October 21, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report
700 Al-Shabaab Recruits Return To Kenya – IOM
21 October – Source: The Star – 420 Words
At least 700 Kenyans have quietly returned home after quitting al Shabaab and the Islamic State in Somalia, a report says. The 36-page report, titled ‘Socio-economic and Survey of Kenya’, was prepared by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims and the Interior ministry.
It said the majority defected after deals to entice them turned out not to be as lucrative as promised. Others took advantage of the government’s amnesty offer for enlisted terror recruits as announced by Interior CS Joseph Nkaissery in April. Although the report did not specify the terror groups the returnees initially joined, Somalia-based al Shabaab and the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq have been actively recruiting in this country, according to Intelligence reports.
Some of the returnees said they were forcibly recruited and a majority indicates they received some form of military training. A number even assumed leadership roles in the groups they joined. Others have amputated limbs, head injuries and other unspecified bodily injuries. The majority of amputees are aged 24-34 years, suggesting that the younger age groups were more exposed to the conflict as they were perhaps the ones assigned to active combat, the report said.Poor and disgruntled Kenyan youth who have joined terror groups in recent years have carried out a spate of terrorist activities in Nairobi, the Coast and Northeastern, killing hundreds and leaving scores of injured. A total of 185 returnees were interviewed, representing nearly 30 per cent of the estimated total population of 684 of them in the Kilifi, Kwale, and Mombasa counties.Prior to joining Al Shabaab, 58 per cent of the returnees were gainfully employed. Most of these were self-employed, the report said. Thirty-three per cent were unemployed before joining the armed group, implying absence of regular income to support themselves and their families, which may have been a factor in their decision to join the terror groups.
Key Headlines
- 700 Al-Shabaab Recruits Return To Kenya – IOM (The Star)
- 46th Anniversary Of Somalia’s Coup Led By Late Barre (Goobjoog News )
- SNA vows to Annihilate Al-Shabaab From Somali Central Regions (Goobjoog News)
- Drought Affects Hundreds In Sanag(Garowe Online)
- Kenya Says Forensic Experts To Reveal Identity Of Slain Al-Shabaab Suspect (Xinhua)
- Police Officers Reach Out To Somali Community After Fatality In South Minneapolis (Radio Widh Widh Online)
- Continent In Democratic Recession Says Mo Ibrahim Index (East African)
NATIONAL MEDIA
46th Anniversary Of Somalia’s Coup Led By Late Barre
21 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 202 Words
On every 21st October, Somalia remembers the coup D’état that took place 1969 after the assassination of the Somalia’s 2nd President and the father of the current premier, Abdirashid Ali Sharmaake. The coup installed in power the late General Siad Barre and brought an abrupt end to the process of party-based constitutional democracy in Somalia.Mohamed Siad barre had been ruling Somalia for 21 years under unilateral party called Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRP).
On the evening of 26 January 1991, Mohamed Siad Barre was forced by opponents of his regime to flee Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, to his clan homeland..He did not give up his ambition of recapturing the city for many months, but, confronted by a vengeful Somali militia, and alarmed by disagreements between his own family and supporters, Siad eventually fled to Kenya.It was the end of his 21-year rule in Somalia, which had started as Socialist experimentation and degenerated into dictatorship.
Even though in the past, celebrations were organized by the Military Forces, mainly in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Today the country is engulfed in severe political turmoil as Somalia struggles on with deep poverty and lack of a stable government. Many of the political factions in Somalia continue to fight without regard for civilians and human rights abuses.
SNA vows to Annihilate Al-Shabaab From Somali Central Regions
21 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 115 Words
Somali National Army has stated that it will speed up the operations to kick out Al-Shabaab fighters from Somalia central regions. Col. Ahmed Teredisho who is leading SNA soldiers in Wahbo told Goobjoog News that the forces are advancing to Al-Shabaab controlled areas in Galgaduud region.“The aim of SNA soldiers is to recapture all Al-Shabaab controlled areas. We will annihilate Al-Shabaab from Somalia central regions” he said.
Somali government forces have been conducting operations to fight against Al-Shabaab fighters, the latest having been conducted yesterday, where the soldiers took control of Wabho locality. Eight days ago Gal-mudug forces captured a town in central Somalia from Al-Shabaab fighters following several days of fighting with the militia men.
Drought Affects Hundreds In Sanag
20 October – Source: Garowe Online – 96 Words
Lack of pasture and severe water shortage have hit pastoral communities in northern Sanag region, Garowe Online reports. Speaking to Puntland-based independent station, Radio Garowe, Sanag Governor Mohamud Ismael Iyon said, one-third of livestock in the region are reeling from the ravaging drought. Iyon added that the situation is alarming, and feared that it could finally leave the people more destitute. Sanag region didn’t receive the traditionally long ‘Gu’ rains, even as international agencies warn of impending El Nino weather patterns.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Kenya Says Forensic Experts To Reveal Identity Of Slain Al-Shabaab Suspect
October 20 – Source: Xinhua News – 459 Words
Kenyan authorities said on Tuesday they have invited foreign experts to establish the identity of a terror suspect who was killed during a joint security operation to rescue abducted teacher in Garissa county last week. Northeastern Regional Coordinator Mohamud Saleh said the forensic analysis that will carry out on the suspect will also determine whether the militant has been involved in previous terror attacks in the border region.
