November 7, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Mogadishu raid nets 22 al-Shabaab members, 1 civilian killed

06 Nov – Source: Sabahi Online- 161 Words

Somali security forces arrested 82 terror suspects, including 22 al-Shabaab militants, in a sweep of several Mogadishu neighbourhoods over the past few days, Ministry of National Security spokesperson Mohamed Yusuf Osman said Thursday (November 6th).

Osman told reporters that the security forces arrested 82 terror suspects and seized a weapons cache during operations in Hodan, Howlwadag, Warta Nabada, Yaqshi and Heliwa districts. “After in-depth interrogations we found that of the 82 suspects, 22 were al-Shabaab members,” he said according to Garowe Online.
The security forces also took control of two garages and five cars intended for use in terror operations, he said. Meanwhile, Somali National Security and Intelligence Agency officers shot and killed Qur’an school teacher Sheikh Hassan Ahmed during a raid Wednesday in Dharkenley district, Somalia’s RBC Radio reported.

“Unfortunately there was an accident in which security forces shot and killed a civilian,” said Dharkenley District Commissioner Adan Mohamed Omar, adding that the responsible officer “will be brought to justice”.

Key Headlines

Deputy UN Special Representative for Somalia visits Somaliland (Somali Current/UNSOM)
Himin & Heeb postpones hosting a conference on formation of unitary state for Central Somalia (Radio Dalsan)
Puntland fishermen under threat from illegal boats (Radio Ergo)
Somaliland president confers with French ambassador to Somalia (Somaliland Informer)
Security forces detain murderer of a young cleric in Mogadishu (Radio Danan)
Somaliland environment minister adds her voice to combat illegal wildlife tradee(Somaliland Informer)
Security forces start security operations in lower shabelle to clear illegal roadblock (Radio Dalsan)
Flood victims in Beletweyne appeal for help. (Amisom-au.org)
Political discord in Mogadishu spills into South-western State conference (Sabahi Online)
UAE Somalia sign military cooperation agreement (Kuwait News Agency KUNA)
Mogadishu raid nets 22 al-Shabaab members 1 civilian killed (Sabahi Online)
Somali lawmakers lodge vote of no confidence in Prime Minister (Bloomberg)
UN expert panel issues guidelines on rights of women asylum-seekers refugees (Source:www.un.org)
Expected floods to ruin Somalia crops (thecropsite.com)
Somalia’s economic recovery boosts fuel demands posing danger (Xinhua.net)

SOMALI MEDIA

Deputy UN Special Representative for Somalia visits Somaliland

07 Nov- Source: Somali Current/UNSOM 313 words

The Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (DSRSG) for Somalia, Fatiha Serour, has made an official visit to Somaliland, where she attended the High Level Aid Coordination Forum in Hargeisa, and met with Somaliland’s President Ahmed Mahamoud Silanyo, senior government officials, Somaliland civil society and members of the international community.

Serour commended on the progress of Somaliland Special Arrangement, a part of the New Deal Somali Compact that charts Somaliland’s long-term development goals in partnership with the international community.

“I commend the tremendous efforts by the Somaliland people to have a shared vision, a common and coherent approach to further build on the Somaliland Special Arrangement,” she said following the Forum. “A lot of progress has been made to set up the systems and mechanisms. This is key to have good results.”

DSRSG expressed UNSOM’s commitment to supporting Somaliland, including through the recent deployment of a human rights presence in Hargeisa. While in Hargeisa, she also visited a local NGO, Garsoor, which assists disadvantaged children, and met with its director, Zamzam Mohamed and many of the children under their care. She also met Guleid Usman, the executive director of Talowadag, an NGO that supports people living with HIV/AIDS. DSRSG Serour noted that the commitment displayed by NGOs such as Garsoor, and Talowadag was a critical part of creating a compassionate society where all members of the community are valued and human rights are upheld.

