November 8, 2012 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Five killed, Dozen injured in Shalambod blast
08 Nov – Source: Bar-kulan – 143 words
An explosion in Shalambod town, Lower Shabelle, on Wednesday killed five people and injured eight others, reports say. The explosion at grocery market in the town is believed to be a mine planted inside the market and was detonated using remote control. Several government soldiers were said to be in the market during the explosion.
Four of the injured people were government soldiers and were taken to a hospital in Marka town for treatment, according to locals who spoke to Bar-kulan on condition of anonymity.
Soldiers later sealed off the scene of the blast and immediately launched investigation into the blast but no arrest has been made so far. Elsewhere in the region, an elder was last night shot and killed in Marka town after unknown gunmen attacked him at Bulo-Jan neighbourhood while on his way home from a mosque in the area.
Key Headlines
- Somali President congratulates U. S. President Barrack Obama on his election victory (Office of the Somali president)
- Rally held in Mogadishu in support of new cabinet (Bar-kulan/Jowhar Online)
- Five killed Dozen injured in Shalambod blast (Bar-kulan)
- MKU university to open campus in Somalia (Star News)
- UK condemns bomb attack in Mogadishu (Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu)
- Somali president holds meeting with AMISOM officials (Radio Risaala/Radio Mustaqbal)
- Kismayo authorities deport unannounced Mogadishu delegation (Garowe Online/Hiiraan Online/Raxanreeb/Jowhar Online)
PRESS RELEASE
Somali President congratulates U. S. President Barrack Obama on his election victory
08 Nov – Source: Office of the Somali president – 181 words
The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Wednesday congratulated U. S. President Barrack Obama on his re-election victory in the presidential elections as to secure a second term in office.
“On behalf of the Somali Government and people, I am pleased to offer my warmest congratulations to you on your re-election and wish you every success in your second term in office,” president Hassan Sheikh said. The Somali president also extended heartfelt message to the people of the United States through President Barack Obama.
In his message, the president said, “United States of America is a key partner of the Federal Republic of Somalia and we look forward to continuing the close cooperation established over the years and further strengthening our bilateral ties”
“As your leadership is vital to meeting global challenges, I am sure you will continue to play a leading role in the global issues that are facing the world”, he added.
SOMALI MEDIA
Five killed, Dozen injured in Shalambod blast
08 Nov – Source: Bar-kulan – 143 words
An explosion in Shalambod town, Lower Shabelle, on Wednesday killed five people and injured eight others, reports say. The explosion at grocery market in the town is believed to be a mine planted inside the market and was detonated using remote control. Several government soldiers were said to be in the market during the explosion.
Four of the injured people were government soldiers and were taken to a hospital in Marka town for treatment, according to locals who spoke to Bar-kulan on condition of anonymity.
Soldiers later sealed off the scene of the blast and immediately launched investigation into the blast but no arrest has been made so far. Elsewhere in the region, an elder was last night shot and killed in Marka town after unknown gunmen attacked him at Bulo-Jan neighbourhood while on his way home from a mosque in the area.
Puntland forces arrest secretary of former President
08 Nov – Source: Horseed Media – 331 words
On Wednesday, Puntland forces arrested Farah Abdullahi, the former Secretary to Mohamud Muse Hersi (Adde Muse), the former President of Puntland State of Somalia.
The Puntland’s Maritime Police Force accompanied by four technicals (combat vehicles) stormed the office of Farah Abdullahi in Bosaso city, the commercial capital of Puntland.
It was not immediately clear why Mr.Abdullahi was arrested. The arrest came just hours after the former Prime Minister of Somalia Dr.Abdiweli Ali Gaas released a press statement calling on the Puntland authorities not to oppress the people and the media.
UK condemns bomb attack in Mogadishu
08 Nov – Source: Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu – 168 words
The UK government has strongly condemned the Wednesday bomb attack in Mogadishu where one soldiers was killed and another one injured. In a press statement, Minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds said his government condemns the attack near the federal parliament building in Mogadishu.
He said the attack is a further unsuccessful attempt to disrupt the important progress being made by the new Somali government, saying that “it only serves to strengthen our resolve to continue to support the Somali people.”
At least one person was killed on Wednesday when a car laden with explosives detonated in the car park of the country’s parliament building in the capital Mogadishu. The explosion went off while the country’s new legislators have just ended a session inside. Several cars belonging to the members of the parliament were damaged. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, though Mogadishu has been frequently targeted by al Shabaab militant group, who are fighting Somali government forces and African Union soldiers across the country.
Kismayo authorities deport unannounced Mogadishu delegation
07 Nov – Source: Garowe Online/Hiiraan Online/Raxanreeb/Jowhar Online – 118 words
A delegation consisting of Somali government and security authorities from Mogadishu who unexpectedly arrived in Kismayo were deported from airport, Garowe Online reports. According to Kismayo authorities, an eight-member delegation that was sent by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud without notification was deported from Kismayo airport on Wednesday by Kismayo authorities.
