October 25, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Al Shabaab commander ‘spent time in UK’
25 Oct – Source: BBC – 381 Words
A senior al Shabaab commander who was the target of an abortive raid by US special forces in Somalia last month had spent time in the UK, the BBC has learned. Abdikadir Mohammed has been linked to alleged terror plots in Kenya. Friends have told the BBC that he came to Britain in 2007 and spent time in London, before moving to Somalia the following year.
US Navy Seals failed in an attempt to capture him on 5 October. The raid followed an attack on the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi, Kenya, on 21 September that lasted four days and left at least 67 people dead. Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the siege.
BBC correspondent Gabriel Gatehouse said it was not clear what role, if any, Abdikadir Mohammed played in that attack. Abdikadir Mohammed, also known by his alias, Ikrimah, is thought to be a recruiter of foreign fighters, and a key link between al Shabaab in Somalia, and al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen, our correspondent said.
In 2004 he travelled to Norway, where he unsuccessfully sought asylum. The BBC has discovered that in early 2007 he came to Britain and spent time in London, before moving back to Somalia. Leaked Kenyan intelligence documents have linked him to Samantha Lewthwaite – the British widow of one of the London 7/7 attackers
Key Headlines
- Federal Govt troops clash with al Shabaab in Bay region (Garowe Online/Radio Dalsan)
- Italy to assist Somalia’s military forces (Somali Current/Bar-kulan)
- Al Shabaab commander ‘spent time in UK’ (BBC)
- Kenya deports three Tanzania nationals over al Shabaab link (Star News)
- US defends Kenyan journalists over Westgate coverage (Daily Nation)
- Uganda investigates AMISOM soldiers suspected of selling weapons (CCTV Africa)
- Challenges of rebuilding a united Somali National Army (Sabahi Online)
- Somali Red Crescent Society scales up efforts to curb polio spread (IFRC News)
- U.S. Army Africa trains Ugandan military police personnel for future AMISOM mission (United States Army Africa)
SOMALI MEDIA
Federal Govt troops clash with al Shabaab in Bay region
25 Oct – Source: Garowe Online/Radio Dalsan – 128 words
The Somali Federal Government troops aided by Ethiopian forces have reportedly clashed with al Shabaab militants in Bay region of Southern Somalia on Thursday.
Local reports say, the fighting erupted between Bay regional districts of Ufurow and Awdiinle after a military convoy of Somali government forces ran into a roadblock set up by al Shabaab militia men.
According to witnesses, ten people from the opposing sides died in the battle and al Shabaab fighters fled the vicinity after Ethiopian troops reinforced the Somali government forces. Five soldiers have been brought to Baidoa General Hospital for medical treatment, officials said.
Somalia Federal Government officials in Bay region told the media that they wanted to dislodge al Shabaab from a strategic road connecting Bay to the border region of Gedo.
Italy to assist Somalia’s military forces
25 Oct – Source: Somali Current/Bar-kulan – 74 words
Italy has on Thursday vowed to provide training programs and equipment for Somalia military forces, to help fight against extremists in the country.
While visiting Mogadishu, Italia’s Chief of Defense Admiral Luigi Binelli Mantelli praised the efforts on security developments made by the federal government of Somalia, highlighting the need to encourage the achievements made.
Admiral Mantelli met with Somali officials led by defense minister Abdihakin Haji Fiqi. Italia’s Chief of Defense promised that Italy will help boosting the quality of Somali National Army and will provide military training programs.
Four killed in grenade explosion, al Shabaab executes man for rape
24 Oct – Source: Garowe Online – 103 words
At least four civilians died and 14 others were wounded in grenade explosion that targeted the Somali Federal Government soldiers at market in Janale village of Lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia, Garowe Online reports.
According to witnesses, unidentified assailants Thursday threw the hand grenade at soldiers and the soldiers responded with gunfire which wounded and killed many nearby shoppers.
The wounded persons were taken to a health facility run by AMISOM and Janale authorities confirmed that the soldiers were collecting tax from stalls when the grenade exploded.
Following massive military operation, Somali-AMISOM forces liberated al Shabaab militants from the town last year.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Kenya deports three Tanzania nationals over al Shabaab link
25 Oct – Source: The Star (Kenya) – 69 Words
Three Tanzanians who were arrested on suspicion of being al Shabaab militants in Ras Kamboni, Somalia by KDF soldiers have been deported. Coast Anti-Terror Police Unit boss Elijah Rop says there was no jurisdiction for charging them in the court since they were arrested outside the country. Rop says the three had valid documents to be in the country and had not committed any offense by crossing to Somalia.
US defends Kenyan journalists over Westgate coverage
25 Oct – Source: Daily Nation – 108 words
The United States urged the Kenyan government on Thursday to protect “rights to freedom of the Press.”
