May 4, 2012 | Daily Monitoring Report.
US and UK announce $9.5 million to stabilize Mogadishu
03 May – Source: Hiiraan Online – 278 words
The US and UK announced that they would contribute $9.5 million to assist in the launch of the Mogadishu Stabilization Plan. The announcement was made in a joint press release released by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG).
The Minister of Interior and National Security Mr. Abdisamad Maalim Mohamud and other officials within the TFG have been working alongside peace committees in all 16 districts of Mogadishu to cooperate in designing city-wide community projects known as “Dan Guud” or ‘in the public interest’ in Somali.
The Minister said: “we see the Dan Guud program as the most ambitious project to be implemented in Mogadishu in recent times…. The Somali government is encouraged by the efforts of USAID and DFID and is grateful for the funds. We hope to see this type of programming outside of Mogadishu in the near future.”
Key Headlines
- Somali president calls not to boycott the draft constitution (Source: Radio Shabelle)
- Djibouti troops French army officials arrive in central Somalia (Source: Radio Mogadishu)
- Somalia cabinet meets in Mogadishu (Source: Radio Mogadishu)
- Mortars hit Somalia’s presidential palace (Source: Shabelle/Hiiraan Online)
- US and UK announce $9.5 million to stabilize Mogadishu (Source: Hiiraan Online)
- MP accuses TFG over meeting in Mogadishu (Source: Shabelle)
- Kenyan Police on high alert after nine terror suspects enter Kenya (Source: The Standard)
- Lt. Gen. Gutti reports for AMISOM duty (Source: Daily Monitor)
- Kenya budget factors in Sh23bn UN refund for Somalia war (Source: Business Daily Africa)
PRESS STATEMENT
Somalia Political Process
03 May – State.gov – 267 words
Less than four months remain for Somali leaders to complete the steps they agreed to in the Roadmap to End the Transition, which lays out the steps for replacing Somalia’s transitional government with a more representative governance structure that will bring Somalia closer to the security and political stability for which Somalis have waited for too long. The United States is encouraged by the progress made so far, however, several steps remain to be completed: selection of delegates to a constituent assembly; approval of a new constitution, selection of a new and smaller parliament, and the indirect election of a new speaker and president.
Secretary Clinton made clear the position of the United States during her remarks at the London Conference on Somalia in February when she stated, “Attempts to obstruct progress and maintain the broken status quo will not be tolerated. We will encourage the international community to impose further sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, on people inside and outside [Somalia’s] Transitional Federal Government who seek to undermine Somalia’s peace and security or to delay or even prevent the political transition.”
The United States supports the open letter issued on May 1 by the special representatives of the United Nations, African Union, and Intergovernmental Authority on Development that puts on notice all individuals and entities who seek to undermine Somalia’s political transition that the international community will not tolerate such action. The United States is following the lead of its African partners and working to help Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government and other Somali leaders seize the current opportunity to make progress toward greater security and political stability.
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali president calls not to boycott the draft constitution
04 May – Source: Radio Shabelle – 126 words
TFG president Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed has called on the people not to boycott the new draft constitution of Somalia following a public defiance. Speaking to reporters at a police centre in Mogadishu where he is expected to hold a meeting to approve the draft constitution, Somali president Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, said: “it is not a time to carve up, but it time to unite for moving the country out of the long running crisis.”
Mr. Ahmed’s comments come as many politicians and members of the Somali parliament have cautioned the draft constitution for Somalia which they said was overlooking some of the most sacred points for the nation and its people including the religion of Islam and the sovereignty of its borders.
Djibouti troops, French army officials arrive in central Somalia
04 May – Source: Jowhar Online/Radio Mogadishu – 260 words
An army battalion from Djibouti has for the first time arrived in the central Somali town of Kala Beyr in Hiiraan Region. The forces, which form part of the AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia) peacekeeping mission in Somalia, are expected to reach Beled Weyne town, the provincial capital of Hiiraan in the days ahead.
