May 16, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
Prime Minister Khayre Meets Norwegian Foreign Minister In Doha
15 May – Source: Jowhar.com -119 Words
Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre on Monday held talks with Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende in Doha. During the meeting, the two discussed a range of issues including bilateral relations between the two countries and Norway’s role in stabilizing Somalia. PM Khayre said his meeting with Brende has further strengthened the relation between the two countries, and thanked Norway for its active role in rebuilding Somalia. “Relation between the two nations is strong, and Norway’s support to Somalia will help in the reconstruction of the country,” he said. PM Khayre, who holds Norwegian citizenship, briefed the minister on the current situation in Somalia and achievements so far made by the his new government in good governance, peacebuilding and fighting terrorism.
Key Headlines
- Francisco Madeira: AMISOM Has Not Failed (VOA Somali Service)
- Al-Shabab Kill Chief Abduct Two Reservists in Mandera (Shabelle News)
- New Deputy Director Appointed For Villa Somalia (Jowhar.com)
- Prime Minister Khayre Meets Norwegian Foreign Minister In Doha (Jowhar.com)
- Art for Peace in Somalia: Young people Use Street Art to Promote Peace in Mogadishu (Bartamaha)
- Somali Authorities Probe Suspected Bombers (The East African)
- Somalia Gets $1.3b For Economy and Security (The East African)
- How American Special Operators Gradually Returned To Somalia (The Atlantic)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Francisco Madeira: AMISOM Has Not Failed
15 May- Source: VOA Somali Service – 340 Words
The head of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has dismissed allegations that the mission has failed, but noted that there is need to do more work to win the war against the militant group Al-Shabaab. In an interview with VOA Somali Service office in London, Ambassador Madeira said that AMISOM has achieved remarkable achievements during its presence in Somalia, liberating 80 per cent of territories under the jurisdiction of the militant group Al-Shabaab. “AMISOM has not failed at all, having a fortified house doesn’t mean that a thief can’t steal from it, we have made sure that they don’t return to areas dislodged from them. They are carrying out hit and run attacks which is a tendency of terrorists and guerrilla. It is not possible to secure every inch of Somalia to claim victory, but undoubtedly Al-Shabaab has been significantly undermined,” said Madeira. He further said that there is need for other approaches other than war to defeat Al-Shabaab such as combatting the group’s ideology, which has attracted many young people.“Defeating Al-Shabaab requires many other things, there are many other components that are required, such as connecting with young people with Al-Shabaab views in a bid to reduce the high number of recruits for the group,” he said.
He denied allegations that AMISOM troops have many times committed violations against the Somali public such as killing and rape.“These allegations have been investigated and a full report has been issued about it. Those who made such allegations have not come back to us to defend their claims,” he noted. He explained those who made the allegation still have time to comment on the report. While commenting on the Somali National Army situation, Madeira welcomed recent Somali federal government and regional leaders agreement on the formation of an inclusive national army. He hailed the recent London conference as a success. He, however admitted that government institutions are still weak and need to be strengthened. He concluded that there is need to implement the outcome of the London conference by the Somali and international partners.
Al-Shabaab Kill Chief, Abduct Two Reservists in Mandera
16 May – Source: Shabelle News – 155 words
Suspected Al-Shabaab militants attacked a village in Mandera and killed a chief before abducting two police reservists on Monday night. The incident occurred at Omar Jillo in Mandera East sub-county in the volatile border town which has faced similar attacks in the past by suspected Al-Shabaab group. Police stated that more security personnel have been dispatched to the area following the attack.They said that the gang escaped towards the Somalia border which is about seven kilometres away. Omar Jillo is among towns in the area under a dusk-to-dawn curfew over insecurity linked to Al-Shabaab terrorists. The other towns are Mandera Town, Arabia, Fino, Lafey Kotulo and Elwak. On Thursday last week, two quarry workers were killed in Elwak, Mandera following a suspected Al-Shabaab attack. Bodies of the two, said to be non-locals, were found the following morning after the attack. Similar attacks have occurred before, with up to 30 people killed in separate incidents.
New Deputy Director Appointed For Villa Somalia
15 May – Source: Jowhar.com – 128 Words
The President of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo has appointed a new deputy director for Villa Somalia. The decision to appoint a new deputy director comes at time there has been wrangling between the director of the presidency and the current deputy director. Sources indicate that the decision is meant to diffuse tension and wrangling between the two officials at the presidency. Abdullahi Kulane will now be the 1st deputy director at the presidency and will share responsibilities with his counterpart, Abdirisaq Shoole. The new presidential appointee is from the US and is said to have been one of President Farmaajo’s supporters in the just concluded election. In the new setup, the director at the presidency will be responsible for political and foreign affairs activities at the presidency.
Art for Peace In Somalia: Young People Use Street Art to Promote Peace in Mogadishu
15 May – Source: Bartamaha – Video 3.17 minutes
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Authorities Probe Suspected Bombers
15 May – Source: The East African – 189 words
Somali authorities were Monday evening interrogating suspects behind an explosion at Hamar-weyne, Mogadishu’s oldest district. A vehicle packed with explosive materials went off at the heart of the Somali capital on Monday afternoon. The incident occurred at the back of a building known as Guriga Hooyooyinka (Women’s Building), which is the headquarter of the Somali Women Association. Information Minister Abdurahman Osman Yarisow said on Twitter that “the suspected vehicle exploded before anti-mine agents arrived at the scene. Security officials seized the suspected perpetrators of the explosive mission,” he added, giving no numbers. Army officials indicated that the blast only caused damage to properties. “Most people in the area were alerted to leave,” an officer said. “Security personnel had been tracing the car,” he added.
