October 11, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Cabinet meeting discusses security, Barawe operation
11 Oct – Source: Raxanreeb/SNTV – 154 words
Somalia cabinet of ministers discussed on Thursday the security situation in the country following the U.S covert operation on the country’s southern town of Barawe early this week.
The cabinet meeting late on Thursday chaired by the Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon hailed the U.S Navy Seal’s raid on al Shabaab targets in Somalia while the Prime Minister gave further explanation on the role of the federal government in the world efforts to eradicate terrorist cells in the world.
“Same as the world, we collaborate with every side of our international partners to eradicate and get rid off those terrorists killing the people of Somalia,” the Prime Minister said in the statement from the cabinet meeting.
“Somali government fully confirms its cooperation with the world against the terrorist groups using our main land as safe haven. They are threat to Somalia, Africa and the world,” he added.
Key Headlines
- Cabinet meeting discusses security Barawe operation (Raxanreeb/SNTV)
- Somali government forces capture area in south-western Somalia (Radio Mogadishu/Bar-kulan)
- 23 Somali pilgrims arrested in Nairobi (Somali Current/Bar-kulan)
- Italy to hold state funeral for migrants (Daily Monitor)
- Libya Somalia Raids Signal Shift in US Counterterror Efforts (VOA)
- Ugandan held in Nairobi over Somali passport (New Vision)
- Fear grips Somali town raided by SEAL commandoes (AP)
- Norwegian suspected of role in Kenya’s Westgate attack (BBC)
- Somalis leaving South Africa for home (Radio Ergo)
SOMALI MEDIA
Cabinet meeting discusses security, Barawe operation
11 Oct – Source: Raxanreeb/SNTV – 154 words
Somalia cabinet of ministers discussed on Thursday the security situation in the country following the U.S covert operation on the country’s southern town of Barawe early this week.
The cabinet meeting late on Thursday chaired by the Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon hailed the U.S Navy Seal’s raid on al Shabaab targets in Somalia while the Prime Minister gave further explanation on the role of the federal government in the world efforts to eradicate terrorist cells in the world.
“Same as the world, we collaborate with every side of our international partners to eradicate and get rid off those terrorists killing the people of Somalia,” the Prime Minister said in the statement from the cabinet meeting.
“Somali government fully confirms its cooperation with the world against the terrorist groups using our main land as safe haven. They are threat to Somalia, Africa and the world,” he added.
Somali government forces capture area in south-western Somalia
11 Oct – Source: Radio Mogadishu/al Shahid/Bar-kulan – 90 words
Somali government forces on Thursday took control of Qansax Oomane village in Bay province, south-western Somalia. This came after clashes between government forces and the al Shabaab militants in the region, according to informed sources.
In an interview with Bar-kulan, Bardale district commissioner Mohamed Isack Aricase stated that clashes between Somali forces backed by AMISOM troops and al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militant group occurred in village near Bardale district on Wednesday.
Mr Aricase further added that they have rescued a vehicle and civilians that were held by the al Qaeda-inspired Al-Shabaab rebel group as hostages. The district commissioner said that the operation was warmly welcomed by the residents in the area. Somali official say that “there is ongoing military operation in the region aimed to liberate entire region from al Shabaab militia”.
23 Somali pilgrims arrested in Nairobi
11 Oct – Source: Somali Current/Bar-kulan – 110 words
Kenyan authorities have arrested twenty-three Somalis in Nairobi for allegedly using forged residency permits, according to Somalia’s Ambassador to Kenya. The people were arrested during the last three days on their way to Mecca to perform this year’s hajj obligation.
Somalia’s Ambassador to Kenya Mohamed Ali Nur said the detainees were having forged residency permits on their passports.
He added that a number of elderly people from Kenya’s Dadab Refugee Camps were among those arrested. The Ambassador said that they have spoken to the Kenyan Immigration Authorities to release the people.
Somalia tops FIFA futuro III course in Addis Ababa
11 Oct – Source: Raxanreeb – 228 Words
At the end of FIFA futuro III referee instructor course in Addis Ababa, Somalia has topped the course, with Somali Football Federation delegate and SFF education officer Ali Mohamed Ahmed becoming the award winner of the event after he scored the highest points of the examination conducted by FIFA experts.
At the end of the examination, the FIFA experts announced the result which put Ali Mohamed Ahmed (Somalia) in the 1st stage whilst ABASI from Uganda and GIZETE from Ethiopia won the 2nd and the 3rd places of the course. This was another major success for Somali Football Federation which this year successfully implemented the first ever FIFA grassroots coaching course for the war-devastated country.
“I am very proud of becoming the topmost of the course examination—this is a great example for the existence of a real football progress in Somalia, despite having experienced one of the world’s most notorious wars and anarchy for over two decades” referee instructor Ali Mohamed Ahmed told the media after he was honoured with an award at the end of the FIFA future III course in Addis Ababa on Thursday 10th of October 2013.