The delegation included AMISOM Spokesman Col. Ismail Hamud former Jubba Valley Alliance (JVA) militia leader Col. Mohamed Roble Goobaale, and other officials.
Col. Goobaale, under the political leadership of Col. Barre Adan Hiraale and Col. Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail, is alleged of committing war crimes during the seven-year when bloody clashes over control Kismayo occurred. In early 2007, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) drove the JVA out of Kismayo.
Rally held in Mogadishu in support of new cabinet
08 Nov – Source: Bar-kulan/Jowhar Online – 244 words
Thousands of Mogadishu residents on Thursday took to the streets to voice their strong support for the newly formed cabinet. On Nov. 4, Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon announced his new government, with a woman been named as the country’s foreign minister for the first time in the country’s history.
The ten member cabinet is expected to face the parliament for endorsement as stipulated in the new constitution. “After long discussions and consultations, I have named my cabinet which consists of only 10 members. Among them is a female foreign affairs minister for the first time in Somali history,” the prime minister said during the announcement last Sunday.
Another woman named to the new government, Maryan Qasim Ahmed, will take the role of minister of development and social affairs. She had previously served as women’s minister. Jubilant demonstrators waving Somali flag and carrying placards bearing slogans showing their pleasure towards the new cabinet thronged inside Mogadishu’s Konis Stadium where Prime Minister Shirdon turned up.
The rally which was organised by Banadir regional administration was attended by several other top Somali officials including the newly appointed cabinet ministers. Speaking to the demonstrators, Prime Minister Shirdon expressed his optimism that his cabinet will get parliamentary vote once he seeks endorsement in the coming few days.
Somali president holds meeting with AMISOM officials
07 Nov – Source: Radio Risaala/Radio Mustaqbal – 88 words
AMISOM officials have reportedly been summoned to villa Somalia to hold meeting with president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Commander of AMISOM forces in Somalia Gen. Andrew Gutti and other high ranking officials are said to be meeting the president in Villa Somalia. Thursday’s meeting was to discuss the reason why AMISOM delegation was denied entry to Kismayo.
10 Somalis injured in South Africa
08 Nov – Source: Shabelle – 123 words
At least ten Somalis have been wounded, some seriously in separate incidents in South Africa for the last 24-hours by armed gangs, the latest in string of deadly attacks against Somali business community there.
Sources from Cape Town indicated that a group of gangs have attacked several shops owned by Somali businessmen in the city, and shot at least 10 people during the raid.
“Assailants with AK 47 assault rifles and pistols stormed Somali owned shops located in a small village in Cape Town, injuring 10 as the gangs were trying to loot the properties of the businessmen,” a witness said. So far no one was arrested for the attack by the police, according the reports.
Somali pirates flown to Netherlands to stand trial
07 Nov – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 130 words
Four suspected Somali pirates were on Monday flown to Netherlands to stand trial there after they were arrested following a firefight with marines off the coast of Somalia, the Dutch government has said.
In a statement, The Dutch government said Tuesday the four Somali suspects were flown into the Netherlands on Monday night and will be prosecuted for piracy. They were detained Oct. 25 after allegedly opening fire on Dutch marines who were attempting to check a fishing boat close to the Somali coast.
It is the latest case launched by Dutch prosecutors against Somalis detained during international naval patrols aimed at protecting merchant vessels against pirates operating out of lawless Somalia. Last month, a court in Rotterdam convicted nine Somalis of piracy and sentenced them to four-and-a-half years imprisonment.
REGIONAL MEDIA
UN Security Council extends Somalia peacekeeping force mandate
08 Nov – Source: New Vision – 600 words
The U.N. Security Council extended the mandate of African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia for four months on Wednesday as it mulls lifting an arms embargo and Uganda threatens to pull out troops over claims it is aiding rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo.
The African Union has appealed to the 15-member council to review its arms embargo to help Somalia rebuild its army and consolidate military gains against al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab. U.N. diplomats said the council was split over this request.
The council extended the mandate of the AU peacekeeping mission for four months, instead of the usual 12, to allow for a review of operations, including consideration of the arms embargo request and a call to permit the export of stocks of charcoal.
The council imposed the embargo in 1992 to cut the flow of arms to feuding warlords, who a year later ousted dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and plunged Somalia into civil conflict. It banned the sale abroad of Somali charcoal in February this year in an attempt to cut off al Shabaab’s funding.
