October 27, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
Officials: Somalia Preparing For Large-scale Offensive Against Al-Shabaab
26 October – Source: VOA – 541 Words
Somali government troops and their African Union allies are preparing a large-scale offensive against al-Shabab militants, according to multiple witnesses and government officials. Somali leaders including the president have threatened to retaliate for the truck bombing of a busy Mogadishu intersection on Oct. 14 that killed more than 300 people. Al-Shabab did not claim responsibility for the blast, but officials blamed the group and few Somalis doubt the accusation.
A resident of Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region told VOA on Thursday that thousands of troops are massing in the area. “We have seen unusual government military buildup. We have witnessed trucks carrying military supplies, technical vehicles mounted with heavy machine-guns and APCs in Afgoye,” Mohamed Muse said.
A government official said another buildup is taking place around Bale Dogle airport, 90 kilometers (56 miles) northwest of Mogadishu. “I cannot tell you more than that. But I can confirm that there will be a massive attack on Al-Shabaab controlled areas and strongholds involving AMISOM and other international partners,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Al-Shabaab has issued no statements since the explosion in Mogadishu. Officials told VOA that according to their intelligence, the militants are forcing the owners of bulldozers to help them cut key roads and have planted landmines to hinder the progress of pro-government forces.
Key Headlines
- Officials: Somalia Preparing For Large-scale Offensive Against Al-Shabaab (VOA)
- Somali Intel Chief Accuses Western Agencies And Govts Of Doublespeak And Intel Profiteering (Goobjoog News)
- Government Forces Clash In Mogadishu (Radio Mustaqbal)
- Government Says It Regularly Pays Salaries (Hiiraan Online)
- Exclusive: Inside The Secret Mission That Got A Navy SEAL Killed In Africa (The Daily Beast)
- Strategic Partnership Basis Of Turkish-Somali Cooperation (Daily Sabah)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Intel Chief Accuses Western Agencies And Govts Of Doublespeak And Intel Profiteering
26 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 306 Words
National Intelligence chief Abdullahi Sanbalooshe has lashed out at Western countries and their intelligence agencies for what he termed as deceit, outright refusal to share intelligence and profiteering from intelligence gathered from scene of IED attacks in Somalia at the expense of lives of Somalis. In a hard hitting Op-Ed in the New York Times Thursday, Sanbalooshe painted a picture of an agency grappling in the dark on its own to prevent another attack like the October 14 truck bombing in Mogadishu while western agencies run away with crucial intelligence material and flatly refuse to share with their Somali counterparts.
Coming in the wake of a deadly bomb attack which claimed over 400 lives and devastated livelihoods as hundreds of others nurse injuries both home and in foreign hospitals, the NISA head’s piece raises the worry of an agency unable to detect and halt another possible terror attack. The NISA chief warned similar attacks as the October 14 could be unpreventable owing to the relationship between its agency and western governments and agencies especially in light of enhanced technologies deployed by Al-Shabaab. The group, Sanbalooshe, said had upped the number of attacks since 2015 and now easily exploits home-made materials to make powerful bombs.
It is time, the NISA chief to equip and empower homeland intelligence agencies to effectively execute their roles instead of relying on foreign help. He called for genuine support to the Somali government which he noted does not currently have the financial ability to install the requisite intelligence facilities. “We can no longer outsource out investigations and intelligence analysis to private contractors driven by the profit motive. We must acquire the means to exploit intelligence and evidence ourselves, to prosecute the criminals in Somali courts and to develop a Somali-owned strategy to defeat this enemy.
Government Forces Clash In Mogadishu
27 October- Source: Radio Mustaqbal – 113 Words
There has been clashes between members of the Federal Government forces in Mogadishu. The clashes which lasted for a short time injured soldiers and civilians. Several conflicting reports are emerging from the injuries sustained by the civilians and reports indicates that the civilians were near the point where the clashes took place. It is reported that clashes hit the former medicine factory and the headquarters of custodial corps and the X-control junction. According to sources, it took the intervention of some other government forces who successfully halted the clashes. The clashes affected the movement of people and vehicles in the area.
Government Says It Regularly Pays Salaries
27 October- Source: Hiiraan Online – 117 Words
The Federal Government of Somalia(FGS) has quashed reports that it doesn’t pay the salaries of its civil servants and soldiers as false. Civil servants and soldiers have in the past complained about lack of salaries. The Minister for Finance, Abdirahman Duale Beileh has revealed that the government regularly pays the salaries of its employees including the armed forces. The Minister rejected the reports that the government has failed to pay its employees as non-existent. “We are fortunate that no one is missing his salary, we are in October, everyone will get his salary when the month is over. No one can say that he hasn’t been paid and if they are, they are few,” said Minister Beileh.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Exclusive: Inside The Secret Mission That Got A Navy SEAL Killed In Africa
27 October – Source: Daily Beast – 3460 Words
If it weren’t for the shot that killed Navy SEAL Kyle Milliken, villagers in Daarasalaam, Somalia, might not have noticed anything amiss that night in May. For hours earlier, Milliken and his team had moved silently through the town, leaving boot prints that sank into the wet gray clay, and at least five dead bodies in their wake. Only when an Al Shabaab militant, concealed beneath the low-hanging branch of a mango tree, spotted Milliken standing over the bodies of two fellow fighters and fired did the silence that evening finally break.
