October 16, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
Turkish Minister Lands In Somalia To Aid Blast Victims
16 October – Source: Anadolu Agency – 233 Words
Turkish Health Minister Ahmet Demircan arrived in capital Mogadishu on Monday morning to speed up Turkey’s support operations for the injured from Saturday’s truck bombing that left at least 276 people dead. Demircan is accompanied by a delegation of 33 people, including a medical team specializing in emergency services, according to the Turkish embassy.
The Turkish minister was welcomed by Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Ahmed, his Somali counterpart Fawzia Abikr, Foreign Minister Yusuf Garaad Omar and several other senior government officials. At a news conference immediately after his arrival, Demircan said the Turkish government and its people shared the sadness of Somalis. “Based on instructions given by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, we are working to offer assistance by providing medical aid and transporting casualties to Turkey where they will receive the necessary care,” he said.
Mahdi Ahmed, DPM, thanked the Turkish government for all its help. “Our government thanks Turkey for its noble humanitarian position in helping Somalia in these critical circumstances,” he said. He added that the visit of the Turkish Health Minister reflected the solid relationship between the two countries. Earlier, a Turkish aircraft loaded with medical aid arrived at dawn in the Somali capital; it also carried medical emergency services staff.
Key Headlines
- Turkish Minister Lands In Somalia To Aid Blast Victims (Anadolu Agency)
- NISA Chief ‘Likely’ To Be Sacked – Source (Garowe online)
- Gov’t Pledges To Cover Costs For The Injured In Zobe Bombing (Radio Dalsan)
- Funerals Begin for Victims of Somalia Truck Bombing as Death Toll Rises To Over 300 (The Times)
- Somalis Protest Against Al-Shabaab (BBC)
- AMISOM To Help In Rescue Operation Following The Mogadishu Bomb Attack (AMISOM)
- Mogadishu Atrocity May Provoke Deeper US Involvement In Somalia (The Guardian)
NATIONAL MEDIA
NISA Chief ‘Likely’ To Be Sacked – Source
16 October – Source: Garowe Online – 352 Words
Somalia’s Federal Government officials are planning to sack the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) Director, Abdullahi Mohamed Ali “Sanbalolshe”. Reliable sources told Garowe Online that Ali’s expected removal from office is due to a fall-out with top government officials, especially Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire over his work towards the country’s security. Garowe Online has learned that the commander will be fired in the coming days after the government faced pressure from the people over lack of response to ONLF rebel leader’s handover to Ethiopia.
NISA commander who has been in office over the past five months was reported to have made a significant improvement in the Intelligence service. However, the transfer of Abdikarim Muse better known as “Qalbi Dhagah” who was handed over to Ethiopia, days after he had been arrested in central town administered by Galmudug, a Somali Federal Member State, affected the Intelligence Boss. Reports said Sanbalolshe has vehemently turned down a tender from the Federal government leaders and their political advisers, who asked him to take the responsibility of Qalbi Dhagah’s handover.
Other sources indicate that there was a plan to kick out three of Somalia’s security chiefs, including Military, Police, and NISA, and replace them with new commanders, but has been postponed for two months. However, the army chief resigned last week, along with Defense Minister for the same issue, but cited personal reasons.
On the other hand, Garowe Online obtained information suggesting that there is a lack of collaboration between NISA Chief and Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire over the work and the planned shakeup in the security agencies. NISA head was praised for doing an outstanding work in the security after launching in mid this year “Mogadishu stabilization mission” that reduced Al Shabaab deadly bombings in the seaside capital. The foreign countries supporting NISA in terms of finance and logistics have affectionately welcomed Sanbalolshe’s new strategy to deal with the terror group’s activities aimed at destabilizing the country. PM Khaire who is a newcomer to Somali Politics was accused of failing to have good a cooperation with the various agencies under his administration, which are complaining about an intervention from his office.
Gov’t Pledges To Cover Costs For The Injured In Zobe Bombing
16 October – Source: Radio Dalsan – 122 Words
The National Emergency Operation announced that the Somali Government will pay costs relating to the treatment of the wounded people in their second day of the response operation after it was formed by the Somali Prime Minister yesterday. An announcement issued by the national emergency operation center read “All Somali people who were injured in the Zobe bombing, and are in Mogadishu hospitals are directed to receive free treatment as the government of Somalia will cover these bills”.
The aim is to help civilians who don’t have money and prevent them from further difficulties. Therefore, members of the government will arrive in the hospitals and explain the way you can charge the government. It will check the cost and the people who were assisted, the announcement said.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Funerals Begin for Victims of Somalia Truck Bombing as Death Toll Rises To Over 300
16 October – Source: The Times – 549 Words
The death toll from Saturday’s truck bombing in Somalia’s capital is now over 300, the director of an ambulance service said Monday, as the country reeled from the deadliest single attack it’s ever experienced. Dr. Abdulkadir Adam of Aamin Ambulance service said more people had died of their wounds in the past few hours. Funerals began, and the death toll was expected to rise again. Saturday’s truck bombing targeted a crowded street in Mogadishu, and about 300 others were injured.
