November 5, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report
Two Police Officers Killed As Al-Shabaab Attacks Belet Hawo Police Station
05 November – Source: Wacaal Media – 78 Words
Heavily armed Al-Shabaab militants raided Belet Hawo town of Gedo region earlier today and attacked the local police station among other areas. A government official told the media on condition of anonymity that the armed militants used a Toyota Carib vehicle to carry out the attack. Two police officers have been confirmed dead so far while several civilians were injured. The armed attackers also fired at a busy hotel causing civilian casualties. They later fled but officials confirmed security personnel were in pursuit.
Key Headlines
- Two Police Officers Killed As Al-Shabaab Attacks Belet Hawo Police Station (Wacaal Media)
- Two Somali Soldiers Killed In Khat Confrontation (Radio Dalsan)
- Clan elders Surrender Fully Equipped Militia To Galmudug State (Wacaal Media)
- Galmudug State Appoints Interim Administration For Abudwaq District (Goobjoog News)
- Canada’s First Somali-born MP Being Sworn In (VoA)
- Chained In Somaliland: Inadequate Mental Health System (Al Jazeera)
- How Al-Shabaab Could Get Their Hands On A Nuclear Core (Defense One)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Two Somali Soldiers Killed In Khat Confrontation
05 November – Source: Radio Dalsan – 161 Words
Two Somali soldiers died and their colleague sustained injuries during a confrontation resulting from a dispute regarding the sharing of the stimulant khat.Witnesses have said the incident occurred in a market in Mogadishu’s Abdulaziz district. The three friends purchased the stimulant plant that is chewed by several Somalis but disagreed on the share before opening fire on each other.Two died on the spot while the other sustained injuries. Somalia is the biggest market for Kenyan grown stimulant plant that earns hundreds of millions of dollars in exchange for Kenyan farmers.
Somali police has earlier criminalized the use of drug by officers while on duty due to challenges of security mainly in the capital Mogadishu. Famous Somali anti khat activist Abukar Awale is leading international campaign to ban the use of the khat also known as miraa in Somalia due to its social and economic disadvantages. EU countries like United Kingdom and Holland have already banned the use of the drug in their countries.
Clan elders Surrender Fully Equipped Militia To Galmudug State
05 November – Source: Wacaal Media – 103 Words
Several clans in Galmudug region have yesterday surrendered fully armed clan militias to the State of Galmudug in Galkayo town. In a colorful handover ceremony attended by Head of State Abdikarim Guled, the clan leaders surrendered 11 combat vehicles and 50 heavily armed militia. Speaking when he received the sophisticated arms and personnel, Head of Sate Abdikarim Guled thanked the tribal leaders and clans for the good gesture of taking up peace and surrendered security matters to the government.
Galmudug State Appoints Interim Administration For Abudwaq District
05 November – Source: Goobjoog News – 168 Words
Galmudug State has appointed an interim administration for Abudwaq district as it fights to seize control of the state, some of which is controlled by Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama’a. State Interior Minister Jamah Hasan Salat last night announced the appointment of Mahad Omar Elmi as the new commissioner for 90 days upon which the local community will agree on one candidate for the post.The minister also appointed a team of 14 administrators to work with the new commissioner.
“I urge you to enhance security in the district and engage with the local community even as they prepare of the best way forward to appoint a permanent district commissioner,” Salat said. The establishment of an interim administration in Abudwaq comes amid regular supremacy fights between the new Galmudug State and the moderate Islamist group Ahlu Sunna which has from the onset opposed the formation of Galmudug state.This has led to clashes and loss of lives in the last few months with Ahlu Sunna still in control of the state capital Dhusamareb.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Canada’s First Somali-born MP Being Sworn In
05 November – Source: VoA – 240 Words
Ahmed Hussen, who immigrated to Canada at the age of 17, is a member of the Liberal Party, which won the country’s recent election, ending nearly a decade’s long reign of the Conservatives led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Speaking about his election win, Hussen said it “means that Canada is a country that really embraces diversity and multiculturalism.”
