October 17, 2016 | Morning Headlines
Somalia Gets First Senators As Galmudug Concludes Upper House Polls
16 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 358 Words
Galmudug state today concluded the election of Senators who will represent the state in the Federal Parliament with 25% of those elected being female. A total of 8 Senators based on the national distribution among the six regional states were elected in the two days exercise which officially ushered in the Upper House in Somalia’s history. Out of the 8 senators, six of them are male accounting for 75% while two women, Zamzam Dahir Mohamed and Jawaahir Ahmed Elmi clinched the seats as the quest for 30% quota for women builds up. Elmi who was a member of the last parliament battled out with two male contestants to emerge winner while Zamzam won in a women only contest. Zamzam became the first female senator in Somalia while Abshir Ahmed Bukhari led the pack as the first senator in the country’s 56 years history. Our correspondent covering the elections said the process went on peacefully and that there were no Amisom soldiers in the town. “Only Somali National Army and the Galmudug state soldiers manned the place.
There are no Amisom troops in the town,” Goobjoog News correspondent said. The Federal electoral body FIEIT in a statement late last month called for the deployment of Amisom troops in Cadaado town, the seat of the state government. A clash between the moderate Islamist group Ahlusunna wal Jamaa on Friday in Godinlabe locality some 30 kilometres away from Cadaado ended following a truce between elders from both sides. Ahlusunna still controls Dhusamareb town, the officially designated headquarters of Galmudug state. However following protests by the group over the formation of Galmudug state in 2014, Alhusunna took control of the town and has since not let go. A total of 88 members of the state assembly participated in the elections. South West state was expected to start its elections Saturday but there are no reports of any activity. Other states yet to conduct the elections are Somaliland, Puntland, Jubbaland and the newly formed state Hirshabelle. Elections for Somaliland will take place in the capital Mogadishu while it is still unclear if Hirshabelle will hold its own in its capital Jowhar or Mogadishu.
Key Headlines
- Somalia Gets First Senators As Galmudug Concludes Upper House Polls (Goobjoog News)
- Somali Presidential Candidate Decries Corruption In Upper House Elections (Radio Dalsan)
- Jubbaland Holds Graduation Ceremony For Youth Vocational Training In Kismaayo (Goobjoog News)
- UN Confirms It Objected Names Of Former Warlords In Senate Race (Goobjoog News)
- Somali Government Shuts Down Newspaper Arrests Editor (Reuters)
- 26000 Somali Refugees Confirm Intention To Return Home (Daily Nation)
- In Somalia U.S. Escalates a Shadow War (New York Times)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Presidential Candidate Decries Corruption In Upper House Elections
16 October – Source: Radio Dalsan – 150 Words
Somali Presidential aspirant Abdirahman Abdishakur has decried gross corruption in the ongoing upper house elections in the regional states headquarters. Abdirahman has said delegates are being bribed by the candidates in order to secure seats. “I was informed that delegates receive over 5000 USD from candidates interested in the upper house for voting,” he said. Mr. Abdishakur has lashed out to what he described as unacceptable behaviour of the corrupt delegates saying it will greatly impact on the upcoming presidential elections if not carefully addressed.“Politics is in the interest of the state and people and thus we need healthy politics,” he said. Abdirahman who was the former planning minister has called upon Somali politicians to separate between politics and business. His remarks come just days after upper house elections kicked off across the regional states headquarters in the country. Presidential elections is set towards the end of next month.
Jubbaland Holds Graduation Ceremony For Youth Vocational Training In Kismaayo
16 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 300 Words
Authorities in Somalia’s southern regional State, Jubbaland have held a graduation ceremony In Kismaayo for tens of young people who completed Vocational Training. The youth who learned skills such as Electrical Installation, Mobile Phone Repair, Auto-Mechanic, Plumbing, and Computer Technology and Office Administration finished a 3 month intensive course which includes theory and practical training and real-life work experience in the community. This training is expected open up more job opportunities for more youth in the region. Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamud, said Jubbaland would continue to give youth vocational training for them to make gradual transformation from unemployment to self-employment. “We have to give youth an alternative to violence, It’s not enough to just say drop the gun pick up the pen if you do not give them an option that will give them a clear direction in their life. This is what we try to provide,” He said it was unfortunate to see Jubbaland rely on people from the rest of the country for basic works such as plumbing and electrical works when there were locally available training facilities. “If you look around in this town, the local people will bid for works and then hand it over to people from the rest of the country to carry out the actual works. The number of local plumbers, electricians and other technical staff is countable. Let our youth take up vocational training at this institution” said. The minister said his administration has invested heavily on the institution and urged local youth to take advantage of training offered by the center. Many people accept as true that the increasing unemployment in Somalia has been fueled by conflicts, theft and lack of education which forced many Somali people to migrate Europe through Mediterranean sea which is perilous journey.