Himin & Heeb postpones hosting a conference on formation of unitary state for Central Somalia

07 Nov- Source: Radio Dalsan- 226 words

The Security Minister for Himin & Heeb Mohamed Dahir Muhumed told Dalsan about a conference which would be held at the headquarters of Himin and Heeb Adaado to form a unitary administration for central Somalia was postponed.

He said this after PM Abdiweli recently signed an agreement with Puntland in which part of Mudug Region would remain part of Puntland rather than part of the new state for central Somalia which would be formed. “There is political upheaval regarding the conference. So it seems that conference cannot be held. The PM went to Puntland where he signed a region and a half instead of the initial two regions”. He said.

Minister Muhumed said if the state for the central Somalia is formed now before having a common consensus, then there can be crisis and bloodshed in the central regions of Somalia.
There was recent confusion in how different regions in Somalia would be united for wider functioning of the federal system. Part of this confusion is that the three regions South-western State of Somalia which the government announced was halted.

Puntland fishermen under threat from illegal boats

07 Nov- Source: Radio Ergo- 397 words

Fishermen in Puntland’s coastal areas of Bari region say their future is threatened by increasing numbers of illegal foreign fishing boats using force to access the best fish.

Fishermen in Binna coastal settlement and Gumbah district called on the authorities to apprehend the illegal vessels now dominating the waters. They said they face harassment and intimidation from armed guards hired by the foreign boats to ward off competition.

Local fisherman in Binna, Farah Jama, told Radio Ergo that 12 of his colleagues were shot and injured by armed Somali guards protecting fishing vessels operating under fake licenses. “We are on the brink of quitting fishing. These vessels destroyed our nets and boats. There are more than 100 of these vessels and they are endangering local fishermen and threatening our livelihoods. They are taking all the fish in our waters!” he complained.

The recently issued identity cards to fishermen by the authorities in collaboration with the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization were not protecting them from assault, Farah said. One of the old fishermen in the area said he had stopped going to the sea. “I had a boat for fishing, but it was completely destroyed by one of the foreign vessels. It also destroyed all my fishing tools including nets. If this crime is not dealt with, we can no longer go to fishing,” he said.

A young fisherman, Abdirahman, warned that many youth would end up jobless if the administration did not deal with the threat. “We youths here don’t have any other skill to survive except fishing which we inherited from our fathers. These illegal armed guards would shoot us if we go far out in the sea, so we can’t go for fishing anymore,” he said. The worst affected areas subjected to illegal fishing are Ras Asayr, Olog and Damo.

Puntland’s deputy minister for fisheries and marine resource, Mohamud Mohamed Ali, denied having licensed the foreign boats. He accused Somali businessmen of issuing fake licenses as well as providing the armed guards. He said the authorities were collecting data to identify the illegal vessels and their owners.

The deputy minister said the authorities were aware of the communities’ plight and would mobilize the Puntland coast guard unit to clamp down on illegal fishing activities. In June, Puntland President Abdiweli Ali Gas described illegal fishing as ‘a national disaster’ and said it must be stopped.

Somaliland president confers with French ambassador to Somalia

07 Nov- Source: Somaliland Informer – 195 words

Somaliland President Ahmed Mohamed Mahmoud (Silanyo) yesterday received French ambassador to Somalia Mr. Remi Marechaux at the president’s residency. President Silanyo has taken the opportunity to brief the ambassador about Somaliland’s accomplishment over the past years since its inception.

He told that it is a state that stood on its feet and made strides in the areas of peace, stability, education, health and democracy and elections. “France is ready to work with Somaliland….French firms are to invest in the country is one of the things that we discussed with the ambassador. We appealed to [them to] provide their support to the ongoing progress in the country and to play a lion’s share when it comes to the dialogue between Somalia and Somaliland.

We appealed that they should table our case to the United Nations Security Council. We requested that they should support us in educational projects,” Foreign Affairs Minister Hon. Mohamed Bihi Yonis said.

