November 11, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Somali Refugees Repatriation Process Begins
11 Nov- Source: Citizen TV/Capital FM/Daily Nation-146 Words
The process of repatriating more than 1.5 million Somali refugees in the country has begun. The government signed an agreement with the government of Somalia to have the refugees depart in the next three years.
The agreement was signed on Sunday by Kenya’s Foreign Secretary Amina Mohamed, Somalia’s deputy premier and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Speaking during the signing of the agreement deputy president William Ruto, said terrorists have always taken advantage of refugee camps like Dadaab which is the largest in the world, to forge crucial documents like the national identity card and travel documents.
Members of Parliament probing the Westgate terror attack claimed the blood let was planned at the Dadaab refugee camp.
Key Headlines
- Traditional elders broker cease fire among militias in Middle Shabelle region (Radio Mustaqbal)
- Heavy downpours cause damage in Nugal region (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Residents in al Shabaab-controlled areas fear using smartphone (Radio Risaala/Dalsan)
- Jubba administration calls for joint fight to finish al Shabaab (Radio Mustaqbal)
- Somali AU troops retake Kudha Island Lower Jubba region (Kismaayo Online/Dhanaan Online)
- President Hassan cautions Somali youth from al Shabaab ideology (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Somaliland: Construction of Egal International Airport Extensions (Somaliland Press/SLNTV)
- Djibouti helping to combat piracy in Indian Ocean (Walta Information Centre)
- Kenya police arrest refugee found with 128 bullets (Standard Media/Star (Kenya)
- Prime Minister Shirdon visits terror attack victims (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Four Somaliland soldiers arrested for people smuggling (Radio Ergo)
- Somalia to take back one million refugees (Daily Nation)
- Somalia Immigrants Change Route (Kenya News Agency)
- Somali Refugees Repatriation Process Begins (Citizen TV/Capital FM/Daily Nation)
- Rights group demands new probe into Somalia gang rape (AFP/HRW)
- White Widow Samantha Lewthwaite spotted in Somalia amid fears she is plotting new atrocity with al Shabaab (Mirror)
- Traffic lights back in Mogadishu after two decades (World Bulletin)
- Wartorn Somali football Premier League plays again (RFI)
SOMALI MEDIA
Traditional elders broker cease fire among militias in Middle Shabelle region
11 Nov- Source: Radio Mustaqbal/Radio Bar-kulan/Jowhar Online/Radio Mogadishu- 200 words
Traditional elders have brokered a cease fire between two militias that fought in parts of middle Shabelle region in Southern Somalia on Monday. The elders told Mustaqbal radio on the telephone line that they have been able to reconcile the two militia factions that battled in areas under Jowhar town. Haji Harun Haji Nor, one of the elders said they have succeeded in resolving the clan conflicts in settlements of Zabuni, Laba Waab, Gedo Bargan.
Meanwhile, Somalia’s Minister of Interior and National Security has called on the warring factions in Middle Shabelle region to immediately halt the clan warfare. Abdikarim Hussein Guled urged the clan leaders from the warring sides to heed the calls to end the recurring conflicts.
He stated that the government would hold the first phase of a special meeting in Mogadishu to discuss the current situation, while the second leg will take place in the Middle Shabelle region. The minister mentioned that his ministry has set up a committee to press on a peaceful end to the recurring clan confrontations in the region.
The committee is made up of parliament members from the Middle Shabelle region, local administrative officials and Ministry of Interior representatives according to the minister. The situation in areas where the militias fought is reportedly calm.
Clan militias have been fighting in parts of middle Shabelle region and the clashes caused casualties on the both sides. The intervention by the elders comes at a time when the president of Somalia has called on the elders in middle Shabelle region to stand for resolving the conflict.
Heavy downpours cause damage in Nugal region
11 Nov- Source: Bar-kulan-98 Words
Reports from Nugal region in northeastern Somalia indicate that heavy rains with strong winds hit the coastal parts of the region in the past three days. The heavy downpours have caused considerable amounts of damage in some coastal villages according to eyewitness.
Abdiaziz Osman Yusuf, a Golis Telecom employee in Karhis location near coastal town of Eyl told Bar-kulan that residents are bracing themselves for further stormy rains in the next few days.
Puntland officials have in last two days warned of heavy rains and strong winds that may cause massive destruction to the livelihoods of coastal residents.
