October 6, 2017 | Morning Headlines
Security Forces Kill 3 Militants In Southern Somalia
05 October – Source: Xinhuanet – 199 Words
Somalia security forces on Thursday killed at least three Al-Shabaab militants and injured four others in heavy fighting with the insurgents in Bariire location in southern region. Deputy Governor of Lower Shabelle region, Abdifitah Haji Abdulle, told reporters that Al-Shabaab militants attacked Somalia National Army base in Bariire, sparking fierce fighting between the army and insurgents.
“Terrorists attacked army bases in Bariire location in Lower Shabelle region today, then fighting broke out that lasted about two hours. Somali National Army killed 3 Al-Shabaab militants and wounded 4 others,” Abdulle said. Abdulle added that there were no casualties on Somali National Army side during the fighting in the area.
A resident in Bariire told Xinhua by phone that residents have deserted the town due to fears of retaliatory attacks by the insurgents. “I cannot tell the number of casualties of the fresh fighting today, but casualties will only be from warring sides here because residents were displaced already,” the resident said. Al-Shabaab militants did not comment on the latest assault in Bariire town which is about 60km south of the capital Mogadishu. At least 18 Al-Shabaab militants were killed last week after they raided a military base in Bariire town.
Key Headlines
- Security Forces Kill 3 Militants In Southern Somalia (Xinhuanet)
- Somali Govt To Install Bomb Detectors In Mogadishu (Radio Dalsan)
- Somalia’s Central Bank Reports Improvement In Regulating The Financial Sector (Somali Update)
- Somali Refugees Head Home Fleeing Ongoing Yemen Crisis: UN (Daily Sabah)
- 9 Dead More At A Risk As Drought Ravages Somalia (The East African)
- How remittances help the poor but not the most vulnerable Somalis (The World Bank)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Govt To Install Bomb Detectors In Mogadishu
05 October – Source: Radio Dalsan – 160 Words
A $1M project to place bomb detectors in downtown Mogadishu is in the offing, according to reports obtained by Radio Dalsan. The detectors will be placed strategically from the KM4 area all the way to Liido Beach, to avert car suicide bombings that continue to affect the capital a source from the Interior Security ministry told Radio Dalsan.
The system will be fixed by a private security firm to alert when vehicle with explosive material is in its radar. “If in place this will largely reduce Al-Shabaab attacks especially along Makkah Al Mukaramah road, which is the main road that is target by the group” Abdi Ahmed Jama a security expert.
Makkah Al Mukaramah road is the main street in the capital and base to many government offices and hotels frequented by civil servants. The bomb alert system is connected to CCTV cameras that will be able to pinpoint the suspect vehicle from the control center in the NISA headquarters.
Somalia’s Central Bank Reports Improvement In Regulating The Financial Sector
05 October – Source: Somali Update – 367 Words
The Central Bank of Somalia (CBS) has reported that it has reached milestones in regulating the financial sector of the country following on-site examinations and licensing of the money transfer companies. In a statement on Thursday, Central Bank of Somalia (CBS) recently completed on-site examinations of Hawalas, or Money Transfer Businesses (MTBs), and banks. This follows a first round examinations that were completed in 2016.
These are significant steps that CBS has taken after the civil war. Over last two year, the CBS has issued important regulations focusing on know-your-customer and anti-money laundering. The examinations of the industry find that the regulations are having an impact. The industry’s active participation in the CBS’ supervision effort is a mark of support for further formalization of the Somali financial sector. “The CBS welcomes the progress shown by the financial industry. The financial industry has done so much improvements in these areas, and have worked together with CBS in examining progress. We are proud of these developments and are looking forward to continued engaging with the industry.” Governor of the CBS, Bashir Isse Ali said.
The examinations are led by the CBS Licensing and Supervision Department, and are part of the CBS’ strategy to promote trust and transparency in the Somali Financial industry. Examinations are integral to the CBS’ supervision regime, and a key effort to maintain and strengthen remittance flows into Somalia. Number of prominent International Partners have participated in the efforts to rebuild Somalia Financial Sector by providing direct technical assistances. The World Bank Group, US State respectively contracted Abyrint and Financial Services Volunteering Corps. “FSVC”, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have closely worked to strengthen the Somalia financial sector.
The Central Bank has built its regulatory functions and supervision of banks and MTBs that are licensed to operate in Somalia. The majority of the money transfer business industry has regulated its activities with the Central Bank. Others are encouraged to apply for licenses. The examination initiative is part of an effort started with the Central Bank of Somalia Act passed in 2011 and the Financial Institution Act passed in 2012, followed by the Anti-Money-Laundering and Countering the financing of Terrorism Act enacted in 2016.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Refugees Head Home, Fleeing Ongoing Yemen Crisis: UN
05 October – Source: Daily Sabah – 432 Words
Somali refugees are fleeing war, cholera and hunger in Yemen, the United Nations said Thursday, with 10,000 expected to return home to a country they escaped over conflict and poverty. Somalis make up 91 percent of refugees and asylum seekers in Yemen, with the United Nations reporting some 256,000 Somalis based in camps in the war-torn country.
