May 21, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Terror suspect who trained in Somalia
21 May – Source: Daily Nation – 615 words
The terror suspect shot dead by police on Sunday had trained in Somalia before coming back to the country. Felix Nyangaga Otuko, a close accomplice to the self-confessed al Shabaab member Elgiva Bwire, was then employed as a cook in one of the city hotels. But after his close accomplices were arrested, he again escaped to Somalia.
Otuko was trained in how to use a wide range of weapons, according to detectives. When he was shot dead, police recovered 64 assorted rounds of ammunition.
There were 45 rounds of 9 millimetre calibre, mostly used with Ceska pistols; nine rounds of 7.62 mm special calibre used with AK47 rifles; and .38 mm mostly used with revolvers. He could use all these types of firearms effectively.
Key Headlines
- Parliamentarians withdraw support from motion against PM (Shabelle/Hiiraan Online/Raxanreeb)
- Al Shabaab militia claims Mogadishu mortar attack (Radio Risaala/Radio Kulmiye/ al Shahid)
- Somali gov’t says ban by local officials on UN flights “ill- advised” (China News/ Xinhua)
- Terror suspect who trained in Somalia (Daily Nation)
- Baidoa school offers free technical education for women (Radio Ergo)
- Kenya govt plans to have Somalia refugees repatriated (Citizen TV)
- Puntland president hosts Australian ambassador in Garowe (Garowe Online)
- EU hands-over Sheikh Technical Veterinary School to IGAD (Europa News)
- FBI detectives find DNA of Mombasa nightclub attack suspect in toothbrush (Standard)
- Conflict between Bay region officials solved by elders (Radio Bar-kulan)
SOMALI MEDIA
Al Shabaab militia claims Mogadishu mortar attack
21 May – Source: Radio Risaala/Radio Kulmiye/ al Shahid – 151 words
Al Shabaab militia linked to al Qaeda claimed responsibility for a mortar attack on some neighborhoods of the capital Mogadishu on Monday night. Spokesman for the al Shabaab militia Abdiaziz Abu Musab said in a statement that the al Shabaab fighters carried out the attack on the presidential palace in Mogadishu.
He added that the attack killed 5 soldiers of the African Union forces. There were no details about the attack from the forces of the African Union and Somali security forces in Mogadishu. A number of mortar shells rained last Monday night at several residential areas near the presidential palace in Mogadishu.
Witnesses in Mogadishu told local media that they heard the sound of mortars pound on uninhabited areas in the capital, Mogadishu, and did not cause casualties. A security operation conducted by the security forces continues in the second consecutive day in some neighborhoods of the capital Mogadishu.
Parliamentarians withdraw support from motion against PM
21 May – Source: Shabelle/Hiiraan Online/Raxanreeb – 155 words
A motion against the Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia and his cabinet which was recently proposed by some parliamentarians is trembling after a large number of lawmakers made a u- turn and withdrew their support. Mrs. Amina Mohamed Mursal who held a ministerial position in the transitional federal government said that the Mps aimed at interrupting the cabinets’ good work over the past 6 months.
Mrs. Amina added that this was not the right time for Mps to show their opposition against a young and willing cabinet. “This cabinet successfully restored relations with the international community and have shown will and promising developments” said the former minister.
Hassan Keynaan who is one of the parliamentarians who changed their mind over the motion said that it was the duty of parliamentarians to control and watch over the cabinet but the current problem can be solved by summoning the ministries individually and stop the generalization.
Baidoa school offers free technical education for women
21 May – Source: Radio Ergo – 158 words
Abdalla Derow Isaq’s school for girls, in Baidoa town, has started free technical courses for women in IDP camps and from poor backgrounds. Some 80 women, aged 25 to 40, are currently studying handicraft courses. The head of the school’s handicrafts department, Halima Mohamed Abdi, said the course beneficiaries are women displaced from other regions, and those from poor families who have not had the opportunity to go to school.
The women learn sewing, tailoring, making of brooms, hand-weaving fans, baskets and mats. They are also taught basic literary skills. The school was originally a government school managed, and was shut down in the war. It was refurbished to the delight of the town in 2006.
