October 19, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Government Troops Retake Afgoye As Death Toll Jumps To 15
19 October – Source: Shabelle News – 138 Words
Somali government forces backed by African Union forces (AMISOM) wrested full control of Afgoye town, about 30km northwest of the capital Mogadishu, according to residents. The Somali military, along with AMISOM soldiers retook the district from Al-Shabaab militants who briefly seized the key city on Tuesday following a deadly car bomb and gun attack.
AMISOM said in a Twitter post that the Somali National Army were still in control of Afgoye after the attack and remained vigilant to thwart such desperate attempts by Al-Shabaab. According to AMISOM, the Somali Police Forces held off the Al-Shabaab attack until SNA and AMISOM troops arrived for reinforcement.The death toll from Tuesday’s attack on Afgoye has risen to 15, including six senior army officers, while up to 30 others were wounded and admitted to the hospital, medics said.
Key Headlines
- Government Troops Retake Afgoye As Death Toll Jumps To 15 (Shabelle News)
- Senatorial Elections Kick Off In Jubbaland State (Goobjoog News)
- Mogadishu Based Newspaper’s Editor Freed After Days In Jail (Goobjoog News)
- Somali Inmates Offered Courses To Boost Skills Before Release (CCTV)
- China Donates US$2M To WFP For Somalia Aid (Xinhua)
- AMISOM Trains Somali Police Officers On Securing The Electoral Process (AMISOM)
- Somalia’s Rocky Road To Democracy (BBC)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Senatorial Elections Kick Off In Jubbaland State
19 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 72 Words
The voting process for Jubbaland State’s Upper House members has started in Kismayo today. The state assembly which comprises of 67 lawmakers are said to be all participating. So far, Hassan Farah Hujalle emerged as the winner in the first seat contest. Voting is currently on going in the state assembly. The elections in Jubbaland marks the second one to be undertaken by member states in the national Upper House polls. Galmudug was the first to elect its Upper House members, a total of eight members.
Mogadishu Based Newspaper’s Editor Freed After Days In Jail
19 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 139 Words
Mogadishu based newspaper editor, Abdi Aden Guled who was put behind bars three days ago has been released from detention centre manned by Somalia’s intelligence agency. Guled was arrested by NISA after the forces raided Xog Ogaal newspaper Mogadishu headquarters on the evening of 15 October.
National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) Secretary General, Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimu has welcomed the release. “We welcome the release of our colleague and the government’s reaction to our call for the release,” said Moalimu. It is yet unclear why Guled was arrested, but the union said it was the first time the government had acted against the paper. Founded in 1991, Xog-Ogaal is the longest running daily newspaper in Mogadishu. It has survived the civil war between Mogadishu warlords and the war between the Somali government and Al-Shabaab militants in the city.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Inmates Offered Courses To Boost Skills Before Release
19 October – Source: CCTV – Video: 2:45 Minutes
China Donates US$2M To WFP For Somalia Aid
19 October- Source: Xinhua – 259 Words
The Chinese government has donated two million U.S. dollars to the World Food Programme (WFP) for its humanitarian work in Somalia, where a drought has deteriorated food security situation. A ceremony was held in the Somali capital Mogadishu by the WFP Somalia on Tuesday to thank the Chinese government for the donation.
WFP Somalia Country Director Laurent Bukera said Somalia is facing “unpredictable weather shocks” that have caused a drought and affected harvests in many parts of the country.He said the donation by China would be used to provide access to nutritious and curative food for malnourished children and mothers.”We are honored to be in the company of China, which has an even longer history of partnership with Somalia and this contribution is evidence of these excellent ties,” said Bukera.
Chinese ambassador to Somalia, Wei Hongtian, said at the ceremony: “China has been and will continue to be a firm partner and supporter to the Somali government and UN agencies including the WFP.”He said he hoped the donation would help those needy mothers and children. On behalf of the Somali government, Abdirashid Mohamed Hidig, State Minister of Interior and Federal Affairs of Somalia, expressed appreciation to the Chinese government, adding that the government and people of China had long supported Somalia’s development.
