Army has been extending its offensives against controlled areas controlled by them, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said. President Mohamud said Al-Shabaab is getting weaker day after day since Somali forces seized areas which have been under the control of the group for over ten years. Al-Shabaab fighters used to live peacefully in those areas but due to pressure exerted by our forces they started disintegrating.
“SNA soldiers backed by our brothers AMISOM troops have defeated the group,”said Mohamud. This comes less than 24 hours after four people killed and six injured in a suicide attack on a police headquarters in the Somali. “The attack involved two Al-Shabaab members, one of them driving a car loaded with explosives, and another tried to storm the police headquarters but was shot dead. We have lost three policemen,” said Abdifatah Omar Halane, spokesman for the Mogadishu city administration.
Al-Shabaab took responsibility for the attacks. Despite being ousted from most of their key strongholds, the militant group continues deadly guerrilla attacks across large parts of south and central Somalia. Al-Shabaab militants are fighting to overthrow the internationally backed government in Mogadishu, and launch regular attacks in the city.
Somalia Prepares To Re-assume Control Of Its Air Space
10 May – Source: Hiiraan Online – 241 Words
Somalia’s government started importing air control system equipment as parts of new efforts aimed at commencing the implementation of the transition program which would transfer full control of Somali airspace to the central government.
The development is the culmination of years of long-running negotiations between Somali government the International Civil Aviation Organization which was finalized in late 2014 where the two sides signed an agreement which would transfer the airspace control from the Nairobi-based UN-funded caretaker authority to Somali government.
Ali Jama Jangali, Somalia’s aviation minister said that the advance equipment donated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) would help Somalia to run its own space and facilitate ‘safe’and ‘orderly’ movement of aircraft within and between Somalia and other countries. “This is a turning point which reflects the considerable work we have done and the point from which we have set out to reach here.” He told reporters at the Mogadishu airport on Monday.
The United Nations took over responsibility for managing Somalia’s airspace 21 years ago following the collapse of the central government, and in May 1996, leading to the creation of the Civil Aviation Caretaker Authority for Somalia (CACAS) which had since been managing the country’s airspace and collected over-flight revenues for Somalia. The collapse of Somalia’s central Somalia had dealt an irreparable damage to the country’s general infrastructure including the civil aviation sector, forcing the central government to start all sectors from the scratch.
Hundreds Displaced As Floods Hit Several Villages In The Sool Region
10 May – Source: Goobjoog News – 153 Words
Fresh rains have caused new flooding in Somalia’s Sool region. Hundreds of people have been forced to flee from their homes after floods have swept away their villages. The locals are concerned that the recent flood may bring about food shortages in the region and urge the government and the aid agencies to provide immediate assistance. The floods affected several villages including: Asuura, Qarashla, Daruura localities.
Abdirisaq Mohamud Jama’a, was among the families that have been forced out by the flooding. “After several hours of rain, our house [a traditional Somali hut] was filled with water, and we sought refuge near the hills,” he said. He added “The floods displaced around 500 families in and around Abeesaale locality.” These villages have been cut off for since the unusually heavy seasonal rains washed away major parts of the only road connecting the remote area.
Explosives-laden Car seized in Mogadishu
10 May – Source: Shabelle News – 103 Words
Somalia’s security forces have seized a car packed with explosives at Sayidka street in Mogadishu on Tuesday, eyewitnesses said. The car bomb was spotted at shopping malls, along Sayidka avenue, near Somali parliament building in Mogadishu. Target of failed attack was unknown. Through a tip off, security personnel arrived at the scene and cordoned off Makka Al Mukarama street, the site where the car bomb was seen, according to eyewitnesses who spoke to Radio Shabelle by phone. The incident hindered the movement of the public and transportations for while during the cordon off by the security troops of the federal government of Somalia.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Minnesota IS Terror Case Underway
10 May – Source: Voice of America – 264 Words
Jury selection began in Minnesota Monday in the federal trial of three Somali-Americans accused of conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State group. Mohamed Farah, 22, Guled Omar, 21 and Abdirahman Daud 22, were among several Minnesota men who met numerous times from March 2014 to April 2015 to look for the best way to travel to Syria to join the terror group. The men were all stopped by law enforcement before they could board planes.
