October 23, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Wounded Somali reporter in stable condition
23 Oct- Source: Radio Mustaqbal-100 Words
The healthy condition of Somali TV reporter, attacked and wounded in Mogadishu by gunmen on Tuesday is reportedly improving, according to colleagues. Mohamed Mohamud Tima-cade was shot several times in the neck, chest and shoulder by unidentified gunmen in Wadajir district. He was admitted at Madina Hospital.
Journalist Abdullahi Ahmed Nor who is one the colleagues of journalist in Universal TV told Mustaqbal radio that Tima-Ade’s condition is getting better, adding that he needs more treatment and care.Somali government officials, UNSOM and AU have strongly condemned the brutal and the attempted assassination of the Somali journalist.
Key Headlines
- Wounded Somali reporter in stable condition (Radio Mustaqbal)
- Somali parliament speaker calls on MPs to attend sitting sessions (Radio Mustaqbal/SNTV)
- UCID Condemns botched assassination attempt on Lawmaker’s life (Somaliland Press)
- Disabled in Baidoa feel abandoned (Radio Ergo)
- Somaliland Police swoop nets over 200 suspected criminals in Hargeisa (Somaliland Sun)
- Dozens arrested during security operations in Daynile district (Mareeg Online)
- Looting? Bags were for water claims military (Daily Nation)
- Somali bandy team embarks on icy road to Siberia (AFP/Yahoo News)
PRESS RELEASE
AU Special Representative condemns the attempted assassination of Somali television journalist
22 Oct – Source: AMISOM – 187 words
The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif is appalled by the attempted assassination of a journalist working for the London based, Somali channel Universal TV.
Mohamed Mohamud Timacade was shot several times in the neck, chest and shoulder. “It is sad to note that this barbaric behavior continues to exist despite the relative peace the residents of Mogadishu are enjoying,” he said.
The AU Special Representative said the country is making tremendous progress and members of the media should be given assurance that their work environment is safe to operate in to ensure the Somali people are well informed of the developments around them.
Ambassador Annadif reaffirmed AMISOM commitment to enhancing the security of the country adding that AMISOM is ready to offer any assistance it can to help the Federal Government of Somalia and the Somali National Security Forces put a stop to these heinous attacks. He paid tribute to the courage of Somali journalists; five of whom have already been killed this year. Eighteen journalists were killed in Somalia last year.
SOMALI MEDIA
Wounded Somali reporter in stable condition
23 Oct- Source: Radio Mustaqbal-100 Words
The healthy condition of Somali TV reporter, attacked and wounded in Mogadishu by gunmen on Tuesday is reportedly improving, according to colleagues. Mohamed Mohamud Tima-cade was shot several times in the neck, chest and shoulder by unidentified gunmen in Wadajir district. He was admitted at Madina Hospital.
Journalist Abdullahi Ahmed Nor who is one the colleagues of journalist in Universal TV told Mustaqbal radio that Tima-Ade’s condition is getting better, adding that he needs more treatment and care. Somali government officials, UNSOM and AU have strongly condemned the brutal and the attempted assassination of the Somali journalist.
Somali parliament speaker calls on MPs to attend sitting sessions
23 Oct – Source: Radio Mustaqbal/SNTV – 119 words
The Speaker of Somali federal parliament Mohamed Osman Jawari speaking in the parliament said the lawmakers don’t fully attend the meetings of the legislation, warned over absenteeism.
The Speaker said the parliamentary operations have been greatly affected by the lack of quorum since most of the lawmakers are not available. He called on the MPs to take their mandate seriously and attend parliament sittings.
Some of the MPS are not available in the parliamentary seats, some are in their hotels in Mogadishu and some others are out of the country for unidentified justification.
UCID Condemns botched assassination attempt on Lawmaker’s life
23 Oct – Source: Somaliland Press – 111 words
The Justice and Welfare Party (UCID) has in a press statement released Tuesday night condemned in the strongest terms the attempt on the life of Hon Mohamed Farah Qabile, MP last night.
The MP narrowly survived the attempt on his life after unspecified number of assassins ambushed and fired three bullets at close range near his home in the exclusive Jig Jiga Yar Suburb of Hargeisa at about 7:30 PM a fortnight ago.
The Justice and Welfare UCID spokesperson in a press released demanded the immediate indictment and prosecution of the police captain who was involved in the deadly attack on the life of the opposition MP.