Thousands have headed to Yemen since the start of 2017, despite a conflict in the Arabian Peninsula country that has killed thousands and a cholera outbreak threatening nearly one million people. But up to 10,000 Somali refugees are now trying to flee Yemen, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said. Two boats chartered by UNHCR and the UN migration agency IOM have already left Yemen’s port of Aden for the Somali port of Berbera, most recently on Sunday.
A third vessel may also depart later this month, UNHCR said, on a journey of 16 to 18 hours. “In total, 284 Somali refugees have returned from Yemen already in the past three weeks,” UNHCR’s Yemen spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo said Thursday. “This is an ongoing process and full funding to support the process is yet to be received. So the return program will continue over 2018 as well,” she told AFP. While Somali refugees in Yemen largely hail from southern Somalia and the northwestern region of Woqooyi Galbeed, most returnees are heading to the capital Mogadishu, the target of a deadly bombing last month.
9 Dead, More At A Risk As Drought Ravages Somalia
04 October – Source: The East African – 228 Words
A severe drought has claimed the lives of at least nine people in Somalia’s Galkayo District, media reported. The state broadcaster, Mogadishu Radio, quoted Galkayo Mayor Hersi Yusuf Bare giving the statistics while warning that the situation could get worse. “The destitute people I met at Harhaar pastoral land are deeply susceptible to the effects of the famine generated by the severe drought,” said Mr Bare. “So far, nine people have died in the areas visited, a sign that many more were vulnerable,” he added.
The mayor said the severe weather conditions had displaced thousands from Galkayo, which lies some 750km north of the capital Mogadishu. He stressed that many nomadic people had been forced to migrate as the drought continued to decimate most of their livestock. The generally insufficient rains in the southern and central Somalia have severely diminished the local food supplies. UN agency OCHA on August 31 stated that malnutrition had reached emergency levels in a number of locations in southern and central Somalia.
“Malnutrition, one of the leading indicators of the crisis, has reached emergency levels in a number of locations in southern and central Somalia, primarily, though not exclusively among displaced populations,” OCHA was quoted saying in ReliefWeb . “Overall, some 388,000 acutely malnourished children are in need of critical nutrition support, including life-saving treatment for more than 87,000 severely malnourished children.”
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Without remittances, many of those households would fall into poverty. In fact, households that receive less remittances this year than in the previous year are more likely to be poor, suggesting households struggle to adjust to such income shocks. Recipient households are typically urban, headed by women, and better educated.”
How remittances help the poor but not the most vulnerable Somalis
05 October – Source: The World Bank – 595 Words
One year ago, we did not know how many Somalis were poor and how programs and policies could help to reduce poverty or at least build resilience against falling deeper into poverty. We knew that Somalis receive an estimated $1.4 billion (24 percent of GDP) in remittances every year. But we did not know whether the poor received the remittances and whether they helped mitigate the impact of poverty. To overcome this dearth of information, we implemented the Somali High Frequency Survey and established a near real-time market price monitoring system. Every second Somali is living in poverty.
Poverty, defined as having a total expenditure available for your consumption that is lower than the international poverty line of US$1.90 a day, also varies considerably across the Somali population, ranging in different geographical areas from 26 to 70 percent. Poor households are more likely to be deprived beyond monetary poverty, and less likely to participate in the labor market.
In addition, the rural poor especially are increasingly left behind in education, fueling the intergenerational transmission of poverty. Thus, improving education with a focus on rural areas and enhancing active labor market participation, in particular among women, will be important to reduce poverty and inequality.
Remittances make important contributions to welfare, with 1 in 5 Somali households receiving remittances and many recipients relying heavily on these transfers. Without remittances, many of those households would fall into poverty. In fact, households that receive less remittances this year than in the previous year are more likely to be poor, suggesting households struggle to adjust to such income shocks.
Recipient households are typically urban, headed by women, and better educated. They are more likely to enroll their children in school and spend more on education this is especially true for poorer recipient households. Through remittances, poor recipients can in fact offset much of their educational disadvantage compared to non-poor households. While remittances are helpful for those who receive them, many of the most vulnerable Somalis are largely excluded from this support network.
Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs’) households are among the poorest households, but only around 7 percent of them receive remittances. Many of the recipient IDP households further suffered from a reduction in the value of the remittances they received relative to the previous year, something that can be hard to compensate.