May 2, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somalia To Hold National Consultation On Constitution Review
02 May – Source: Halbeeg News – 171 Words
Somalia will hold a national consultation meeting on constitutional review, the relevant parliamentary committee has said. Following two years of the review, the Ministry of Constitution and the parliamentary constitutional review committee have concluded the first phase of the review process. The committee and the ministry jointly announced that the government will host a national conference on the constitutional review where participant will hold public discussion on the Constitution.
The meeting will run for three days between 13th and 15th of this month, according to the statement by the committee. The process will engage all citizens to ensure their views are captured in the Constitution. The officials said the second phase of the process will bring on board all stakeholders including members of the civil society, government officials as well as officials from human rights groups. The provisional Constitution which was adopted in 2012 by the national assembly provides for the legal foundation for the existence of the Federal Republic and is also a source of the country’s legal authority.
Key Headlines
- Somalia To Hold National Consultation On Constitution Review (Halbeeg News)
- Somali PM Hassan Khayre chairs security conference on Somalia in Brussels (Dhacdo.com)
- Three Killed As Al-Shabaab Clashes with Locals in Lower Jubba Region (Halbeeg News)
- Police Hunt For Al-Shabaab Recruiters in Lamu Kilifi (Daily Nation)
- Somalia Launches The Peacebuilding Fund (UNFPA Somalia)
- The Gulf Crisis: A Way Out (Wardheer News)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali PM Hassan Khayre chairs security conference on Somalia in Brussels
02 May – Source: Dhacdo.com – 157 Words
A delegation led by Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre landed in Brussels last night to attend security conference on Somalia. The conference is expected to convene today and will be chaired by the Somali Premier. The conference will also be attended by European Union officials and Somali security stakeholders with a view to negotiate plans to build the capacity of the Somali National Army (SNA) in the ongoing transition process before the exit of AMISOM. The government is expected to table its security transition plans.
This conference follows a previous one held in Mogadishu last week, where it was decided that a follow up meeting would be held. Foreign governments keen on resolving the Somali crisis have each been proposing — at various meetings — security road maps, which are different in nature and complex to execute. AMISOM troops, comprised of forces from different African countries, jointly and separately support Somalia’s security forces in maintaining peace across the nation.
Three Killed As Al-Shabaab Clashes with Locals in Lower Jubba Region
02 May – Source: Halbeeg News – 205 Words
At least three people were killed and several others sustained injuries in fighting that erupted over a tax dispute between Al-Shabaab and armed locals in Lower Jubba region. The clashes started late Tuesday after Al-Shabaab members imposed taxes on residents living in the outskirts of Dhobley town. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Ahmed Abdullahi Haybe, a security official in Dhobley town said the locals backed by Somali forces clashed with Al-Shabaab fighters. “Al-Shabaab tried to force pastoral families in villages to pay taxes, then locals took up arms against the group prompting hours of fighting between the two sides. The locals called for reinforcement and we dispatched our security forces to assist them,” said Haybe.
The officer said Al-shabab fighters retreated in the evening after they were overpowered. “Al-Shabaab was defeated and they went back to their bases later in the day. The locals together with the security forces are now in control of the villages”. Haybe confirmed the death of three combatants from both sides. Al-Shabaab has not commented on the latest clashes in Lower Jubba region in Southern Somalia. Similar confrontations have happened in central and south Somalia in recent years after locals declined to pay taxes (zakawat) imposed by Al-shabab.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Police Hunt For Al-Shabaab Recruiters in Lamu, Kilifi
02 May – Source: Daily Nation – 419 Words
Police are hunting for three people suspected to have recruited 13 youths from Kilifi and Lamu counties into the al-Shabaab terror group based in Somalia. The youths were rescued by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) at Ras Kamboni in Somalia last Sunday after their parents told the police their sons had called home saying they were in trouble. On Monday, Malindi police boss Matawa Muchangi received the youths at the Malindi International Airport after landing in a police helicopter from Kiunga in Lamu following the rescue mission.
On Tuesday, Kilifi County Commissioner Magu Mutindika, who took the youths to their families, said two suspects are residents of Kilifi and Lamu counties while details of the third suspect are still unknown. “One of the suspects, a resident of Marereni and a fishmonger, is said to have given the youths Sh5,000 each with a promise of giving them a better paying fishing job at Kiunga,” he said. He said the youths were later forced to travel by boat to Somalia in order to join the terror group before they were rescued by KDF and Somali forces.Mr Mutindika, who was accompanied by county police bosses, said they will work with the National Counter-Terrorism Centre to mentor and counsel the rescued youths.
At the same time, the county commissioner warned those behind radicalisation, violent extremism and recruitment of youths into al-Shabaab that their days were numbered. “Those youths who were recruited into al-Shabaab should take advantage of the government’s amnesty period and surrender to security personnel,” he said. He also advised the public to liaise with the Labour ministry and the immigration department to obtain work permits and travel documents while travelling for jobs abroad to avoid being victims of circumstances.