Reports say the Djibouti forces, numbering up to 300, were accompanied by French army officials. They entered the country from Somali-inhabited eastern Ethiopia. Reports from Kala Beyr say the Djibouti troops settled in an Ethiopian army base in the area. Security in the town has been beefed up. The troops will move to Beled Weyne where they will operate officially. More Djibouti forces are expected to join them.
Amisom officials recently visited Beled Weyne to assess the situation in the area and the army bases. Hiiraan regional administration announced that it had prepared a base for the Djibouti forces. In December last year, the Djibouti government deployed hundreds of soldiers to Mogadishu to join Amisom operations. It became the third nation to officially join the AU peacekeeping mission in the country.
Amisom expanded its operations outside the capital, Mogadishu, to other regions. AU troops are to replace Ethiopian forces in areas the latter captured from Al-Shabaab militants. This is the second deployment by Amisom outside Mogadishu. A hundred Burundian soldiers were last month deployed to Baydhabo, southwestern Somalia. Al Shabaab threatened to fight Djibouti forces if they set foot in Hiiraan. It said the Djibouti forces will be treated like the Burundians, Ugandans, Kenyans and Ethiopians.
Somalia cabinet meets in Mogadishu
04 May – Source: Radio Mogadishu, Jowhar Online – 257 words
In their ordinary meeting, the Somali cabinet ministers have had their session yesterday which was chaired by the Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas. The meeting discussed the reports by the various committees tasked for the smooth processing of the traditional elders’ convention scheduled on May 5, 2012. The committees undertaking the preparation of the traditional elders’ meeting include:
1. Committee of logistics
2. Protocol committee
3. Public awareness committee
4. Security committee
The logistic committee briefed the cabinet on the tasks they have fulfilled adding that requirements such as the accommodation, the transport for the elders and the hall for the meeting are all set up. The meeting date will be as scheduled, they said.
The protocol committee stated they have welcomed some traditional elders who arrived in Mogadishu on May 2, 2012 at the Aden Ade international airport. The committee added that they have issued identifications for the elders in order for them to participate in the meeting.
The awareness committee, on their part, outlined their tasks which included preparation of the media for complete coverage, assembling musicians and traditional dancers for welcoming and entertaining during the opening ceremony of the meeting. The security committee gave a profile of the security scheme for the capital and particularly the meeting spot in collaboration with the various institution of the government.
The Prime Minister commended the great work of the committees adding that his latest meetings with the civil society groups ended in success. He also stated that the society groups pledged to encourage the elders to appoint like-minded representatives who will be approving the new constitution.
Mortars hit Somalia’s presidential palace
04 May – Source: Shabelle/Hiiraan Online – 154 words
Nearly 10 mortars slammed Somalia’s presidential palace on Thursday night as explosions and gunfire rocked Mogadishu in the latest outbreak of violence in chaotic Somalia, witnesses said. “I can confirm two mortars have hit near Villa Somalia,” a source told Shabelle Media of the building where President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed stays. “We do not have word yet if there were casualties or not.”
More than a dozen explosions boomed across Mogadishu and gunfire rattled out to break a lull in the violence of several days in the coastal capital of the Horn of Africa nation. “I have heard more than a dozen explosions … now there is no gunfire,” said a resident. Also in the news, unknown gunmen have overnight attacked on government bases in Mogadishu, triggering face-to-face gun-battle that lasted two hours. At least four government soldiers were killed last night in Mogadishu. Al Shabaab group has so far said it was behind the killing.
US and UK announce $9.5 million to stabilize Mogadishu
03 May – Source: Hiiraan Online – 278 words
The US and UK announced that they would contribute $9.5 million to assist in the launch of the Mogadishu Stabilization Plan. The announcement was made in a joint press release released by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG).
The Minister of Interior and National Security Mr. Abdisamad Maalim Mohamud and other officials within the TFG have been working alongside peace committees in all 16 districts of Mogadishu to cooperate in designing city-wide community projects known as “Dan Guud” or ‘in the public interest’ in Somali.