Hussen, 39, told VOA that he only decided to run last year when an opportunity presented itself in the Toronto constituency of York South-Weston. Hussen said he did not face challenges as a Muslim or an immigrant. He said he ran a positive campaign and worked hard to recruit volunteers. “I believe strongly that our message, that of my party’s platform appealed to a lot of people in York South-Western, a very progressive platform,” he said.
Hussen said he ran on issues such as reducing taxes for the middle class, bringing 315,000 children out of poverty, and investing in transit, affordable housing, infrastructure and roads. He said uniting people and presenting a vision of hope was key. “You can win an election by bringing people together and not dividing them,” he said. Hussen was a lawyer and a community activist among the Somalis and has served as the National President of the Somali Canadian Congress. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in history from York University and a law degree from the University of Ottawa.
Chained In Somaliland: Inadequate Mental Health System
04 November – Source: Al Jazeera – 167 Words
Abdirisak Mohamed Warsame is one of just a handful of professionals working to improve the lives of people suffering from mental health problems in the Horn of Africa country, people who are largely neglected and often abused. “Mental health is an abandoned field in Somaliland,” Warsame said.There is no official data on the prevalence of mental health conditions in Somaliland but research points to high levels caused by – among other factors – the violence of the ongoing civil war, the widespread use of the stimulant khat, entrenched unemployment, and the lack of health services.
Some families, who often don’t understand the condition of their relatives, admit relatives to one of a small number of under-resourced public and private mental health facilities.But in most centres, there are few or no professional staff who understand how to care for those with mental health conditions. Chaining of patients is widespread – only the mental health ward at the Hargeisa Group Hospital is currently chain-free – and psychotropic drugs are often unavailable.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“So what of the nightmare scenario—a terrorist group seizing control of a nuclear power plant and getting hold of its core? It has been quiet in much of Kenya since the attack on Garissa, but there is a sense here that Al-Shabaab is not weaker—just laying low, possibly planning another major attack.”
How Al-Shabaab Could Get Their Hands On A Nuclear Core
04 November – Source: Defense One -618 Words
Kenya is facing a terrible dilemma: Run out of energy for its citizens, or risk terrorists seizing a nuclear power plant.Last April, four Al-Shabaab fighters killed 148 people at Garissa University in northeastern Kenya, just up the street from a major military installation. While students fled, barefoot and in their nightclothes, the soldiers remained on standby, unsure how to respond, and elite police took hours to arrive. In September 2013, the Somalia-based Islamist militants attacked a mall in the heart of Nairobi, killing 67, most of them before any uniformed police or military showed up.
This does not sound like a country that should be getting a nuclear program, even a civilian one. And yet it is, getting an initial thumbs-up How Al-Shabaab Could Get Their Hands on a Nuclear Core from the International Atomic Energy Agency in August.Kenya says that it has no choice. By 2030, it will need 20,000 MW of electricity, and the current energy mix can’t meet those needs.Droughts, getting longer and more frequent, will undermine hydropower plants, which provide more than 50% of the power today. Neighboring Tanzania said earlier this month that it would have to temporarily turn off all its hydropower plants because of low water levels, and plans to reduce its dependence on hydro.
TOP TWEETS
@Somalia_Focus: #Somalia consultation meetings underway, top leaders are planning to reshuffle the current cabinet ministers. @policyconcepts @amisomsomalia
@DrBeileh: #Somalia is moving forward in economic development & fostering growth: rebuilding of Aden Adde Airport in #Somalia
@Newzug: In central #Somalia clans disarm; handed over weapons and fighters to the local govt.
@anjliparrin: “No war no peace” in #Somalia. @MattBrydenexplores the current threat of #AlShabaab:http://www.bbc.co.uk/
@_MsHodan: Every time I am at the verge of losing hope. I remember all the sacrifice our forefathers made. Giving up isn’t an option. #Somalia
@MogadishuNews : #BREAKING Explosion heard outskirts of the coastal city of Marka. More updates soon #Somalia
@Cidilibaax: #Puntland #Somalia predicting the worst flooding in decades. The Governt should call for international assistance@UNSomalia @UKinSomalia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Internally Displaced People (IDP’s) attend a training session on Human Rights, Gender and Sexual Violence held in Mogadishu, Somalia, on November 3, 2015. The training was supported by the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).
Photo: UNSOM