The militant’s shots fatally wounded Milliken and led to a messy, hours-long evacuation that ended as the sun started to climb over the horizon that morning. The team left syringes, bandages, and muddy footprints that hardened in the blazing heat the following day, and the villagers of Daarasalaam retraced the team’s steps, piecing together a narrative of the raid that had resulted in the first U.S. combat death in Somalia since the infamous Black Hawk Down incident in 1993.
In recent weeks, the death of four U.S. Special Forces soldiers in Niger on Oct. 4 has lead some in the United States to question the presence and activities of U.S. soldiers in Africa. The secrecy of U.S. Africa Command or AFRICOM and of American Special Operations Forces has exacerbated suspicions about the dangers they face in roles often described only as “advisors,” and the U.S. government’s findings about that incident may never be made public in their entirety.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“What is good about the Turkey-African partnership is that […] it is based on African priorities and it is not imposed. [The partnership] is based on mutual respect and a win-win situation for both sides,”
Strategic Partnership Basis Of Turkish-Somali Cooperation
26 October – Source: Daily Sabah – 873 Words
Bilateral ties between Turkey and Somalia will be further cemented, as Ankara is fully committed to do whatever is necessary to establish stability in Somalia, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım asserted yesterday following a meeting with Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire in Ankara. “Somalia informed us regarding the steps that will be taken in security, infrastructure matters, which are crucial for Somalia’s future,” Yıldırım said during a press conference held after the two leaders’ meeting in Ankara.
The prime minister added that the two countries should develop a model on the basis of “strategic partnership,” emphasizing the importance of strengthening bilateral relations. “Our aim is to see a self-sufficient Somalia, a country that take its deserved place among the international community. Last February, the new government took power through peaceful elections, which denotes a maturity of democracy in the country,” he said.
Yıldırım also emphasized the need for an environment of “peace and brotherhood” in order to fully establish stability within the country, adding that Turkey is ready to do whatever necessary. “Without a doubt, an international military presence cannot permanently sustain peace. On one hand, Turkey builds up solidarity with Somalia and on the other, it supports social responsibility and humanitarian aid projects with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs),” he said. Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), export on South African affairs Eddy Malok praised Turkey’s involvement in Africa, saying the partnership is based on priorities and ideas from the continent itself, not ones from outside.
“What is good about the Turkey-African partnership is that […] it is based on African priorities and it is not imposed. [The partnership] is based on mutual respect and a win-win situation for both sides,” said Maloka, who has decades of experience both as an academic and as an adviser to South African government’s. He also thanked Turkey for promoting investments in Africa, saying: “It is a very good model and we want to encourage other countries in the world to emulate this model.”
He added that like Somalia, countries such as Burundi, Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic also need help. “These are the countries that require a lot of support which I am confident that Turkey is able to provide,” Maloka said. Turkey’s vast efforts in providing aid at the height of the 2011 famine endeared it to many Somali people, and it has continued to bring aid to the country, much of it from private companies.
TOP TWEETS
@UNDPSomalia: Youth leadership programme opens in#Mogadishu, empowering #youth4peace & #innovation for#SDGs in #Somalia http://bit.ly/2yOrjXr
@Cidilibaax: #Somalia needs unified foreign policy, therefore let’s hope the fragile nation not to divide the Gulf crisis#Mogadishu
@farhanjimale: A rare article by #Somalia’s intelligence chief saying int’l partners are not helping in their fight against Shabab.
@trpresidency: Somali PM Khaire at the Presidential Complexhttps://www.tccb.gov.tr/en/
@HarunMaruf: 9 Al-Shabab militants, 6 regional forces died in clashes bwn the 2 in Bar Sanguni, 50km N of Kismayo on Wed; it followed attack by Jubbaland
@AbdirahmanCumar: Exclusive: Inside the Secret Mission that Got a Navy SEAL Killed in Africa http://thebea.st/2zadKlE?
@HarunMaruf: Somalia intel lacks expertise, equipment; US, UN and other foreign partners unwilling to help – writes intel chiefhttps://mobile.nytimes.com/
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Khaire of Somalia is received by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex.
Photo: @trpresidency