Security forces detain murderer of a young cleric in Mogadishu

06 Nov – Source: Radio Danan – 119 words

Dharkenley district police department apprehended a wanted soldier who killed a young cleric in Kaawo Godey village during an overnight security operation on Wednesday. Dharnkenley deputy police chief Jimcaale Cadow has told Radio Danan by phone.

“Our security forces succeeded in detaining the murderer, he was serving our department as a soldier and we don’t know [what drove him] to kill the cleric. As we promised we will bring him to justice,” Jimcaale said. Somali federal government forces have launched security sweeps around Mogadishu last night and apprehended more than twenty Al-shabaab members.

Somaliland environment minister adds her voice to combat illegal wildlife trade

06 Nov – Source: Somaliland Informer – 143 words

Minister of Environment Ms. Shuri Haji Bondare has issued a decree outlawing the exporting of illegal wild animal. Ms. Shukri has expressed her serious concern over the growing trend and stated that foreigners are being assisted by citizens in hunting illegal wildlife animals.

The Minister has said that she issued number of decrees against the illegal wild animals trade but it fell on deaf ears and went on to say that the public did not heed her wakeup call to save wild animals from extinction. She added that wild animals are exported via country’s airports and went on to say that immigration officers were informed to detain illegal hunters.

Security forces start security operations in lower shabelle to clear illegal roadblocks

06 Nov- Source: Radio Dalsan- 112 words

The operation started from Afgoye town in Lower Shabelle. The intention of the operation was to remove roadblocks on the highway on Afgoye-Marka corridor.

Many Somali security forces were deployed on the highway. They said they will not give in until they remove the illegal roadblocks. Motorists who travel on the highway in question have complained from extortion by militias who man those illegal roadblocks. Public service vehicles drivers have previously went on a strike over the extortion money they pay to the militia along the highway since its expensive.

Flood victims in Beletweyne appeal for help.

06 Nov- Source:Amisom-au.org – 375 words

An estimated 21,000 people have been displaced by floods in Beletweyne, in the Hiiraan region, South-central of Somalia.Seasonal torrential rains experienced in the region for the last two weeks have seen River Shebelle break its banks, leaving hundreds of families displaced and in need of urgent assistance.

The affected families have settled in temporary shelters at a camp close to the AMISOM base camp, North Eastern Beletweyne.The victims are appealing for urgent help from the local administration and international relief agencies to assist them, fearing for the health of the most vulnerable, especially newly born children, expectant and newly delivered mothers and the elderly.

“I am requesting my brothers out there, to please come to our rescue. You can see what has befallen us. We and the animals are in the hot sunshine in this garage and you can see our houses on the opposite side are submerged. We appeal for help. We need to spray mosquitoes in our homes and appeal for all the help we can get ,” says Halima Ahmed Abdi, a flood victim.

The AMISOM Djiboutian contingent is providing support to the locals, but with massive logistical challenges. “As AMISOM we are looking at all the help we can offer. We are looking at how we can evacuate them or offer medication, but they need much more than that. On the side of the food and so on, they are being provided with clean water by the use of water tankers but they need food and medicines urgently. There is possibility of water borne diseases outbreak, and they don’t have sanitation facilities,” says Major Ali Hussein, AMISOM Djiboutian Contingent.

The victims are now living in makeshift structures set up in Beletweyne town. “We need food, we need shelter. We are being attacked by mosquitoes. I just gave birth 5 days and the situation is not good,” says Anab Hassan Osman. Aid agencies have warned that the floods are likely to worsen the already fragile food security situation, with at least 1 million people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance across Somalia. A statement by the Food Agriculture Organization released last week indicates that the floods have left large areas with crops submerged, further exposing the population to food insecurity.

REGIONAL MEDIA

UAE, Somalia sign military cooperation agreement

07 Nov- Source: Kuwait News Agency KUNA- 110 words

UAE signed on Thursday a Memo of Understanding to bolster military cooperation with the Republic of Somalia and to improve ties between the two countries.

