October 6, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.
IJA, AMISOM forces launch security operations in Jubba regions
06 Oct- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Dalsan – 28 words
Interim Jubba Administration forces and African Union troops in Somalia (AMISOM) on Monday launched security operations against al Shabaab militant group in several villages and districts in Jubba regions.
Interim Jubba Administration spokesman, Abdinasir Serar told Bar-kulan that the Interim Jubba Administration forces and the African Union troops on Monday morning headed to Bulo-gadud and Kamsumo villages in Lower Jubba region and Jilib district in Middle Shabelle region to clear al Shabaab fighters from these areas.
He added the joint forces will also carry out security operations in several districts including Bu’ale, Salagle and Sakow as well as other villages in Jubba regions. Al Shabaab is said to have a strong presence in these towns in the region.
Key Headlines
- Al Shabaab lose more ground to allied forces in Jubba regions (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Somali Speaker: The joint forces will soon advance to the remaining areas under the control of Al-shabaab (Radio Goobjoog)
- Al Shabaab fighters attack Jazeera beach near Mogadishu (Radio RBC/Radiodanan)
- Somali Football Federation tells the opening dates and time of the country’s most popular championship(Radio RBC)
- Ambassador Mohamed Osman dies in London (Radio Dalsan/ BBC Somali Service)
- Amisom and Somali forces claim Al Shabaab stronghold of Barawe (Star/Daily Nation/AFP)
- IJA AMISOM forces launch security operations in Jubba regions (Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Dalsan)
- US military personnel took part in Galgala offensive (Garowe Online)
- Village health workers trained in Puntland (Radio Ergo)
- African Union forces take al Shabaab-held town (Aljazeera)
SOMALI MEDIA
Al Shabaab lose more ground to allied forces in Jubba regions
06 Oct- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Waamonews Online/Halgan Online- 142 words
Interim Jubba Administration forces backed by African Union troops in Somalia on Monday seized several villages in Lower Jubba region including Bula-gadud, Yonto and Koban from al Shabaab.
Interim Jubba Administration spokesman, Abdinasir Serar Mah who spoke to Bar-kulan confirmed the fall of the several villages vowing the allied forces will continue to seize more territories from al Shabaab fighters in the region.
He said the forces seized the several villages by force after al Shabaab fighters who attempted to resist the advancing troops were defeated which led them to flee their bases in the area.
Meanwhile, eyewitness in the area told Bar-kulan they have seen one of the allied forces armored vehicles damaged by a landmine explosion on the road between Kismayo and Bulo-gadud.
Al Shabaab fighters attack Jazeera beach near Mogadishu
06 Oct – Source: Radio RBC/Radio Wehel/Qurbejoog Online – 195 Words
Mogadishu (RBC) The fighters of the Al Qaeda-linked militant group Al Shabab have carried a dawn attack on a security forces a checkpoint near the popular Jazeera beach near Mogadishu on Monday. According to Somali government officials, the fighters attacked the checkpoint early morning while the security forces were on alert against such possible attacks from Al Shabab.
At least two security forces were killed in the attack which led to heavy gunfire as the residents of the nearby villages said they could hear gun fire for about 30 minutes. At least two of the militants were killed during gunfire with the security forces at the checkpoint.The situation is now calm as officials of the Somali National Army reached the area to check the security of the area.
Jazeera beach has been a very popular place for many Mogadishu residents and the members of Somali diaspora communities visiting the town. 17 km south west of the capital, the beautiful beach has restaurants, bars, tour places and hotels for the people enjoying their holidays in Mogadishu.
IJA, AMISOM forces launch security operations in Jubba regions
06 Oct- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Dalsan – 28 words
Interim Jubba Administration forces and African Union troops in Somalia (AMISOM) on Monday launched security operations against al Shabaab militant group in several villages and districts in Jubba regions.
Interim Jubba Administration spokesman, Abdinasir Serar told Bar-kulan that the Interim Jubba Administration forces and the African Union troops on Monday morning headed to Bulo-gadud and Kamsumo villages in Lower Jubba region and Jilib district in Middle Shabelle region to clear al Shabaab fighters from these areas.
He added the joint forces will also carry out security operations in several districts including Bu’ale, Salagle and Sakow as well as other villages in Jubba regions.Al Shabaab is said to have a strong presence in these towns in the region.
Ambassador Mohamed Osman dies in London
06 Oct- Source:Radio Dalsan/ BBC Somali Service- 365words
The Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Abdirahman Dualeh Beileh, State Minister Buri’ Mohamed Hamza, Deputy Minister Mahad Mohamed Salad, Acting PS Yusuf Ali Mohamed, Executive Director, Director of Departments, ambassadors, consular and the entire officials of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs send condolence message to the family and friends as well as the Somali Nation regarding the death of Ambassador Mohamed Osman Omar Ibrahimoo who passed on 04 October, 2014, in London UK. The ambassador was ill for some time.