Residents in al Shabaab-controlled areas fear using smartphone
11 Nov- Source: Radio Risaala/Dalsan-236 words
People living in al Shabaab controlled area like Barawe , Buuloburde , and Eelbuur are living in fear after militant groups started to ask questions anyone found with smartphones like iPhone, Samsung, and Blackberry
A group called Hizba working as intelligence started to ask the people questions and to look at calls and text messages received or sent. The fear is they may be linked to recent drone and military assaults.
“I came back from Italy to visit my father in Buuloburde area, after two days in the town, they took me from a restaurant after finding out i had an iPhone,” an unnamed source told Radio Dalsan. “They (al Shabaab) claimed I want to target their leaders and I am working with the American drones. ”
He was arrested and kept in jail for some time but his family managed to free him from jail and escape to Mogadishu.
For the last three weeks, Barawe residents have been alarmed after the militant group started looking for people who had the smart phones. “Today here it is forbidden to have a smartphone, they take it away saying this is threat to our security, ” said another source.
Drone attacks have been targeting al Shabaab leaders since 2009 in Somalia and they killed many foreign jihadist like Bilal Bujawi ,Al-Bridani and others.
Jubba administration calls for joint fight to finish al Shabaab
11 Nov- Source: Radio Mustaqbal- 176 words
The Juba interim administration has called for a joint fight to eradicate al Shabaab militants in parts of Jubba regions in Somalia. Speaking to radio Mustaqbal, the spokesman of Juba administration Abdinasir Serar underlined that Jubba administration started operational fight against al Shabaab in Jubba regions. Abdinasir declared that Juba forces took control of Gudha settlement from al Shabaab fighters.
The spokesman called on the federal government , AMISOM and international community to participate in the fight against the insurgents of al Shabaab in Somalia, which has links with al Qeada.
President Hassan cautions Somali youth from al Shabaab ideology
11 Nov- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 103 words
The president of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has called on Somali parents to deter their children from falling into the ideological trap of al Shabaab.
He said that the misleading ideology of the terror group poses a threat to the youth in both Somalia and the Horn of African region urging Somali parents to closely monitor their children in an effort to uproot terrorism from the region.
The president made the call while speaking at the closing ceremony of the National Health Conference which was held in the capital, Mogadishu.
Somali, AU troops retake Kudha Island, Lower Jubba region
10 Nov- Source: Kismaayo Online/Dhanaan Online- 129 words
Interim Jubba Administration troops backed by African Union peacekeeping forces on Sunday took control of Kudha island which is some 130 KM (81 miles) to the West of Kismayo.
An early morning offensive by IJA troops supported by Kenya defense forces forced the Islamist fighters controlling the island to withdraw without a fight, Mohamed Farah Dahir, Interim Jubba Admin commander in Jubba regions confirmed.
There were no reports of casualties in the fight for control of the island. The island has been one of many areas in Lower Jubba region still under control of al Shabaab fighters. Dahir said the troops are securing the island.
Somali troops and Kenya defense forces captured Kudha island from al Shabaab fighters on December 2012, but al Shabaab managed to retake it after a short period.
Prime Minister Shirdon visits terror attack victims
10 Nov- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 160 words
The Prime Minister of Somalia’s Federal Government has on Sunday visited the victims of Friday’s deadly terror attack in Medina Hospital, Mogadishu. The Prime Minister assured the nation that such attacks will not derail government commitments to lead the country emerge from years of unrest and chaos.
He thanked the medical staff at the hospital for their continuous hard work during the turbulent times in the country. “I want to thank the medical staff for their hard work treating and caring for the innocent victims of Friday’s terrorist attack.” He said in a statement shortly after his visit.
Prime Minister Shirdon also visited Makka Al-Mukarama Hotel –the scene of the deadly attack on Friday night- and spoke to the owner and the staff to show his government’s support during these testing moments. He was accompanied by Public Services Minister Dr. Maryam Qassim and Minister of Information, Abdullahi Ali Moge Hersi among other officials.
Somaliland: Construction of Egal International Airport Extensions
10 Nov- Source: Somaliland Press/SLNTV- 324 words
The Minister of Civil Aviation and Air Transport Hon Mahmoud Hashi Abdi yesterday laid the foundation stone of an extension to the existing passenger terminal and build extra facilities necessary for the terminal. This includes enlarged modern arrival and departure lounges to cope with the increasing number of passengers using the Egal International Airport.
