November 19, 2015 | Morning Headlines
UN ‘Deeply’ Troubled By Somalia’s Summary Executions
18 November – Source: Hiiraan Online – 394 Words
The United Nations is “deeply concerned” about summary executions against suspected militants in Somalia, a UN official has said, echoing previous concerns by a New-York based rights group, which accused Somalia’s military court of carrying out rapid executions. Speaking to journalists in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, Ivan Simonovic, the U.N Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, has urged Somalia’s Government to give defendants adequate time to prepare their cases before proceeding to convictions.
“I think we have to act in accordance with the international law,” Mr. Simonovic said at the press conference. He also warned of abuses against militants in the government-run jails, urging the government to stop convicting and sentencing suspected militants without due process: “You cannot defeat Al-Shabab only by military operations, but you should also address the actual roots and origins of the extremism, which includes poverty, corruption, mismanagement and discrimination against minority people,” he said.
And noting significant improvements in several sectors in the war-troubled Somalia, the UN official called on the international community to increase their funding to Somalia “lest the gains made over the period will go to waste”. The UN official stressed that Somalia’s progress is “at risk” without increased support from international partners to ensure the promotion and protection of human rights: “Despite persisting challenges there is a significant improvement in the security situation in Somalia,” Šimonović told reporters in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, at the end of a five-day visit to the country.
Mr. Šimonović also observed that meaningful progress has been made by Somalia in its operations against Al-Shabaab militia, in the implementation of the Human Rights Road Map, in reforming the justice and security sectors, in the State-building process and the consultations on an electoral model for 2016. He welcomed the steps undertaken towards the adoption of legislation for a National Human Rights Commission and urged the Parliament to ensure the Commission’s independence and its compliance with the Paris Principles – a set of international standards which frame and guide the work of National Human Rights Institutions.
However, Šimonović pointed out that Somalia continues to face a “series of human rights challenges,” such as the recent allegations of serious human rights violations committed during military operations. He called on the Government and all security forces operating in the country, including the Somali National Army, African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and other forces to take measures to prevent and address violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.
Key Headlines
- UN ‘Deeply’ Troubled By Somalia’s Summary Executions (Hiiraan Online)
- Al-Shabaab Executes Young Man Near Baidoa (Wacaal Media)
- Hundreds Of Residents Of Bulla-Hawa Protest Against Border Wall Construction By Kenya (Goobjoog News)
- Germany Donates €150000 In Emergency Cash Aid For Hiiraan Flood Victims (Shabelle News)
- Sixty Somali Returnees From Dadaab Camp Arrive In Kismayo (Goobjoog News)
- Somalia Groups Begin Talks For 2016 Elections (Daily Nation)
- Teenager Who Blew Student Loan Travelling To Join ISIS Locked Up For 5 Years (Daily Mirror)
- Two Hundred Somali Police Recruits Complete AMISOM Training In Baidoa (AMISOM)
- Kenya Launches Somali Station Iftiin FM (KBC)
- Al Shabaab Defectors Tell Their Stories (The Star)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Al-Shabaab Executes Young Man Near Baidoa
18 November – Source: Wacaal Media – 57 Words
Al-Shabaab militants have executed a youthful man in the outskirts of Baidoa town, headquarters of Baay region. The slain man was identified as Bashiir Ahmed. He was 23 years old. He was killed at Labatan-Jirow location near Baidoa as confirmed to Wacaal Media by eye witnesses. The militants accused Ahmed of renouncing his Islamic faith.
Hundreds Of Residents Of Bulla-Hawa Protest Against Border Wall Construction By Kenya
18 November – Source: Goobjoog News – 217 Words
The residents of Bulla-hawo town in Gedo region have protested against Kenya’s plan to construct a security wall along its porous border with Somalia. Angry locals have faulted the move by the neighbouring country saying beacons were erected on Somali land.Speaking to Goobjoog News, Abdullahi Ereg, an elder from Bulla-hawo, said that Kenya has been carrying out similar moves that the residents of the town were unhappy with. He claimed that several kilometers of Somali land “has been taken” in the Gedo region along the border. The protests come at a time a joint parliamentary committee of Foreign Relations and Interior was destined to tour the town to assess the situation following claims that Kenya had encroached into Somalia’s territory in the ongoing construction of the security wall.