The Minister said: “we see the Dan Guud program as the most ambitious project to be implemented in Mogadishu in recent times…. The Somali government is encouraged by the efforts of USAID and DFID and is grateful for the funds. We hope to see this type of programming outside of Mogadishu in the near future.”
Mogadishu’s mayor returns to Mogadishu after attending a USAID-organized meeting in Uganda
03 May – Source: Radio Mogadishu, Somalia Report – 51 words
Mogadishu Mayor Mohamed Ahmed Nur Tarsan returned to Somalia after a six-day official visit to Kampala, Uganda. During his visit, the mayor and eight other Mogadishu district chairmen attended a meeting organized by USAID for the reconstruction of the Somali capital. The mayor also met with Ugandan officials, including Kampala’s mayor.
MP accuses TFG over meeting in Mogadishu
04 May – Source: Shabelle – 104 words
Asha Abdalla, a Somali MP has accused Somalia government for blocking a planned meeting expected to take place in a hotel in the war-ridden Mogadishu on Thursday. “The forces that blocked the meeting were sent to assassinate the MPs and other officials wanted to take part in the meeting at Sahafi hotel on Thursday morning; that is an unacceptable and unfortunate move for Somalia’s government,” she said during an interview with Shabelle Media. The comments were voiced just two days after Somalia’s Interior and National Security Minister issued an order to monitor such political meetings in Mogadishu and to prevent attacks by al Shabaab
REGIONAL MEDIA
Kenyan Police on high alert after nine terror suspects enter Kenya
04 May – Source: Standard – 355 words
Lamu police are on high alert following the entry of nine suspected Al Shabaab terrorists from Somalia on Wednesday. The aliens are suspected to include foreign fighters, who entered Kenya from Burgavo and other small towns in Somalia’s Lower Juba region, and have been forced out by Kenya’s military offensive in the these parts, and the disintegration of Al Shabaab.
The police alert is bad news for the fledgling tourism industry, which was battered last year following the abduction and murder of British and French tourists in Manda, and Kiwayu islets, a few kilometers by sea from the area where the militants are believed to be hiding.
“We have no doubt that the group has links with the Al Shabaab,” said Lamu East OCPD, Samuel Obara, who is co-ordinating the operation against the militants. He was speaking on telephone from Lamu, on Thursday.
Lt. Gen. Gutti reports for AMISOM duty
04 May – Source: Daily Monitor – 413 words
A new commander, Lt. Gen. Andrew Gutti, has taken over the leadership of the military component of the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom). During the handover ceremony in Mogadishu on Wednesday, the special representative of the chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia, Ambassador Boubacar Diarra, said Lt. Gen. Gutti’s experience and knowledge would greatly benefit international efforts to restore peace and stability in the country.
“With the support of the international community, Amisom will continue to work towards the restoration of peace and freedom of movement for Somalia in the near future, which is critical for the progress in the global fight against terrorism and aspirations for regional stability,” Mr Diarra said.
A press release from the spokesperson of Amisom, Mr Eloi Yao, said the appointment of Lt. Gen. Gutti to the helm comes at a time when the force is expanding across the country having secured the capital.
Kenya budget factors in Sh23bn UN refund for Somalia war
03 May – Source: Business Daily Africa – 391 words
The government of Kenya expects about Sh23.2 billion in refunds from the United Nations if its troops remain in Somalia up to the end of the next financial year. Budget estimates by the Finance ministry showed that Kenya expects the UN to reimburse Sh7.5 billion in the 2011/12 fiscal year and another Sh15.7 billion in the new fiscal window.
Troops from the Kenya Defence Force (KDF) were last month integrated into the UN-backed African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom), handing them a qualification to receive financial and logistical support from the global body and ease budget pressures on the government.
“The recent decision to integrate Kenyan troops within the UN contingent will help minimise their impact on the budget,” Finance minister Njeru Githae and Central Bank of Kenya governor Njuguna Ndung’u said in their recent letter of intent to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Kenyan soldiers have been active in Somalia since late last year in pursuit of members of the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab terror group.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Documents: Osama bin Laden didn’t want Somali group al-Shabab to publicly announce merger
04 May – Source: Washington Post/AP – 558 words
Osama bin Laden didn’t want to publicly recognize the Somali militant group al-Shabab as a part of al-Qaida because it would bring extra attention from “enemies,” but months after his death, al-Qaida and al-Shabab announced a formal merger.
