May 15, 2012 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Somali moderate Islamists warn against danger inherent in constitution
14 May – Source: Radio Shabelle – 173 words
The administration of the Ahlu Sunna wal Jama’a in the central regions of Somalia has warned against the disaster that might result from endorsing the draft constitution which the government is working on.
The spokesman for Ahlu Sunna wal Jama’a, Sheikh Abdullahi Sheikh Abdirahman Abu Yusuf (Al-qadi), told Radio Shabelle that Ahlu Sunna was warning against the endorsement of the draft constitution expected to take place in Mogadishu. Al-qadi said that the constitution would greatly harm the sovereignty and religion of the Somali people. He called on the people promoting the endorsement and particularly the government leaders not to lead the country into future trouble.
The spokesman proposed to postpone the endorsement of the constitution until the many flaws contained in it are rectified. He stressed that if the draft consitution is endorsed as it is, it will adversely affect the future of Somalia in many aspects. These remarks by the spokesman of Ahlu Sunna wal Jama’a come at a time when there are increasing criticisms of the draft constitution from many quarters.
Key Headlines
- Somali President arrives in New York city (Jowhar Online)
- AMISOM peacekeepers successfully complete advanced course on International Humanitarian Law and rules of conduct (AMISOM)
- Americans use Iraq lessons for Somalia mission training (New Vision)
- Somali moderate Islamists warn against danger inherent in constitution (Radio Shabelle)
- Africa’s army chiefs in Kampala to discuss security threats (Daily Monitor)
- EU says hits pirate targets on Somali coast by air (Reuters)
- Northern clan elders accuse Somali government of marginalization (Somaliland Press)
- Kenyan Police dies three hurt in Dadaab explosion (Standard)
- Al Shabaab militias vacate towns in central Somalia (Radio Mogadishu/SONNA/Bar-kulan)
- Security officers arrest suspected Somali bomber (Daily Monitor)
- Zardari wants hostages in Somalia freed (News International)
PRESS STATEMENT
AMISOM Press Release
15 May – Source: AMISOM Force HQ – 182 words
Yesterday afternoon at 4:30 pm an AMISOM casspir, an armed military vehicle, lost control and accidently hit a residential fence in Nur-Adunyo in Dharkenley District, Mogadishu. The casspir, being used by the Burundian contingent, lost control due to mechanical failures with the breaks. No civilians were injured during the incident.
The incident was promptly reported to the Somali Police and AMISOM will rebuild the residential fence. Lt. Gen. Gutti, AMISOM Force Commander said:
“AMISOM has established a process to report such incidents; ensuring effective investigation of accidents, to make certain that appropriate measures are taken, guaranteeing the utmost safety for civilians.”
Countering ongoing reports, Maj. Emmanuel Bizimana was killed on 20th October 2011, during the Burundian contingent’s initial advance to Deynile. Al Qaeda backed extremists al Shabaab is on the back-foot and the dawn of relative peace in Mogadishu has enabled civilians to return to the city – rebuilding their homes and investing in the city. Recently, Liban Igal a Somali businessman opened First Somali Bank, the first bank to be established since the city fell into protracted conflict over twenty years ago.
AMISOM peacekeepers successfully complete advanced course on International Humanitarian Law and rules of conduct
14 May – Source: AMISOM – 359 words
17 AMISOM peacekeepers have successfully completed an advanced course on International Humanitarian Law applicable to the Somali context. The ongoing training builds on standard pre†deployment preparation AMISOM officers receive before they are deployed to Somalia. 50 AMISOM officers will soon receive similar training.
The group of AMISOM commanders consisted of 17 legal officers, information officers, battalion commanders and civil†military cooperation officers who will disseminate their enhanced knowledge along their command chains. The course focused on rules of conduct in hostile conditions, ensuring the distinction between combatant and civilians; the protection of civilians, the sick and wounded. They were also sensitized on Somali culture covering family, gender and social structures – to ensure no tensions and misunderstandings develop between AU forces and the Somali populace.
The Deputy Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (DSRCC) for Somalia, Hon. Wafula Wamunyinyi commended the AMISOM officers for their commitment to the mission encouraging them to be noble representatives of the mission upholding ethical laws of conduct.
During the closing ceremony he commented: “As the mission expands, there is a great need to uphold International Humanitarian Law and protection of civilians. AMISOM has developed rules of engagement regulating the use of lethal force, which are highly upheld by all our troops.
This workshop has equipped AMISOM commanders with an understanding of humanitarian law to ensure the protection of civilians. As our troops are culturally sensitized they will be in a better position to deal with and protect civilians within the conflict environment.”
