October 15, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
Six Al-Shabaab Fighters Killed In Clash With Somali Army
15 October – Source: Halbeeg News – 266 Words
At least six Al-Shabaab fighters killed and several others injured, after fierce fighting with Somali National Army (SNA) in Middle Shabelle region, a military official said. Captain Mohamed Abdi Warsame said that, SNA forces repelled Al-Shabaab attack on Basra village. “Al-Shabaab attempted to capture Basra village but Somali military defeated the group following hours of fighting between the sides,” Warsame said.
He confirmed six suspected Al-Shabaab fighters who were killed in the battle. “So far we saw six bodies of Al-Shabaab fighters in the area and the group fled with heavy casualties including several injuries but we are still assessing the real casualties,” the captain added.
Speaking about casualties on SNA forces, Mr. Warsame said four Somali soldiers were wounded during the battle. “The casualty on our side was mainly injuries. Four soldiers sustained light injuries, as we were in defensive position,” he stated. The fighting comes barely a week after fierce fighting between Al-Shabaab fighters and self-organised militias claimed dozens of lives from both sides.
The local militias took arms against Al-Shabaab after ordering them to bringing their children to be trained as the group’s fighters. Somali forces backed by AMISOM troops have recently stepped up operations against Al-Shabaab in Southern Somalia. Despite the loss of many towns in South and Central Somalia to the allied forces, Al-Shabaab still struggles to overthrow the Somali government.
Key Headlines
- Six Al-Shabaab Fighters Killed In Clash With Somali Army (Halbeeg News)
- Baidoa Attack Victims Flown To Mogadishu For Specialised Treatment (Goobjoog News)
- President Farmaajo Spends The Night In Marka (Jowhar News)
- Saudi Arabia Condemns Attacks In Somalia (Arab News)
- We Should Talk To Al-Shabaab Now – We Owe It To The Mogadishu Bomb Victims (The Guardian)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Baidoa Attack Victims Flown To Mogadishu For Specialised Treatment
15 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 117 Words
Injured victims of the bomb explosion which claimed at least 16 lives in Baidoa town the capital of South West state were on Monday morning brought o Mogadishu for treatment. A plane sent by the Federal Government to Baidoa airlifted the injured civilians to Mogadishu, where they will be admitted at various city hospitals for specialised treatment.
This followed after President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo’s order all government agencies to act swiftly to support South West administration. Meanwhile a number of patients with slight injuries were treated and discharged on Sunday from hospitals in Baidoa. A suicide bomber detonated inside a restaurant in Baidoa on Saturday, leaving at least 16 people dead and more than 15 others wounded.
President Farmaajo Spends The Night In Marka
15 October – Source: Jowhar News – 174 Words
President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed ‘Farmaajo’ spent the night in Lower Shabelle’s Marka town, where he paid a surprise visit yesterday. The president timed his trip to coincide with the first anniversary of the deadly October 14 Mogadishu bombing, which was well commemorated in the capital on Sunday.
During his stay in the coastal town, President Farmaajo held various meetings with traditional elders, security forces and local authorities, discussing a range of issues including improving the town’s security and stability. Meeting traditional elders from two rival clans who fought over the control of the town a number of times, President Farmaajo urged them to end their differences peacefully and to unite in strengthening peace and peaceful co-existence.
The president had a moment of fun mingling with the locals and was seen drinking a cup of tea at a local tea shop with some of the area people. He also visited the area beach and played football with children. The president’s helicopter landed at the AMISOM base in El Jaalle before he had entered the town.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Saudi Arabia Condemns Attacks In Somalia
15 October – Source: Arab News – 163 Words
The Saudi Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the two terrorist bombings in the city of Baidoa in south-west Somalia. The Kingdom offered condolences to the families of the victims and the Somali government, wishing a speedy recovery for the injured. Saudi Arabia denounces all forms of terrorism and extremism regardless of their motives and reasons.
Meanwhile, a hospital source in Baidoa said the death toll has risen to 20 following the attacks in the Somali city. “We received 20 dead people and about 40 others injured from the twin blasts of yesterday,” Abdifatah Hashi, the general manager of Baidoa city hospital, said on Sunday.
