November 23, 2015 | Morning Headlines
Unknown Drone Strikes Al-Shabaab Base In Southern Somalia, 10 Militants Dead
22 November – Source: Shabelle News – 122 Words
A government official has reported that an unknown drone launched a late night airstrike at a base belonging to Al-Shabaab militants in Lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia. The District Commissioner of Wanlawayn town, Hajji Isack Ali Mamow, confirmed the drone attack that targeted an Al shabaab meeting in Beladul-amin area, 28 kilometers away from Wanlawayn: “It was a late night airstrike at the Al-Shabaab base as leaders of militants were conducting their meeting. The attack was carried out by unidentified drone,” said Mr Mamow during an interview with Radio Shabelle. Other sources from officials at Lower Shabelle region administration confirm that at least 10 Al shabaab militants, including commanders were killed in the aerial attack. Officials of Al-Shabaab are yet to comment on the drone airstrike.
Key Headlines
- Unknown Drone Strikes Al-Shabaab Base In Southern Somalia 10 Militants Dead (Shabelle News)
- 11 People Die 52 Injured In Clash Between Puntland And Galmudug Forces Leaders Call For Ceasefire (Goobjoog News)
- Amid Tension Hiiraan Governor Flown To Mogadishu For Criminal Inquiry (Hiiraan Online)
- AMISOM Concludes Training For South Somalia State Police Recruits (Wacaal Media)
- Suspected Leader Of Pro-IS Al-Shabaab Faction Reported Killed (Voice of America)
- Report Details How Terrorists Outsmarted Security System To Execute Garissa University Attack (The Standard)
- Galmudug Residents Praised for Efforts Made in Reconciliation and State Building (AMISOM)
- Insight Into The Earliest Settlers Of EA: Somalis (Daily Nation)
NATIONAL MEDIA
11 People Die, 52 Injured In Clash Between Puntland And Galmudug Forces, Leaders Call For Ceasefire
22 November – Source: Goobjoog News – 432 Words
At least 11 people have been confirmed dead and about 50 others injured in a clash between forces loyal to Puntland and Galmudug administrations, medical sources have reported. Officials from two hospitals in Galkaiyo town confirmed to Goobjoog News that 11 people had been killed among them women and children while 52 others were admitted with various injuries.
“We have received 43 people who were injured in the fight, some with bullet wounds,” said a director of one of the hospitals, who did not want to be identified for security reasons. Other sources told Goobjoog News that they had established the death of 11 people but the exact number of casualties remains unknown.
Officials from Galmudug and Puntland have traded accusations over the incident with each side claiming innocence. Puntland Police Reserve Commandant Abdirashid Hassan Hashi told Goobjoog News that his forces were just responding to attacks from Galmudug forces but that the situation had gone out of hand: “Galmudug soldiers attacked workers who were constructing a road in Garsor area and we had to respond to defend them,” said Hashi. But Galmudug State Security minister Osman Ise Noor dismissed the claims saying Puntland was encroaching on its land by purporting to build a road: “At about 6 am, soldiers from Puntland attacked an area under Galmudug control. These were just attempts to undermine the ongoing operation against Al-Shabaab,” said Noor.
The Federal Government Interior Minister Abdirahman Odowaa has called for immediate ceasefire from both sides. Daljir party secretary general Ahmed Moalim Fiqi regretted what had transpired in Galkaiyo and pointed out that the town had enjoyed relative peace for long. The latest development, he warned, was going to reverse these gains.
“I am calling for immediate end to this fighting whose only result is to destroy what we have achieved so far. Elders from both sides must take action to intervene and pave way for reconciliation. I am further calling on both sides to avoid politicising the situation,” noted Fiqi. The head of Somali Clerics Association Sheikh Ahmed Bashir Salat has also strongly condemned the fighting. He advised that the issue be addressed cautiously as it was delicate and could lead to further instability.
“This is what we had warned about earlier. You know what comes out of a town which is separately administered by two administrations. Federalism is not something which Somali people understand and one cannot divide them along political boundaries,” warned Salat.
