May 12, 2016 | Morning Headlines

Main Story

Puntland Election Commission Officially Launched

11 May Source: Garowe Online – 350 Words

Puntland has officially launched the newly formed Transitional Puntland Electoral Commission (TPEC) during a well-organized event in the State capital of Garowe on Wednesday, Garowe Online reports.
In attendance at the key event held at Puntland Development Research Center (PDRC) were Vice President Abdihakin Abdullahi Haji Omar, Parliament Speaker Ahmed Ali Hashi, ministers, parliamentarians, PDRC’s management and staff, members of civil society and media representatives.

On April 24, Puntland parliament endorsed the nine-member commission jointly named by President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali and Hashi in mid-February. Puntland Electoral Board Chairman Ahmed Mohamed Ali gave opening remarks at the launch ceremony, calling for all-out collective commitment by the government and members of the public to a very transition from clan-based form of governance to democracy.

“Huge tasks including voter education awareness campaign, review into election laws, registration of political associations, voter registration, and announcement of official political parties lie ahead for the committee,” said Kismayo, former Puntland State Television Director and ex-BBC journalist who was picked in the first meeting of the board on April 25.

Key Headlines

Somalia: Puntland Election Commission Officially Launched (Garowe Online)
Somalia Complains Of Mistreatment Of Citizens In Foreign Jails (Horseed Media)
Deputy PM Warns Against Looting Of Nation’s Asset (Shabelle News)
Despite Warnings Somalia Set To Send Domestic Workers To Saudi Arabia (Hiiraan Online)
Beledweyn Residents Protest Over Use Of U.S. Dollar Currency (Radio Dalsan)
EU Vows More Support For Somalia (Shabelle News)
Somalia Army Chief Confirms Surprise Raid On Militants (Garowe Online)
Somalia Hands Over Weapons Stolen By Al-Shabaab To Kenya (Citizen Digital)
Russia May Consider Supplying Arms to Somalia Libya If Situation Improves (Sputnik News)
Somalia: UN Calls For Urgent Action To Support Drought-hit Communities (UN News Centre)
Kenya Drawing Up Timetable To Close Refugee Camp For Somalia (Reuters)
German Tanker Joins Op Atalanta Off The Coast Of Somalia (Naval Today)
Graphic Videos Luring Tweets — Terrorism Trial Zeros In On Islamic State Recruiting (Los Angeles Times)
Is Politics Why Kenya Wants to Close Refugee Camps? (VOA)

NATIONAL MEDIA

Somalia Complains Of Mistreatment Of Citizens In Foreign Jails

11 May Source: Horseed Media – 141 Words

Somalia’s Attorney General has said that different forms of injustices are perpetrated against Somali citizens in foreign jails, Horseed Media reports. Delivery his speech at a ceremony in Mogadishu, Mr Ahmed Ali Dahir stated that most of the citizens are even held without charges for many years, a breach to international human rights law. Mr Dahir added that the Somali authorities are working on the repatriation of the citizens to serve the rest of their jail term in their motherland.

The Attorney General mentioned India as an example, whereby some of the Somali citizens died in prisons due to hard living conditions. Thousands of Somali citizens are in prisons around the world, with most of them accused of Piracy and breaching immigration laws or Illegal business. Some of them have been already convicted while others are still waiting to be prosecuted.

Deputy PM Warns Against Looting Of Nation’s Asset

11 May Source: Shabelle News – 136 Words

The deputy prime minister of Somalia Mohamed Omar Arte has warned against stealing nation’s resources during the transition period of this year’s forthcoming election. “The managing government officials should not embezzle the public wealth by taking advantage the transition period,” said the deputy premier Mohamed Omar Arte. The deputy PM this statement at an event held in Mogadishu in which the sacked high court chief Aideed Abdullah Ilka-Hanaf has been handing the officer over Ibrahim Iidle Suleiman.

“There is no any transitional period. The public assets belonged to the people of Somalia. It’s every official’s responsibility to save the money and hand over to his successor,” Arte said. The call by the deputy PM comes as Somalia approaching to crucial time of parliamentary and presidential elections due to take place by the end of this year.

Despite Warnings, Somalia Set To Send Domestic Workers To Saudi Arabia

11 May Source: Hiiraan Online – 304 Words

Somalia’s government says it would go ahead with a plan to send domestic workers to Saudi Arabia in spite of new reports of abuses against Somali workers lured by the promise of well-paid jobs in the Middle Eastern country. In January, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Labour announced the opening of recruiting operations of domestic workers from Somalia as parts of a new push for a new mass recruitment drive following the ban by some African and Asian countries to allow their citizens in Saudi Arabia.