“We are working closely with the Dobley administration inside Somalia with a view of nabbing the suspects. We have had very good relationship with them and as we talk they are pursuing the suspects. They can run but they can hide,” Saleh told journalists in Garissa town.
Saleh also displayed an assortment of weapons, rounds of ammunitions, two mobile phones and a simcard which were recovered during the security to rescue Judy Mutua, a Kenyan teacher who was abducted by the militants last week.At the time of abduction, Mutua was working with Windle Trust, a non-governmental organization working at the sprawling Hagadera refugee camp. Saleh said during the fierce shootout one of the kidnappers was killed while four of his accomplices escaped with gun wounds injuries while one security officer was slightly injured. He said the security apparatus had names of the five suspects on the run whom he said had gunshot wounds expressing his optimism that they will be arrested soonest.
The government administrator said the rescue operation would not have succeeded without their input noting that this was the first successful rescue operation ever made by the Kenyan forces. On Abdiwahid Musdaf who volunteered information that subsequently led to the rescue of the tutor, Saleh said that he had given instructions to the local security and intelligence committee to provide protection and any other assistance to the headsman.
Police Officers Reach Out To Somali Community After Fatality In South Minneapolis
20 October – Radio Widh Widh Online – 118 Words
Less than 24 hours after Adbi Haji Muhammed was murdered, members of the Minneapolis Police Department’s community engagement team walked the area where the incident occurred with concerned Somali residents. “One of the very important things I want everybody to know is how much we value your community partnership,” Sergeant Todd Loining said.
The city has been hit with a rash of shootings. Twice, a suspect/suspects pulled the trigger in the area recently. A man was shot and killed Sunday night in the 3700 block of First Avenue, and Muhammed was fatally shot at West Lake Street and Pleasant Avenue Monday. As residents walked around with officers, many wanted to know what is being done to keep them safe as well as how the investigation into Muhammed’s death is going.
“Why is it taking so long to solve murders?,” one man said.Muhammed’s son arrived from Nashville, Tennessee, and said he’s thankful for the effort investigators are putting in to bring his father’s murder to justice. “They’re going to help catch those bad guys who just murdered my daddy,” he said. Some residents said they weren’t satisfied.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“The wider East African region on the other hand has experienced marginal gains in the past four years, as South Sudan, Burundi, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Djibouti pull down the regional average.”
Continent In Democratic Recession, Says Mo Ibrahim Index
20 October – Source: The EastAfrican – 806 Words
Mo Ibrahim released the annual Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) on October 5 with little fanfare compared with the response in March when Hifikepunye Pohamba, former Namibian president, won the $5 million prize for Achievement in African Leadership. The latest edition of the index, which includes South Sudan for the first time, shows a continent in democratic recession, having improved only 0.2 points, to 50.1, in four years.
Slightly more than one-third of African countries have experienced a reversal in governance since 2011. This trend has not spared star performers such as Mauritius, Cape Verde, Botswana and the Seychelles, raising doubt about their continued dominance of the top ranks of the index in the future. Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco, Rwanda and Senegal are among the six countries that registered progress in the past five years. The other two are Somalia and Zimbabwe.
“The results of the 2015 IIAG reveal that overall governance progress in Africa is stalling,” said Mo Ibrahim at the launch of the index in London. He was, however, quick to point out that the results should not be used to make broad and sweeping generalisations because “Africa is not a country. “The scores and trends seen in the 54 individual countries on the continent are diverse, each showing specific patterns in their own right, along a wide range of results, with more than a 70-point gap between the top-ranking country, Mauritius, and the bottom-ranking country, Somalia.”
TOP TWEETS
@TheVillaSomalia :Start of #NCFSomalia concludes successfully.This is a new #Somalia, details for taking our national conversations to the country later today
@ZakiaHussen :#UAE donates motor boats to #SomaliaPolice coast guards to increase capacity of SPF to tackle crime @MoIS_Somalia
@Refugees :Since Dec. ’14, we’ve helped 5,000 refugees return to #Somalia from Dadaab camp in #Kenyahttp://trib.al/nYXYpaA
@europeaid: On #Somalia #refugees @FedericaMog says “this is not abt numbers, it’s abt http://ppl.Men , women and children seeking better life”
@Eye_on_Somalia : #allAfrica Somali President Says His Govt Committed to Peaceful Democratic Transition in 2016: [Dalsa… http://bit.ly/1Gp3Paa #somalia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Members of the Somali National Army mount a parade at the Defence Headquarters.
Photo: AMISOM