October 1, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

AMISOM, SNA forces advance to Barawe town, Al Shabab’s stronghold

01 Oct- Source: Radio Mogadishu/Radio RBC- 122 words

Somali National Army backed by the African Union Forces [AMISOM] are said to have headed to Barawe town in Lower Shabelle region, the largest stronghold of the Al Qaeda-linked militant group Al Shabab.

On Tuesday, the joint forces seized Maryan-Gubaay village, about 60km from Barawe in the latest military move toward the towns controlled by the group.

Lower Shabelle Governor Abdukadir Nur Siidii said the joint forces were conducting clean up operation together with the major military swoop to secure the region.

Security agents of the Federal Government of Somalia estimates at least 500 Al Shabab members defected to the government since the Operation Indian Ocean was launched in August of this year.

Key Headlines

AMISOM SNA forces advance to Barawe town Al Shabab’s stronghold (Radio Mogadishu)
Allied forces launch security operations in Galgadud region (Radio Bar-kulan)
SNA and AMISOM troops take new areas from Al Shabaab (Radio Mogadishu)
Government forces and AMISOM conducts operations in Wadajir district (Radio Goobjoog)
Two killed in clan militia clashes on the outskirts of Beledweyne (Radio Bar-kulan)
Puntland administration to distribute herds of livestock to families hit by hurricane (Radio Goobjoog)
Somaliland and Ethiopia discuss the fight against terrorism (Radio Dalsan)
Judge to sentence man in tree-lighting terror case (AP)
Explosion in Kismayo kills IJA soldier (Radio Mustaqbal)
Severe floods wash away crops in Ruqi village Awdal region (Radio Bar-kulan)
Two Dead Due to Hunger in Gedo Region (Radio Goobjoog/Hiiraan Online)
Somali President Travels to Saudi to Perform Hajj (Radio Mogadishu)
Turkey Consulate Starts to Issue Visas (Horn News Online)
Joint forces seize Adale district of middle Shabelle region (Radio Goobjoog)
Kenya: Police recover ammunition in supermarket (Star-Kenya)
Ethiopia: Ambassador Berhane meets Somaliland official (Ertagov)
In Hunt for Funds Somalia Found Trouble (The Wall Street)
Somalis in Minnesota: A second chance to get it right (Star Tribune)

SOMALI MEDIA

AMISOM, SNA forces advance to Barawe town, Al Shabab’s stronghold

01 Oct- Source: Radio Mogadishu/Radio RBC- 122 words

On Tuesday, the joint forces seized Maryan-Gubaay village, about 60km from Barawe in the latest military move toward the towns controlled by the group.

Lower Shabelle Governor Abdukadir Nur Siidii said the joint forces were conducting clean up operation together with the major military swoop to secure the region.

Security agents of the Federal Government of Somalia estimates at least 500 Al Shabab members defected to the government since the Operation Indian Ocean was launched in August of this year.

Allied forces launch security operations in Galgadud region

01 Oct- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 134 words

Somali government forces backed by African Union troops in Somalia on Wednesday launched security operations in several villages and rural areas near El-bur district in Galgadud region.

Nur Hassan Gutale, a senior government official in El-bur who spoke to Bar-kulan said the allied forces launched the security operations in villages near El-bur town including Wabho, War-holo, Adare and Af-dhay.

He added the aim of the operations is to provide adequate and reliable security to the people in these villages following the recent departure of al Shabaab fighters from areas near El-bur. He called on the locals in El-bur and its environs to work with security forces.

Somali government troops and the African Union forces in Somalia have been carrying out similar security activities in El-bur and its nearby villages over the past few weeks.

SNA and AMISOM troops take new areas from Al Shabaab

01 Sept- Source: Radio Mogadishu/Somali Current/Radio Dalsan- 211 words

Somali National Army and African union peacekeeping troops in Somalia have seized new frontline areas from Al Shabaab militant group. According to a Somali army official who spoke to national broadcaster Radio Mugadishu, the group has abandoned its bases in lower shabelle. “We manage to drive the terrorists out of several areas for the past few days including Mrayan Gubay and they fled before the allied forces reached,” he said.