Somalia Launches The Peacebuilding Fund
02 May – Source: UNFPA Somalia – 983 Words
The Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) in conjunction with UNFPA Somalia and UN Habitat Somalia on 19 April 2018 launched the Peace Building Fund (PBF) worth $2 Million. The PBF aims to facilitate youth political empowerment by enabling Somali young women and men to meaningfully engage in governance, peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts.
The launch was attended by high-level figures in Somalia including government ministers, donors and top UN officials. Minister of Youth and Sports Honorable Khadija Diriye said at the launch that she was pleased with the efforts to include young people in the country’s development agenda saying historically, Somali youth were the driving force in establishing the state from colonial rule.
“Thirteen young activists formed the celebrated Somali Youth League in which they protested, lobbied for the rights of the nation and played a key role on Somalia’s road to independence in 1960,” said Honorable Diriye. She said the freedom fighters did not however have similar opportunities that the PBF is offering. “The young people today are luckier than in the 1960s because they have more opportunities to prosper. As Somalia enters a new phase of state formation now, many young women and men are eager to be a part of the constructive efforts to rebuild this nation,” said Honorable Diriye.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
Our skinny soccer boys with their historic upsetting victory against the well-fed Kenyans and Ugandans in the runner-up to the 2018 under-17 Africa cup exhibited both the resolve and the resilience of the indomitable culture of Somali youth.
The Gulf Crisis: A Way Out
01 May – Source: Wardheer News – 945 Words
I was once told that Somalis are good people with bad leaders. The proof to this lies in Somalia’s history over the last twenty-five years. One only hopes that Somalia’s political class learns lessons from its past experiences and resolves its current conflict in a sensible and amicable way. The Gulf crisis that has divided Somali leaders into two irreconcilable camps (pro-Qatar and pro-UAE) shall hopefully find an amicable solution.
The post-colonial state of Somalia was wrecked and nearly thrown into the dustbin of history by its reckless political class, who developed neither a theory for change nor a cohesive political program for the aftermath. When the Siad Barre regime was gone, each side parted company and started working on its myopic clan goals. In the end, a beautiful and once cohesive nation-state was almost erased from the world map. That political class that started clan movements and its proteges still makes up the core of the political elite of the country.
The manifestation of the Gulf crisis in Somalia has the hallmark of regional, clan, cult and corruption as perpetuated by the proteges of the political class who had kept Somalia at bay since 1991. If the current conflict is not handled carefully, its spillover could at a minimum halt the recovery of the fragile state of Somalia.
Yes, the country survived the devastating impacts it had sustained from past conflicts, least because of its political class, but by the tenacious nature of its people. Whereas its politicians are crooks to the core, its elders are peace builders and a unifying force in time of need. Its women on the other hand are as tough as they come, its business community is first class entrepreneurs and as such helped keep people and goods moving so as to save the nation from starvation and hunger of biblical proportions.
@UNFPA_SOMALIA: Somalia has launched the Peace Building Fund which aims to facilitate youth political empowerment by enabling Somali young women & men to meaningfully engage in governance, peacebuilding & reconciliation efforts. Read more on our website http://somalia.unfpa.org/en/
@EU_in_Somalia: Somalia High Level Conference in Brussels, welcomes @SomaliPM commitment to implementation of the transition plan for a gradual Somali lead in the provision of security. A further step in the implementation of the Government’s broader and comprehensive reform agenda. @VLorenzoEU
@i_dossier: Mariam Abdullahi, a WHO logistics officer for polio vaccinations in southern regions of Somalia was looking forward to get married soon, friends say. She came from Baidoa to Mogadishu to buy items 4 her upcoming wedding. On Tuesdayafternoon gunmen assassinated in Bakara market.
@SomaliaToday1: Communique of the 769th meeting of the PSC on the Somalia Transition Plan, http://www.somaliatoday.so/
@sayidwarsameA: In order to address the security threat of#AlShabaab, it is important to revisit the assumption of the conflict in #Somalia and understand where #AS gets its strength and influence. The threat of AS is more of a political challenge than a military problem!!! @TheVillaSomalia
@HarunMaruf: Commander of @amisomsomalia’s Sector 4 Colonel Mohamed Barkhad Aden tells @voasomali that Djibouti and Ethiopia forces under his command evacuated 10,000 people from flooded areas of Beledweyne to safety. Col Aden says the need on the ground is beyond capability of hos troops.
@surannicolas: #Somalia security #Highlevel meeting in#Brussels with @HassanAliKhaire : assessing the transition security plan endorsed by somali gvt and #AfricanUnion reflect on security reforms to achieve and means at disposal, importance of concrete steps. #AMISOM #EUTMSomalia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Khaire chairs the Somalia Security High Level Meeting, currently ongoing in Brussels, Belgium.
Photo: Jowhar.com