Al Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabab militants, who want to topple the Somali government and impose their own rule, claimed responsibility for the attacks. “What seems to be two suicide bombers blew themselves up in two restaurants in Baidoa,” Ali Aden, a police officer in the city, said on Saturday. Somalia has been engulfed by violence and lawlessness since the early 1990s.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“While the road to talks with Al-Shabaab will be far from easy, and would certainly be fraught with personal grievances and the need for revenge on both sides, I believe that deep down, we all want the same thing: personal safety, economic revival for all and a future for our families. We owe those killed last year a solution to this protracted and demoralising conflict. Something most of them likely never experienced: a chance for peace.”
We Should Talk To Al-Shabaab Now – We Owe It To The Mogadishu Bomb Victims
14 October – Source: The Guardian – 632 Words
Today is the one-year anniversary of one of the darkest days in Somalia’s history. On 14 October 2017, Al-Shabaab suicide bombers drove a truck full of explosives into a crowded junction in the nation’s capital, Mogadishu. They killed approximately 600 people. Around 100 of those were children. The bomb scene was so large it resembled a canyon. For days, it was a crater of horror and tragedy.
There is little doubt in my mind that the perpetrators of that scene are akin to monsters. Despite this, I call for dialogue. I believe we have to compel and convince al-Shabaab to come to the political negotiating table. I have been talking to them for years. Since 2009, members of al-Shabaab have been defecting and rejecting violence and the group’s ideology. During my time as counterterrorism advisor to the government of Somalia, I created and coordinated the country’s first and only defector programme.
I managed several high-level defections from Al-Shabaab, including their head of intelligence as well as dozens of soldiers. I would sit opposite them and listen to them for hours. What those defectors said in our meetings made me believe dialogue with Al-Shabaab is possible. To outsiders, Al-Shabaab might sound like an unreasonable party to negotiate with, but from warlords to Islamists, successive Somali governments have always found room to accommodate opposition groups, violent and nonviolent alike.
I’ve learned three crucial things. First, we have to understand Al-Shabaab. This organisation can be viewed metaphorically as a house, with a roof, pillars and a floor. The roof is the element that can be seen from miles away – Al-Shabaab’s operations and its publicity campaign. But the campaign to pacify Al-Shabaab cannot merely focus on that; it must also target the pillars that hold up the roof, the group’s military and finances; and also the floors of the house, primarily its rural support base and ability to influence at home and abroad. Ahead of negotiations, it will be key to assess the personalities of Al-Shabaab’s current leaders, and identify what motivates them, as well establish who is open to reconciliation and who is not.
Second, we must understand what Al-Shabaab wants. It does not recognise the current constitution of Somalia, describing it as not sharia-compliant. President Mohamed “Farmaajo” Mohamed has promised to deliver a new constitutional order before the next elections – and this could potentially accommodate some of al-Shabaab’s demands.
TOP TWEETS
@MofSomalia: Monthly domestic revenue in 2018 exceed prior years #Somalia.
@Halbeeg_News: Somali PM reaches Jowhar town to meet Hirshabelle leaders https://en.halbeeg.com/2018/
@Baaraandag: My piece @guardian – To outsiders, Al-Shabaab might sound like an unreasonable party to negotiate with, but from warlords to Islamists, successive Somali governments have always found room to accommodate opposition groups, violent and nonviolent alike.
@Moha_A_Farah: Disabled people need more invested in their education, housing, job training, transportation, assistive technology, independent-living facilities. & more by making people with disabilities economically productive citizens.That is my advice to the government of Somalia. @SomaliPM
@nuurist: It’s business! #Ethiopia & #Somalia begin new chapter in relations as first flight connecting the two neighbors make maiden landing https://www.dailymail.co.uk/
@stefanomanservi: #Somalia is on a positive track towards stability and growth! #EU by its side to accompany support for reforms and building an unified federal state with historic signature of €100 million of support to the Somali budget over the next 2.5 years. https://eeas.europa.eu/
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Khaire arrives in Jowhar, the headquarters of Hirshabelle regional state.
Photo: Radio Dalsan