Last year Somali Government filed a 150-page court case on Somalia’s maritime border dispute with Kenya at the International Court of Justice at The Hague. Somalia, in its application is requesting the ICJ to “determine, on the basis of international law, the complete course of the single maritime boundary dividing all the maritime areas appertaining to Somalia and to Kenya in the Indian Ocean, including the continental shelf beyond 200 [nautical miles].” Somalia also asks the ICJ “to determine the precise geographical coordinates of the single maritime boundary in the Indian Ocean.”
Germany Donates €150,000 In Emergency Cash Aid For Hiiraan Flood Victims
18 November – Source: Shabelle News – 227 Words
Germany has donated €150,000 to support victims affected by the floods in Hiiraan region, whose homes and farmlands have been destroyed. In a brief statement from the Germany’s Nairobi Embassy on Tuesday, the government said the cash aid was provided to ‘save’ children hit by the floods that had displaced thousands of families and children.
According to the UN office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the flash floods has affected at least 132,000 people since October 19th. Thousands of people in the low lying areas of the southern and central parts of Somalia remain at risk of flash and river flooding, OCHA said in a statement issued last week. Germany has previously donated millions of dollars in aid of thousands of Somalis affected by natural disasters and decades-old conflict. The much-needed donations by German Government is significant at this point, as two strong cyclones Chapala and Megh have made a landfall in Yemen, causing property damage and loss of lives. a lot of damage in parts of coastal areas in the northeastern Somalia region of Puntland.
The storms were characterized by strong winds and heavy rains with some areas receiving more than three times their annual rainfall. The severe weather conditions led to death of livestock, destruction of property as well as infrastructure including roads, buildings and boats.
Sixty Somali Returnees From Dadaab Camp Arrive In Kismayo
18 November – Source: Goobjoog News – 178 Words
Sixty Somali returnees from Dadaab refugee camp were on Wednesday flown back to the administrative capital of Jubbaland, Kismayo. The plane carrying the Somali citizens from Dadaab in Northeastern Kenya touched down at Kismayo Airport on Wednesday. The voluntary returnees came after the Tripartite Commission formed by UNHCR and the Governments of Kenya and Somalia, agreed to step up support for voluntary repatriations of Somali refugees.
Despite continued security challenges, the refugees have started their journey back home. Between December 2014 and early August, 2015, some 2,969 Somali refugees returned to the districts of Luuq, Baidoa and Kismayo, with UNHCR support as part of a pilot phase which has now ended. Still more have returned spontaneously without receiving assistance from UNHCR.
Under the current agreement, assistance will be provided to returnees to any area of Somaliland, Puntland and South Central Somalia.Dadaab has been providing protection, shelter and humanitarian assistance to Somali refugees for over two decades, often under difficult and complex circumstances.Chronic overcrowding, a risk of disease, and seasonal floods are among the challenges facing the refugees who reside in the Dadaab camp.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Groups Begin Talks For 2016 Elections
19 November – Source: Daily Nation – 215 Words
In a bid to prepare for elections in 2016, Somalia regional authorities have started consultations. Meetings are taking place in Adado and Baidoa, the regional capitals of Galmudug authority in Central Somalia and Koofur-galbeed Administration in the south respectively. Similar meetings have been arranged in the capital of Jubaland, Kismayu and Puntland in the northeast of the country.
The conference at City Plaza Hotel in Mogadishu is chaired by the city’s Mayor Yusuf Hussein Jumale. The consultations are taking place under the National Consultative Forum, a high level agency that comprises the office of the president, representatives from the executive and legislature and regional administrations. In July, the federal government announced that contrary to what was proposed three years ago, a one-man, one-vote would not be possible and that is why the NCF was launched.
