October 21, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Well Known Somali Elder Killed In Mogadishu
21 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 164 Words
A group of men shot and killed a well known clan elder in Somalia’s capital on thursdaynight, official said. The clan leader identified as Mohamed Tarabi Sheikow is said to have been among the traditional elder who are assigned to select delegates who will elect the Members of Parliament in the upcoming polls.
Reports say that Sheikow was walking near Sarta-Dagodiyaha in Dharkaley district when the group of assailants attacked him. He was hit by several gunshots. The attackers managed to flee and escape after the attack. The elder succumbed to his injuries while on his way to hospital. A motive for the killing is still unknown and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The spokesman for Mogadishu local government, Abdifatah Noor Halane has condemned the killing of the elder, who was remembered for his active campaigns for peace and socials issues. Halane blamed Al-Shabaab fighter for being behind the killing of elder. Al-Shabaab wants to overthrow internationally recognised Somali government.
Key Headlines
- Well Known Somali Elder Killed In Mogadishu (Goobjoog News)
- Hirshabelle President Reaches Beledweyne After Talks With Somalia’s President (Garowe Online)
- Southwest Government Says It Will Tighten The Security Of Lower Shabelle Region (Goobjoog News)
- ‘Crusaders’ Member Alerted FBI To Group Accused In Kansas Plot Targeting Somalis (NBC News)
- Somalia Police Officers Undergo Special Election Training (CCTV)
- All In The Family: Politics In The South West State (Wardheer News)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Hirshabelle President Reaches Beledweyne After Talks With Somalia’s President
20 October – Source: Garowe Online – 288 Words
A Delegation led by the new President of Hirshabelle state Ali Abdulahi Osoble, have arrived in Beledweyne town in the Hiiraan region on Thursday. President Osoble who departed from the Somali capital of Mogadishu, is expected to hold meetings with clan elders of Hiiraan region who strongly opposed the formation process of the new state “Hirshabelle”.
Osoble and his delegate were welcomed at the Beledweyne airport by local administration’s officials, Somali Army and Djibouti officials serving under the AMISOM in Hiiraan region. Later Osoble held private meetings with a prominent clan elder at his residence in Beledweyne.
Close sources told Garowe Online that President Osoble was advised by President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud during their meetings in Mogadishu on Wednesday, to include key politicians and clan leaders of Hiiraan region in the formation process of his administration. He was also advised to build rapport with Hiiraan clan chief and persuade him to participate in the inauguration event for Osoble as the new president of Hirshabelle state on Saturday.
President Osoble also held talks with diplomats and UN envoy to Somalia, Michael Keating, which mainly focused on the Upper House nominations, reconciliation efforts and the support of his new administration. This comes amid intense political maneuver from President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to establish a state administration for Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle regions before the upcoming presidential election, which is believed it’s aimed to interfere in the selection process of parliamentarians-Upper and Lower Houses- to shore up support for his presidential campaign.
International community has early supported the establishment of Somalia’s last Federal member state “Hirshabelle”, but missed to acknowledge the concerns of political interference exerted over the selection process of parliamentarians for the Upper and Lower Houses in the region.
Southwest Government Says It Will Tighten The Security Of Lower Shabelle Region
21 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 140 Words
Southwest Information Minister, Hassan Abdi Mohamed said on Thursday that his government plans to tighten the overall security of Lower Shabelle region barely two days after Al-Shabaab fighters raided Afgooye town, about 30km south of Mogadishu. “Southwest government plans to carry out security measures to enhance security of the region,” said Mohamed
Lower Shabelle region has seen a spate of deadly attacks, including roadside bombs and raids on military bases. The move comes two days after Al-Shabaab which has been carrying out a series of deadly attacks in the country raided Afgooye town, killing 15 people including army officials.
The group drove a bomb-laden car into a police station, while others engaged security forces in a gunfight. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack. Al-Shabaab, which has also been fighting the Somali government since 2006, has vowed to disrupt upcoming Somali elections.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
‘Crusaders’ Member Alerted FBI To Group Accused In Kansas Plot Targeting Somalis
21 October – Source: NBC News – 402 Words
An anti-Muslim militia group in Kansas calling itself “The Crusaders” first came to the government’s attention when one of its members, alarmed by the heightening talk of violence, contacted FBI agents and became a confidential source, prosecutors said.