Somalia’s government is blaming the al-Qaida-linked Al-Shabaab extremist group, which has not commented. Officials said more than 70 critically injured people were being airlifted to Turkey for treatment on Monday as international aid began to arrive. Nervous relatives stood on the tarmac at the airport, praying for the recovery of their loved ones.
Overwhelmed hospitals in Mogadishu were struggling to assist other badly wounded victims, many burned beyond recognition. The attack was one of the worst in the world in recent years. It is one of the deadliest attacks in sub-Saharan Africa, larger than the Garissa University attack in Kenya in 2015 and the U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.
Somalis Protest Against Al-Shabaab
16 October – Source: BBC – Video: 0:59 Minutes
Somalis reacted to a devastating bomb attack on Saturday by marching to demonstrate their anger at the presence of al-Shabab. The militants have been blamed for the attack, but no group has yet said it was behind the blast. The president donated blood at a hospital treating victims.
AMISOM To Help In Rescue Operation Following The Mogadishu Bomb Attack
16 October – Source: AMISOM – 368 Words
Security officers of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) yesterday visited the scene of Saturday’sbomb blast to assess the damage and identify areas of support ahead of a massive cleanup operation. The team led by the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) Contingent Commander, Brig. Muhanga Kayanja, was received at the scene by Brig. Abdi Omar of the Somali National Army (SNA), who briefed the officers on the ongoing search and rescue operations, following the terror attack.
Brig. Kayanja said AMISOM will help Somali government in search and rescue operation to ensure those trapped in the rubble are rescued. “This is the location of the hotel at kilometer 5 in Mogadishu city where the terrorists bombed. As you can see from the destruction around, many people have died but we have not established the number. We have been informed that some people are still trapped in the rubble and they have been calling but their phone batteries have died, however, all efforts are in place to make sure that we rescue survivors from the rubble,” he stated.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Somalia is suffering its worst drought in 40 years, with the effects of climatic catastrophe compounded by war and poor governance. Al-Shabaab’s control over populations in rural areas in much of the south and central Somalia is such that the group was able to impose a ban on humanitarian assistance in areas they control, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to choose between death from starvation and disease or brutal punishment.”
Mogadishu Atrocity May Provoke Deeper US Involvement In Somalia
16 October – Source: The Guardian – 622 Words
For many years, Somalia was a forgotten front among the various campaigns against violent extremist Islamists around the world. The massive bombing of the centre of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, will bring the international spotlight back onto the battered country at least for a few days. Al-Shabaab, the Islamist group based in the country, is almost certainly responsible for the huge truck bomb that killed as many as 300 people in Mogadishu on Saturday. The attack proves once more it is among the most capable and tenacious militant organisations anywhere.
Al-Shabaab’s roots run back through a series of violent and sometimes non-violent – revivalist Islamist movements in Somalia over the past 40 years. In the past decade, it has been fighting local, regional and international forces, and has survived significant strategic setbacks primarily by exploiting the weaknesses and failings of central government in the shattered state.
One reason for the relative lack of attention devoted to al-Shabaab in recent years in Washington, London and other western capitals is that the group has ruthlessly purged anyone who wanted to swear allegiance to Islamic State in Iraq and Syria from its ranks. That al-Shabaab the name means “the youth” is not seen as particularly dangerous beyond its immediate region is another reason.
Though the group has been a formal affiliate of al-Qaida since 2011, it has not engaged in terrorist planning against European or US targets. Though it has attracted militants from the west, it has not sent many back the other way. Al-Shabaab has, however, launched a series of bloody attacks in east Africa, such as the assault on an upscale shopping mall in Kenya in 2013 in which 67 people were killed. It has been regional powers, including Kenya, that have done the heavy lifting in terms of military deployments in Somalia in recent years.
More than 20,000 troops have been deployed by the African Union there. But they have been much criticised, accused of being arrogant and sometimes brutal toward local populations, corruption and military incompetence. A series of assaults by al-Shabaab on African Union bases have undermined political will to continue this commitment among regional states as the extremist strategists intended it would.
TOP TWEETS
@anadoluagency: Turkish minister lands in #Somalia to aid#blast victims http://v.aa.com.tr/938765
@HarunMaruf: A father flew from London to attend his daughter’s graduation;on arrival he finds out he’ll have to bury her instead
@gurmadka252: 34 critically wounded people to be airlifted to Turkey. The wounded had been selected based on their health conditions. Names to be released
@Eye_on_Somalia: #Goobjoog 15 primary school children in a bus perished in Saturday terror attack http://ift.tt/2ys7TqZ #Somalia
@MinisterMOFA: Thank you Turkey for providing us medicines, medical professionals and evacuating dozens of wounded people for treatment in Turkey. #Somalia
@malonebarry: Well done to the Guardian for leading with Somalia this morning. Clear it should be the biggest story in the world.https://pbs.twimg.com/
@mometto2000: Finally Turkish Health Minister @Dr_Demircanhas arrived in #Mogadishu and the Prime Minister welcomes at the VIP lounge https://pbs.twimg.com/
@gurmadka252: Breaking: The President @M_Farmaajo visits the call center and answers calls from the citizens seeking their loved ones. #GurmadQaran https://
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Somali President His Excellency Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo receive calls from families looking for missing loved ones at the call center set up to connect families trace missing persons.
Source: @gurmadka252