UN Confirms It Objected Names Of Former Warlords In Senate Race
16 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 455 Words
The UN has confirmed it strongly objected the inclusion of a former warlord in Somalia, Abdi Qeybdiid in the list of Senators from Galmudug in the just concluded senatorial polls even though the state assembly went ahead to elect the man. UN Support Office for Somalia UNSOM spokesman Joseph Contreras told Goobjoog News the letter which has been making rounds in the social media addressed to Galmudug state leader Abdikarim Gulled was genuine noting the UN body would issue further statement on the same. “I can confirm the authenticity of the letter sent to Galmudug President Abdikarim Gulled regarding the candidature of Qeybdiid. We will issue a statement shortly,” said Contreras. In the letter dated October 14, UNSOM chief Michael Keating called for the deletion of the name of Qeybdiid from the list of senatorial candidates warning his election would return Somalia to ‘dark days of warlordism’. “Given Abdi Qeybdiid’s past history, in particular his role during Somalia’s civil wars, his inclusion in the list of Upper House candidates is a matter of serious concern. His candidature and the potential election of any individual with such a history represents a regressive step,” said Keating. Keating cited the 2012 election rules noting warlords were barred from becoming members of parliament.
Goobjoog News correspondent in Galmudug said Qeybdiid’s handlers had indicated they were sending a protest letter to the UN office. “They said they will call a media conference after sending the letter to the UN,” our correspondent says. An official at the Federal Indirect Electoral Implementation Team said the polls body was not aware of any letter from the UN regarding names of the candidates. FIEIT cleared the candidates after Galmudug revised the list to ensure the 30% women quota was factored in. The UN chief in Somalia said his office and international partners were concerned with Qeybdiid’s name in the list of Upper House candidates noting ‘every effort must be made to ensure the process results in the designation of holders of public office who do not threaten the legitimacy and credibility of the new government and parliament.’ Qeybdiid a former warlord and interior minister in Mohamed Farah Aidiid’s stint in Somalia’s leadership also served as head of police in Mogadishu in 2001 during the Transitional Federal Government. Keating called for the replacement of Qeybdiid but he was elected Saturday as Senator by the Galmudug assembly. Unconfirmed reports also indicate similar letter was issued to Jubbaland leader Ahmed Madobe over the name of another former warlord Abdifatah Mohamed Ali. The UN is alleged to have also raised concerns over the name of Mohamed Hersi Morgan from Puntland who has been variously accused of leading the onslaught of mass murder of civilians in Hargeisa in 1988.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Government Shuts Down Newspaper, Arrests Editor
16 October – Source: Reuters – 226 Words
Somali security forces shut down a newspaper and arrested an editor, the Somali journalists’ union said on Sunday, the latest crackdown in what reporters say is a climate of intimidation.Intelligence officers stormed the offices of Xog Ogaal, confiscating computers and cameras, and detained an editor, Abdi Adan Guled, on Saturday night, the National Union of Somali Journalists said.”This has all the hallmarks of state security harassment and hounding of a leading independent journalist,” said Omar Faruk Osman, the union’s secretary general. “Abdi Adan Guled is the latest victim in a prevailing situation of persecution of independent voices in the Somali media.” It was unclear why Guled was arrested, but the union said it was the first time the government had acted against the paper, which has been publishing since 1991.Somali authorities did not return calls seeking comment. Security forces and officials frequently detain or threaten journalists whose coverage has offended them. Many media houses are concerned that intimidation will increase when twice-delayed presidential elections are finally held. They are currently scheduled for Nov. 30.Somalia has been convulsed by instability, violence and lawlessness since early 1990s following the toppling of military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.The Islamist insurgency, al Shabaab, also frequently targets journalists. At least 32 journalists were killed in Somalia from 2010 to 2015, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
26,000 Somali Refugees Confirm Intention To Return Home
16 October – Source : Daily Nation – 488 Words