The African Union policy on the use of artillery, mortars and rockets in military conflict has significantly reduced the impact of the conflict on the Somali population creating no fire zones, improved targeting of weaponry and rules against retaliatory counter battery fire.
The DSRCC also applauded the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Transitional Federal Government, Office of the High Commissioner of Human rights and the UN Political Office for Somalia. The MoU outlined the UN’s commitment to offer technical assistance to the Somali government in the field of human rights to improve the current situation of human rights in the country.
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali President arrives in New York city
15 May – Source: Jowhar Online – 95 words
A high level delegation from Somalia led by Somali president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has just arrived in New York City, and they have got warm welcome from Somali embassy and US officials.
The president is expected to attend the upcoming United Nations Security Council meeting the next coming days in NYC, and also the president will meet US government to discuss about several issues including Somali current security situation and the roadmap.
The presidential entourage includes Deputy Prime Minister, who is also Defence Minister Hussein Arab Isse, and Somali foreign minster and other top government officials.
Somali moderate Islamists warn against danger inherent in constitution
14 May – Source: Radio Shabelle – 173 words
The administration of the Ahlu Sunna wal Jama’a in the central regions of Somalia has warned against the disaster that might result from endorsing the draft constitution which the government is working on.
The spokesman for Ahlu Sunna wal Jama’a, Sheikh Abdullahi Sheikh Abdirahman Abu Yusuf (Al-qadi), told Radio Shabelle that Ahlu Sunna was warning against the endorsement of the draft constitution expected to take place in Mogadishu. Al-qadi said that the constitution would greatly harm the sovereignty and religion of the Somali people. He called on the people promoting the endorsement and particularly the government leaders not to lead the country into future trouble.
The spokesman proposed to postpone the endorsement of the constitution until the many flaws contained in it are rectified. He stressed that if the draft consitution is endorsed as it is, it will adversely affect the future of Somalia in many aspects. These remarks by the spokesman of Ahlu Sunna wal Jama’a come at a time when there are increasing criticisms of the draft constitution from many quarters.
Puntland forces conduct security operations in Garowe, seize illegal weapons
15 May – Source: Shabelle – 103 words
Heavily armed police forces in battlewagons loyal to Somalia’s northern semi-autonomous administration of Puntland have carried out on Tuesday morning a security operation in Garowe town, the capital city of the self-governing state, reports said.
Ali Hirse, the governor of Nugal province told reporters in Garowe that the operations at several neighbourhoods in the town led to the recovery of illegal weapons. He also welcomed the ongoing security operations.
The move followed an order issued by the security committee of Nugal region against the insecurity acts and illegal weapons which were being held in Garowe town.
Al Shabaab militias vacate towns in central Somalia
15 May – Source: Radio Mogadishu/SONNA/Bar-kulan – 130 words
Al Qaeda linked group of al Shabaab has on Tuesday morning completely withdrawn from Gal-hareri and Ja’ar residences in Galgudud region central Somalia. Al Shabaab militias who were in Galhareri and Ja’ar environs close to El-dher and El-bur districts in Galgudud region are reported to have fled those areas last night, reliable sources confirmed to SONNA.
Reports indicate that the militants fled to Galgala Mountains of eastern region of Puntland after they were weakened in the battle in the south and central Somalia. The withdrawal of al Qaeda linked group came under constant military pressure from Ahlu-Suna Waljame’a forces backed by Ethiopian troops who are reported to have been advancing to those areas recently controlled by extremists.
Northern clan elders accuse Somali government of marginalization
15 May – Source: Somaliland Press – 129 words
Somali Tribal chiefs, religious leaders and intellectuals meeting in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu accused the TFG government of excluding them from law making bodies and power sharing. The mainly northern Dir and Harti clan leaders say they will walk out on the meeting which brought together Somali figures to deliberate on the proposed constitution.
The northern leaders accused the government of marginalization, corruption and alienating them. They claim the proposed number of seats promised to them prior to the meeting was never delivered and this more than halved their representatives.
They accused the weak transitional government of Sheikh Sharif of favouring southern clans such as his own Hawiye and leaving the rest in the cold.They said the government’s stance will undermine the reconciliation efforts and will help refuel conflict in the volatile nation.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Kenyan Police dies, three hurt in Dadaab explosion
15 May – Source: Standard – 318 words
A Kenyan police officer has died and three others seriously injured in an explosion on a police vehicle in Lagdera near Dadaab refugee camp.The Administration Police officers were escorting a group of UNHCR staff when the vehicle was hit by an Improvised Explosive Devise.
Police said the devise had been planted on the road in Dagahaley Town where the incident happened. The injured officers were moved to Garissa Provincial Hospital and plans were underway to airlift them to Nairobi.
