October 11, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
Kenya’s Security Forces Intensify Hunt For Militants After 2 Teachers Get Killed
11 October – Source: Xinhua – 277 Words
Kenyan security forces Wednesday intensified hunt for more than 20 militants who raided a local school in the country’s border region, killing two teachers. Mandera County Commissioner Kutswa Olaka said over 20 assailants believed to be al-Shabab militants raided the teachers’ quarters in Arabia Boys Secondary School, Mandera County, about 1 kilometer away from the Kenya-Somalia border. “The attackers hurled an improvised explosive device (IED) into one of the two blocks housing non-local teachers, consequently killing two of them,” said Olaka. He said security officers have launched a hunt for the attackers and more personnel from the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), the Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU), the General Service Unit (GSU), and the Kenya Police have been deployed to the area to reinforce security.
The government administrator said the four Kenya Police Reservists who guard the school engaged the attackers who unfortunately overwhelmed them and fled as more reinforcements were being marshaled into the scene. There are four non-local teachers in the school. Two other teachers escaped the death dragnet during the night raid.
“All the other teachers, students, and workers are safe, and the county security committee has held several meetings with the County Education Board to arrange for necessary psychological support and counseling services for them,” Olaka said. Security in Mandera remains volatile with the militia who cross over from their neighboring country responsible for the numerous attacks that have rocked the area.
Key Headlines
- Kenya’s Security Forces Intensify Hunt For Militants After 2 Teachers Get Killed (Xinhua)
- ‘Kingpins’ Of Fake Foreign Cash Arrested In Mogadishu (Halbeeg News)
- Robow Expresses Concern Over Delay In The Formation Of The Southwest Presidential Election Commission (jowhar.com)
- UAE Violating Somalia Arms Embargo (Aljazeera)
- AMISOM Somali Government And Key Stakeholders Meet To Review Progress In The Security Sector (AMISOM)
- Fifty Years Fifty Countries: Somalia (Tearfund)
NATIONAL MEDIA
‘Kingpins’ Of Fake Foreign Cash Arrested In Mogadishu
11 October – Source: Halbeeg News – 164 Words
Fake money printing syndicate has been unearthed and two individuals suspected, to have been part of the group were arrested. In a statement posted on its Twitter account, Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) said, that the suspects have been running fake currency syndicate in Mogadishu airport. “The security forces at Adan Adde International Airport, exposed fake money printing syndicate involved in the process of printing the fake dollars. Two other individuals have been nabbed and the rest are being pursued,” the agency said.
Investigators from the NISA are trying to piece together a case linking a federal lawmaker to a counterfeit currency syndicate, saying that the federal lawmaker has been helping the syndicate to run the operations.
The agency did not disclose the identity of the lawmaker but, said the MP has been facilitating the access to the airport for the criminals. “(They) used to be helped in the process like entering the airport by a member of federal parliament,” NISA added.
Robow Expresses Concern Over Delay In The Formation Of The Southwest Presidential Election Commission
11 October – Source: Jowhar News – 128 Words
With the presidential election in Southwest slated to be held on 7th November, some of the presidential aspirants have expressed their concern over the delay in appointing the presidential election commission that will organize the forthcoming elections. In a meeting held in Baidoa, several presidential candidates including Mukhtar Robow gathered to express their concern over the delays in establishing the commission as the election date is fast approaching.
Robow asked for the immediate establishment of the commission to enable it to begin its tasks and pave the way for a timely poll. The meeting was also attended by MPs and politicians from the region. Some the MPs, who also spoke at the event criticised the incumbent president Sharif Hassan for being reluctant to appoint the commission in time.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
UAE Violating Somalia Arms Embargo
11 October – Source: Al Jazeera – 462 Words
A new report by a panel of experts from the UN Sanctions Committee seen by Al Jazeera reveals that the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) has continued to violate arms embargo imposed on Somalia. The report, yet to be released, notes that the UAE has carried on with the construction of a military base in Berbera in Somalia’s Somaliland region, including the transfer of military equipment despite international resolutions against these arms shipments.
The UAE began construction of the base last year, under an agreement with officials in Somaliland, a northern region of Somalia that self-declared independence from the latter in 1991 following a civil war. The UAE is investing in developing a port, which is strategically located close to Yemen, where UAE troops have been fighting as part of a Saudi alliance against Houthi rebels since 2015.
Somalia has previously urged the UN Security Council to take action against the construction of the UAE base in Somaliland. The report also noted that the panel of experts from the UN did not receive a response from the authorities of Somaliland when they were asked to comply with the embargo in place. When the panel asked the UAE to present them with more details of the construction of the base, the response was; “The UAE concluded all agreements with the Somali regions based on constitutional powers granted to the heads of those regions to achieve security, stability and prosperity for the Republic of Somalia and its people.” In September 2017, maritime police in the Somali state of Puntland intercepted a ship heading from Yemen to Somalia and seized weapons found on board, the international team of experts said.