AMISOM Trains Somali Police Officers On Securing The Electoral Process
19 October – Source: AMISOM – 432 Words
African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is conducting training for Somali police officers in Mogadishu to enhance their capacity to secure the 2016 electoral process. The first batch of officers, drawn from various police stations in the city, commenced the training organized by AMISOM Police, supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and funded by the Japanese government.
Among the topics officers will be taken through are the importance of elections and election security, voting systems, electoral justice and the role of police and security forces before, during and after elections. Others are election security targets, threat assessment and security measures to counter identified threats, causes and the prevention of electoral violence, and screening and searches among others.
The training was opened, Monday, by the SPF Police Commissioner, Maj. Gen. Mohamed Sheikh Hassan Hamud, and the AMISOM Police Training Coordinator, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Francis Ayitey Aryee. Speaking at the function, ACP Aryee noted that the forthcoming elections place an onerous task on the police and challenged them to help create a conducive environment for peaceful and secure parliamentary and presidential elections.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“In 2012, voting only took place in the capital, Mogadishu, in itself a breakthrough as previous elections were held outside the country due to the immense insecurity within Somalia.This time, the electoral colleges will vote in regional capitals as well as Mogadishu.”
Somalia’s Rocky Road To Democracy
19 October – Source: BBC – 879 Words
Somalis were promised that 2016 would see the country’s first democratic poll in nearly 50 years, but the reality is much more complicated.In the heady days of 2012, when two decades of political transition were finally over, Somalia’s new federal government made a bold announcement.The conflict-battered country would hold a one-person, one-vote election in 2016.
This would be the first democratic poll in nearly 50 years. The last was in 1969 when 64 parties took part. Then there was a coup, long years of dictatorship, followed by even longer years of civil conflict, the country ripped apart by clan militias, pirate gangs and Islamist extremists.But 2016 is now upon us, and that election promise has been broken.
Although there have been improvements, a combination of poor security, chaotic politics and a devastated infrastructure means Somalis are going to have to wait even longer to have their say in who their leaders are.Instead, a bizarre and complex system has been devised to select a new legislature, including an upper house for the first time, a new speaker and a new president.”This election model, unique in the world, is a stepping stone, a political construct to help us get to the next stage,” says the United Nations special envoy to Somalia, Michael Keating, who is playing a crucial role in the process. “It is the least objectionable compromise.”
As so often happens in Somali politics, the road to reaching consensus has been long, rocky and full of wrong turns.Nobody can even agree on what to call the new model.Those involved have given it a variety of names, including “indirect election”, “selection process”, “limited franchise election”, “semi-electoral process” and “a political process with important electoral dimensions”.The more cynical simply refer to it as an “auction”, where millions of dollars will be spent buying votes.The process will take more than a month, and involves several complex stages. Understanding it requires a good head for numbers.
TOP TWEETS
@Vatescorp: #Somalia: Govt troops retake Afgoye from#alShabaab, death toll rises to 15, up to 30 others wounded
@Abdi_AlSheikh : Kenya: Man Jailed for 10 Years for Travelling to Somalia – http://AllAfrica.com http://dlvr.it/MThLBH #Somalia
@Mogadishuupdate : @AJEnglish reporter #Hamza #Maxamedarrested in #Mogadishu #Somalia with his two local Camera men
@Eye_on_Somalia: #goobjoog China donates US$2M to WFP for Somalia aid: The Chinese government has donated two million… http://bit.ly/2ek9CmD #somalia
@mohamedmursal9 : #Somalia: Federal officials are reported to have brokered a new peace deal between Puntland and Galmudug
@Vatescorp : #Somalia: Jubaland make no changes to Upper House members, failed to comply with quotas for women in U/House http://ow.ly/OzMW305jPpW
@TheSomaliPolice : Over 10% of the force are women, they play a critical role in establishing rule of law in#Somalia @UNSomalia
@Abdihukun: How Terror Group al-Shabaab Rose to Power in#Somalia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Police commissioner inspect a guard of honor during an opening ceremony for commencement of training for new somali police recruits.
Photo: Radio Moqdisho