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf made the comment in response to a reporter’s question about the US view of Kenyan authorities’ threats to prosecute journalists for their coverage of officials’ handling of the Westgate attack.
“We believe in Kenya, as we do everywhere, that a free and independent media is a critical element of a vibrant democracy,” Ms Harf said.
She was also asked whether the Kenyan government’s threats to prosecute journalists would influence the US response to the effort at the UN to defer the Hague cases against Kenya’s leaders.
Challenges of rebuilding a united Somali National Army
24 Oct – Source: Sabahi Online – 1235 Words
Forces from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Ethiopia and Somalia have been instrumental in gaining ground against al Shabaab and improving security in Somalia, but to bolster these gains and continue on the path towards stability, the Somali National Army (SNA) needs additional assistance.
Although the Somali federal government and AMISOM have asked the international community for help, to date, the army has received insufficient assistance and equipment to rebuild. This gap has limited the Somali army’s ability to build up its capacity and become a broad-based, united force with nationwide credibility — a critical component of ensuring long-term security in Somalia.
To achieve this goal, the Somali government must engage local and regional partners in reaching a consensus on how to rebuild the army, which can only be accomplished by addressing a number of deep-seated and divisive issues. And for its part, the international community should encourage such locally led and inclusive talks, as well as re-think the nature of its military assistance to Somalia.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Al Shabaab commander ‘spent time in UK’
25 Oct – Source: BBC – 381 Words
A senior al Shabaab commander who was the target of an abortive raid by US special forces in Somalia last month had spent time in the UK, the BBC has learned. Abdikadir Mohammed has been linked to alleged terror plots in Kenya. Friends have told the BBC that he came to Britain in 2007 and spent time in London, before moving to Somalia the following year.
US Navy Seals failed in an attempt to capture him on 5 October. The raid followed an attack on the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi, Kenya, on 21 September that lasted four days and left at least 67 people dead. Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the siege.
BBC correspondent Gabriel Gatehouse said it was not clear what role, if any, Abdikadir Mohammed played in that attack. Abdikadir Mohammed, also known by his alias, Ikrimah, is thought to be a recruiter of foreign fighters, and a key link between al Shabaab in Somalia, and al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen, our correspondent said.
In 2004 he travelled to Norway, where he unsuccessfully sought asylum. The BBC has discovered that in early 2007 he came to Britain and spent time in London, before moving back to Somalia. Leaked Kenyan intelligence documents have linked him to Samantha Lewthwaite – the British widow of one of the London 7/7 attackers.
Uganda investigates AMISOM soldiers suspected of selling weapons
24 Oct – Source: CCTV Africa – 01:32mins
24 Ugandan army officers who served in Somalia are facing a court-martial at home – for allegedly selling guns and ammunition. They’re also accused of selling their soldiers’ food. Commanders in Somalia say investigations are still underway. CCTV’s Mohamed Hirmoge has more.
Somali Red Crescent Society scales up efforts to curb polio spread
25 Oct – Source: IFRC News – 169 words
When one case of the wild poliovirus type one surfaced in Somaliland earlier this year, the Somali Red Crescent Society sprang into action, working together with the Ministry of Health and other partners to prevent the further spread of the disease.
“As long as one child remains infected, every child in the country remains at risk,” said Kwame Darko, health delegate at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Somali delegation. “That’s why it is imperative that we get into every small village and community, to conduct immunizations and ensure the virus does not spread.”
Polio is a highly contagious viral infection that tends to attack mostly children under the age of five, pregnant women, those with weak immune systems, and those who have not been immunized. The virus enters the body through the mouth, invades the nervous system, and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours. Initial symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck and pain in the limbs.
U.S. Army Africa trains Ugandan military police personnel for future AMISOM mission
24 Oct – Source: United States Army Africa – 755 Words
A recent U.S. Army Africa organized training event helped prepare Uganda’s Peoples’ Defense Force military police company for an upcoming deployment to Somalia. USARAF Provost Marshal, Lt. Col. Edwin H. Escobar said military police personnel from the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division provided 10 weeks of instruction to UPDF personnel.
“In broad strokes, 21 instructors from the regionally aligned force from 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division out of Fort Riley, Kan., conducted training on route security, riot control, marksmanship, first aid and combatives,” Escobar said. “As far as I know, this was the first theater security cooperation military police train and equip event for USARAF. Additionally, it was the first time Africa Command has used a RAF in this capacity.”
He said the training helped prepare the Ugandan MPs to plan, execute and sustain counterterrorism operations against al Shabaab and other al Qaeda affiliates in Somalia.