In a letter to al-Shabab leader Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr, bin Laden’s advised against such an announcement. It’s unclear if the Somali militant actually received the letter. The document was among those seized in the May 2011 U.S. raid that killed bin Laden in Pakistan. Bin Laden wrote that the world would eventually find out about al-Qaida’s unification with al-Shabab, but that no one would be able to prove it absent an official announcement.
“If the matter becomes declared and out in the open, it would have the enemies escalate their anger and mobilize against you; this is what happened to the brothers in Iraq or Algeria,” bin Laden wrote in the document, which was posted online Thursday by the U.S. Army’s Combating Terrorism Center.
Report: Kenyan forces abused Somalis near border
04 May – Source: AP – 121 words
An international human rights group says Kenyan security forces abused ethnic Somalis in Kenya’s border region in response to attacks by militants from Somalia.
Human Rights Watch said in a report Friday that a woman was raped by a police officer at the world’s largest refugee camp during a raid by Kenyan police in December. The group said other refugees were beaten, robbed and extorted. A police spokesman had no comment. The report said a government committee is investigating.
Kenyan police blame sympathizers of al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militants from neighboring Somalia for the killing of at least 30 Kenyans in separate attacks. The militants have vowed to carry out a large-scale attack on Kenya for sending its troops into Somalia in October.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“It is time for Kenya and IGAD member states to take ownership of the political process as we did during the Mbagathi process. Only then can we secure a political solution that will bring stability to Somalia and relief to our refugee camps as well as bring our soldiers home”.
Time To Push The Political Track In Somalia Stalemate
02 May – Source: the Star/Kenya – 925 words
It has been six months since our men and women moved in to Somalia to fight Al Shabaab and protect our territory. Since then, much has happened on the military front. We successfully lobbied the African Union, the United Nations and the European Union to have our troops as part of the African Union force-AMISOM- reducing the burden of the military efforts to our domestic budget. So far our troops have been successfully re-hatted. This is a great exit strategy for us, a diplomatic success story of sorts.
Also critical was the decision by the European Union to extend its naval counter-piracy operations and further authorizing it, for the first time, to combat piracy on land.
Even when we have had such successes, the gap between the military efforts and the politics in Somalia is appalling. On a recent visit to Mogadishu, l could not fail to immediately notice the obvious gaps that exist on the implementation of the Roadmap. I wondered whether there is a possibility of achieving peace in Somalia after the elections are held in August this year as laid out in the Kampala Accord.
The political Roadmap adopted in Mogadishu last year has little to show in terms of meeting the benchmarks. The leaders and the international community have failed to find a solution to the parliamentary crisis that led to a breakaway group of parliamentarians declaring Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan deposed. The impeding end of the current transition in August is causing a lot of jostling among the political leaders limiting progress in many other political issues.
”When journalists are threatened, attacked, jailed, or disappeared, other journalists self-censor. They stop reporting stories. They tone down stories. They omit details. Sources stop helping them. Their editors hesitate to print stories. Fear replaces truth. All of our societies suffer”.
“Free the Press”: Why Media Freedom Makes Societies Healthier
04 May – Source: SONNA/US Embassy in Nairobi – 723 words
Information is power. Few people can make a living, hold their governments accountable, and educate their children without a healthy supply of free- flowing information. Citizens need accurate, timely, independent news they can trust. So do businesses and markets. And so do governments.
Media freedom keeps societies and economies vibrant, energetic, and healthy. When the free flow of news and information is cut off, individuals suffer. Societies suffer. Economies suffer.
Yet as people around the world observe World Press Freedom Day, hosted this year by UNESCO in Tunis, threats against journalists are rising. As of last December, the Committee to Protect Journalists counted 179 reporters in jail around the world. And journalists continue to be threatened, attacked, disappeared, or murdered for trying to report the news.