Amid Tension, Hiiraan Governor Flown To Mogadishu For Criminal Inquiry
22 November – Source: Hiiraan Online – 353 Words
The governor of the central Somali region of Hiiraan has been flown to Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu as the government opened a criminal inquiry related to the killing of a UN employee last week. The development comes one day after armed militias from the clan of the late United Nations’ Mine Action Service (UNMAS) staffer Mahdi Hussein Macow blocked the major roads of the town for the second time on Friday, demanding the handover of the region’s governor Abdifitah Hassan Afrah who was accused of ordering UN staffer’s killing. Mr. Afrah who has taken a temporary refuge at the African Union force base in the town returned to his office on Friday.
A local elder in Beledweyne, who requested anonymity told Hiiraan Online that Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud had ordered security agencies to fast track investigations into the murder case. The elder said that investigators, who were dispatched by the Somali President, would question Mr. Afrah in Mogadishu. Mr. Macow, a field officer with UNMAS was killed last week after soldiers opened fire on his car in Hawatako. Elders in the town have termed the killing ‘murder-for-hire’ and have accused the region’s governor of the killing. The governor is alleged to have had personal differences with the late officer.
AMISOM Concludes Training For South Somalia State Police Recruits
22 November – Source: Wacaal Media – 159 Words
AMISOM has concluded in Baidoa training for 200 police recruits for the South West Somalia State. The closing ceremony which was held at the Ali Salaamey camp was witnessed by Prime Minister Omar Sharmarke, head of the State Shariff Hassan and AMISOM’s head of sector III Gen. Gabre Mikael Yemane. Speaking at the event, Premier Sharmarke asked the officers to carry out their duties with patriotism and ensure those who are an obstacle to peace were dealt with accordingly. Sharif Hassan on his part said that the officers were the first batch of professionally trained officers for the State and asked them to be role models to those to be recruited after them. Head of AMISOM sector III Gen. Gabre Mikael Yemane who also spoke at the event pledged AMISOM’s support for the South West Somalia State in order to give its forces the capacity fully take over matter security from the AU mission once their mission was complete.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Suspected Leader Of Pro-IS Al-Shabaab Faction Reported Killed
22 November – Source: Voice of America – 172 Words
A top Al-Shabaab official believed to be the leader of a pro-Islamic State faction has been shot dead in an ambush in southern Somalia according to local residents Sources told VOA’s Somali Service Sunday that Sheikh Hussein Abdi Gedi and four others were ambushed by rival al-Shabab fighters near Gududley village in Middle Jubba region.
Gedi was one of the top Al-Shabaab scholars and the group’s Deputy Governor of the Jubba region until recently, when he reportedly left the Al-Qaida linked group and attempted to persuade Al-Shabaab fighters to support the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria instead.
It’s the third attack by Al-Shabaab against fighters thought to be supporters of the Islamic State. Earlier this month the Al-Shabaab leadership has made it clear in a speech through their spokesman that they will not accept divisions and vowed fight to stop those “dividing the Muslims.” Al-Shabaab has lost most of the territory it once controlled in southern Somalia but continues to carry out deadly attacks in the capital, Mogadishu, and in neighboring Kenya.
Report Details How Terrorists Outsmarted Security System To Execute Garissa University Attack
22 November – Source: The Standard – 1,138 Words
Kenya’s spy chief secretly admitted that the Al Shabaab intelligence wing, the Amniyaat, outwitted the country’s security system ahead of the killing of university students in Garissa in April. In a confidential report filed with the National Assembly’s Committee on Administration and National Security, the spy chief revealed an elaborate plan of surveillance, intelligence collection, stockpiling of weapons and movement of militants which all culminated in an attack carried out with near-military precision.
The Director General of the National Intelligence Service Major Gen (Rtd) Philip Kameru identified three top Al Shaabab operators as the masterminds of the attacks in which 155 Kenyans, among them 147 university students, died: “The attack was sanctioned by Abdi Muse aka Habil Al Somali and coordinated by Mustaf Ato and Maalim Abbas,” Kameru told the MPs. These investigative details are contained in the report of the House committee tabled in the National Assembly four days ago as Kenya went on high alert after the attack in Paris, France.