Osman Liban, Somalia deputy labour minister told reporters that the government was planning to send 2000 an advance 2000 Somali workers to Saudi Arabia. “The plan is to send domestic workers, laborers, engineers, drivers and nurses.” He said on Tuesday. Despite calls to ban Somali domestic workers from working in the kingdom slammed by human rights organizations for its treatment of domestic workers, largely from Africa and Asia, Mr. Libah hinted plans to send regular 50,000 Somali workers to Saudi Arabia each year.

Saudi employers have a history of abusing foreign domestic workers working in the world’s largest oil exporter in what former workers described as an exploitation of desperate Africans facing grim choices, forcing many countries to ban their citizens from going to Saudi Arabia for work. Among the countries that recently banned its citizens from working in Saudi Arabia is Indonesia after two maids from the country were beheaded for murder in Saudi Arabia. Ethiopia, Kenya, Philippine and Uganda also joined the ban drive. The development left domestic workers from Somalia the only alternative left for Saudi employers after most of African and Asians rejected their recruitment request. Some of the former domestic workers described their work conditions ‘grim’ with employers forced them to work extra hours, and at some point deprived them of sleep time.

Beledweyn Residents Protest Over Use Of U.S. Dollar Currency

11 May Source: Radio Dalsan – 110 Words

The residents of Beled-Weyn have taken to the streets on Wednesday to protest against the decision by the business owners to dump Somali shilling. Business was brought to stand still for hours before the intervention of the local authorities. Business owners in the area have opted for US Dollar currency in their service to the public due to law value of Somali shilling for the past few months.

Efforts led by city mayor Omar Adan Ibrahim have requested local currency exchange market to look into the matter to resolve the crisis. US dollar is widely used in Somalia after more than two decades of the civil war de-valued Somali shilling.

Somalia Army Chief Confirms Surprise Raid On Militants

11 May Source: Garowe Online – 163 Words

Somali Army Chief General Mohamed Adan Ahmed has confirmed that Danab Special Forces carried out a raid on militant hideout in Lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia late on Monday, Garowe Online reports. Al Shabaab spokesman Tuesday admitted that foreign troops confirmed to be U.S. commandos disembarked in Tora Tora for planned assault.

“Somali Special Forces, Danab conducted a planned dawn operation in hideout into which Al Shabaab stashed the so-called Zakawat collections,” Somalia’s top general said in a statement from his office.
Moreover, army added that the chief aim of the raid was to dismantle the hideout, which was successful. A spokesman for the militants was quoted as saying that an estimated 10 commando troopers in attack helicopters have been repelled in the overnight assault. He boasted that they seized ammunitions from the U.S. soldiers, and forced them back to their original base. U.S. backs national government in Mogadishu in the fight against militants in central and southern Somalia.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somalia Hands Over Weapons Stolen By Al-Shabaab To Kenya

11 May- Source: Citizen Digital – 217 Words

The Somali National Army (SNA) on Wednesday held a security meeting with the Kenyan security team and handed over weapons that were discovered Tuesday in Bulla Hawa, Somalia, after intelligence reports. The weapons, allegedly stolen from the Somalia security forces by suspected Al Shabaab militants, were speculated to be targeting Kenya’s Mandera area.
The delegation, led by Jubaland Commander DC Bulla Hawa and senior security officials from lower Juba region, met their Kenyan counterparts at the Kenya-Somalia border to hand over the assortment of weapons believed to be used to attack Kenyans.

The weapons handed over included IEDs, bullets and rifles for detonation and disposal. The Mandera security team was headed by the County Commissioner Fredrick Shisia, OC Kenya Defence Force, OC GSU, OC RBPU, OCPD and other heads of the security departments. Speaking at the hand-over, Shisia congratulated their Somali counterpart and urged them for their support in all situations.
Mandera County has suffered a spate of terror attacks in the past. However, in recent months security has improved. For the past two years, attacks using IEDs have been on the rise. Mandera Governor Ali Roba has in the past been attacked. The Somali officials asked Kenya for more support since terror is a common enemy.

Russia May Consider Supplying Arms to Somalia, Libya If Situation Improves

11 May- Source: Sputnik News – 283 Words

Russia is ready to consider the issue of arms supplies to Libya, Somalia and South Sudan should the situation improve in these countries and provided permission to do so is granted by the highest state authorities, Valery Varlamov, the head of Rosoboronexport’s security department, said Wednesday.

“We are very sensitive to the international situation, and if there are UN Security Council-imposed sanctions against some countries, we don’t have military-technical cooperation with them. However, there is interest voiced by such states. In the event of an improved situation there, we are ready to satisfy this [interest],” Varlamov told reporters at the Special Operations Forces Exhibition and Conference (SOFEX) currently being held in Jordan’s capital of Amman. Commenting specifically on Libya, Varlamov underscored that “we do not have any guarantees that if weapons are supplied to the existing legitimate government in Tobruk, it won’t disperse them to the north of Africa.”