The late Mohamed Osman joined the diplomatic scene in February 1968 where he descended to great heights in dignity within the diplomatic missions. Ambassador Abdisalam Haji Ahmed Liban who worked with the late Mohamed Osman said he was a shining star for the Somali Diplomacy and for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was the one who cut the ribbon of the Somali Embassy in Tunisia. He played a major role in organizing the OAU Conference held in Mogadishu in 1974.
1968-1972, he worked at the Somali embassies in the UK and in China. In 1976 – 1979, he was the First Advisor to the Somali Embassy in Iran and Tanzania. In the 1980s, he wrote many books on international relations. From 1982 – 1991, he was the Somali Ambassador to Sudan, Yugoslavia and India. He was also once the ambassador to Sri Lanka and at another time the ambassador to Singapore. He was working on international relations during the presidency of Abdulqasim Salaad Hassan (2000-2004). Before he joined the diplomatic missions, he worked at the Ministry of Information and Somali News Agency (SONA).
The late Mohamed Osman spoke Somali, Arabic, English, Italian and Mandarin Chinese fluently. He also used Spanish, French and Indian languages. The late Ambassador Mohamed Osman was survived by 5 sons and 2 daughters. He was born in Mogadishu in 1936.
Somali Speaker: The joint forces will soon advance to the remaining areas under the control of Al-shabab
06 Oct – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 212 Words
The Speaker of federal parliament of Somalia Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari has praised the federal government forces and AMISOM troops who seized control of Adale, Cel-raage and Barawe districts in Middle Shabelle and lower Shabelle regions.
“I congratulate the tireless efforts of our brave forces together with AMISOM who have courageously taken over many areas from Al-shabab ” the speaker said.
The speaker called the residents of the captured districts to closely work with the forces so as to maintain the overall security and order. He vowed that the government forces together with African Union troops will soon advance and capture the remaining areas in Middle Shabelle and Bay regions through the offensive military operation against Al-shabab. On the other hand, the prime minister of federal government Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed has urged the brainwashed youth of Al-shabab to benefit from the offered amnesty before time runs out.
The joint forces have launched military offensive dubbed operation Indian Ocean against Al-shabab controlled areas, since then Al-shabab lost over six areas in South and Central Somalia including Barawe district, the stronghold of the group which was captured on Sunday.
Village health workers trained in Puntland
05 Oct- Source: Radio Ergo- 125 words
Puntland’s Ministry of Health in collaboration with UNICEF, WHO and UNFPA launched a three-month training course for 20 health workers including 10 women, in Garowe. The trainees were selected from over 20 remote rural villages in Nugal region.
They will be taught basic medical care such as vaccination, midwifery services, emergency life-saving skills, treating minor injuries and first aid. After the course, they will return to their home villages to put into practice their newly acquired skills to help their communities.
Mohamed Hirsi Jama, an official from the Ministry of Health, told Radio Ergo the training course would be intensive. “There is very hard work ahead of you to help your communities; you will need to help patients in your remote villages like a mother in labour or a person bitten by a snake, you will be the only medical staff in those remote villages,” Jama told trainees at the opening ceremony of the training course.
Hodan Mire, UNICEF’s head of essential health services in Puntland said a great number of mothers in remote villages died during labour as a result of bleeding and lack of medical services. She said newborn babies in remote villages also lacked proper medical care. Mire urged the trainees not to abandon their profession as their communities were expecting big things from them.
Somali Football Federation tells the opening dates and time of the country’s most popular championship
06 Oct – Source: Radio RBC – 248 Words
The Somali Football federation has unveiled the opening times for the Nation Link telecom championship, the country’s most populous sporting event and as well as the Division B and the Division C football leagues for the 2014-2015 season. The schedules of the soccer tournaments were displayed during a lengthy meeting between Somali Football Federation executive committee and authorities from 25 football clubs in the country.
At the end of the meeting chaired by SFF president Abdiqani Said Arab which was held at Stadium Banadir, the schedules for the three leagues and as well as the super cup were announced by the competitions department. As shown in the schedules, the Division B league will open on 10th of October 2014. The opening game will be played by Singjet and D.B.G, while the Division C league will kick off on 12th of October, as Geeska Africa will take on GASCO in the inaugural match.
Elman FC who finished 2nd in the last league A competition is set to play against Horseed FC on the 19th of December 2014 in the opening match of the Nation Link Telecom championship. However, the date for the country’s super cup match was also unveiled. Banadir Sports Club who won the Nation Link Telecom championship and Jeenyo United who are the General Da’ud cup winners will play for the super cup on 12th of December 2014.
US military personnel took part in Galgala offensive
05 Oct- Source: Garowe Online- 159 words
According to well informed security sources, at least 50 US military personnel took part in the latest offensive on Wednesday that dislodged Al Shabaab militants from a key base in Galgala, Garowe Online reports. The US special forces in armoured fighting vehicle were also spotted in Galgala area near Golis Mountain ranges during a visit to Puntland by Bari Governor Abdisamad Mohamed Galan yesterday.