The forum, which is backed by a task force and a technical committee, will assess regional proposals and eventually declare a formula for holding elections in September next year. The federal government, led by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, replaced the transitional rule in 2012 but has fallen short of implementing universal suffrage. Every meeting is attended by 150 people representing every sector of the society. A statement from office of president said the process would not be an easy one.
Teenager Who Blew Student Loan Travelling To Join ISIS Locked Up For 5 Years
18 November – Source: Daily Mirror – 744 Words
A teenager who conned his way into a university, then used his student loan and grants to travel to Syria to join ISIS has been jailed. Yahya Rashid, 19, managed to forge a Btec certificate and get onto a course at Middlesex University, despite having an IQ of between 65 and 70. He then used government cash to pay for himself and four pals from his local mosque in Wembley, North West London, to travel to the border with Syria in Turkey via Morocco.
But a court heard how Rashid got cold feet and decided to come back home.He was arrested on his return to the UK and found guilty of engaging in conduct in preparation for committing an act of terrorism, and engaging in conduct with the intention of assisting others to commit acts of terrorism between November 2014 and March this year. He was sentenced to five years in a young offenders’ institution. Woolwich Crown court heard how Rashid and his group were stopped and questioned by police at Gatwick Airport but subsequently allowed to board a flight to Casablanca, from where they made their way to the Turkish border town of Gaziantep. Although Rashid’s friends crossed into Syria – where they are believed to remain, the then 18-year-old had a change of heart and returned to Istanbul.
Sentencing him, Judge Philip Katz QC said: “You lied on your oath before the jury and they saw through your lies and your evasions. You used forged documents to get a place at university. You told the jury, without any apparent shame, that you did that as a quicker way to get a degree.” He added that Rashid’s previous education showed him to be “deceitful”, and that he had failed citizenship. Judge Katz said that, while he accepted Rashid may have eventually handed himself in because of what he was putting his family through, earlier Facebook conversations with his father had been “callous”. He continued: “I do accept that you are of below average intelligence and that you are a hanger-on, rather than a leader. Rashid, whose family is originally from Somalia, paid £906 for five return flights to Morocco for himself and four others – Khalid Abdul-Rahman, Ibrahim Amouri, Swaleh Mohammed and Mr Mohammed’s wife, Deqo Osman, all of whom he attended Wembley Mosque with.
Two Hundred Somali Police Recruits Complete AMISOM Training In Baidoa
17 November – Source: AMISOM – 383 Words
Two hundred Somali Police recruits celebrated the completion of three months of training in Baidoa on Tuesday 17November 2015, making the first batch of trained police officers who will be posted in police stations in the Interim South West Administration. The passing out parade ceremony was presided by the President of the Interim South West Administration (ISWA), Shariff Hassan Sheikh Adan, and AMISOM Police Commissioner Anand Pillay.
“I congratulate you for successfully completing the training. Now you will have new responsibilities and you will be upholding the law of the land. You are conferred authority. I request the commanding officers to immediately deploy the officers and to fully equip them. You are the first batch of police officers for this administration,” said President Sheikh Adan. The pass out was witnessed by government and regional administration officials among them the Federal Minister for Women and Human Rights, Zahra Samatar; AMISOM Chief of Staff, Ambassador Epiphanie Kabushemeye; AMISOM Deputy Police Commissioner, Christine Alalo; UNSOM Senior Police Advisor Hans Wanderstein and AMISOM Sector 3 Commander Gabre Mikael Yemane. Also present were officials from AMISOM, Somali military, and representatives from the United Nations and other international partners.
In her remarks, Ambassador Kabushemeye who was representing the Special Representative of the African Union Commission Chairperson (SRCC)for Somalia, commended the police officers for diligence during training: “On behalf of SRCC, I take this opportunity to congratulate the Somali Police Force and AMISOM Police for the enormous efforts to reform the Somali Police and regional police by mentoring and training Somali sons and daughters to assume the responsibilities of providing security,” she said.