The agreement was signed after a meeting between UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and visiting Somali Defence Minister Mohamed Sheikh Hassan Hamud, UAE news agency (WAM) reported.

Sheikh Abdullah welcomed the Somali minister and reviewed with him the bilateral relations and ways of bolstering them, particularly in the security and military spheres.The two sides also discussed the latest developments in Somalia and the avenues of their bilateral cooperation and coordination. They also exchanged views on a number of common interests.

Mogadishu raid nets 22 al-Shabaab members, 1 civilian killed

06 Nov – Source: Sabahi Online- 161 Words

Political discord in Mogadishu spills into South-western State conference

06 Nov – Source: Sabahi Online- 809 Words
Leaders in Mogadishu should stop sending mixed messages and using the South-western State formation conference in Baidoa as a ploy to settle their political difference, stakeholders and observers say.

The backlash came after Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed on behalf of the federal government recalled the ministerial delegation tasked to monitor the process for a consultative meeting in Mogadishu on Saturday(November 1st), three days after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud opened the conference.

The conference will continue while the consultation is taking place, but the new state constitution will not be voted on nor will a state president be chosen until consultations conclude in Mogadishu, the prime minister said in a statement.

To quell concerns that the prime minister’s move was unilateral and a sign of continued discord with the president, Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Osman Jawari backed the decision on Sunday urging stakeholders in Baidoa to stay calm.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somali lawmakers lodge vote of no confidence in Prime Minister

07 Nov – Source: Bloomberg – 255 Words

Somali lawmakers lodged a vote of no confidence against the prime minister, legislators said, deepening the political crisis in the war-torn nation.
More than 140 lawmakers signed a motion against Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed yesterday, accusing him of incompetence, Dahir Amin Jesow, a legislator who backs the move, said by phone from Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud is currently embroiled in a dispute with Ahmed over powers to appoint government ministers.

Ahmed’s “government did little to improve the lives of the people during his tenure in office,” Jesow said. “Therefore, we decided to lodge a vote of no confidence to the speaker of the parliament, which he eventually accepted.”

Lawmaker Mohamed Abti Doon, who’s opposed to the motion, urged the parliamentary speaker to reject it. The drive to remove Somalia’s second prime minister in a year will “only add insult to injury” and worsen the country’s political deadlock, he said.

UN expert panel issues guidelines on rights of women asylum-seekers, refugees

06 Nov – Source:www.un.org- 693 Words

The United Nations committee tasked with monitoring implementation of the global treaty to end all forms of discrimination against women has published a set of guidelines today to ensure that the challenges faced by women in situations of displacement and statelessness are addressed and their rights enforced.

In a General Recommendation issued today, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women suggests practical measures to improve respect for women’s rights, such as ensuring that women are able to lodge independent asylum applications and be heard separately, even if they are part of a family seeking asylum, and providing victims of trafficking access to procedures on seeking asylum without discrimination.

“Displacement arising from armed conflict, gender-related persecution and other serious human rights violations that affect women compounds existing challenges to the elimination of discrimination against women,” the paper states.

Noting that there are numerous reasons why women are compelled to leave their homes and seek asylum in other countries, General Recommendation No. 32, on the “gender-related dimensions of refugees status, asylum, nationality and statelessness of women,” says that in addition to discrimination against women amounting to persecution, women experience violations of their rights throughout the displacement cycle.

Expected floods to ruin Somali crops

06 Nov – Source: thecropsite.com – 627 Words

After a poor rainy season, parts of southern Somalia are now being hit by severe bouts of floods, further aggravating the already alarming food security situation in the Horn of Africa nation, experts at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) have warned.

With the devastation of the 2011 famine still fresh in the minds of many, Somalia once again finds itself in a humanitarian crisis. More than one million people are now in urgent need of assistance- a rise of 20 percent in just six months – while another two million people are experiencing threats to their food security.

