November 5, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.
IGAD envoy in Mogadishu to reconcile Somali President, PM
05 Nov – Source: worldbulletin – 265 words
A special envoy of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) arrived in Somali capital Mogadishu on Tuesday for talks aimed at reconciling between President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud and Premier Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed.
“IGAD is the midwife of the Somali peace process throughout the two decades of civil war. We are concerned that this political pushing and shoving may derail the progress being enjoyed in Somalia today,” IGAD envoy Mohamed Affey told Anadolu Agency by phone.
“Today I met with Somali Speaker Jawari (Mohamed Osman). I am glad that we share similar views on how best to tackle the current crisis in the Federal Government of Somalia and I believe it can be resolved,” he said.
Key Headlines
- Unknown assailants kill famous businessman in Bosaso (Radio Goobjoog)
- Somalia: Cannabis Farmers Arrested in Hiiraan (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Parliamentarians from Puntland hold special meeting with President Mohamud (Radio Dalsan)
- SNA and AMISOM launch new offensive against Al Shabaab (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Somaliland Ministry of livestock and FAO launched inoculation & treatment of over 5 millions of livestock(Somaliland Informer)
- Afmadow hospital appeals for urgent renovation (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Somaliland Ministry of livestock and FAO launched inoculation & treatment of over 5 millions of livestock(Somaliland Informer)
- UNHCR donates fire engine to Dadaab refugee camp (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Muslim cleric shot and killed in Mombasa (Standard Media)
- Two injured after explosions rock Mandera Town (Daily Nation)
- African Union team begins sex abuse probe in Mogadishu (Sabahi Online)
- IGAD envoy in Mogadishu to reconcile Somali President PM (worldbulletin)
- Somali MPs demand apology from UN envoy (Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Danan)
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali Parliamentarians want Ambassador Kay to apologize
05 Nov- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Danan- 163 words
More than 50 members of Somali national assembly want United Nations secretary general special representative to Somalia ambassador Nicholas Kay to apologize over the comments he made regarding the political tension between the President and The Prime Minister on Monday.
Ambassador Nicholas Kay warned against rumors of a vote of no confidence against the Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed by the Somali members of parliament on Monday. He said the move will threaten the tangible security achievement in the country by Somali security forces backed by African Union forces for past few years.
Somali members of parliament said in a joint press conference that their country is a sovereign state that needs to be respected by the international community. They said the interference of the international community into the Somali politics is unacceptable.
Unknown assailants kill famous businessman in Bosaso
05 Nov- Source: Radio Garowe/Radio Goobjoog- 118 Words
Unknown armed men killed a famous businessman Yusuf Aalim in Bosaso district, the headquarters of Bari region and the commercial center of semi autonomous regional state of Puntland on Tuesday night.
Eye witness say men armed with pistols opened fire on the businessman immediately after evening prayer and fled from the scene without delay. No one was arrested in connection with the murder of the famous businessman in Bosaso city.
Meanwhile stray bullets from nowhere killed another person in the area who was sitting in a restaurant. Conflicting reports say Puntland police forces that were patrolling the area during the attack opened the bullets that killed the second person.
Somaliland Ministry of livestock and FAO launched inoculation & treatment of over 5 millions of livestock
05 Nov- Source: Somaliland Informer- 129 words
Ministry of Livestock in conjunction with the technical and financial support from Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations launched a country-wide vaccination against Pests des Petits ruminants Virus, a highly contagious disease affecting goats and sheep.
The livestock ministry is due to administer more than 4 million vaccination campaign to goats and sheep against endemic diseases. Expectation is that more than 20 mobile veterinary teams have been dispatched to all provinces of the country to carry out the inoculation in the next months to come.
The Ministry of Livestock with the help of FAO carried out vaccinations and treatments to millions of sick animals in the past 2 years throughout the country.
Afmadow hospital appeals for urgent renovation
05 Nov – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 100 Words
The management of Afmadow general hospital in Lower Shabelle is appealing for urgent renovation of its facilities.
The director of the hospital Dr. Hassan Mursal has told Radio Bar-Kulan that the facility which was constructed in 1971 is aging needs urgent repair to continue its services.
Dr. Hassan called upon federal government of Somalia and nongovernmental organizations to come and rescue the hospital. Afmadow general hospital is currently maintained by Heal International by providing medicine and other basic facilities. Health facilities bear the brunt of civil war that broke out in the country more than two decades ago.
Parliamentarians from Puntland hold special meeting with President Mohamud
05 Nov- Source: Radio Dalsan – 167 Words
Members of the Federal Parliament of Somalia hailing from Puntland region have on Monday night met with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud amid growing political differences between President Mohamud and his Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed over cabinet reshuffle.