The school offers standard primary and secondary education free of charge to young girls from poor families and orphans in Baidoa. There are currently 945 girls enrolled in primary and secondary levels. It benefits from support from UNICEF and the Somali diaspora.
Conflict between Bay region officials solved by elders
21 May – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 168 words
Reports from Bay region in southern Somalia suggest that dispute that had emerged between the top officials of the interim administration of the Somali Federal government in Bay region has been solved after numerous efforts by the traditional elders in the area. The dispute which widely paralyzed the basic work and development of the region was between the Bay region commissioner Abdi Aden Hosow and his deputy.
Elder Ali Abdirahman Shino who is among the traditional elders in the region told Bar-kulan that they have successfully solved the disputes and differences between the region commissioner and his deputy, indicating that they are closely working together now.
The dispute emerged after the Bay region deputy commissioner Mustafe Ibrahim Ali (Masuse) told the media that the relation between him and region commissioner has not been good lately. The Somali Federal government had appointed the a provisional administration for Bay region that will be in charge for six months as two more months are left in the term of that administration.
Puntland president hosts Australian ambassador in Garowe
20 May – Source: Garowe Online – 121 words
The president of Puntland government in northern Somalia hosted Australian ambassador to Kenya in Garowe on Monday, marking the first high-level visit by an Australian diplomat to Puntland, Garowe Online reports.
President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole welcomed the Australian High Commissioner to Kenya, Ambassador Geoff Tooth, at State House in Garowe for discussions and dinner, presidential officers said.
Ambassador Tooth was received at Garowe airport by a number of Puntland officials, including Finance Minister Farah Ali Jama, Ports Minister Said Mohamed Rage, Livestock Deputy Minister Abdiweli Hersi, and presidential adviser Mohamed Abdirahman Mohamed.
The Ambassador, accompanied by Deputy Head of Mission Amanda Davis and UNODC officers, toured the Garowe prison under construction before meeting with Ports Minister Rage at his Garowe office.
“We will defend Somaliland,” Ethiopia PM Hailemariam Desalegn
20 May – Source: Qaran News – 588 words
Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn declared bi-partisan support for Somaliland in the case of military action against the threat from neighboring Somalia and other external militants such as al Shabaab reports the Ethiopian review.
The Prime Minister delivered the keynote speech this weekend in the Ethiopian Parliament in front of Ethiopian legislators. Mr. Desalegn specified that Ethiopia is ready to provide diplomatic, military, and economic support to Somaliland “should they need it”.
Somaliland Delegation Meet with MPs in the Belgian parliament
20 May – Source: Somaliland Press – 182 words
A high level delegation led by the Deputy Speaker of Somaliland House of National Assembly Hon Basha Mohamed Farah met with members of the Belgian Parliament in Brussels, Capital of Belgium. The Somaliland delegation led by Deputy Speaker Hon Bashe Mohamed Farah, Dr. Edna Aden, Dr Sacad Ali Shire and Hon Abdillahi Jama Osman Geeljire during their visit to the Belgian parliament were hosted by Socialist Party MP, Mrs Eva Brems , Bruno Tuybens Green party and Sabine Vermeulen.
Deputy Speaker Hon Bashe ,briefed the Belgian MPs on the accomplished made by Somaliland in the past 22 years has its own constitution and has already held two presidential and three local government elections in what international observers termed as the most free and fair electoral process in the whole of Africa
Dr. Edna Aden during the meeting with the MPs said the people of Somaliland cherish their freedom, a freedom which came with a price; she went to say “We (Somalilanders) have learnt a lesson in the past and the people of Somaliland once again are determined to reject dictatorship and ethnic cleansing.
Delegates gather in Mogadishu for upcoming Nairobi reconstruction conference on Somalia
20 May – Source: Hiiraan Online – 123 words
Delegates from Somalia, the neighboring countries and overseas have gathered in Mogadishu to pave the way for the upcoming Nairobi reconstruction and investment conference and exhibition (SORIC), which will be held in Nairobi, Kenya on 28-29 May 2013 at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre.
SORIC, Chairman, Hassan Nuur has told the participants that the aim and the concept of this meeting was to unite Chambers of commerce for both Somalia and Kenya. He urged Somalis to utilize the rich natural resources of their country for the benefit of the population.