According to close sources, the Somali National Army supported by the AMISOM troops is heading to the Al Shabaab stronghold, the port city of Barawe.

Al Shabaab settled the coastal city of Barawe after they lost Kismayu two years ago to the Kenyan military which joined AMISOM banner to battle the group.

Government forces and AMISOM conducts operations in Wadajir district

01 Oct -Source Radio Goobjoog/Radio Danan -125 words

Government forces backed African Union peace-keeping troops have conducted dawn operation in Wadajir district on Wednesday. AMISOM troops blocked the main roads in the district while government forces were searching houses and questioning the residents.

Unspecified number of people were arrested as Wadajir district commissioner Ahmed Abdule Afrah confirmed to Goobjoog FM.

The commissioner stated that his administration will conduct through investigations on the apprehended youth adding that the operation in the district are part of the government’s plan to maintain the overall security of the capital.

The dawn operations have affected the public transport and business activities in the district as the residents fearing to be arrested stayed indoors until the crackdown stopped.

Two killed in clan militia clashes on the outskirts of Beledweyne

01 Oct- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Radio RBC- 127 words

At least two people were killed and four others injured in armed confrontations in Defow village on the outskirts of Beledweyne, the regional capital of Somalia’s south central region of Hiiraan.

Two clashes were said to be triggered by heated arguments between two clan militias over the ownership of a fertile land in the area. Beledweyne commissioner Mohamed Osman Abdi confirmed the incident and subsequent casualties to Bar-kulan saying those who were killed and injured were from the two warring sides.

He added his administration will dispatch security forces to the area to end the hostilities and called on the two warring sides to cease the armed conflicts and end their differences through dialogue and negotiations.

Puntland administration to distribute herds of livestock to families hit by hurricane

01 Oct- Source: Radio Goobjoog- 151 words

The administrations of Puntland, in North Eastern Somalia is planning to distribute herds of livestock to hundreds of families affected by the hurricane in Nugal and Bari regions.

The religious leaders in the region encouraged the public to support the affected families.
The livestock to be distributed was collected from the business people all over the region to assist the seriously affected families.

The vice president of Puntland Abdihakim Ga’amey leading delegates is expected to visit the cyclone hit areas in Nugal region where the distribution of livestock is to take place.

In December 2013, Puntland administration also distributed nearly 16000 herds of livestock to the pastoral communities hit by a similar storm in the affected areas.

This comes a time when Puntland administration has sent appeal to humanitarian aid agencies to support the people affected by the droughts and the hurricane that has killed over two hundred people in Puntland coastal areas.

Somaliland and Ethiopia discuss the fight against terrorism

01 Oct- Source: Radio Dalsan- 139 words

Ethiopian State Minister for Foreign Affairs Berhane Gebre Kiristo met with the Somaliland Minister for Civil Aviation, Mohamoud Hashi Abdi in Addis Ababa.

The leaders discussed the ties of the two countries, the security in the Horn of Africa, trade, the fight against terror and the continuation of the passenger flights to and from both countries. Hon. Berhane Gebre Kiristo said the Ethiopian government will strengthen the ties of the two countries. He added that the Ethiopian government is prioritising the security in the Horn of Africa, and the fight against Al Shabaab. He also said the Ethiopian government will play an important role in the improvement of peace, security and the development of the region.

On the other hand, they also discussed about Berbera port where Ethiopia which is a landlocked country import their goods.

Explosion in Kismayo kills IJA soldier

01 Oct- Source: Radio Mustaqbal/Radio Goobjoog- 75 words

At least one soldier was killed and many others sustained injuries after remote control explosion aimed at Interim Juba administration forces passing Via Afmadow occurred in Kismayo. The explosion has also destroyed the targeted vehicle, a luxurious Noha. IJA security forces are conducting operations to pursue the individuals who masterminded the explosion. The operations have not affected the public transport and business activities in Kismayo as our correspondent reports.