The meeting at Villa Somalia was attended by more than 25 lawmakers from the same region of Puntland, despite the fact that the total number of parliament representatives from Puntland is more than 35 MPs.
According to sources who spoke with Radio Dalsan, the Monday’s meeting was described as consultations between the President and parliamentarians while efforts to file a new motion against the Prime Minister is ongoing.
The Sources mentioned that President Mohamud was trying to convince the MPs hailing from Puntland to endorse the motion of “No Confidence” against the Prime Minister which in return Puntland wants the new Prime Minister to come from their clan members.
The meeting came after other group of Parliamentarians from Puntland yesterday supported the Prime Minister’s campaign to break the motion against him.
SNA and AMISOM launch new offensive against Al Shabaab
05 Nov- Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 115 Words
Somali national army and AMISOM troops have launched new military offensive against Al Shabaab in an effort to clear the group out of the remaining areas in Galgadud. Somali national army commander in Elbur General Mohammed Kahiye Arale has confirmed to Bar-Kulan about the launch of the operation.
General Kahiye said the group was terrorizing the residents in the area for long time by taking relief aid received from government by force. Madax siriq, Hamur, Grab are the areas affected areas which is targeted by the operation and still under Al Shabaab control.
Families thrown off Afgoye farm as court rules on land dispute
05 Nov- Source: Radio Ergo – 330 words
Somali police have forcefully evicted 70 families from farmland in an area between Raqeyle and Moro-dinle villages in Lower Shabelle, after a court ruling in a land dispute. The Lower Shabelle regional court ruled that the 128 hectares of farmland belonged to a man who had recently returned from living abroad.
The judge, Barre Osman Hussein, said the documents presented by Osman Jama Yussuf proved his legal ownership of the land and he had therefore ruled in his favour. The judge told Radio Ergo’s local reporter that four other men claiming ownership of the piece of land had refused to come to court, despite being called to appear for the past two months.
But a 90-year old retired army officer, Abukar Noor Mohamed, who was among those evicted, told Radio Ergo that he had inherited the farmland from his ancestors and his family had lived there for generations.
“The police evicted us by force without giving us prior notice,” said Abukar, who served in the Somali military for over 35 years. Another evicted farmer, Bashi Mukhtar Bashi, 60, accused the police of destroying crops and confiscating generators used to power irrigation equipment during the operation.
The evicted families said they had not known there was a case in court over the land ownership until they were expelled by a court order in mid-October. However, Osman Jama Yussuf told Radio Ergo he welcomed the ruling, saying he had bought the land in 1979 and lived on it until 1991, when the civil war broke out. He said some of the families who had been living on the land had agreed to move off after negotiations, but others had refused to talk to him.
“The ruling of the court is just, as it returned the land back to its rightful owner,” he said. Disputes over land ownership have been rampant in Somalia since the country plunged into civil war in 1990.
UNHCR donates fire engine to Dadaab refugee camp
04 Nov – Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 121 Words
Al Shabaab militant group swathes strategic areas since Somali national army and AMISOM troops launched offensive dubbed Indian operation one month ago. United Nations high commission for refugees UNHCR has donated a fire fighting engine to the Dadaab refugee camp in North Eastern Kenya.
The refugee agency handed over the engine to Kenyan Red Cross society which operates in the camp on behalf of the refugees.
Idiris Garad of Kenyan Red Cross has confirmed to Bar-Kulan Radio saying the equipment will be used within the refugee camp in an event of fire which is very common in the area. He said the UNHCR also donated other vehicles to help in in case of fire to rescue business centers and shopping areas.
Somalia: Cannabis Farmers Arrested in Hiiraan
04 Nov- Source: Mareeg Media – 102 Words
Authorities in Baladweyne, Hiiraan Region arrested ten Hashish farmers. These people were practicing Hashish farming in and around Baladweyne at the time they were picked by the Somali security forces.
Hiiraan Region Commissioner, Abdifatah Hassan Afrah told the media that once convicted those people will be dealt with in accordance with the law. He added that the hashish which was recovered will be burnt.
Hiiraan Region Commissioner, Abdifatah Hassan Afrah finally said there are other places which they think such kind of farming activity is also practiced and hence soon the security forces will be deployed there so as to do inspections.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Muslim cleric shot and killed in Mombasa
05 Nov- Standard Media – 259 Words
A cleric believed to be moderate was Tuesday night shot dead by unknown assailants outside a mosque in Likoni, Mombasa. Sheikh Salim Bakari Mwarangi was shot while he was leaving Bilal Mosque after prayers and died while being attended to in hospital.