Security officers arrest suspected Somali bomber
15 May – Source: Daily Monitor – 281 words
Security officials in Mogadishu have arrested a man suspected to be carrying an explosive device. Abdurahman Farah Mohamed, 21, was captured by security personnel on Saturday at Ex-Control Afgoye Checkpoint in Southern Mogadishu carrying an explosive device.
Agents, who were tipped off, spotted Farah and a device said to be assembled to be attached to vehicles. He was later handed over to security officials in Mogadishu.
Mr Khalif Ahmed Ereg, the top security agent in Banadir region (Mogadishu and surrounding areas), who talked to the media in his office, told our correspondent that the agency acted on a tip off. “We received information prior to the youth’s departure from Lower Shabelle region (south of Mogadishu),” said Commander Ereg.
$ 2 million Saudi grant for UNICEF Somalia
14 May – Source: Arab News – 302 words
The National Saudi Campaign for Somali People Relief on Saturday signed an agreement to provide $ 2 million to UNICEF Somalia for its therapeutic food program for children with malnutrition.
The program is expected to include the treatment of 25,000 children suffering from severe malnutrition as well as immunization, health care and treatment, provisions for clean drinking water, education and other services.
“We are grateful to the government and the people of Saudi Arabia for this new funding which comes at a crucial juncture,” Sikander Khan, UNICEF Somalia country representative, said in an email to Arab News.
Americans use Iraq lessons for Somalia mission training
15 May – Source: New Vision – 507 words
American military advisers in Uganda are drawing on lessons learned from Iraq and Afghanistan to help train African Union soldiers to fight Somalia’s most powerful insurgent group, al Shabaab.
Earlier this year, a small contingent of U.S. Marines joined American military contractors at a training base nestled in Uganda’s rolling countryside about 2 1/2 hours drive from the capital, helping fill gaps where the al-Qaida-linked fighters have found weaknesses. The base, called Singo, was built by the U.S. and is a key part of the Obama administration’s strategy to bring stability to Somalia.
The United States has sent in only small units of Special Forces to attack al-Qaida members in Somalia or hostage-taking pirates since U.S. troops withdrew from the nation in 1994, while other African countries have deployed thousands of troops to bring order to a country plagued by lawlessness, insurgents and hunger.
Many of the American trainers give firsthand knowledge of what works and what doesn’t from years of learning to deal with improvised explosives, fighting insurgents in cities and other experiences from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Al-Shabab militants recently figured out how to take out AU tanks with the help of makeshift obstacles and traps, so a group of about 20 Marine reservists is now in the middle of a 10-week program teaching Ugandan forces combat engineering skills, like ways to quickly bridge trenches to permit the tanks to pass.
Africa’s army chiefs in Kampala to discuss security threats
15 May – Source: Daily Monitor – 351 words
A summit bringing together commanders of land forces of different African armies opened in Kampala yesterday with President Museveni cautioning the continent’s military brass against dabbling in sectarianism.
The President described groups fighting religious wars such as Boko-Haram of Nigeria and al-Shabaab of Somalia as “idiots” with “ideological bankruptcy”. He blamed the two-decade Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency on having a small and ill-trained UPDF which he said was compounded by support provided by the government of Khartoum to the rebels.
“Africa armies must be ideologically independent from foreign exploitation and manipulation. Some external forces told us not to spend 1.9 per cent of our budget and we had to reduce the size the army,” Mr. Museveni said.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Zardari wants hostages in Somalia freed
15 May – Source: News International – 503 words
President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan has tasked Interior Minister Rehman Malik with taking measures for the release of Pakistani hostages held by Somali pirates, Geo News reported.
According to sources, President Zardari late Monday night telephoned the interior minister and directed him to leave no stone unturned for the recovery of hostages as the deadline given by the pirates ends today (May 15, Tuesday).
The kin of the hostages are in perpetual pain since the pirates commandeered the MV Albedo ship off the coast of Somalia in November 2010 carrying Pakistani sailors.
Initially, the Somali pirates had demanded a ransom worth $8 million to set the hostages free. Further negotiations brought the figure down to around $ 2.85 million by April 20, 2012. Later Ahmed Chinoy, Head of Pakistan Citizens-Police Liaison Committee, bought some more time after entreating with the hostage-takers getting the deadline extended to May 15.
EU says hits pirate targets on Somali coast by air
15 May – Source: Reuters – 80 words
The European Union’s anti-piracy naval force said on Tuesday it had attacked pirate installations on the Somali coastline by air, the first time it has done so since its mandate was expanded earlier this year.