“The African Union Mission in Somalia known as AMISOM is a regional peacekeeping mission operated by the African Union with the approval of the United Nations in Somalia,” Escobar said. “Uganda contributes over 6,000 troops to the AMISOM.
Somalis returning home to escape S. Africa violence
24 Oct – Source: World Bulletin – 173 words
Somalis have fled the civil war in their country for a better life in South Africa are now contemplating returning to their native land, as they find themselves the target of violent discrimination in South Africa.
“It’s better to die in your country where your mother and father can see you and not worry so much,” said Ali Omar Mohamed, who fled Somalia two years ago. Having been robbed at gunpoint, he told Bloomberg that he is now ready to leave. “As soon as possible, I’ll go back,” he said.
As many as 60 foreigners have been killed in xenophobic attacks in South Africa, and already around 2,000 Somalis living in South Africa have returned home this year. Also, according to statistics quoted by Bloomberg, 50,000 people being forced to flee their homes and shops in 2008.
The 21-year-old shopkeeper said “every time someone comes through the door I’m worried.” Many blame the attacks on Somali and Pakistani shopkeepers on jealousy, as a quarter of native South Africans suffer from unemployment.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Advancing its counternarrative is a key part of al Shabaab’s media strategy, as is evident by the group’s handling of the Westgate Mall story. By claiming to be in close contact with the militants inside the mall, its media operatives garnered a great deal of attention from news media outlets around the world. It is suspected that al Shabaab succeeded multiple times in circumventing attempts to prevent them from micro-blogging by creating a new account each time a Twitter suspension went into effect.”
The Nairobi attack and al Shabaab’s Media Strategy
24 Oct – Source: Combating Terrorism Centre – 3135 Words
After carrying out a bold attack inside the upscale Westgate Mall in Nairobi in September 2013, the Somali militant group al Shabaab succeeded in recapturing the media spotlight. This was in large part due to the nature of the attack, its duration, the difficulty in rescuing the mall, the number of casualties, and al Shabaab’s aggressive media campaign during and immediately after the attack.[1]
From al Shabaab’s perspective, the attack on Westgate Mall was a media triumph, particularly coming in the midst of a growing rift among jihadists both inside and outside Somalia regarding the consolidation of power by the group’s amir, Ahmed “Mukhtar Abu al-Zubayr” Godane. The attack also followed a year in which al Shabaab lost control of significant amounts of territory in Somalia, most importantly major urban and economic centers such as the cities of Baidoa and Kismayo.
This article examines al Shabaab’s media strategy during and immediately after the Westgate Mall attack, both via micro-blogging on Twitter through its various accounts as well as more traditional media formats such as audio statements from the group’s leadership. The article also puts the group’s media operations for the Westgate attack in historical context by comparing and contrasting them to al Shabaab’s past media campaigns.
“The story of one insurgent who laid seige to Nairobi’s Westgate Mall in September is a strange one. It starts in a quiet, seaside town where people knew this man was a risk.”
How does a boy from a seaside town in Norway end up a terrorist in Kenya?
24 Oct – Source: PRI – 298 Words
Kenyan authorities say they used closed-circuit TV video footage of the attack to identify a gunman who fired on shoppers at the mall. They say he is 23-year-old Norwegian citizen Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow, who grew up in the small town of Larvik on Norway’s coast.
Last week, Gabriel Gatehouse of the BBC visited Larvik, southwest of Oslo. He calls it “a sleepy, sleepy place. It’s a million miles away… in every sense… from the ravages of Somalia’s 20-year long civil war.”
But Dhuhulow was aware of the civil war in Somalia. And intelligence officials were aware of him. Norwegian authorities tried to stop him from leaving Norway and joining extremists in Somalia three years ago, according to the head of the Norwegian Police Security Service, Marie Benedicte Bjoernland.
Top tweets
@amisomsomalia PHOTOS OF THE DAY: Dr. Hawa Abdi Center caters for many displaced by civil war in #Somalia http://bit.ly/1cgODwv http://on.fb.me/QqTSeN.
@OCHASom “As long as one child remains infected by #polio, every child in #Somalia remains at risk,” http://bit.ly/1gHZj9r @Federation @WHOsom.
@PaulGottinger If Barclays ends remittances to #Somalia “the consequences could be even worse than the 2011 famine” http://ind.pn/1dqoScS.
@unicefsomalia #Global hand washing activities in #Somalia focus on creating awareness btn hand washing with soap and #Polio prevention.
@BenParker140 And free-to-broadcasters video material on #Somalia remittances is also out here: http://vimeo.com/77731885 @lhammondsoas.
Image of the day
U.S. Army Africa instructors train more than 20 military police personnel from Uganda Peoples’ Defense Force military police company to assist them in preparing for an upcoming deployment to Somalia. Photo: U.S. Army Africa.