The UN refugee agency said a total of 26,819 Somali refugees have confirmed their intention to voluntarily return home and are waiting to be facilitated to return to the Horn of Africa nation. The UNHCR said in its bi-monthly report released on Sunday that some 2,525 returnees were supported to voluntarily return to Somalia by flight and road convoys from September 16-30.“In total as of September 30, 32,949 Somali refugees had returned home since December 8, 2014, when UNHCR started supporting voluntary return of Somali refugees in Kenya, out of which 26,848 were supported in 2016 alone,” UNHCR said. Kenya in collaboration with the UN refugee agency are working on a program that will ensure a smooth and voluntary repatriation of over 300,000 refugees living in five sites at the Dadaab refugee camp after Nairobi announced the closure of the camp.Kenya, which hosted protracted negotiations that culminated in the formation of the transitional federal government of Somalia, says the refugee situation continues to pose security threats to Nairobi and the region apart from the humanitarian crisis. According to the UNHCR, road convoys were suspended from August 30, after the Jubaland administration notified UNHCR Somalia about their decision not to receive any more returnees until integration processes inside Somalia are addressed. “The road convoys still remain suspended and refugees are not currently travelling by road any more. Similarly, flight departures to Mogadishu have been suspended on September 25 because of security related issues in Mogadishu, but flight departures are expected to resume once the security context improves,” UNHCR said.The statement comes after international medical charity, Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said a vast majority of refugees do not want to go back to Somalia and urged Kenya thus to consider alternatives to closing down the Dadaab camp.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“About 200 to 300 American Special Operations troops work with soldiers from Somalia and other African nations like Kenya and Uganda to carry out more than a half-dozen raids per month, according to senior American military officials. The operations are a combination of ground raids and drone strikes,”
In Somalia, U.S. Escalates a Shadow War
16 October – Source: New York Times – 1632 Words
The Obama administration has intensified a clandestine war in Somalia over the past year, using Special Operations troops, airstrikes, private contractors and African allies in an escalating campaign against Islamist militants in the anarchic Horn of Africa nation.Hundreds of American troops now rotate through makeshift bases in Somalia, the largest military presence since the United States pulled out of the country after the “Black Hawk Down” battle in 1993. The Somalia campaign, as it is described by American and African officials and international monitors of the Somali conflict, is partly designed to avoid repeating that debacle, which led to the deaths of 18 American soldiers. But it carries enormous risks — including more American casualties, botched airstrikes that kill civilians and the potential for the United States to be drawn even more deeply into a troubled country that so far has stymied all efforts to fix it.The Somalia campaign is a blueprint for warfare that President Obama has embraced and will pass along to his successor. It is a model the United States now employs across the Middle East and North Africa — from Syria to Libya — despite the president’s stated aversion to American “boots on the ground” in the world’s war zones. This year alone, the United States has carried out airstrikes in seven countries and conducted Special Operations missions in many more.
American officials said the White House had quietly broadened the president’s authority for the use of force in Somalia by allowing airstrikes to protect American and African troops as they combat fighters from the Shabab, a Somali-based militant group that has proclaimed allegiance to Al Qaeda.In its public announcements, the Pentagon sometimes characterizes the operations as “self-defense strikes,” though some analysts have said this rationale has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is only because American forces are now being deployed on the front lines in Somalia that they face imminent threats from the Shabab.
America’s role in Somalia has expanded as the Shabab have become bolder and more cunning. The group has attacked police headquarters, bombed seaside restaurants, killed Somali generals and stormed heavily fortified bases used by African Union troops. In January, Shabab fighters killed more than 100 Kenyan troops and drove off with their trucks and weapons. The group carried out the 2013 attack at the Westgate mall, which killed more than 60 people and wounded more than 175 in Nairobi, Kenya. More recently it has branched into more sophisticated forms of terrorism, including nearly downing a Somali airliner in February with a bomb hidden in a laptop computer.