Speaking during the stone laying ceremony, he said, “This is the fourth time the Egal International Airport is undergoing expansion since the current KULMIYE government came to power some three years ago”. He went on to say that the idea to expand the departure and arrivals terminals came about after consulting with the three main carriers which use the airport namely Daallo Airlines, Jubba Airways and African Airlines. International airports often have many airlines represented.
“We are now receiving an ever increasing number of flights and passengers using the airport facilities since the airport was open compared to one year ago when only 90,000 passengers used the airport ,now we hope the number will rise to 500,000 passengers by next year since we now have longer runways and facilities to accommodate almost every type of aircrafts which are commonly used for international or intercontinental travel and now Egal International airports will also serve as hub for places where non-direct or transit flights may land and passengers switching planes”, stated Hon Hashi.
The Minister of Aviation Hon Mahmoud Hashi also reiterated his commitment to continued work with local operated Airlines (Daallo, Jubba & African Airlines) in any future development and expansion of the facilities at the Egal International.
Another notable contract of US $ 800,000 was awarded to Daryeel, a local construction firm following successful bidding to refurbish, renovate and build extra facilities necessary for the terminal.
The same includes enlarged modernizing arrival and departure lounges, as well installing five new wind turbines wind data monitoring station will also assist in powering the airport.
Four Somaliland soldiers arrested for people smuggling
10 Nov- Source: Radio Ergo- 202 words
Four Somaliland military personnel have been arrested for alleged involvement in smuggling people across the border into Ethiopia. The deputy commander of police in Salal region, Osman Hashi, said three of the soldiers are attached to the immigration department and one works with the intelligence agency.
They are accused of guiding and assisting 11 illegal migrants to cross into Ethiopia from Somaliland’s border town of Harirad. Hashi said when the men were arrested earlier this week they were found with more than $1,000 in their pockets, believed to have been paid to them by the migrants.
Hashi said the soldiers were working closely with an unidentified people smuggler, who brought the migrants to the border from Hargeisa. He added that people smugglers were trying to make Harirad into their crossing point for trafficking, as the border town of Wajale had become inaccessible to them.
Radio Ergo’s local reporter in Hargeisa said the 11 migrants were part of a single family, including a five-year-old child.
Somaliland’s deputy commander of Immigration Department, Mohamed Suleiman Haji said the migrants hailed from southern Somalia. The four arrested soldiers had been transferred to Borama Police station. There was no further information available about the family of migrants.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Kenya police arrest refugee found with 128 bullets
11 Nov- Source: Standard Media/Star (Kenya)-189 Words
Police in Dadaab refugee camp, Garissa County are holding a refugee after he was found carrying 128 rounds of ammunition for an AK47 rifle. The refugee had arrived from Dobley, Somalia when he was intercepted by police at the weekend.
Area head of CID Musa Yego said the suspect is yet to reveal where he hid his AK47 rifle that he had from Somalia and efforts to recover it are ongoing.
“We are sure he had a rifle which has refused to say where he hid. He is a refugee but he had gone to Somalia to pick up the cargo for unclear mission,” he said.
Yego added the suspect rode on a miraa vehicle from Somalia to Kenya and made a stop in Kulan area before proceeding to Dadaab.
The incident came in the wake of plans to repatriate more than a million refugees living in Kenya in a move that is aimed at making the country safer. Kenya, Somalia and UNHCR signed an agreement to take the refugees back to Somalia in three years.
Somalia Immigrants Change Route
11 Nov- Source: Kenya News Agency-301 Words
Embu County Commissioner Amos Gathecha has revealed that illegal immigrants from Somalia have resorted to other routes into the country on learning that security was tightened along the Garissa-Thika highway.
He said the foreigners were now using the Kiambere route while posing as Kenyans of the Somali origin to find their ways into Nairobi The Commissioner said security agencies in the affected areas held a joint meeting to map out ways of intercepting the immigrants.
Gathecha, made the revelation at Kangaru Boys School during a cancer walk over the weekend. He said senior security officials from Embu, Machakos and Kitui Counties attended the meeting. He said they have also engaged residents living within the three counties to volunteer information to security officers if they see anyone they suspect to be in their area illegally.
Somali Refugees Repatriation Process Begins
11 Nov- Source: Citizen TV/Capital FM/Daily Nation-146 Words
The process of repatriating more than 1.5 million Somali refugees in the country has begun. The government signed an agreement with the government of Somalia to have the refugees depart in the next three years.