AMISOM, Somali Government And Key Stakeholders Meet To Review Progress In The Security Sector
11 October – Source: AMISOM – 432 Words
A daylong meeting of the Federal Government of Somalia, the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the UN and other key stakeholders, was convened on Wednesday, to review progress made in the security sector, under the Comprehensive Approach to Security (CAS).
The CAS Strand 1 meeting, co-chaired by the Federal Minister of Defence Mr. Hassan Ali Mohamed and the AU Special Representative for Somalia Ambassador Francisco Caetano Madeira assessed progress made in the implementation of the Comprehensive Approach to Security, a component of the Security Pact, signed in London in May 2017, and which seeks a holistic approach to addressing the Somalia’s security challenges.
“Technical work has been going on and we are happy to hold this meeting, to update you on the progress made and discuss the implementation of the tasks before us,” said the Defence Minister Hassan Ali Mohamed in his opening remarks. “Currently we are conducting disruption operations in the Lower Shabelle, Middle Shabelle and Hiiraan, which were planned with the support of AMISOM, designed to keep the Al-Shabaab off balance,” the minister told the meeting.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“In the village, about a dozen women sit in a corrugated iron shed, learning to read and write. The women’s group is another Tearfund supported project, aimed at education and empowerment in the village.”
Fifty Years Fifty Countries: Somalia
10 October – Source: Tearfund – 663 Words
Somalia has faced more than its fair share of trouble and turbulence. In recent years it has begun to rebuild, but has been rocked by a series of droughts that have left over 1 million people without secure access to food. Founded in 1960, Somalia descended into near-anarchy in 1991 after the collapse of the socialist government. However, with the end of the civil war, some semblance of order was finally restored to parts of the nation.
Tearfund works in the Somaliland region of Somalia on the northern coast. Along with the rest of Somalia, it has faced regular famines since 2011, due to changes in the climate. There was more positive news last year, with much better rainfall. Along with market conditions and continued humanitarian assistance, this has made a significant difference. However the situation is still dire, with 1.5 million Somali people struggling for the food they need to survive.
Most of the population of Somaliland are nomadic pastoralists. The drought has driven them away from their land and into cities or camps for displaced people. The drought has dried up most of the pasture, meaning that between 80 and 90 percent of livestock has died. This has led to a lack of food, with rising prices and a severe shortage of clean water. Outbreaks of infectious diseases, some of them deadly, rose steeply during the famines and are still high.
The most urgent needs centre around food, nutrition, water and health. Tearfund has been working in Somalia since 2008, through a network of partners. The recent focus has been on an emergency response to the droughts. A small, remote village in Somaliland is thriving, in spite of the the terrible drought that has ravaged the region. It’s all thanks to a Tearfund project. Across Somaliland, the land was dry and parched. Many communities were struggling to survive.
However in Calla Culle village, you’d be forgiven for not knowing the problems faced by others, just a short distance away. Slender concrete gutters criss cross the village, channeling spring water to fields growing maize, tomatoes and lettuce. Goats and sheep graze nearby on green pastures. And while Calla Culle is blessed with a spring and a favourable highland environment, the village’s success isn’t just down to good fortune.
TOP TWEETS
@RadioErgo: Solar-powered irrigation boosts debt-ridden Somali farmers in Beletweyne #Somalia https://www.radioergo.org/
@Goobjoognews: AMISOM, SOMALI government and key stakeholders meet to review progress in the security sector.
@iRiseHub: We are at the largest (442) gathering of Tech Hubs & innovators in Africa, the @AfriLabs Annual gathering in Daresalam, Tanzania. Theme is: Innovation in the Data age. We are happy to be part of this solid network that is growing rapidly.#AfrilabsAG18 #SS18.
@SomaliaToday1: Political instability in neighbouring Somalia worries Garissa elders, http://www.somaliatoday.so/
@Halbeeg_News: Al-Shabaab executes Briton accused of spying for UK https://en.halbeeg.com/2018/
@AJENews: Exclusive: A new report seen by Al Jazeera reveals that the United Arab Emirates has continued to violate arms embargo imposed on Somalia http://aje.io/apycw.
@Moha_A_Farah: Turkish Embassy in Mogadishu distributed 130 Wheelchairs to Somali disabled people who can not buy it. Its not the first time that Turkish embassy distributes a mobility aid devices since this year. On behalf of Somali Disabilities I’ld like to thank Turkish people & the embassy.
@CPD_Africa: In Somalia, Girls participation in education is consistently lower than that for boys. Fewer than 50 per cent of girls attend primary school, and the last countrywide survey from 2006 showed that only 25 per cent of women aged 15 to 24 were literate. #DayOfTheGirl.
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Khaire met with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh city.
Photo: @SomaliPM