Earlier in the day, President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo had laid wreaths at the Somali Youth League (SYL) Monument in remembrance of its 13 members. SYL played a leading role in the fight for Somalia’s independence in 1960. Last week’s explosion claimed by the jihadist group the Al-Shabaab, killed eight people and wounded scores of others. The explosion occurred in front of cafeteria along Maka-al-Mukarrama Avenue.
Somalia Gets $1.3b For Economy and Security
16 May – Source: The East African – 690 Words
World leaders have pledged to support Somalia’s new government and its security and economic reforms. However, the government has been tasked with using its support from citizens to deliver on its promises. The three-day Somalia International Conference in London saw President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo’s government get new pledges of more than $1.3 billion to help improve stability in the country, mitigate against the famine that has affected 5.5 million people and free the country from the menace of Al-Shabaab. The United Kingdom has pledged $27 million, which will be spent over the next two years to provide training and mentoring to the country’s army and improving security.The European Union — Somalia’s biggest donor — pledged that member states will this year invest $1.03 billion, which will bring total support to $4.5 billion till 2020.This includes support for the African Union Mission for Somalia (AMISOM), salaries for police, development aid, and $596 million for humanitarian assistance to tackle the devastating effects of the drought.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an additional $900 million for the drought-stricken country. By the time of the conference, the UN had only realised 30 per cent of the $825 million target it proposed in March to mitigate against the effects of the drought.But world leaders insisted that President Farmajo deliver on his promises and reminded him that Amisom will not be in the country forever — the African peacekeepers will start a drawdown in 2018. “We are proposing today a new Partnership for Somalia through which President Farmajo will commit to the development of an inclusive and federal democratic state — and the international community will back him with better targeted support for jobs and livelihoods that can drive economic recovery,” said UK Prime Minister Theresa May.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“For U.S. special-operations forces, Ethiopia’s occupation of Somalia was a windfall. Arriving in Mogadishu together with the Ethiopian forces, American special operators set up shop alongside them. While the Ethiopians secured roads and swatted down lowly insurgents, the Americans nabbed al-Qaeda leaders,”
How American Special Operators Gradually Returned To Somalia
14 May – Source: The Atlantic – 975 Words
The death of Navy SEAL Kyle Milliken and the wounding of two more U.S. troops in Somalia this month marked the first deadly engagement for American forces in the country since the Battle of Mogadishu of October 1993. The two events differ in notable respects, not least in their magnitude—the battle of October 3-4, 1993, resulted in 18 Americans killed and 79 wounded. But both operations reflect the adverse conditions that U.S. special-operations forces, and the United States more broadly, face in the world’s most dysfunctional states. Back in the summer of 1993, warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid bedeviled an international coalition that was trying to restore order and build democracy in the midst of a vicious civil war in Somalia. A ruthless clan leader known for firing artillery into civilian neighborhoods and starving opposing clans into submission, Aidid had made himself the chief obstacle to the nation-building project. The Clinton administration had removed a large U.S. Marine force months earlier and transferred authority over the remaining international troops to the United Nations. Madeleine Albright, Clinton’s UN ambassador, declared at the time, “[W]e will embark on an unprecedented enterprise aimed at nothing less than the restoration of an entire country as a proud, functioning and viable member of the community of nations.”
When the marines had occupied Mogadishu, their relentless patrolling of city streets had kept Aidid and other warlords in check. Once they left, the Asian, European, and African peacekeepers under UN command did not maintain such a visible presence. Sensing weakness, the clan militias began resisting foreign efforts to monitor their weapons caches and limit their activities.In August 1993, the killing of four U.S. soldiers by a bomb traced to Aidid convinced Clinton that the status quo had become untenable. Clinton was unwilling to send additional conventional forces to Somalia, owing to reservations among congressmen in his own party, some of whom were already calling for the removal of all U.S. forces from a situation they were certain would devolve into another Vietnam. But Clinton was open to sending special-operations forces, since their units were smaller and designed to maintain a low profile. Some in the special-operations community argued that their units could oust Aidid, demonstrating their ability to achieve strategic results without the participation of conventional forces. Clinton decided to send the Army’s most elite unit, Delta Force, to Somalia, along with a Ranger company and a detachment from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.
The operation of October 3, 1993, began auspiciously enough. Storming a three-story house in Mogadishu, the Delta operators rounded up several high-value targets without firing a shot. But then a rocket-propelled grenade felled one of the American Black Hawk helicopters flying nearby, forcing some of the U.S. ground troops to move toward its crash site. Caught in the middle of the city with no Somali security forces to assist, the Delta operators and Rangers came under attack on all sides from Aidid’s militiamen. By intermingling with women and children, the militiamen reduced their vulnerability to American fire, wary as the latter were of harming civilians. Most of the American units were able to hold out until the arrival of reinforcements early the next day, but only at heavy loss of life and limb.
TOP TWEETS
@HassanIstiila: #UPDATE: @M_Farmaajo said, “Within four years we will make in Mogadishu the cleanest and most beautiful city”. #Somalia
@wakiilorg: Upper House: the 8 Galmudug Senators, see more details in the infographic. #Somalia #GalmudugState
@IamAbdi5:The @Jaamacaddasimad cultural week exhibition is a symbolic occasion that offers educational value of our rich culture & heritage. #Somalia
@HarunMaruf:BREAKING: Suspected Al-Shabab attack reported in Omar Jillow area, Mandera county, 3 people dead, 2 Kenya police reserves missing: reports
@Aynte: Abdi Aynte Retweeted Dr Abdirahman Beileh, Extremely important work towards debt relief for #Somalia. Kudos Excellency for your dedication to this important matter.
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Somali Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Khayre meets Norway’s Foreign Minister, Børge Brende in Qatar.
Photo: Radio Muqdisho