Mr. Nur affirmed that the next conference after Nairobi will be held in Mogadishu pointing out that the aim of these conferences is to develop Somalia and has nothing to do with politics.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Terror suspect who trained in Somalia
21 May – Source: Daily Nation – 615 words
The terror suspect shot dead by police on Sunday had trained in Somalia before coming back to the country. Felix Nyangaga Otuko, a close accomplice to the self-confessed al Shabaab member Elgiva Bwire, was then employed as a cook in one of the city hotels. But after his close accomplices were arrested, he again escaped to Somalia.
Otuko was trained in how to use a wide range of weapons, according to detectives. When he was shot dead, police recovered 64 assorted rounds of ammunition.
There were 45 rounds of 9 millimetre calibre, mostly used with Ceska pistols; nine rounds of 7.62 mm special calibre used with AK47 rifles; and .38 mm mostly used with revolvers. He could use all these types of firearms effectively.
Fight for Somalia turns town to dust
21 May – Source: Al Jazeera – 779 words
In a town not far from Mogadishu, vehicles slow to a crawl to negotiate the potholes that dot the town’s only tarmac road; ownerless donkeys wander about, scavenging for food; once-elegant villas with shining rooftops are now abandoned, with overgrown vegetation taking over their compounds.
This is Elasha Biyaha – a town 16 kilometres southwest of the capital that was once home to more than half a million residents at the height of Somalia’s civil war.
People escaping the battles raging on the streets of Mogadishu fled here during the past fifteen years; schools, universities, hospitals and shopping malls soon followed.
Kenya govt plans to have Somalia refugees repatriated
21 May – Source: Citizen TV – 04: 11 min
The government wants all Somali refugees repatriated back to their homeland. It is understood that the time frame for the repatriation of the refugees is one of the key issues that president Uhuru Kenyatta will be presenting for discussion at the upcoming summit of the African union in Ethiopia.
FBI detectives find DNA of Mombasa nightclub attack suspect in toothbrush
20 May – Source: Standard – 357 words
A toothbrush found in a bag containing ammunition has the DNA of the sole suspect in the terrorist attack on a nightclub in Mombasa, an FBI detective told a court Monday. The luggage containing AK47 magazines was discovered on a Nairobi-bound bus in Mombasa, hours after a grenade attack on a nightclub a year ago.
A detective representing the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) told the court it had found the DNA of Jamaldin Thabit, who is on trial for the attacks on Bella Vista Club on May 15 last year, on the deadly luggage.
Thabit has denied knowledge of the bag recovered on May 16 — a day after gunmen detonated grenades outside the nightclub killing one person and injuring scores others. Authorities blamed al Shabaab terrorists for the attack on the establishment popular among American and British tourists in retaliation for Kenya’s military operation in Somalia to crush the militants.
Over 1 million Somalis to remain food insecure until September
20 May – Source: Sabahi Online – 181 words
More than 1 million Somalis will remain “food insecure” until September, the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET) said in a report released Sunday (May 19th).
According to research by the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit-Somalia (FSNAU), FEWS NET and partners, flooding in agro-pastoral areas of southern Somalia has affected an estimated 6,000 hectares of cropland, which is expected to lead to a below-average crop harvest and increased food prices.
Nonetheless, livestock production has improved in most parts of the country — with the exception of the central and north-eastern regions — which FEWS NET anticipates will lead to greater availability of milk and meat.
The rainy season began in late March, slightly earlier than expected, and most of Somalia received moderate to above average rainfall, except for southern, central and north-eastern areas.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
EU hands-over Sheikh Technical Veterinary School to IGAD
20 May – Source: Europa – 250 words
Today, the European Union has launched the handing over phase of the Sheikh Technical Veterinary School to the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD). The pioneer school specialised in animal health and initiated by the EU in Somaliland 10 years ago, will indeed soon become a regional centre of excellence within the Horn of Africa.
With a third aid envelope of 3 million EUR, the EU will ensure a smooth transition of the school management and boost the school’s education services. This by upgrading the academic programmes to university level and by extending training and collaboration with other institutions in the entire Horn of Africa.