MKU university to open campus in Somalia
08 Nov – Source: Star News – 92 words
MT Kenya University plans to put up a campus in Somalia, Chancellor Prof Victoria Wulsin has said. She said the country, which is emerging from decades of civil war, needs to revive its education system to workers and professionals. She said MKU wants to be part of the country`s reconstruction process.
The recently elected Somalia president has formed a government to ensure the rebuilding of the country. Wulsin said her university will provide higher education to Somalis to enable them rebuild their tattered Country. She was addressing the university`s academic staff yesterday.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia: A snapshot of humanitarian challenges
07 Nov – Source: Reliefweb/IRIN News – 1079 words
After two decades of civil war, Somalia is finally seeing hope for lasting peace. After the August departure of al Shabaab insurgents, thousands of people have returned to the capital, Mogadishu, looking to rebuild their lives, and in September, the election of a new president was widely viewed as the start of a new era for the country.
Below, IRIN highlights some of Somalia’s key health and socio-economic indicators, obtained from local experts and other sources, that will influence the country’s progress as it seeks to leave conflict behind. Health infrastructure: Somalia faces numerous health challenges, central among them the absence of an effective national health system, according to former acting Health Minister Abdiaziz Sheikh Yusuf.
After the 1991 overthrow of the former government, hundreds of doctors and nurses fled the country, and medical services were taken over by the private sector, the UN and NGOs. Under a new cabinet structure announced on 4 November, the health ministry will now fall under the Social Development Services Ministry, which will be led by Maryan Qasim. This new ministry will also cover education, Youth and Sports.
Strong blast outside Somali parliament, one dead
07 Nov – Source: AFP – 165 words
A strong blast rocked Somalia’s parliament Wednesday, with at least one person killed, an AFP reporter at the scene said. The blast, believed to be a car bomb set off close to the parliament, is the latest in a string of attacks in the war-ravaged Somalia capital.
A body of a Somali government security official dressed in military uniform could be seen following the explosion. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, but the al Qaeda linked al Shabaab insurgents have conducted a series of guerrilla style attacks in the capital since pulling out of fixed positions there last year.
Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri this week urged all Muslims to support Somalia’s Islamist al Shabaab, who have in recent months suffered several major setbacks with African Union troops wresting several strongholds from them.
The insurgents have vowed to topple newly elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who took office in September after being chosen by the country’s new parliament, bringing an end to eight years of transitional rule.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“It could not be established which coalition troops on the ground were involved in the liberation of the two men or if any special forces were seconded to the operation by countries engaged with the Seychelles in the fight against ocean terror, nor what fate their captors met in the end. Well done Seychelles once again for standing your ground and holding your principles high while others pondered and wavered.”
Seychelles hostages ‘freed’ in an operation, not by ransom payment
08 Nov – Source: Wolf Gang Home Blog – 503 Words
The Seychelles’ remarkably run of good fortunes in their fight against ocean terrorism has seemingly been crowned last week, when two hostages, taken from their fishing vessel in Seychellois waters by Somalia’s terrorists of the sea, were freed in a combined operation of coalition forces now on the ground, liberating the Somalia and combating the piracy menace from land.
A widely publicized and read interview 1 ½ years ago with Seychelles Minister for Home Affairs Joel Morgan established beyond doubt at the time that the country would continue to treat ocean terrorism as a threat to national security and continue to work hand in hand with friendly nations to pacify the Indian Ocean waters while seeking a resolution within Somalia.
It was at that time too that the then still controversial placement of armed on board security on ships crossing Seychellois waters was affirmed, soon after made a requirement by the Seychelles government for vessels transiting her waters.
Top tweets
@AnalystSomalia New #Somalia cabinet will present their program to the parliament this Saturday; legislature will cast confidence vote a day or two later.
@UKUN_NewYork UN Security Council extends #AMISOM mandate. UK Permanent Representative Mark Lyall Grant explains UK vote. #Somalia http://ow.ly/f6ENk.
@ahmed_yassin1 IT IS NOT WISE TO LIFT #ARMS #EMBARGO ON #SOMALIA, BEFORE WE #TRAIN #GOOD and #CLEAN SOLDIERS TO DO THE JOB FOR SOMALIA.
@OCHASomalia VIDEO: Wonderful story on the importance of protecting pastoral life in #Somalia & building resilience http://vimeo.com/38848024 v @Adesoafrica.
@janwire “#Shabaab has carried out 41 attacks in #Somalia and #Kenya since losing #Kismayo, killing 42 and injuring 198 (estimated).” (via @DaveedGR).
@africathinker A boy sits on a pile of garbage in #Mogadishu.Street children often sleep in the capital’s destroyed buildings.#Somalia pic.twitter.com/Bo4u6csd.
Image of the day
Somali soldiers stand near the twisted car-bomb that exploded near Somali parliament’s headquarters, in Mogadishu, Somalia, November 7, 2012. Photo: VOA/AP.