The UN Security Council introduced an arms embargo on Somalia in January 1992. The move followed the outbreak of the ongoing Somali Civil War. Today, parts of southern Somalia are controlled by the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shaba group, while piracy off the Somalian coast has been a threat to international shipping since around 2005, with most pirate attacks concentrated in the Gulf of Aden.
As for Libya, it is currently regarded as one of the main footholds of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group’s expansion in North Africa. US officials estimate that IS militants have doubled their presence in Libya in recent months, and now the group has more than 6,000 fighters located mainly in the coastal region between the capital, Tripoli, and Benghazi.

Somalia: UN Calls For Urgent Action To Support Drought-hit Communities

11 May- Source: UN News Centre – 374 Words

A senior United Nations humanitarian official in Somalia today called for urgent action to support drought-stricken communities in Puntland and Somaliland and avert a further deterioration of the situation.
The drought has impacted lives and livelihoods, compounding an already challenging humanitarian situation. In some areas, 60-80 per cent of herds have been lost, with devastating impact on families who depend on livestock for income, food and status.

“I am deeply concerned about the devastating effects of the persisting drought on the communities in Puntland and Somaliland,” said Peter de Clercq, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, following his recent visit to those areas. “If we can vaccinate livestock and provide cash and inputs to agro-pastoralists now, we can mitigate the impact of the current drought.” Nearly 385,000 people in Puntland and Somaliland facing acute food insecurity while an estimated 1.3 million people are at risk of slipping into acute food insecurity if they do not receive assistance, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Overall, roughly 1.7 million, or 37 per cent of the 4.6 million people there, need some form of humanitarian assistance.

Even though recent rains have brought an end to the drought in some areas, the crisis remains of serious concern given the cumulative impact of up to four failed rainy seasons in some areas. If the rains stop earlier than the end of May or early June, the situation could deteriorate rapidly and deeply, Mr. de Clercq said. In March, the Humanitarian Coordinator launched a call for aid requesting $105 million to boost the drought response. Priority is given to putting cash in people’s pockets to enable recovery of livelihoods for both pastoralists and agro-pastoralists. Assistance to pastoralists includes a broad spectrum of animal health support, such as vaccinations and possible restocking in the future. Agro-pastoralists are also provided with seeds and tractor hours.

During his visit, Mr. de Clercq met with representatives of the government, donors, humanitarian partners and affected communities to assess the impact the current drought and ongoing response by partners. The visit was also part of an initiative to find solutions for the 1.1 million Somalis in protracted displacement across the country.

Kenya Drawing Up Timetable To Close Refugee Camp For Somalia

11 May- Source: Reuters – 420 Words

Kenya is drawing up a timetable to close Dadaab refugee camp that hosts about 350,000 Somalis because of security concerns, the interior minister said on Wednesday, after the United Nations urged the East African nation to reconsider such a move. Kenya, which has suffered from a spate of attacks claimed by the Islamist Somali group al Shabaab, has set up a taskforce to handle the closure plan, Interior Minister Joseph Nkaissery said.

“They will present the timetable based on all the resources required,” the minister told a news conference, adding that state funds had been allocated to proceed with the program. “The government has commenced the exercise of closing the complex of Dadaab refugee camp,” he said, without specifying what new action had been taken beyond a voluntary repatriation program already in place.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement voicing deep concern about the decision and urging Kenya “to maintain its longstanding leadership role in protecting and sheltering victims of violence and trauma … and not forcibly repatriate refugees.” Kenya’s government has long said Dadaab, which lies near the Somali border, has been used by Islamists to launch attacks, such as the Westgate shopping mall assault in Nairobi in 2013.

German Tanker Joins Op Atalanta Off The Coast Of Somalia

11 May- Source: Naval Today- 182 Words

German Navy’s tanker support ship, FGS Spessart, joined Operation Atalanta on May 11, as part of Germany’s contribution to the EU’s efforts to deter and disrupt piracy off the coast of Somalia.
The ship departed the Wilhelmshaven base and set sail for the Horn of Africa on April 15, 2016. Under the command of Captain Rolf-Heinrich von Bebern, FGS Spessart is equipped to provide fuelling support to both Operation Atalanta ships and other international forces conducting counter-piracy operations in the region.

The Captain commented: “We are well-prepared for our upcoming tasks and look forward to deploying with Operation Atalanta and working with our German flagship, FGS Bayern, Spanish warship ESPS Tornado and Italian warship ITS Euro.” FGS Spessart is expected to complete its Atalanta stint and return to Germany by the end of August 2016. Spessart was originally built for the shipping company Terkildsen & Olsen by Kröger of Rendsburg in 1974. However, the ship was quickly put up for sale and was commissioned into the German Navy on September 5, 1977.