Much of Somalia’s agriculture takes place along the Juba and Shebelle rivers, the only perennial streams in Somalia. They originate in Ethiopia, where over 90 percent of the stream flow is generated and experts fear that swells of floodwaters will ruin the crops.

Latest reports indicate that the worst affected area along the Shebelle River is Belet Weyne town. Along the Juba River, floods have been reported in Dollow, Jilib and Jamame in Lower Juba, where large areas with crops have been inundated. “We have a small and critical window of opportunity – we must seize it now if we want to avoid going the same way as four years ago,” said Luca Alinovi, acting Head of Office, FAO Somalia.

Somalia’s economic recovery boosts fuel demands, posing danger

06 Nov – Source: Xinhua.net – 670 Words

Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, which once earned the nickname of the most dangerous city in Africa, is recovering from the two decades long of civil conflicts and ideological wars, and heading towards rebuilding and economic recovery.

The city’s long time war, which enabled Al-Qaida and its local affiliate, Al-Shabaab, to establish their bases in Mogadishu and control most of the southern regions of Somalia, ended in 2011 after African Union peacekeeping forces AMISOM and Somalia national army defeated Al-Shabaab in the frontlines in Mogadishu and pushed the group from the city.

The return of the city to the control of the Somali government and its backers from the African Union demanded privates business and increased the demand of luxury cars, electricity and internet, but the fuel business increase is the most feasible in the city, which has its positive and security concerns as well.

Fahmo Ahmed, 26, sells fuel on the edge of the main KM4 road in Mogadishu, one of the busiest of the town. “I was selling fuel for the last three years. Now the number of the fuel sellers increased; there are also patrol stations, because there are hundreds of thousands of cars imported for the last 3 years,” Ahmed told Xinhua. “The fear is that the fuel in the streets is always vulnerable for burning. It can simply burn if there is explosion; it can burn when fire touches it, and it destroyed many businesses for the last two years,” she added. Though Ahmed knows how dangerous it is to sell unprotected fuel in the streets, she argued that she makes money out of the business and experienced increased customers as Mogadishu streets get more cars daily.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“We also firmly support the effort of Speaker Jawari to turn the conference into its supposed way of by bringing all the stakeholders on board in an effort of reconciling the affected communities.”

Sanity must come back for Southwestern state formation process

05 Nov – Source: Garowe Online – 630 Words

The Regional State formation process in Southwestern Somalia has come under enormous challenge than ever predicted. A new confrontation emerged as far as the endeavor of making the process inclusiveness, fair and transparency among the many stakeholders in the region is concerned.

The confrontation is within the proponents of the idea of the Three-regions State formation. The conference agenda was radically altered soon after the International delegation led by Ambassador Nichalos Kay along with the leaders of the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) opened the conference and left the town on 28 October.

The mishandling process of the conference prompted Speaker of the House of the People, Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari and FGS Prime Minister to intervene the situation and at the same time call the delegated politicians back to Mogadishu for either new considerations or for possible replacement. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Speaker Jawari together encouraged the 360 delegation to steer the conference in a manner of where all the stakeholders in the region assent whereby concurrently they are making sure that the dismantled rival camp politicians of the Six-regional State formation are on board.

“We seem to have forsaken our thinking caps and are only interested in simplistic “action” such as the resignation of officials or a withdrawal from Somalia.”

It’s Time We Took Our Security Seriously

06 Nov – Source: Star – 1284 Words

Security is now firmly back on the agenda in Kenya. The news media is today awash with coverage of the response to the weekend attacks on police and military installations at the coast and the murder of 24 policemen in the marginalized and restive North East. TV and radio talk shows, as well as newspaper column inches are devoted to a discuss ion of the possible reasons for the security failures and with questions over the future employment of the officials in charge of the security system.