Disabled in Baidoa feel abandoned
22 Oct- Source: Radio Ergo-199 Words
Disabled people in Baidoa, the regional capital of Bay, say they are struggling to survive in a life of poverty and discrimination. Hussein Hassan Mursal is spokesman for an association of people with disabilities known as Alla Magan. He said the association represents more than 700 members.
“We are the abandoned handicapped people who have been left for more than two decades of war,” he said. “No one cares for us. No government and no local administration care for us. Some of us were even abandoned by our families,” Mursal told Radio Ergo’s local reporter in Baidoa.
Mursal said most of the disabled used to be farmers and pastoralists but now have no means of making ends meet. Some were injured in combat, but most are civilians injured by landmines, unexploded ordnance, or though other forms of violence. Mukhtar Ali Ishaq, who is disabled, said there were no facilities, support or services to help him or others in his situation.
He listed a range of vocational training courses that could help them to make a living, such as tailoring, electronic repair, and beauty skills for the women. Others called for health care, physical therapy and wheelchairs to assist them.
Police arrest six suspects over Saturday’s suicide explosion in Beledweyne
22 Oct – Source: Raxanreeb – 96 words
Police in central Somalia say they have arrested six suspects in connection with Saturday’s suicide explosion that killed at least 20 people in the town of Beledweyne, RBC reports.
Hiiraan deputy governor, Hussein Osman Ali said the police nabbed the six persons believed to have been connected to a young man who blew himself up inside a teashop in Beledweyne on Saturday.
Al Shabaab militant group claimed the responsibility of the explosion. “The police are now investigating these people in order to have a full information so that they can face justice if found guilty.” he said.
Somaliland Police swoop nets over 200 suspected criminals in Hargeisa
22 Oct – Source: Somaliland Sun – 122 words
The Commissioner of police Brigadier General Abdilahi Fadal Iman in a press conference in his office said that his officers arrested more than 200 teenagers who cause chaos in city estates.
“most of the thieves we have captured are young boys who usually harass innocent pedestrians by mugging them of the valuables and others deal in selling of illicit alcoholic brews and bhang (cannabis sativa).
Mr. Fadal said that this operation was bigger than others done before because of the large number of people caught, managing to arrest hooligans who usually walk in groups and rob people of their mobile phones while pretending to be fighting after a football match against their opponents masking their intention as a result.
Dozens arrested during security operations in Daynile district
22 Oct – Source: Mareeg Online – 86 words
Hirey Muhyadin, the District commissioner of Daynille district told the media that dozens of people suspected of having links with al Shabaab were arrested during a security operation conducted by government troops in the district.
The D.C added that those arrested also included thugs who caused insecurity in the major suburbs of Daynile and will face justice. Mr. Hirey said that residents always complained of insecurity incidents which frequently took place during the the night but after the operations, there were signs of improvement.
Somaliland president sends condolence over death of Poet Ali Banfas
22 Oct – Source: Somaliland Informer – 133 words
Somaliland’s President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Silanyo has sent condolences to the country’s poets at home and abroad for losing one of great poets of the nation by the name of Ali Hassan Adan better known as ‘Ali Banfas’ who passed away in Hargeisa on Monday night.
The president on the other hand is sending his sincere condolences to the family, relatives and friends of the late Ali Banfas and prayed that his soul rest in peace.
The president said that Ali Banfas was a poet that the Somali speaking community has lost him. Ali Banfas is said to have played a key role when it comes to the emancipation of the country from the Junta regime led by deceased president Siad Barre.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Looting? Bags were for water, claims Kenya military
22 Oct – Source: Daily Nation – 199 words
Military chiefs Tuesday defended soldiers who were captured on CCTV carrying white shopping bags from the Westgate mall while it was under siege by terrorists. Kenya Defence Forces spokesman Cyrus Oguna explained that the soldiers were carrying bottles of water and had been authorised to pick them from Nakumatt supermarket.
“That is the position and it’s the truth. They had been authorised and after walking out of the supermarket, they distributed it to their colleagues who were on the first floor,” he said. Colonel Oguna further said that the information was presented to members of the National Security and Defence committees that interviewed the security chiefs at Parliament buildings Tuesday.
Chief of Defence Forces Julius Karangi led the officers at the joint session of parliamentary committees. He was accompanied by his deputy Samson Mwathethe and other senior officers including Colonel Oguna. Other security chiefs present were National Intelligence Service director-general Michael Gichangi, Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo and director of criminal investigations Ndegwa Muhoro.