Particularly troubling are repeated reports from across Somalia of heavy handed efforts by government officials to restrict the media. Credible accusations of media suppression have been levied, all too frequently, against elements within the Transitional Federal Government as well as authorities in Somaliland and Puntland. When governments use fear to suppress criticism they weaken their standing with their constituents and with the international community. During this time of intense public discussion over the future of Somalia, it is especially important that Somalia’s political leadership ensures the media is able to report diverse views freely.
In some cases, especially in Somalia, it is not just governments attacking, intimidating, and threatening journalists. It’s also criminals and terrorists. In al-Shabaab controlled territory, media freedom simply does not exist. Radio stations are routinely shut down, equipment stolen, and journalists threatened and murdered. Just this week, the National Union of Somali Journalists reported that al Shabaab forcibly took over Radio Markabley in Baardheere town. “Ordering the management and the staff to leave immediately,” NUSOJ reported, the terror group seized the station in order to replace news reporting with broadcasts from their propaganda machine.
”Al Shabaab is being hammered on several fronts (TNG, AU peacekeepers, Sufi militias, Ethiopian troops and Kenyans on the Kenyan border). Because of the constant attacks and losses the Islamic terror group is breaking up into factions that are often not supporting each other. On the downside, Somali bandit groups are more active, for al Shabaab did keep these gangs on the run. Groups of gunmen temporarily forming bandit gangs has long been a feature of Somali life, and the cause of never-ending feuds between clans”.
The Revenge Of The Bandits
04 May – Source: Strategy Page – 501 words
With nations providing foreign aid demanding less corruption (stealing aid), there is an ongoing war between corrupt groups and Somalis who seek to reduce the theft and terrorism. This, as has happened in many other places, results in attacks on anti-corruption journalists and leaders. This usually starts with threats and intimidation and eventually escalates to murder. So far this year, at least five Somali journalists (often radio reporters, who are crucial in a nation where most people are illiterate) have been murdered. Many more have changed their tune, only reporting things that will not result in death threats. Some have fled Somalia. More government and clan leaders have died, as al Shabaab, as well as pro-corruption factions goes after anyone who opposes them.
During the last few days Sufi militiamen have been again fighting al Shabaab gunmen in central Somalia. In the eight months since the Sufi Ahlu Suna Waljama militias declared all-out war against al Shabaab, al Shabaab has lost control of most key towns they held in central Somalia. Sufis are believers in a more mystical and peaceful form of Islam, and are looked down on by many radical Sunni groups.
But the Somali Sufis got tired of being harassed by al Shabaab, and armed and organized themselves for defense over the last three years. Two years ago, the Sufi militias became allies with the TNG (Transitional National Government) and Ethiopia, which keeps lots of troops on their Somali border, occasionally crossing into Somalia in order to discourage al Shabaab from raiding into Ethiopia. The fighting has, in the last two years, driven over 150,000 people into Ethiopia, where refugee camps have been set up.
Top tweets
@MorningAfrika Kenyan army targets on Al shabaab training bases in southernSomalia http://ow.ly/
@SomWarMonitor very interesting, Bin ladens thoughts on #alShabaab – “Bin Laden documents describe #Somali group contacts”http://www.
@sgt_jim Somalia: Mortars Hit Presidential Palace http://goo.gl/fb/rWKcl.
@AhmerMurad #BinLaden was not in favour of an alliance with Al Shabaab, the radical insurgent group in #Somalia. #OBLpapers.
@rubenbouviahunk http://bit.
@docjuli Ghana: AU Human Rights Commission Passes a Resolution on Attacks against Journalists in somalia: MOGADISHU, Soma… http://bit.ly/L4mkCF.
@MGoshko #Somalia U.S. Welcomes AU/IGAD/UN Warning to Spoilers http://somalia.usvpp.
Image of the day
World Press Freedom day marked in Mogadishu, Somalia, Thursday, May 3, 2012.