The agreement was signed on Sunday by Kenya’s Foreign Secretary Amina Mohamed, Somalia’s deputy premier and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Speaking during the signing of the agreement deputy president William Ruto, said terrorists have always taken advantage of refugee camps like Dadaab which is the largest in the world, to forge crucial documents like the national identity card and travel documents.
Members of Parliament probing the Westgate terror attack claimed the blood let was planned at the Dadaab refugee camp.
Djibouti helping to combat piracy in Indian Ocean
11 Nov- Source: Walta Information Centre- 638 words
Djibouti, a nation of less than three million people in the Horn of Africa, is cooperating with India closely to combat threats to shipping in the Indian Ocean from pirates based out of civil war-wracked Somalia. Djibouti is an important transit port for regional and international shipping as well as a base for refuelling.
“India has always been a significant entity in the region, as the name Indian Ocean implies. We are helping India directly as well as indirectly in the war against piracy. Indian marines are going to Djibouti and staying there two-three days before going out to sea to search for pirates,” Ambassador Youssouf Omar Doualeh, told IANS in an interview. “When an Indian ship was hijacked off the Somalian coast, Indian officials called me and the ship was located in two weeks,” Doualeh said, referring to the hijacking of an Indian ship in June this year.
The envoy was speaking to IANS as Djibouti City, the country’s capital, readied to host the forthcoming plenary session of the UN Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS). A senior official of the external affairs ministry is attending the conference beginning Sunday.
Somalia to take back one million refugees
10 Nov- Source: Daily Nation- 476 words
Kenya Sunday signed an agreement with Somalia to send home more than a million Somali refugees over the next three years. The agreement was signed by Deputy President William Ruto and Somalia’s Deputy Prime Minister and minister for Foreign Affairs, Fawzia Yusuf Adam.
It is a joint plan not just to send the refugees home, but also have them re-integrated in Somali society once they get there.
Kenya, Somalia as well as the international community, are required to provide resources to help in repatriating the refugees, majority of whom are currently based at the Dadaab refugee camp in Northern Kenya.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Rights group demands new probe into Somalia gang rape
11 Nov- Source: AFP/HRW-395 Words
Human Rights Watch called on Monday for Somalia’s government to order a new, impartial, and transparent investigation into an alleged gang-rape by African Union (AU) soldiers.
The group said the response to the incident, which took place in August, “has been marred by mismanagement, opacity, and the harassment of the female rape survivor and support service providers.”
A Somali woman alleged in August she had been stopped on the streets of Mogadishu by three soldiers from the national army, blindfolded and forced into a car, before being handed over to African Union troops, where she says she was repeatedly raped.
The woman, in her late 20s with a young baby, was unconscious during the attack and says she does not know how many men raped her. She was later thrown back onto the streets.
AMISOM, the 17,700-strong United Nations-mandated AU force that supports the government in its fight against al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab insurgents, said at the time it had launched an investigation. AMISOM soldiers are drawn from the militaries of Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Sierra Leone, and Kenya.
White Widow Samantha Lewthwaite spotted in Somalia amid fears she is plotting new atrocity with al Shabaab
11 Nov- Source: Mirror-383 Words
Fugitive terror suspect Samantha Lewthwaite has been spotted travelling through Somalia, sparking fears she is plotting an attack with al Shabaab fanatics. Intelligence experts claim there has been two sightings of the White Widow in the lawless African country since the gang’s Westgate mall massacre in Nairobi, Kenya, seven weeks ago.
The 29-year-old from Aylesbury, Bucks, was reportedly seen at the northeastern city of Qardho, in Somalia’s volatile Puntland Province. Two weeks earlier, an informant is said to have spotted her in Baidoa, a southeastern city. Officials warn the mum-of-four still poses a serious threat.
A security source said: “These two sightings are believed to be the most credible intelligence received in months concerning Samantha Lewthwaite’s whereabouts. “Her contacts have allowed her to stay in hiding and move quickly between areas, but one day there will be nowhere left for her to hide.”
A senior intelligence insider added: “Every informant in the East Africa and Middle East regions are being tapped for information. Any crumb of evidence is being used to locate her. “The threat Samantha Lewthwaite poses is real and dangerous.”