Graphic Videos, Luring Tweets — Terrorism Trial Zeros In On Islamic State Recruiting

11 May – Source: Los Angeles Times- 987 Words

Titles of Islamic State propaganda videos flashed across the screens positioned in front of the 16 jurors — “Flames of War,” “Upon the Prophetic Methodology,” “Changing of the Swords 4.” Then, federal prosecutors showed jurors a photo of several men whose freshly severed heads sat on the ground. The jurors stared. So did the three young Somali American men on trial. You don’t need to understand Islamic State’s ideology, Assistant U.S. Atty. Andrew R. Winter told the jurors. All you need to know, he said, is that a group of young Somali American men in the Twin Cities area had watched Islamic State videos and wanted to go to Syria to take part. “This is what the defendants wanted to do … tried to do … time and time again,” Winter said.

Opening arguments began in federal court Wednesday in a case prosecutors say marks a significant moment in the effort to convict American men who have attempted to join and fight alongside Islamic State in Syria. Women dressed in abayas — family members of the defendants — partially filled the gallery as prosecutors vowed to show how a group of young men from Minneapolis’ large Somali American community were radicalized by Islamic State and Al Qaeda-affiliated propaganda and formed plans to leave the U.S.

Mohamed Abdihamid Farah, Abdirahman Yasin Daud and Guled Ali Omar face charges of conspiring to commit murder outside the U.S. and providing material support to a terrorist organization by joining Islamic State. Officials said the men tried to leave the United States by taking buses to catch flights in New York or to cross into Mexico from San Diego to begin their journey to Syria.
At least two others have pleaded guilty to related charges and agreed to testify for the prosecution.

The case is likely to be presented as an example of how Islamic State propaganda strikes young Muslim men like a contagion, spreading through friends and relatives who have gone off to fight for the militant group. The three defendants’ attorneys acknowledged that the videos were repugnant and some of the defendants’ statements inflammatory, but accused the government of not having enough evidence to prove the defendants intended to travel to Syria and fight for Islamic State. “You’ve seen some really bad videos,” Farah’s attorney, Murad Mohammad, told the jurors. “Videos my client did not produce, did not watch.”

OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE

“There’s not a single shred of evidence that any registered Somali refugees in Kenya have been behind any attacks in Kenya,” he said. “So far, not a single Somalia refugee has been charged with or convicted of any such offense. In the case of the attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, and the Garissa attack in northeast Kenya last year, Somali nationals have been charged with those offenses, but they are known to have come in directly from Somalia, and were not registered refugees.”

Is Politics Why Kenya Wants to Close Refugee Camps?

10 May – Source: VOA – 553 Words

The Kenyan government has announced it will close its refugee camps in Dadaab and Kakuma, which collectively house more than half a million refugees. Dadaab — considered the largest refugee camp in the world — hosts more than 328,000 refugees, most of whom are Somalis escaping conflict in their country. The government has cited national security concerns due to growing terrorist threats as the reason for the closures.

However, Human Rights Watch senior refugee researcher Gerry Simpson says that refugees are not the source of such threats in Kenya. “There’s not a single shred of evidence that any registered Somali refugees in Kenya have been behind any attacks in Kenya,” he said. “So far, not a single Somalia refugee has been charged with or convicted of any such offense. In the case of the attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, and the Garissa attack in northeast Kenya last year, Somali nationals have been charged with those offenses, but they are known to have come in directly from Somalia, and were not registered refugees.”

Ministry of the Interior spokesman Mwenda Njoka disagrees, saying that terrorists have used the camps to plan and train for attacks, like the one at Westgate Mall, where 67 people were killed in September 2013. “I will tell you for a fact, the people who carried out the terror attacks at Westgate, several of them were traced either through phone calls or through various contacts — intelligence — to refugee camps in Dadaab,” Njoka said.

Moderation needed

Governance and security expert Mummoh Nzau agrees that the camps pose a security threat, but argues that a measured approach is best. “They have been infiltrated by terrorists, but it is not to the scale that every other refugee is a terrorist,” Nzau said, “and therefore, it is important that a lot of consultation and care is taken so that innocent people don’t get hurt in this process.” One solution, Nzau believes, is to relocate the camps.

“They can move them right inside Somalia, but in a way that is safe for them and that they can be accessed by the international refugee agencies and other aid agencies,” he said. Kenya, which has been hosting refugees for nearly 25 years, has previously threatened to close the camps, most recently last year, but did not follow through.