Somalis leaving South Africa for home
10 Oct – Source: Radio Ergo – 231 words
Somali refugees and exiled business people living in South Africa are increasingly moving back to Somalia as security improves. Idiris Mohamed, the director of South Africa-based travel agency Kelker said they have been issuing tickets to more than 40 Somalis going back to Somalia each week.
Radio Ergo’s reporter in South Africa said the number could be much higher since there are several other travel agencies issuing tickets to Somalis. Mohamed said the big return home started at the beginning of the year. The Somali Embassy in Pretoria produces Go Home documents that help people to travel back to Somalia. Since the establishment of Somalia’s first diplomatic mission in South Africa in February, Mohamed Ali, the consul of the mission, said more than 5,000 Somalis had returned to Somalia.
The xenophobic violence targeting Somalis, the worsening economic situation in South Africa and the improving security in parts of Somalia have led people to go back home, according to the consul. “There are signs of hope and inspiration coming from Somalia, and that encouraged me to go back,” said Abdinasir Cano, one of the dozens of Somali returning to their country after several years in South Africa.
Somaliland president returns home after Turkey visit
10 Oct – Source: Somaliland Informer – 94 words
The delegation headed by Somaliland president Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Silanyo has returned to the today country after having finished working visit to Turkey.
The president speaking at Egal airport spoke about his visit to Turkey said that the Turkish deputy Prime Minister will pay visit to Somaliland but the president has not set fixed date for his arrival in Hargeisa.
Somaliland president is accompanied by FM Mr. Mohamed Biihi Yoonis, Commerce minister Dr. Mohamed Abdilahi Omar, Mining and Energy Minister Hussein Abdi Du’ale, the president’s aide and the first lady Ms. Aamina.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Italy to hold state funeral for migrants
11 Oct – Daily Monitor – 122 words
Italy is to hold a state funeral for the hundreds of migrants who died after their boat capsized close to the island of Lampedusa last Thursday. Prime Minister Enrico Letta made the announcement during a visit to the island with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
Mr Barroso pledged 30m euros (about Shs100 billion ) of EU funds to help refugees in Italy. Divers have recovered 302 bodies from the wreck. Of more than 500 people who had been on board the boat, mostly from Eritrea and Somalia, only 155 survived.
On Wednesday afternoon, the bodies of two women and two men were brought to the surface. The sinking is one of Italy’s worst disasters involving a boat carrying Europe-bound migrants from Africa.
Ugandan held in Nairobi over Somali passport
10 Oct – Source: New Vision – 136 words
A Ugandan woman has appeared before a Nairobi court over charges of forging passports. Anita Mbabazi allegedly made two passports against the law. The court heard that on unknown dates and place with intent to deceive and without lawful authority or excuse Mbabazi made certain false documents of Kenyan passports.
Senior principal magistrate Peter Ndwiga heard that the accused made false passports in the name of Isack Nuur Jeelle purpoting to be a genuine passport and issued by the Immigration Department.
She was also accused of making a Somali passport in the names Faiza Aden Mohamed purporting it to be genuine and issued by the Somali government.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Libya, Somalia Raids Signal Shift in US Counterterror Efforts
10 Oct – Source: VOA – 408 words
U.S. military drones have been a primary tool in a war that the United States wants to execute with a light footprint: Few U.S. troops on the ground and a focus instead on building the capacity of African forces.
But recent raids in Somalia and Libya, both involving Special Forces, show it’s going to take a combined effort in what President Barack Obama says will have to be a prolonged campaign.
“Africa is one of the places where — because in some cases, lack of capacity on the part of the governments, in some cases because it is easier for folks to hide out in vast terrains that are sparsely populated — that you’re seeing some of these groups gather,” he said. “And we’re going to have to continue to go after them.”
Fear grips Somali town raided by SEAL commandoes
10 Oct – Source: AP – 702 Words
The al Shabaab stronghold of Barawe, a coastal town in Somalia where U.S. Navy SEALs came ashore in a failed raid last weekend, is gripped by fear and tension as residents worry they’ll be accused of spying and the insurgents ready for another attack.
Foreign fighters and Somali members of al Shabaab have in recent years moved into the town, edged by red desert and emerald seas, as African Union peacekeeping troops and Somali government forces pushed the Islamic insurgent group from Somalia’s capital and other areas. Saturday’s pre-dawn raid by the American commandoes was aime
d at a Kenyan al Shabaab member named as a planner of terrorist attacks. Since the SEAL raid, more al Shabaab battle wagons — pickup trucks mounted with machine guns or recoilless rifles — can be seen prowling the sandy streets of the town, residents say.
Most of the residents of Barawe, a town which has existed for more than five centuries, rely on fishing and small businesses for income. Al Shabaab maintains strict control of the activities and life of local residents who are told to close shops and other businesses to attend the five daily Muslim prayers at mosques.
Somalia pledges to work with world on war against terror
10 Oct – Source: Xinhua – 224 Words
The Somali government on Thursday said it will cooperate with international community in fight against terrorism in the Horn of Africa nation. Following its regular session, the Somali cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon said ministers discussed last week’s raid by U. S. special forces on al Shabaab militants in the southern coastal town of Barawe in the Lower Shabelle region.