Police said he was shot three times, twice in the abdomen and once in the arm, by two attackers who were on a motorbike. The attackers escaped soon after the shooting. His colleagues said Sheikh Mwarangi supported government efforts to stamp out radicalism among youth in the region.
The youths have taken over a number of mosques in the area in a radical manner. Mombasa County Police Commander Robert Kitur said investigations into the incident are ongoing.
Two injured after explosions rock Mandera Town
05 Nov- Source: Daily Nation- 354 words
Two people were slightly injured following explosions at a road construction site Wednesday morning near Rhamu bridge in Mandera. Confirming the incident, Mandera Town Member of County Assembly Feysal Abdinoor said the first explosion occurred at the road construction site causing extensive damage to a road grader.
Reports indicated that those injured were the driver of the grader and a worker. The MCA who was among the first people at the scene said the second blast happened minutes after police and local leaders arrived at the scene but said there were no injuries.
African Union team begins sex abuse probe in Mogadishu
04 Nov- Source: Sabahi Online – 171 Words
A team appointed by the African Union (AU) to investigate allegations that its troops in Somalia raped women and girls arrived in Mogadishu Monday (November 3rd) to begin its work. The team was appointed to look into accusations levelled in a Human Rights Watch report, which the AU has criticised as “unbalanced and unfair”.
A four-member team led by Assistant Commissioner of Zimbabwe Police Sergio Isabella has begun holding meetings with key stakeholders in Mogadishu. “With the experience I have and also my team members, I am sure we will be able to get to the bottom of the problem,” Isabella said. “What we need to find is the root of the problem and then find ways and means of dealing with it.”
Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia Maman Sambo Sidikou welcomed the team and its role as a neutral arbitrator. “The team that came is made of experts in their fields, professionals, who would be investigating independently, no interference from anybody,” he said.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
IGAD envoy in Mogadishu to reconcile Somali President, PM
05 Nov – Source: worldbulletin – 265 words
A special envoy of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) arrived in Somali capital Mogadishu on Tuesday for talks aimed at reconciling between President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud and Premier Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed.
“IGAD is the midwife of the Somali peace process throughout the two decades of civil war. We are concerned that this political pushing and shoving may derail the progress being enjoyed in Somalia today,” IGAD envoy Mohamed Affey told Anadolu Agency by phone.
“Today I met with Somali Speaker Jawari (Mohamed Osman). I am glad that we share similar views on how best to tackle the current crisis in the Federal Government of Somalia and I believe it can be resolved,” he said.
Hospital in Mogadishu delivers vital service to Somalis
05 Nov – Source – enca.com – video – 5:52 Minutes
For decades, Médecins Sans Frontières has saved lives on the front lines of some of the most dangerous conflicts in the world. But last year, the international health organisation pulled out of Somalia. In this exclusive report, eNCA chief Africa correspondent Robyn Kriel visits a former MSF hospital near Mogadishu.
It’s managed to stay open, against unimaginable odds. Despite major challenges, and a budget of almost zero, the facility is still functioning. The wards are filled with people receiving treatment, free of charge.
After viewing the above video MSF replied thus: “MSF did not take the decision to pull out from Somalia lightly, and it still creates considerable anguish within the organisation. But we require a minimum level of respect for our personnel, our patients and our health centres and this was not fulfilled.
We are hoping that the situation in Somalia will improve to allow MSF to return and work in accordance with our principles and to provide an acceptable level of medical care to all those in need of it.”
Somali MPs demand apology from UN envoy
05 Words – Source: Anadulo Agency – 437 Words
A number of Somali lawmakers have demanded an apology from U.N. Special Envoy Nicholas Kay for allegations that some MPs had been bribed in order to influence their vote in a no-confidence vote on Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed. “It is an insult to the Somali Parliament,” MP Dalha Omar told Anadolu Agency on Monday.
“Kay is implicating that Somali MPs can be used to manipulate the future of this country. This is untrue,” he said. “Yes, we may be facing challenges within the government but we also have ways to deal with that. Kay’s approach was more of interference by an outsider,” Dalha said.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
She is an inspiration to her peers…She is somebody walking the walk, not just talking the talk. It makes it very real. You can be a kid and still have a voice and do important work.”
Munira Khalif: high school senior, lobbyist, activist, spoken-word poet
04 Nov – Source: Star Tribune -1008 Words
As the daughter of Somali immigrants, Munira Khalif says she considers her activism an obligation to give back.
When Munira Khalif was younger, she wanted to somehow use her education to give back to her parents’ native country, Somalia.
Now, at 17, she has done so much more.Khalif, a senior at Mounds Park Academy in St. Paul, founded a nonprofit, lobbied for legislation against child marriage, became a teen adviser to the United Nations’ Girl Up campaign and performed an original spoken-word poem for Nobel Prize-winner Malala Yousafzai and U.N. leaders.