Federal prosecutors said the three have been charged with conspiring to commit murder outside the U.S., which if found, carries the possibility of life in prison. The men all pleaded not guilty to the charges. Sadik Warfa, a Somali-America activist who was at today’s trail session told VOA’s Somali service that one of the three defendants requested to have a new lawyer, as he had no confidence in his current attorney, but that requested was denied by the U.S. District judge Michael Davis.
Six other men who were part of the group have already pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to support to the Islamic State group, but a tenth man who is also charged is believed to with IS in Syria. The parents of these men denied the accusations. The trail could last about three weeks.
Qatar Condemns Attack On Traffic Police Headquarters In Somalia
10 May – Source: Bernama.com – 124 Words
Qatar strongly condemned the attack, which targeted traffic police headquarters in Mogadishu, killing at least three and wounding a number of people, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported. A statement released on Mondayby the Foreign Ministry said that Qatar, while condemning the criminal acts that are contrary to all human values and principles, reaffirmed its solidarity with Somalia and its people, and its support to all efforts undertaken by Somalia to maintain security and stability.
The statement stressed Qatar’s firm position which rejects violence and terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, whatever its motives and justifications. The statement expressed sincere condolences with the Government of Somalia and families of the victims killed by this heinous crime, and wished speedy recovery for the wounded.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Human beings have moved from place to place across the millennia, by choice and under duress, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Only by upholding our duty to protect those fleeing persecution and violence, and by embracing the opportunities that refugees and migrants offer to their new societies, will we be able to achieve a more prosperous and fairer future for all.”
Refugees And Migrants: A Crisis Of Solidarity
10 May – Source: Huffington Post – 860 Words
This September, the United Nations General Assembly will bring together world leaders to address one of the leading challenges of our time: responding to large movements of refugees and migrants. War, human rights violations, underdevelopment, climate change and natural disasters are leading more people to leave their homes than at any time since we have had reliable data. More than 60 million people — half of them children — have fled violence or persecution and are now refugees and internally displaced persons. An additional 225 million are migrants who have left their countries in search of better opportunities or simply for survival.
But this is not a crisis of numbers; it is a crisis of solidarity. Almost 90 percent of the world’s refugees are hosted in developing countries. Eight countries host more than half the world’s refugees. Just ten countries provide 75 percent of the UN’s budget to ease and resolve their plight. With equitable responsibility sharing, there would be no crisis for host countries.
We can afford to help, and we know what we need to do to handle large movements of refugees and migrants. Yet too often, we let fear and ignorance get in the way. Human needs end up overshadowed, and xenophobia speaks louder than reason. Countries on the front lines of this crisis are struggling every day to meet the challenge. On September 19, the General Assembly will hold a high-level meeting to strengthen our efforts for the longer term. To help the international community seize this opportunity, I have just issued a report, “In Safety and Dignity”, with recommendations on how the world can take more effective collective action.
We need to begin by recognizing our common humanity. Millions of people on the move have been exposed to extreme suffering. Thousands have died in the Mediterranean, on the Andaman Sea, in the Sahel and in Central America. Refugees and migrants are not “others”; they are as diverse as the human family itself. Movements of people are a quintessentially global phenomenon that demands a global sharing of responsibility.
TOP TWEETS
@clairemitus: #Somalia president H.E #Hassan Sheikh#Mohamud hails #EU for support in rebuilding Somalia’s#security institutions
@m8rcalus : Join #ViewsFromThe252 #Somalia Gallery Launch in #Uppsala next Monday!
Event: https://www.facebook.com/
@Vatescorp : #Somalia: Mogadishu airport worker killed by assailants on a motorbike outside mosque, Wadajir district
@RadioErgo : #Somalia:4 killed by lightning in Mudughttp://bit.ly/1s9yYc7 @unicefsomalia @UNFPA_SOMALIA@UNSomalia @OCHASom
@Abdi_AlSheikh : East Africa: Regional PACs to Engage Somalia, Djibouti – http://AllAfrica.com http://dlvr.it/LGmd5L #Somalia
@HassanIstiila : #BREAKING Unidentified drones conducted a raid on #AlShabab controlled town at Toratorow in #SomaliaFierce exchange
@Somaliupdate : #Somalia Security Forces Arrest Al-Shabaab Suspects After Bomb Blast in the Capital
@WFPGovts : Cash for food: @WFP helps people in #Somaliafeed their families with the support of GBP1M from #UK’s@DFID_UK!
IMAGE OF THE DAY
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud hails EU’s support towards Somalia’s stabilisation during the Europe Day celebrations in Mogadishu
Photo: AMISOM