“We believe this action by the EU Naval Force will further increase the pressure on, and disrupt pirates’ efforts to get out to sea to attack merchant shipping and dhows,” Operation Commander of the EU Naval Force, Rear Admiral Duncan Potts, said in a statement.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“How Somali piracy gets “solved” is by dealing with realities on the ground – not on the sea. Dealing with failed and rogue nations is how we improve the system of states. Ditto for cooperation with China. Do all that correctly and the global commons are just fine. Don’t do all that and pretend that the U.S. military is somehow directly responsible for all that and we waste money and time and opportunity.”
How America Settles Down Somalia (And, By Extension the Piracy Problem)
14 May – Source: TIME Battle land Blog – 520 Words
Nice Washington Post story about how the U.S. is training Ugandan soldiers (along with some from Burundi, Sierra Leone and Djibouti) in Uganda on how to do battle with Islamic extremists in Somalia – namely the al-Shabaab group affiliated with Al-Qaeda. Both the fear and the hope are encapsulated in a nifty little paragraph:
Ever since it plunged into chaos in the 1990s, Somalia has destabilized the region, serving as a hub for Islamic extremists and bands of pirates who plunder some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. American officials have long worried that al-Qaeda leaders will seek to rebuild their global operations in Somalia and nearby Yemen, across the narrow Gulf of Aden. Yes, nation-building in sum is hugely complex and far beyond the means of the U.S. government – much less its military.
“On the basis of the facts and evidence available, it can be reasonably concluded that the current Roadmap will probably exacerbate the already combustible situation in Somalia, and will, in all probability, produce another illegitimate, unworkable transitional entity. Unfortunately, and contrary to the claims of the actors involved in the implementation of the Roadmap, this current process will most likely be another fool’s errand. If the international community facilitates and finances such process, it would have to take moral responsibility for any violence and political turmoil it generates.”
The Current Roadmap for Ending the Transition in Somalia: An Obvious Fool’s Errand
15 May – Source: Ogaalka – 2268 Words
There is a broad political consensus that the term of the current Transitional Federal Institutions should not be extended after August 2012. It is also apparent that, the best way to end the transition is not to put the current discredited politicians in charge of the management of the process aimed at finding their replacement. As the International Crisis Group rightly observes, “The TFG should not be allowed to highjack the agenda or dictate terms in negotiations about Somalia’s future. It should be treated as one party among many in the development of the constitution and creation of the post-August 2012 government.”(Africa Briefing no.89, p.9)
The current process to end the transition is micro-managed by the Transitional Federal Government, and other few haphazardly selected regional entities, under the auspices of the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) and IGAD, while the vast minority of Somalis stay outside the process. This is glaringly reminiscent of Mbagathi process where Ethiopian sponsored warlords and their supporters were given the ultimate authority to select the members of the delegates and parliament members. That process palpably produced an ineffectual, illegitimate government and consequently exacerbated the political and humanitarian crisis in the country.
“Unlisted British Oil explorer Asante Oil acquired a license for the Nugaal Block from the Somaliland government. The Nugaal Block is rich with Hydrocarbons and is currently being explored and drilled by Horn Petroleum and Africa Oil in a joint venture. Intelligence by Strategic Intelligence confirms BP and Shell initiative to support job-creation projects in the coastal regions of Somalia. Shell Oil Co subsidiary Pecten Somalia Co, holds an exploration license for a block in the Indian Ocean offshore Somali.”
British Strategic Interest in Somalia Oil, Intelligence on Exploration Licenses
15 May – Source: Intelligence Briefs – 247 Words
Sudden British interest in Somalia raised many questions with neither question finding a sound answer due to obscurity of the issue. The strategic interest of the British government on Somalia is based on energy intelligence and the vast energy reserves in form of oil lying both onshore and offshore Somalia. British Government wants to secure oil exploration licenses awarded to several British exploration companies including British Petroleum BP and Asante Oil.
Top tweets
@FrankRGardner EU Naval Force Commander tells BBC last nights raid on #Somalia #pirate bases onshore was ‘a known logistic dump, observed for over a year’.
@andrewpetrol First EU raid on #Somali territory, interesting to see if this creates a precedent for future anti-piracy missions. Will the pirates adapt?
@valtervilkko Just like the drone wars, these naval operations risk to (further) undermine the credibility of the intl community in #Somalia 4 yrs 2 come.
@Peace4Somalia Like today on 15 May 1943 SYL(Somali Youth League)was formed to regain #Somalia and oust foreign Imperialists http://pic.
@IftiinLeaders @TEDxMogadishu
@masaafur #Puntland‘s really gunning for #Federalism wants “President of the Republic” to b “President of the Federal Republic” #Somalia #
Image of the day
Today, May 15th marks Somali Youth League (SYL) Day celebrated across Somalia as Youth Day. Photo: Hiiraan Online.