The NIS boss said the attackers spent two months gathering intelligence in Garissa, identifying the targets and moving weapons. When they were ready, they even brought in two of the attackers undetected, stayed in a hotel for five days and four nights before they struck that morning of April 2, 2015. Though the NIS got wind of the plot and even issued multiple alerts to the police and the county administration to step up security patrols, a terrible breakdown in command, low numbers for deployment and communication failure conspired to expose students at Garissa University College to the militants.
The spy chief noted that a militant named Maalim Badi, an associate of Ato, the coordinator of the attacks, mapped the targets and “shared the outcome of the surveillance with Ato in early March, 2015.” After interrogating the spy chief to get the details of the movement of weapons for hours, the MPs have put together a matrix.
Galmudug Residents Praised for Efforts Made in Reconciliation and State Building
22 November – Source: AMISOM – 554 Words
The people of Galmudug have been commended by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), for setting the path for reconciliation and state building efforts in the country. The acting head of AMISOM, Maj-Gen Fidza Dludlu, said the joint efforts of Galmudug leaders and the people of Galmudug had made many look up to them as one of the success stories. The acting head of AMISOM made the remarks when he officially opened a five-day training workshop for the Galmudug regional assembly in Mogadishu. “This workshop will start to help them (Galmudug regional assembly members) create an assembly, know the processes of a parliamentary assembly and legislative assembly.
This is a start to what we are helping them on now. And as we go forward we will continue to support them,”Maj. Gen. Dludlu added. The Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, Mr Hared Ali Hared, lauded AMISOM for giving Galmudug the first opportunity to undergo the training of its legislators who are the pioneers of the regional assembly. “This is our first training with AMISOM. Thus we are very grateful to AMISOM for facilitating this seminar. Also my great honour to say thank you for the efforts AMISOM has put in organizing the workshop”, Mr Hared added. The training is in line with the mandate of the Mission of helping stabilize Somalia by aiding the locals establish strong institutions capable of serving the public effectively.
Maj. Gen. Dludlu, however warned, that the road ahead of the new state legislature was not easy, as it will be confronted by many challenges, only surmountable with total cooperation of leaders and residents. He added that one of the main objectives of the training is to help the 89 members of the regional assembly know how to deal with some of the challenges whenever they occur. Maj. Gen. Dludlu said AMISOM had assembled some of the best Somali experts in constitutional and parliamentary development, to train the members of the Galmudug regional assembly.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Our quest is not to create one story about Somalia and Somalis, but to tell the different stories, Prof Abdiwahab Sheikh Abdisamad, a panellist who spoke at the event, said, echoing the famed Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Adichie”
Insight Into The Earliest Settlers Of EA: Somalis
22 November – Source: Daily Nation – 757 Words
Early Wednesday morning, a Somali hut stood near the front gate of the Nairobi National Museum. It was circled by women dressed in guntiino, a long stretch of cloth draped under the arm and tied over one shoulder. Around them were traditional artifacts — wooden bells, bowls — and spears. Some men wore macawis, a sarong-like garment fastened around the waist, and a white garb wrapped around the upper part of the body. The women danced. Then came calm, harmonic music from the Louis Leakey Auditorium. It was the Kenyan national anthem. The Somali Heritage Week kicked off.
The event, which is centrally coordinated by the Awjaama Omar Cultural and Reading Centre with the support of the Heinrich Boll Foundation, celebrates the rich and diverse culture of Somali people and the contributions they have made to the abounding Kenyan culture. Kamukunji MP Yusuf Hassan made the opening remarks. “The Somali national is everywhere and is easily visible, yet invisible because little is known about us. It’s now important to engage with other Kenyans,” he said. There was music, dance, food, poetry and books on display. High ranking Somali leaders were also present, among them former Deputy Speaker Faarah Maalim and Somali Ambassador to Kenya Gamal Mohamed Hassan.
A panel that included Mr Maalim, Prof Abdiwahab Sheikh Abdisamad and Dr Ibrahim Farah engaged in a discussion on the current situation and the complex Somali identity, also reflecting on the history of the people. “The Bantus found us here; the Nilotes, too. We have a rich history. All the major cities in Kenya, except Kisumu perhaps, were started by Somali traders. The ‘Somali Kenyan’ is a misplaced notion,” Mr Maalim said. The event is the first of its kind in Kenya and brings together Somali leaders, writers, thinkers and entertainers to shed light on the challenges facing the community and perhaps find solutions.