Kenya looks to deter crime, terrorism with community policing initiative
22 Oct- Source: Sabhi Online-834 Words
Amid scathing criticism over its handling of last month’s Westgate mall attack in Nairobi, the Kenyan government is rolling out a neighbourhood policing initiative that aims to protect against future terrorist acts and crime in general. The government plans to implement the new initiative, known as Nyumbi Kumi or “Ten Households”, by the end of October, Secretary of Interior and National Co-ordination of National Government Joseph Ole Lenku said.
It calls for dividing neighbourhoods in towns and villages nationwide into clusters of ten households that would help police protect neighbourhoods and guard against terrorist activities. Tanzania, which established the “ten-cell” concept under former President Julius Nyerere, now is considering revamping the system in a bid to bolster its own security after an al Shabaab elements were discovered training in the Mtwara region earlier this month.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali bandy team embarks on icy road to Siberia
23 Oct- Source: AFP/Yahoo News-843 Words
The sound of sharp steel blades scratching the skating rink’s ice pierces the chill air as players on wobbly legs hunt a bright pink ball with wooden sticks. This is Sweden, but the players are Somalis. Hailing from a country that touches the Equator, they hope to shine in bandy, an ice hockey-type sport popular in countries blessed by the midnight sun.
The Somali national bandy team has stood on ice only a handful of times before, but with the coaching of Swedish bandy pro Per Fosshaug, they have their sights set on the 2014 World Championships opening in late January in the Siberian city of Irkutsk.
“Soccer is easier,” said high school student Ahmed Hussein, smiling shyly when asked about their progress. “Everyone can play football, but ice-skating… It can be learned, of course, but it requires time and patience.” Leaving war-torn Somalia as a refugee four years ago, the now 18-year-old never imagined life as a bandy player, even less that he would feature in a Swedish film. Today, both have come true for him.
Leicestershire Firefighters Donate Truck To Somalia
23 Oct – Source: Voice Online – 171 words
LEICESTERSHIRE’S FIRE and Rescue Service (LFRS) has donated a fire engine to fellow firefighters in Somalia. The old engine, worth about £14,000, was given to the Mogadishu fire service at a special event at the LFRS headquarters in Birstall recently.
Its chief fire and rescue officer, Dave Webb, presented his Somali counterpart, Abdulahi Mohamed, with the keys to the vehicle. Mohamed previously worked with the Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service before being recruited by Somalia’s Mogadishu Fire and Emergency Services Department.
The east African country is rebuilding its emergency services after two decades of civil war.
The donation means the Mogadishu service now has four engines in its fleet. Leicestershire charity, Iqra Aid, was the catalyst behind the engine donation, having previously arranged the donation of Mogadishu’s three other engines from the UK.
Webb said: “I’m delighted that we are able to provide this fire appliance to Somalia and I know it will greatly assist my colleague Mr Abdulahi Mohamed in developing their fire and rescue service in Somalia.
Kenya: One month after Westgate attack, police still abusing Somali Muslims
22 Oct – Source: Global Post – 264 words
In the middle of a crowded downtown street stand two hundred men and women, listening to a religious debate between a Muslim cleric and a Christian priest. The two take turns shouting into a microphone that amplifies their voices to the curious onlookers: ‘The Bible says…’ the priest begins. The cleric responds, “The Koran says…” and so on.
The ritual has become a daily phenomenon as Christians and Muslims come together to discuss their religions here in Eastleigh, the heart of Nairobi’s Somali Muslim community. But this religious debate held a special significance Monday, exactly one month after gunmen began their deadly siege of Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall.
In the initial hours of that attack, accounts surfaced that attackers asked civilians inside the mall to recite parts of the Koran in an attempt to identify Muslims and spare them. “We heard they were asking them, if they could read the Koran, and they wouldn’t be killed,” said Roy Sam, whose older brother was in killed as he deposited money in a bank at the mall. “I have a friend who was Muslim who was there and managed to read, and he was allowed to go.”
But Sam’s brother, Thomas Ogola, 33, was not Muslim. “It was a close range shot to his head,” Sam said.
Ogola, 33, left behind a wife and three-year-old son. “I think it’s revenge,” Sam said of his brother’s death at the hands of Islamic militants. “It’s the normal fight that’s been going on between the Muslims and the Christians.”
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“The vicious attack on the Westgate Mall is a challenge that Kenya and its allies must meet without hesitation. But it is also a challenge that must be met without falling into the trap of indicting all Muslims for the atrocity. That would only serve the interests of the terrorists, whose ultimate goal is to radicalize Muslims in Kenya, and perhaps the world.”