Somali gov’t says ban by local officials on UN flights “ill- advised”
20 May – Source: China News/ Xinhua – 359 words
Somali government said on Sunday that it was ill advised for the authorities in the northern breakaway region of Somaliland to issue ban on UN flights into the region and ground world body’s aircraft at the local airports.
Officials in Somaliland banned UN aircraft from flying and those already at the airports in the regional capital of Hargeisa and the one in the port city of Berbera from leaving.
This was in retaliation a Memorandum of Understanding between Somali government and UN’s Civil Aviation Caretaker Authority (CACAS) based in Kenya’s capital Nairobi gradually giving control of the country’s airspace to the central government in Mogadishu.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“With UNSOM, which will be headquartered in Mogadishu and deployed across Somalia, the U.N. drastically increases its visibility in Somalia. (UNPOS operated out of Nairobi for 17 years before relocating a limited number of staff to Mogadishu in January 2012.)”
Diplomatic Fallout: The Next Phase of U.N. Engagement in Somalia
20 May – Source: World Politics Review – 1176 Words
June will be the start of a new phase of United Nations engagement in Somalia, when the new U.N. Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) will replace the long-standing U.N. Political Office in Somalia (UNPOS), in place since 1995. In late-April, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon tapped Nicholas Kay, a former British ambassador and Africa director at the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office, as the Secretary-General’s new Special Representative in Somalia.
When Kay takes up his duties as the head of UNSOM on June 3, he will be presented with both risks and opportunities at a crucial time of renewed hope and momentum for Somalia. Somalia, with the help of the international community, has achieved important political and security milestones over the past year. Bolstered by additional resources, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), alongside Somali security forces, regional countries and allied groups, has made crucial security advances against the Islamist group al Shabaab.
These gains have been matched with political achievements including the adoption of a provisional constitution and the election of a new federal parliament and president, thereby concluding the fraught eight-year transitional period. Concerted engagement to tackle piracy in the Horn of Africa has contributed to a decline in piracy attacks off the Somali coast.
“The predicament in Jubaland sets a negative precedent on the potential outcomes of merging states in the future. The lack of a consensus regarding (1) which parties have specific rights in the state formation process and (2) which states will agree to merge as a whole provides the perfect ingredients for proclamations of multiple administrations by rivaling interests.”
Jubaland and the Future of Federalism in Somalia
20 May – Source: Somalia Newsroom – 1397 Words
Though the Somali government has been looking to lead the country’s rebirth, the maturation of events in Kismayo has jeopardized Mogadishu’s ability to take a leading role.
The Jubaland conference supported by Kenya and IGAD finally bore fruit with the adoption of a provisional constitution and the selection of (ex-ICU, ex-Kismayo governor, ex-al Shabaab-aligned leader) Sheikh Ahmed Madobe–who currently leads the Ras Kamboni Brigades. Undoubtedly, his earning of 96 percent of the votes from 500 delegates will raise eyebrows about the politicking behind-the-scenes.
In addition to disputes about clan representation and foreign interference, rivals to Madobe including former Kismayo governor and warlord Barre Hirale declared themselves regional President. Pro-Hirale media sources have issued video of its alternative consultations:
With a conglomeration of rival troops in and around the city and the rounding up of demonstrations in support of one leader versus another, the chance that tensions could turn increasingly violent are real.
Top tweets
@SomaliPM World Bank: “Telecoms sector is vital to the recovery of #Somalia. International call income is biggest source of foreign exchange revenue..
@dailynation The terror suspect shot dead by police on Sunday had trained in #Somalia before coming back to the country http://bit.ly/10gc8uM.
@OCHASom 73-year-old Isack Dahir was among the hardest hit by floods in #Somalia. Read his story:http://bit.ly/17J5PVl http://twitpic.com/cs3sc0.
Adesoafrica #Somalia from ‘a different perspective’ – great pictures from South Central, Puntland and Somaliland from@Oxfam. http://bit.ly/10i6L1y.
@shephardm Saw this on a #Mogadishu street. And that’s a good thing… Short video on why: http://ow.ly/l92BW . #Somalia.pic.twitter.com/eeYYIGEpks.
Image of the day
Chief of Defence Forces of Uganda Gen Aronda Nyakairima meets Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud during his Tour in Mogadishu. Photo: AMISOM.