Severe floods wash away crops in Ruqi village, Awdal region

01 Oct- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 122 words

Farmers in Ruqi village on the outskirts of Baki district of Awdal region have reported to have suffered crop losses due to severe floods caused by torrential rains in the region over the last couple of days.

Yonis Sheikh Hussein, one of the farmers in the area said the heavy rains have washed away their crops and destroyed water canals that are used for irrigation activities.

He added the torrential rains have also destroyed the sole bridge in the area in which the farmers used to cross over to the other side of a valley in the village.

Hussein called on the local administration authorities and Somaliland’s Ministry of Agriculture to assist the affected families in the area by providing alternative livelihoods.

Two Dead Due to Hunger in Gedo Region

01 Sept- Source: Radio Goobjoog/Alldhacdo online/Hiiraan Online/Bartamaha Online- 180 words

At least two people have been confirmed dead due to thirst in Gedo region, south-west Somalia, a government official revealed. Dahir Mohamud Noor, the chairman of Gedo drought committee in Luuq district speaking to Goobjoog FM confirmed the death of two people among them children.

He said the effects of the prolonged drought in the region is increasing day after day adding that more people might if immediate relief is not delivered to the people faced with humanitarian crisis.

“There is fear of more deaths if an emergency humanitarian assistance is not met as quickly as possible”, he said. The official urged the Federal government and aid agencies to assist the population, expressing his concern over the possibility of more deaths.

The chairman urged the Somali people in the country and those abroad to assist their brothers and sisters in the drought affected areas of the Gedo. Residents have recently been complaining from food and acute water shortages in the Gedo region, stating that they are on the verge of humanitarian disaster.

Somali President Travels to Saudi to Perform Hajj

01 Oct- Source: Radio Mogadishu/Somali Current/Radio Dalsan- 147 words

Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud will join millions of Muslims across the globe in the holy city of Makkah for pilgrimage. President Sheikh Mohamud accompanied by deputy prime minister who also doubles as the minister for religious affairs Ridwan Hirsi and other senior government officials left the country on Tuesdayevening for Saudi Arabia.

Somali president and his delegation received a special invitation from Saudi King, Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and is expected to meet kingdom authorities to discuss wide range of issues between the two Islamic states.

National assembly speaker and top security officials have escorted the president at the airport before he left the country.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is among the gulf states that have financially supported the federal government of Somalia particularly in the humanitarian aid sector.

Turkey Consulate Starts to Issue Visas

01 Oct- Source: Horn News Online- 107 words

The government of Turkey consulate in Hargeisa has began to issue entry visas to the citizens wishing to visit Turkey. In a terse statement sent through the consulate twitter account stated that the Embassy will issue visas to people in Somaliland who want to visit Turkey.

The consulate did not elaborate further if it is going to issue visas using the new Somaliland E- Passport which the government recently unveiled.

Many people have welcomed this new initiative which will help many stranded Somalilanders to visit Turkey on business, education and seek medical attention.

Joint forces seize Adale district of middle Shabelle region

01 Sept- Source: Radio Goobjoog- 124 words

The joint forces of the Somali National Army and the African Union troops on Wednesday seized Adadle district in the Middle Shabelle region without meeting any resistance from Al- Shabab.

The forces have conducted security operations in the town to maintain the security of the town, dozens of people suspected of Al-shabab members were arrested as our correspondent in Middle Shabelle adan Hussein Daud reports.

The security officials have declined to give comment about this recent seizure of Adale town but the investigations of the arrested suspects is going on in the police stations.

On Tuesday on a similar advance the joint forces have captured Raage Ceelle about 100km North of the capital city, Mogadishu.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Kenya: Police recover ammunition in supermarket

01 Oct- Source: Star-Kenya- 216 words

Police in Nairobi are investigating how a gun magazine with 15 bullets ended up in a Lang’ata supermarket on Monday evening. A security guard at the Uchumi Langata Hyper Supermarket found the magazine in a leather bag that was wrapped with a black polythene bag. The magazine and the bullets are similar to those used in Ceska pistols, which are the National Police Service’s weapons of choice.