Kenya Launches Somali Station, Iftiin FM
18 November – Source: KBC – 230 Words
Kenya Broadcasting Corporation has officially launched Iftiin FM radio that broadcasts in Somali language. Iftiin FM was officially launched during a colorful ceremony that was held at a Nairobi hotel and which was attended by a host of leaders especially from Northern region led by National Assembly majority leader Adan Duale. The launch was presided over by Information Principal Secretary Joseph Tiampti who revealed that plans to launch a language policy that will regulate the media fraternity are underway.
The new KBC radio station joins a host of others such as Coro FM, Minto FM, Radio Mayenga and Radio Ingo among others. KBC Managing Director Waithaka Waihenya who spoke during the launch, reiterated the corporation’s commitment in ensuring that the station extends its tentacles to the rest of the country, in the next coming months. Waihenya assured Kenyans that the corporation intends to continue providing quality broadcast content to them in their first languages.
On his part KBC Board Chair Eng. Edward Musebe who commended the ongoing transformation at KBC, affirmed that the birth of Iftiin FM. National Assembly Majority leader Aden Duale on his part challenged KBC management to expand the station reach to the Diaspora pledging to commence talks with cabinet secretary in charge of information and technology in a bid to pump funds in the corporation to assist revamp the National broadcaster, into a world class broadcast.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“At least 700 Kenyans, who had gone to Somalia to join Al-Shabaab, have quietly returned home after quitting the militant group. In this special report, writers of THE STAR speak to Ali, Juma and Abubakar who narrate their experiences in Somalia and how they are trying to rebuild their lives”
Al Shabaab Defectors Tell Their Stories
18 November – Source: The Star – 1,686 Words
Ali (not his real name) had always wanted to join al Shabaab since he was in high school. Upon completion of his secondary education, Ali, who hails from Coast region, joined the Coast House Alliance, a secret group claiming to be fighting and advocating against land injustices at the Coast. Later, he went to join Al-Shabaab in Somalia. While there, he studied at a college in Afmadow, graduating with a certificate in Islamic law.
Donning an Islamic headscarf (Arafat), Ali says he was among 20 local youth who were recruited to join al Shabaab during their time. Through a local network, Ali and his friends were helped to cross over to Ras Kamboni in Somalia through Lamu in 2006 to go help fight the Somali Transitional Federal Government. He was posted to Afmadow then Baidoa after undergoing a three-month compulsory paramilitary training deep inside the war-torn country.
“I was enticed with salary payments of between US$150-200 (Sh15,000 to Sh20,000) a month. I was also told I will get a senior position after attaining my Islamic law certificate,” says Ali. However, one year after graduating, he was posted to fight alongside other East African recruits. After sometime, life became extremely hard and he and four other Kenyans decided to sneak back into the country. But the Kenya Navy officers in the Indian Ocean caught them.
“We were arrested, but after interrogation they left us to continue with our journey after convincing them we were local fishermen,” he says, adding that their fluency in Swahili helped them: “Imagine, after two years in Somalia I was only able to save US$350 (Sh35,000) only. I had to hide this money in between my buttocks when the navy officers arrested us,” he says.
Juma (not his real name) attended a primary school in Kwale and later pursued secondary education in Mombasa county. “Marginalisation of the coastal communities is what made me want to join al Shabaab. I really wanted to fight the government of the day,” he says.Juma joined the Somalia-based militia group in 2006: “Our journey started in Mombasa to Lamu before we crossed over to Somalia. The group is so well organised and we made it through to Somalia unnoticed,” he says. For three months, he underwent an intensive paramilitary training inside the Somalia forests: “I was however disappointed since we were not being paid as promised. In 2008, I asked for permission from my seniors to come and take my wife with me and I was allowed,” he says.
He says together with two other Kenyans, they were escorted to the Kenya-Somalia border where they sneaked in through Lamu county. However, towards the end of 2008, he went back to join Al-Shabaab: “My friends who were still in Somalia were telling me how things have changed and life has become better. I decided to go back after convincing a few others,” he says. Later in 2009, he made a comeback to Kenya after witnessing discrimination, hard life and in-fighting among members.