Curiously missing from this explosion of opinion is any reference to an address to “a high level seminar on national security strategy” given by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday, just hours before the Kapedo attack. In the speech, the President laid out his analysis of the security threats that the country is facing and the priorities that should occupy his government in defending against them.

“When bullying and exclusion become socially acceptable…it disturbs the development of a coherent society, especially in a national context of harsh and aggressive political rhetoric targeting specific ethnic minority groups.”

Somalis in Copenhagen: growing up as children of “unwanted immigrants”

07 Nov – Source: ionglobaltrends.com – 622 Words

A large influx of refugees from Somalia arrived in Denmark in the ’90s fleeing civil war. At first they gained acceptance.

Back in 1993, a survey showed that Somali refugees were popular among natives, in comparison with Iranians and Palestinians. However, only a few years later, the perception of Somalis had dramatically changed. According to a 1999 study, Somalis experienced more discrimination than any other ethnic minority group in Denmark. This shift followed aggressive media campaigns and political rhetoric at the time, which systematically portrayed Somali refugees as “unwanted immigrants” who caused “problems.” Today many Somalis feel that they are still associated with negative images and stereotypes.

I spent months interviewing Danish Somali youth who, while growing up in Denmark, saw their parents being singled out as “unwanted.” Their stories—which are part of Open Society’s Somalis in Copenhagen report—are not all filled with experiences of discrimination and bullying. But they all carry insight in the questionable mechanisms of “integration,” power relations, stereotypes, and social blindness. Social blindness occurs when people discriminate without knowing the resultant harm and how it can affect a person, a classroom, and a community.

“In the minds of most Somalis, our language should defer to English and Arabic for the serious tasks. Politicians use foreign terms over Somali ones to lend themselves weight. This vogue means that attempts to protect Somali language culture such as Siyaad Barre’s language reforms fail to stick.”

‘A model of ventriloquism’: The impact of foreign media in Somalia

06 Nov – Source: Mediadiversified.org – 963 Words

Influences from foreign media, and the manner in which they are presented to audiences, are changing Somalia’s cultural landscape and stunting the development and growth of Somali language.

The ubiquity of foreign news channels and the new popularity of Turkish drama-serials worries me for a whole host of reasons. Whilst I believe in the sharing of culture across borders as something that should be commended, I feel that in Somalia foreign content is falling onto a dangerously uncritical audience.

News narrated from abroad ,My first issue with foreign media is the way in which we consume our news. Most Somalis watch television for a single purpose: to keep up to date with current affairs. It could even be argued that we are a nation hooked on the news. Something illustrated by our parents’ being perpetually occupied at specific hours through the day, whether it be for the BBC Somali 6pm report, the VOA 2pm report or Universal’s daily news.

Two of these programmes, BBC Somali and VOA are sustained by a type of journalism that administration”, namely, a “model of ventriloquism”.

Top tweets

@YvonneKhamati Once again congratulations to the brave African men and women in uniform fighting terror under the@amisomsomalia umbrella. #Somalia

@martinplaut Somalia: 140 MP’s lodge vote of no confidence in PM Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed accused of incompetence.

@Harar24Editor Women reporting sexual crimes in #Somaliaface threats, intimidation, victimisation and stigmahttp://aje.me/1yXC5kS

@WFPSomalia #Saudi #Arabia has generously donated over 50 metric tons of dates to compliment @WFP food assistance to vulnerable families in #Somalia

@UNLazzarini Urgent funding needed for @WFPSomalia. Without immediate funding, food aid for 700,000 ppl in #Somaliain jeopardy as early as January

@WaiganjoKE Final word from Fatima. Create jobs for Somalia youth otherwise they will be available for hire by warlords#UNEP #championsoftheearth

@KhalifaSpeaks Leaving from #Somalia was not our choice but coming back and rebuilding this nation is our responsibility.

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Image of the day

UNSOM Police Commissioner Mustafa Tekinbas and his team pose with custodial corps of the newly opened Garowe prison O6 Nov, 2014. Photo: UNSOM