Garowe Online learned that U.S military personnel helped Puntland forces gain accurate intelligence in advance of the assault, carried out surveillance by providing tactics and joined units within Puntland army in foiling Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). The move marks the first ground support since the United States stepped up its involvement in war-torn Somalia in 2006. US supports counter-terrorism task-force- Puntland Security Force (PSF)-that monitors and deters terror threats. Air strike killed Al Shabaab Chief Ahmed Abdi Godane near militants stronghold of Barawe coastal town in early September.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Amisom and Somali forces claim Al Shabaab stronghold of Barawe
06 Oct- Source:Star/ Daily Nation/AFP – 576 words
African Union and Somali troops on Sunday took control of Barawe, a port town used by al Shabaab to bring in arms and fighters from abroad, after the al Qaeda-linked militants fled without a fight, the AU and a Somali official said.
The African Union and the Somali military launched a joint offensive in March to drive the Islamist fighters out of towns and areas they control, and stepped up their campaign in August after a surge in gun and bomb attacks in Mogadishu. Many al Shabaab members have been arrested and smaller towns retaken, but the rebels still hold swathes of territory.
“I wish to share some very good news with the people of Somalia. Al Shabaab terror capital Barawe is now under Somali government control,” Lydia Wanyoto, the acting head of the African forces, said in a statement issued by the African Union.
African Union forces take al Shabaab-held town
06 Oct- Source: Aljazeera- 255 words
Somali troops backed by African Union (AU) forces have retaken the al-Shabab stronghold of Barawe, key to the financing of the armed group.
Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi, embedded with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in Barawe, said: “Special forces are securing the city. They are having people open their doors, looking for al-Shabab elements.” Soi said that government officials and leaders of the AU force had held a meeting with locals on Monday, in a bid to gain their confidence.
“It has been years since the people of Barawe had seen any kind of government presence so there is still a lot of fear,” said Soi. Al-Shabab reportedly charged taxes to ships that sailed or docked at Barawe’s port, raising revenues to expand its military campaign.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
New Zealand, Australian forces catch drugs cargo off Somalia
06 Oct- Source: china.org/ Xinhua- 233 words
New Zealand and Australian forces have discovered a major cargo of illegal drugs during anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia, the New Zealand Defense Force said in a statement on Monday.
The cargo of hashish, valued at 280 million AU dollars (245.76 million U.S. dollars), was found aboard a dhow that a New Zealand air force P-3K2 Orion and Australian frigate HMAS Toowoomba had trailed from the Arabian Sea to the Horn of Africa.
After four days of bad weather, the crew of the Toowoomba were able to board the dhow and, after an exhaustive search, the boarding team discovered 5,588 kg of hashish in hessian bags, said the statement.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Al Shabaab has avoided fighting the government forces, who are better armed and equipped than the Islamic terrorists and usually win big when al Shabaab stays to fight. So the Islamic terrorists have adopted a strategy of avoiding the government forces and returning to terror attacks only.”
Somalia: Al Shabaab confronts doomsday
06 Oct – Source: Strategypage.com – 1, 801 Wrods
The AU (African Union) led offensive against remaining al Shabaab held towns in the interior and along the coasts that began in early 2013 has accomplished about 75 percent of its goals. The peacekeeper commander believes that the rest of the active Islamic terrorists can be captured, killed or driven out of the country within a year.
There are still believed to be at least 3,000 al Shabaab men in Somalia, including several hundred foreigners. At least a third of the remaining al Shabaab men are hard core and unlikely to surrender or desert.
Currently al Shabaab is still recovering from the death of their leader on September 2nd. The new leader has similar hard line goals as his predecessor. But dissident factions have forced the new leader to at least discuss reforms (to reduce the number of assassinations and civilian casualties in order to gain more popular support). The hardliners who have been running al Shabaab for the last few years are under pressure because their tactics appear to have resulted in heavy losses for the organization and a lot more hostility from most Somalis.
Top tweets
amisomsomalia The liberation of #Barawe is the peak of#OpIndianOcean and a historic event in Somalia’s historyhttp://bit.ly/1vGipQN
@BBCAfrica Reaction soon from Mogadishu on Somali & AU troops ‘capturing’ key port of Barawe from #al-Shabab.#BBCNewsday.
@SalahOsman0 Just In: Somali National Army and AMISOM troops began the operation to seize Jilib town in Lower Jubba. The troops moved from Kismayo
@Tuuryare10 Heavy fighting broke out between #SomaliNational Army and Gunmen who were believed to be #AlShabaab fighter outside #Mogadishu on Monday
UNDPSomalia UNDP promotes peace & dvlpmt by strengthening capacity of local #Somali authorities to meet needs. Read more:http://bit.ly/1oJsQPq
@jferg66 Barawe back under Somali gov control for first time in 23 years. Congratulations to the SNA and the AUhttp://www.aljazeera.com/
@bettymurungi “Women in Somalia are doing the everyday work in silencing the guns. They are the frontline peacebuilders” Partcipant. #DGTrends.
Image of the day
#Barawe is now under the control of the #SNA, supported by #AMISOM forces. For the first time in 23 years, Barawe is under Somali government control. Photo: AMISOM