Traffic lights back in Mogadishu after two decades
10 Nov- Source: World Bulletin-162 Words
For the first time in two decades, traffic lights are back in the streets of Somalia’s chaos-plagued capital, Mogadishu. The municipal authorities have already installed traffic lights at Hawo Tako intersection near the presidential palace to test drivers’ adherence to traffic laws. They plan to install traffic lights at 54 intersections across the capital.
“The signals will help control the flow of traffic for both cars and pedestrians, and everyone should pay attention to the signals to avoid accidents,” traffic police chief Ali Harsi Berri was quoted by local media as saying. “Traffic policemen would fine violators,” he warned, stopping short of specifying the fine.
Somalia has been in the grip of political violence since the ouster of Siad Barre in 1991. The streets of the capital have been severely damaged by the civil war, causing several deadly road accidents.
Wartorn Somali football Premier League plays again
10 Nov- Source: RFI-402 Words
The Somalia Premier League officially reopened at the weekend in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. Huge numbers of spectators turned up at the world-class stadium to watch Somali Premier League football for the first time in almost two decades.
Top government officials, football federation executive committee members and prominent business people attended a colourful ceremony at the Banadir Stadium to mark the relaunch of the country’s Premier League.
The two-decade-long war dealt a blow to professional football in Somalia. But an African Union-led offensive in 2009 drove Islamic insurgents out of the capital, Mogadishu.
Al Shabaab fighters banned the mixing of the sexes and the playing or watching of football games. It’s incredible to think then that a large number of women were among thousands of spectators who watched the match last weekend between Heegan and Gaadiidka squads. Last weekend’s match is yet another sign that life is returning to normal in the capital.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Omusementi is not her real name. The name, like her establishments, is something she got through her reputation as a savvy businesswoman.”
Omusementi: The Somali woman building an empire in Kampala
11 Nov- Source: Daily Monitor-1455 Words
The President of the foreign country Amina Hersi Moghe now calls home speaks highly of her and he openly vows to offer all the assistance she requires and protect her from any roadblocks.
She has a rising real estate empire – having built Oasis Mall which houses Nakumatt Supermarket and the posh Laburnam Courts Apartments. And she has built alliances with the biggest politicians, businesspeople and banks in Uganda and beyond.
This cannot be bad for a daughter of a migrant Somali cattle keeper. Her father’s search for better fortunes took him from Somaliland to western Kenya in the second half of the 20th century.
Hersi thus grew up in the border town of Bungoma in western Kenya, from where she moved to Nairobi, before following in her father’s migrant footsteps when she relocated to Kampala in 1998.
“The World Bank released a report on the economics of piracy in Somalia. Host Rachel Martin reports that hijacking the ship is just one part of the elaborate enterprise: books are kept, expenses tallied and salaries paid.”
The Big Business Of High-Seas Piracy
10 Nov- Source: NPR-225 Words
In Tom Hanks’ latest movie, “Captain Phillips” audiences were taken aboard a ship under attack by Somali pirates. This past week, a new report by the World Bank, the U.N., and Interpol followed the money trail behind Somali pirates and found…
STUART YIKONA: This is a business. It was investors coming together to invest.
MARTIN: That’s Stuart Yikona from the World Bank, who co-authored the report.
Since 1995, more than $400 million has been paid in ransom money, almost $3 million per hijacking. A hijacking is just one part of the elaborate enterprise. When the money men take over, they negotiate a bounty for a ship’s release in U.S. dollars.
YIKONA: It is very well organized. I mean they have machines that count the money as well as check to make sure these are not counterfeit U.S. dollars.
Top tweets
@amisomsomalia PHOTOS: Road works are currently being conducted in #Afgoye to try and improve the area’s infrastructurehttp://on.fb.me/11glzLn #Somalia
@petermartell In #Somalia, Mirror spots White Widow in separate ends of country including one area not controlled by Shebaab..sigh. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/
@Aynte People across #Somalia are standing up to#alShabaab‘s terror campaign. Start of Football League is part of that http://bit.ly/1awOvS3
@MohamedMuna Somali PM marks his one year in Government by visiting schools and hospitals. So much support for him amongst civilians #Mogadishu
@BBCAndrewH Kenya says “Somalia is firmly in a post-conflict phase” as it plans to repatriate refugees. Mogadishu perhaps, but… http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
Image of the day
The Commander of the Ugandan contingent of AMISOM, General Dick Olum, walks with community leaders on a road being graded by bulldozers in Afgoye, Somalia, on November 10, 2013.