The new details came Thursday in a government court filing in the case of three men accused of conspiring to detonate truck bombs at an apartment complex where 120 Somali immigrants live in the western Kansas meatpacking town of Garden City.
The government wrote that the men, two of whom are due in court Friday and the third Monday, should stay behind bars until trial because they pose a “substantial danger” to the community. Patrick Stein, 47; Gavin Wright, 51; and Curtis Allen, 49, are all charged with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction.
They were arrested Friday in what the government says was a foiled plot to attack the apartment complex, where one unit is used as a mosque, on Nov. 9 — the day after the election. Prosecutors also said the men were planning other actions, and that one man was willing to kill another’s girlfriend to protect the conspiracy.
Somalia Police Officers Undergo Special Election Training
20 October – Source: CCTV – Video: 0:58 Seconds
As Somalia gears up for its first democratic polls next month, the African Union Mission in Somalia — AMISOM — has been training police officers in Mogadishu, to boost their capacity to host a peaceful elections.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“His major goal is to become a kingmaker, a job he is qualified for. He has told some of his close friends that he wants his half-brother, Mohamed Haji Abdinur “Madeer” (now the Somali Health Minister), to become the next premier. It is not a crime in the SW to dream big.”
All In The Family: Politics In The South West State
October 20 – Source: Wardheer News – 1,186 Words
Recently, Somalia’s South West State (SW) presented a list of candidates for the country’s Upper House. The list was orderly, timely, and even met the 30% quota for female representation. The seamless way in which the list was presented garnered praise and adulation from certain circles in the international community.
It was, after all, a lot better than the political wrangling taking place in other regional states such as Puntland, Galmudug and Jubaland for selecting their respective potential members for the Federal Upper House. In reality, there are palpable reasons why the SW’s selection process went smoothly: utter corruption.
The federal commission for elections has four members from the SW who are all Mirifle. This means, no representatives from Biyamaal, Digil, and other groups in the region. The SW state election committee is another matter. It is headed by none other than Mohamed Abdullahi Mursal, the state minister for the Office of the Presidency and a nephew of Sharif Hassan.
Mursal is a young man with no prior government experience before his uncle made him the de facto premier in the SW. Why a state minister would preside on the state’s election commission is beyond the pale.
For one thing, the state is run by Mursal’s family and the ultimate boss is Uncle Sharif Hassan. The state is a family fiefdom on the one hand and a money-making machine of self-enrichment for its members on the other. Sharif Hassan appoints who he wants and removes who he wants. Got any problems with that?
Sharif Hassan is not all about money. He has political cronies who prop him up and give him the political cover to appear that his administration has representation from other groups. One family has been an important political ally.
TOP TWEETS
@Abdiwali_Yusuf : Lets trust to each other to rebuild our nation#Somalia
@Vatescorp : #Somalia: Hirshabelle President reaches Beledwayne after talks with Hassan to shore up support for his campaign http://ow.ly/V971305ovmE
@MorningAfrika : #Somalia: Mohamed Saed Morgan conceded defeat in the Upper House electionhttp://www.garoweonline.com/
@Eye_on_Somalia : #hiiraan Mandera leaders fault govt for not taking border wall seriously: Mandera leaders have accus…http://bit.ly/2eoMELO #somalia
@omabha : In Somalia, U.S. Escalates a Shadow War – The New York Times – New York Times http://dlvr.it/MVNFQx #Somalia
@omabha : AMISOM apologises for shooting dead a civilian in Somalia – eNCA http://dlvr.it/MVLJcC #Somalia
IMAGE OF THE DAY
The Head of Somalia’s Police Force, Maj. Gen. Mohamed Sheikh Hassan Hamud has urged Somali Police Officers to take the trainings being conducted around the country by AMISOM Police as seriously as possible.
Photo: AMISOM