The firearm is usually issued to senior officers or members of elite crime-busting units. Simon Jonathan, a security officer at the supermarket, told police that he was patrolling when he stumbled upon the items.

The incident comes hardly a week after a sick man rammed into several vehicles at the Galleria shopping mall. Security agents have been on high alert at shopping malls following the killing of former al Shabaab leader Ahmed Godane in Somalia early last month.

Ethiopia: Ambassador Berhane meets Somaliland official

30 Sept- Source: Ertagov/ Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs – 167 words

Ethiopian Foreign Affairs State Minister Ambassador Berhane Gebre-Christos discussed on Tuesday with Mohammed Hashid Abdi, Minister of Civil Aviation and Air Transport of Somaliland.

Discussions covered the mutual relations between Ethiopia and Somaliland, as well as aviation links, peace and security, and trade and business.

Also on the agenda were Ethiopian Airlines cooperation with Somaliland, working together to alleviate terrorism and development cooperation in the Berbera corridor. They looked at ways of encouraging people-to-people relations.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Judge to sentence man in tree-lighting terror case

01 Source: AP- 409 words

Mohamed Mohamud, the young Somali American convicted of trying to bomb Portland’s downtown square while it was filled with holiday cheer, will learn Wednesday if he gets to leave prison before he’s an old man.

Mohamud, 23, could get life in prison at Wednesday’s hearing in U.S. District Court, but federal prosecutors recommend a 40-year sentence.

The Somali American was arrested Nov. 26, 2010, after pressing a keypad button on a cellphone that he believed would trigger a bomb where thousands of people gathered for the annual lighting of a Christmas tree.

In reality, nobody was in danger. The truck bomb was a fake supplied by undercover FBI agents posing as al-Qaida recruiters. The undercover agents made friends with Mohamud – a teenager at the time – after learning he had written for an online jihadi magazine and exchanged emails with accused terrorists.

In Hunt for Funds, Somalia Found Trouble

01 Oct – . Source: The Wall Street – 1,569 words

When Somalia’s government wanted to rebuild the country’s war-shattered economy in 2009, it hired lawyers to recover what it believed was more than $100 million of government funds frozen by foreign countries during two decades of civil conflict.

Things didn’t go according to plan. Over the past five years, the drive to reclaim the missing money has spawned corruption allegations and led to the resignation of two central bank governors. The fragile Somali government is now tussling with American lawyers over the funds.

So far, the recovery effort has yielded only about $12 million, has imperiled the country’s relations with Western donors, and exposed disarray in the Somali government. After decades of conflict, Somalia is constantly teetering on the edge of chaos. Additional strife could destabilize the fragile country and a region trying to unite to fight a rising terrorist threat.

Somalis in Minnesota: A second chance to get it right

30 Sept. – Source: Star Tribune – 789 Words

Somalis in Minnesota are in the news again, and again the coverage is not positive. The press is converging on Minneapolis and St. Paul, hoping to break stories of Somali-American youths traveling to the Middle East with the intention of joining terror groups, including the most reviled: the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

The media frenzy appears to be a sequel of sorts. Seven years ago, a group of young men went back to Somalia to fight Ethiopian troops invading Mogadishu, the capital. Somalia and Ethiopia have fought several wars over colonial border disputes. Ethiopian troops invading Somalia’s capital triggered deep emotions in the Somali community in Minnesota.

Al-Shabab emerged from the struggle against Ethiopia and later aligned with Al-Qaida. Al-Shabab overpowered smaller nationalist groups and consolidated power. Some of the young men who traveled from the Twin Cities ended up fighting for Al-Shabab, a violation of American law. The federal government amassed agents in the Twin Cities in response to the missing men. The concern was that young men of Somali descent would return home after receiving terror training and carry out attacks here.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“I hope by the time you run for election in 2016, your ideas can’t be stopped and you have answered all these questions and win a democratic and transparent election that will inspire the future generation of Somalis to follow your suit. Good luck!”