Al Shabaab’s Savage Coming Of Age: How To Respond
22 Oct- Source: Eurasia Review-2462 Words
September 21 began like any other Saturday morning at the upscale Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. Parents brought their excited youngsters to a children’s party; Kenyan elites patronized the gourmet restaurants; customers perused the merchandise in the mall’s expensive boutiques; and tourists and expatriates soaked in the international ambiance.
Then at 11:30 am, havoc broke out. Ten to 15 heavily armed militants stormed the mall through multiple entrances, throwing grenades and opening fire on security guards and shoppers alike. The siege created a bloodbath that killed over 60 people and left the building littered with mutilated bodies. The gunmen took hostages, shot women and children point-blank, cut off body parts, and tortured and executed those they considered non-Muslims and infidels. Thus began a four-day siege.
It was a far cry from other al Shabaab attacks in Kenya, which have generally consisted of drive-by shootings, small arms fire, or the lobbing of grenades at civilian and security targets. Although such attacks have become increasingly frequent since 2011, nothing of this magnitude was imaginable just weeks ago.
“It is heartening to see the numbers of reported piracy attacks go down, but the threat to shipping and seafarers remains on many fronts, and the industry cannot afford to let down its guard or ease up its pressure on governments to ensure this scourge of the high seas is kept at bay.”
Fewer attacks and why you should still be afraid of Somali pirates
22 Oct- Source: Seatrade Global-573 Words
Piracy and good news are not terms that normally go together, but piracy figures for the first nine months of the year would indeed at first glance appear to be just that. Unfortunately appearances can be deceptive. Last week industry funded watchdog the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported that piracy incidents in the third quarter had dropped to a seven year low, the piracy hotbed off Somalia had seen just 10 attacks in nine months compared to 70 in the same period in 2012.
This week’s third quarter report from government funded Asian regional anti-piracy body ReCAAP also showed a declining trend of 90 reported incidents of piracy and armed robbery in Asia – Pacific. Notably all incidents were what ReCAAP calls category two or three attacks, and there were no incidents its highest and most serious category one.
“The competition between the three has always been a bit of a rowdy one until now, leading Hormuud to not allowing its customers to make calls to Nationlink customers at times and vice versa or charging the subscriber more when calling somebody subscribed to a rival company.”
Somalia’s telecommunications price war
22 Oct- Source: Harar24-649 Words
The average Somali usually carries more than one phone or a phone with dual SIM capability or maybe even Tri-SIM capability. If Hormuud has the better deal he’ll use Hormuud, when Nationlink offers discounts he’ll switch to it and when Telcom offers cheaper international calls he’ll switch to the latter. Even in the most remote areas, bedouins, shepherds and nomads will be seen using mobile phones.
This is the typical scenario in Somalia, the telecommunications businesses are booming and heavy competition is causing them to be at each other’s necks. The rise of private telecommunications companies in Somalia came as a result of the nonexistence of any government regulated telecommunication since the fall of Siad Bare in 1991. After the beginning of the civil war many companies appeared in the country to fill the void and to provide Somalis with services to call in and out of the country.
One of the first companies, if not the first, was Telcom, launched in 1994. It’s now one of the main telecommunication companies in Somalia. However it has many competitors, one if it’s main competitors being Hormuud, launched in 2002 it excels amongst other companies, yet it’s always in a constant price war with competitors.
Top tweets
@WFP Healthy babies need healthy mothers. That’s why @WFPprovides vouchers to refugee mothers in #Somalia for produce.http://bit.ly/HfO7QN
@usembbrussels Updated Facts on Contact Group on #Piracyoff Coast of #Somalia http://ow.ly/q5j6X
@UNESCO Every journalist killed or neutralized by terror is an observer less of the human condition #pressfreedompic.twitter.com/6WaxoZhvml
@Somalia111 Wishing full recovery for @TVUniversal reporter wounded in #Mogadishu Tuesday. I condemn the attack. Media has a key role in #Somalia.
@BBCAfrica Eloi Yao @amisomsomalia spokesman tells#BBCNewsday ‘AMISOM forces abide by strict African Union rules’ http://bbc.in/19ZPwSD
Image of the day
A high level international mission delegation led by European Union envoy Mr. Michele Cervone d’Urso, left, is welcomed at Kismayo Airport by AMISOM commanders on Tuesday October 22, 2013. Photo: Radio Kulmiye