“The Somalia government will cooperate with world governments on ways of fighting and eradicating the terror groups who endanger not only the security of Somalia but Africa and the world as well, ” the prime minister said in a statement.
A pre-dawn raid on a villa used by a Kenyan al Shabaab commander was launched by the U. S. special forces to capture the culprit, who is accused of masterminding last month’s deadly attacks on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi. The Somali government said its cooperation in the international war against terror was to prevent terrorists from building “hideouts” inside Somalia.
Norwegian suspected of role in Kenya’s Westgate attack
10 Oct – Source: BBC – 318 Words
Norway’s intelligence agency says it is investigating whether a Norwegian citizen was involved in the attack on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping centre. The PST said it had sent investigators to Kenya to try to verify the claim. It said it was opening an inquiry “based on information that a Norwegian citizen may have been involved”.
A Norwegian of Somali origin may have been involved in planning and carrying out the 21 September attack in which at least 67 people died, the PST said. “The enquiry will primarily be aimed at helping prevent new terrorist acts and [determining] to what degree the Norwegian… was involved in the attack,” the agency said.
It added that it would also try to establish if the unnamed suspect had ties to Somalia’s al Shabaab, the al Qaeda-linked militant group which said it had carried out the attack. The PST said it was working to assess any potential threats to Norway and Norwegian interests.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Somali piracy is not just one dramatic incident in the past, neatly wrapped up in American heroics. Piracy — and its causes — remains a serious challenge to the economic, political and security underpinnings of the international system.”
No Hollywood ending to piracy off Somalia
11 Oct – Source: Lost Angeles Times – 732 Words
The Tom Hanks movie “Captain Phillips,” which opens Friday, will focus attention — again — on piracy off the coast of Somalia. The movie, in which (spoiler alert) the bad guys get caught, unfortunately might lead you to think that this is a problem that’s been solved. After all, since the April 2009 seizure of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama, recounted in “Captain Phillips,” there has been only one hijacking of a U.S.-flagged vessel by Somali pirates, the February 2011 seizure of a U.S. yacht in which the Americans were killed.
And Somalia’s other evils — the Shabab and its terrorist activities, for example — have taken over news headlines. But a lull in activity doesn’t mean there is a happy ending. The threat of piracy remains, along with its underlying causes, and Somali piracy still carries an important message for the United States and for international order.
First, there are the economic costs of these attacks. Although the number of vessels actually hijacked in the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean has been decreasing, the number at risk is high. It is estimated that 30,000 tankers and cargo vessels transit these waters annually.
Since 2008, the area has been declared a “war risk” zone subject to special insurance premiums, sometimes more than $150,000 per ship per voyage. A 2010 study estimated that marauders imposed $7 billion to $12 billion in annual losses on the global economy.
“Tom Hanks’s latest film Captain Phillips focuses on a battle between two captains – one a Somali pirate. But does the Hollywood portrayal of Somalia piracy reflects real life?”
Somalia on screen – does it reflect real life?
10 Oct – Source: Channel 4 – 658 Words
Like in most Hollywood films, very early in Captain Phillips, the viewer is forced to choose between good and evil. Tom Hanks plays the eponymous hero, a middle-aged and decent-looking man. The opening of the film shows the Captain, in a peaceful suburb of America, packing up his belongings; photos of his children on the wall, talk of education and his wife driving him to a location. A nice portrayl of blissful American life.
The other main character, Barkhad Abdi who plays Muse, the pirate captain is a scrappy, scary, crazy-looking man. The costume designers must have had an easy task. It is as if they just went through rubbish bins to dress the Somali actors. All these are misrepresentations but, I suppose in the world of Hollywood, that is how they imagine Somalis look.
I realised it was going to be two hours of uncomfortable viewing. Having covered piracy, I mean real pirates (and some fake ones), this portrayal didn’t look like the reality I have seen. Somalis – and Somali pirates – wouldn’t be happy with the way this film depicts them.
Top tweets
@OCHASom Just released! 2.3m people on the margin of food insecurity #Somalia humanitarian snapshot – Sept. take a lookhttp://bit.ly/16QX5Rc.
@Alex_delrey #American shift of tactics to fight #terrorismhttp://econ.st/19idZUY Barawe’s operation; a different kind of mission #Somalia #Obama #US.
@SomaliPM This evening I had the pleasure to meet Hibo Nuura & Farhan Xidig in Villa #Somalia #Mogadishu. Soo dhawoow! pic.twitter.com/o2p4hRkxec.
@AnalystSomalia #Somali singer visits military barrack & sang “Why are outlaw foreigners establishing sanctuary in our land” 4 soldiers & a diplomat fainted.
@Sunni_Salah A #Norwegian of #Somali origin may have been involved in #Kenya’s Westgate attack http://bbc.in/1eb2PEq #Somalia #Nairobi.
Image of the day
Mohamed Ahmed from Somalia, centre, in the 1st place, Abasi from Uganda and Gizete from Ethiopia take the 2nd and the 3rd places of FIFA futuro III referee instructor course in Addis Ababa. Photo: Raxanreeb.