“She is an inspiration to her peers,” said Kari Kunze, Khalif’s speech coach at Mounds Park Academy. “She is somebody walking the walk, not just talking the talk. It makes it very real. You can be a kid and still have a voice and do important work.”
“The prevalent scenario: the Prime Minister would be sacked, and the President would be left severely bruised. The outcome would further weaken the nation’s barely existing institutions, it would further corrupt the Parliament and severely undermine the capacity of Council of Ministers.”
Frailty and gladiatorial combat in Somalia
04 Nov – Source:Foreignpolicynews.org -1305 Words
It is that cyclical season of winner takes all. It is that all too familiar gladiatorial executive combat all over again. Yes, the Villa Somalia has once again turned into a roaring amphitheater. The President and his Prime Minister are at each other’s throat, and, as engraved on the walls of the theatre, the worst is yet to come.
Of course, there is nothing new in this latest drama. A year ago, after current President—Hassan Sheikh Mohamud—has succeeded in sacking his last Prime Minister—Abdi Farah Shirdon—I co-authored an article with Professor Afyare Elmi for Al Jazeera titled Spectre of Political Meltdown. In it we argued that the problem is systemic and that it would re occur again and again so long as the system is not overhauled.
Bashir was a true believer, a foot soldier who recently quit after seeing too many innocents slaughtered.
Ahmed deserted the Shabab because he wanted a real family, not just a bunch of heavily armed, sociopathic militants who called themselves a “family,” he said.
As Power of Terror Group Declines, Once-Feared Fighters Defect
04 Nov – Source: nytimes.com -1335 Words
Bashir was a true believer, a foot soldier who recently quit after seeing too many innocents slaughtered.
Ahmed deserted the Shabab because he wanted a real family, not just a bunch of heavily armed, sociopathic militants who called themselves a “family,” he said.
And young Nurta was a slender assassin, with a bright purple scarf and wide, seemingly innocent eyes. “There is no life with them,” said Nurta, who like other Shabab defectors requested that her last name not be used for fear of reprisals.
Even before its leader was cut down in an American airstrike in September, the Shabab militant group in Somalia, once one of Al Qaeda’s most powerful franchises, began unraveling. In the past few months, the group has been shedding territory — and fighters.
“Her husband Muhyidin Abdulkadir, who owned a tailor shop in Africa before immigrating to the U.S., first worked for an airline cleaning airplane cabins, but now uses his sewing skills at a better paying job for an industrial fabric manufacturer.”
Msp’s financial opportunity centers: bundling services for economic stability
05 Nov – Thelinemedia.com – 892 Words
Fadumo Shirelle arrived in St. Paul eight years ago, a 17-year-old Somali refugee who spoke no English and felt nervous about starting over in a strange land.
Now she’s a community organizer with the St. Paul Union Park District working to improve the Central Corridor district by creating a new park out of a parking lot and establishing an East African market. She’s married with two small children and studies nursing at St. Paul College. “If you want to be successful, you need to go to college,” says Shirelle, who hopes eventually to become a midwife.
Their story offers evidence that the American Dream is alive and well, even in an era of economic difficulties. But success doesn’t happen automatically, even for people who stand out as ambitious and hardworking. For the past several years, Shirelle and Abdulkadir have received continuing support from the Financial Opportunity Center at St. Paul’s Skyline Tower, a 504-unit high rise apartment building where they live just off University Avenue.
Top tweets
@Tolmansh #AMISOM forces in #Somalia are unsung heroes. They achieved what the West could not do in a decade against#Islamic_terrorists. #alshabab
@HAliGesey #Somalia Parliamentarians from Puntland hold special meeting with President Mohamud @Daudoo@MohamedMascud http://dalsanradio.com/
@ActForSomalia ‘Frailty and gladiatorial combat in Somalia’ Another must read – as always – article by @4DialogSKhttp://foreignpolicynews.org/
@ansac_bay “Somalia: As Power of Shabab Declines, Once Feared Fighters Leave Terror Group Behind | Garowe Online” good read http://feedly.com/k/1pjXi8I
@Rooble2009 UPDF officers who turned volatile Mogadishu around hw.observer.ug/index.php?
@MohamedBashi @abdullahimoha27 @AmbAmerico Any country who contribute our #survival will remain ourhearts#Turkey is an unforgettable state to us #Somalia
Image of the day
On Saturday, November 1st, Friends of University of Hargeisa School of Social Work Committee in partnership with Carleton University School of Social Work hosted their third annual fundraising dinner at Ron Kolbus Lakeside Gardens in Ottawa. Photo: Hiiraan Online