Somalia’s 2016 Elections

30 Sept- Source: Hiiraan Online- 1063 words

It’s called the “Uncommon Grounds Coffeehouse” for a reason I don’t understand. But in this particular night, it’s a bit chilly outside this two tier early Victorian American type house where the lower part of the house is a coffee cafe where hopeless romantics, students, cozy loving souls, and those who want to hide their faces behind the dim lights of this café meet and mingle quietly. Mixture of jazz and soft country music is playing on a speaker that’s hidden behind this artificial flourish green plant that’s fixed on the upper corner of where I am sitting. The soft and reddish sofa makes me feel too cozy and crave to cuddle with any soul that can handle a big heartfelt cuddle. But in this evening I am here to catch-up with friends and discuss non-fiction literature, politics and the surge of Somali “politicians” coming to Minneapolis holding small semi-planned gatherings in town.

Over the last couple of months the number of Somali politicians hosting small parties both in public and private soliciting political backing from influential Somalis in Minneapolis Minnesota has been the talk of the town among those who follow Somali politics. In factin mid-summer the number of Somali politicians staying in the city reached in the dozens. Many of these individuals came to the city for one important reason—to introduce themselves and gather the support of Somalis in this city in preparation of Somalia’s 2016 elections.

Al Shabab’s Internal Split

30 Sept. – Source: New York Times – 1,011 words

NAIROBI, Kenya — At ceremonies here to mark the first anniversary of the shooting rampage at the Westgate Mall by four Al Shabab gunmen that left 67 people dead, Sgt. Godfrey Emojong offered a remarkable tale of survival. He was one of the first policemen to arrive at the scene that Sept. 21, one of the lightly armed officers who believed they were responding to a robbery.

But the sight of the dead bodies piling up told a different story. Minutes later, as he was helping to move people out of the line of fire, Sergeant Emojong was hit, downed with 15 bullet wounds.

“I have been through hell and back,” he said. “And every day I am grateful for the time I have been given to be with my wife and two young children.”

For Sergeant Emojong and hundreds of others who survived four days of mayhem at Westgate, there’s a small crumb of comfort in the fact that Al Shabab’s leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, was killed on Sept. 1 in a drone strike by American forces. But Mr. Godane’s death does not spell the end of Al Shabab. Rather, it offers a narrow window of opportunity for the international community to exploit the power vacuum in its leadership and offer solid, practical reasons for its rank and file to put down their weapons.

Top tweets

@Omaar_nor A roadside bomb blast heard in z conflict-hit#Kismayo city. Witnesses said 1 Soldier died in IED explosion targeted army convoy.

‏@FCONeilWigan #Somalia sadly still bottom of Mo Ibrahim Index. But improved on National Security and Participation and Human Rights http://www.moibrahimfoundation.org/interact/

@Somalia111 Meeting UN #Youth Envoy @AhmadAlhendawi in Mogadishu. Support for #Somalia’s youth critical to peace-building.

‏@Eye_on_Somalia #allAfrica Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Meets With the Turkish Ambassador to Somalia: [Dalsan Radio…http://bit.ly/1nJrp8E #somalia

@Eye_on_Somalia #allAfrica Somaliland and Ethiopia Discuss the Fight Against Terrorism: [Dalsan Radio]Ethiopian State…http://bit.ly/YKXgd6 #somalia

@robynleekriel AMISOM prepares for renewed surge into#Somalia #AMISOM http://www.enca.com/au-prepares-new-surge-against-al-shabaab …

@ahmedwardigley #United #Nations News Centre – #Somaliawill be #united by 2016, #President tells #UN General Assembly:http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48888#.VCvTsilUpaM.twitter …

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Image of the day

#UN Youth Envoy @AhmadAlhendawi arrived Mogadishu on 30 Sept, 2014. Photo: @Somalia111