October 7, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Six Killed In Clash Between Galmudug And Puntland Forces In Galkayo
07 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 124 Words
At least six people were killed and over twelves others have been injured in clashes between forces loyal to Galmudug and Puntland State in Galkayo town of central Somalia. The fighting started after Puntland reportedly deployed forces at construction site in Garsoor neighborhood, that caused the previous fighting. The ceasefire deal by the two warring sides which was dashing hopes of peace has come to an end as the two sides mobilized forces in the area and engaged fighting.Hundreds of residents have fled from their home, fearing that the new fighting could escalate to a full blown conflict. Galkayo is divided into two zones, where the northern section forms part of Puntland state, while its southern part is governed by the Galmudug administration.
Key Headlines
- Six Killed In Clash Between Galmudug And Puntland Forces In Galkayo (Goobjoog News)
- AU Hails Southwest For Timely Electoral Process Preparations (Goobjoog News)
- Keating Meets Women And Elders In Garowe (Garowe Online)
- AU Mission Denies Bombardment Kills Civilians In S. Somalia (Xinhua)
- Split-second Decision To Hide Saved Us From Al-Shabaab Say Lucky Survivors (Daily Nation)
- Promoting Birth Spacing To Save Lives (UNFPA Somalia)
NATIONAL MEDIA
AU Hails Southwest For Timely Electoral Process Preparations
07 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 216 Words
AU has lauded the progress made by Interim South West Administration (ISWA) on preparations for the 2016 electoral process, despite existing challenges. AU envoy to Somalia, Ambassador Francisco Madeira said AMISOM was satisfied with the progress made in identifying candidates for the upper house, adding that the Interim South West Administration had made a commitment to submit the list by next week.“We were very impressed with the effort, the commitment and the speed with which names have been identified for the upper house and we were satisfied to hear that in the coming few days, the definitive list of the candidates will be produced,” said Madeira.
He hoped that the efforts made by AMISOM and the federal governments will pay off, noting that existing challenges will be resolved amicably, ahead of the actual electoral process. “I have to say that we are really very impressed by the efforts made by the government and SIEIT (State Indirect Electoral Implementation Team). We have no reason to think that things will be derailed,” he observed.Somalia will hold presidential elections on 30 November 2016, while parliamentary elections will be held from October 23 to November 10 for both the lower and upper houses. The elections of speakers for both houses of parliament will be held on 23 November.
Keating Meets Women And Elders In Garowe
06 October 2016 – Source: Garowe Online – 142 Words
UN special envoy to Somalia Michael Keating has today held a meeting with women parliamentary candidates and traditional elders in Garowe.The agenda of the meeting held at the PDRC was women representation as well as the role of the elders in ensuring women candidates were given their constitutional allocation. The function was also attended by officials of the ministry of women affairs of Puntland.
In his address, Keating assured women of their constitutionally allocated seats and urged elders to uphold the seats which he said were untouchable.Puntland Minister for women, Anisa Abdulkadir Haji Mumin said women were the cornerstone of the society and there was need to give them more representation in the country.The meeting comes as fears increased over fears elders would not select women married to members of other clans for fear of losing the regional allocation.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
AU Mission Denies Bombardment Kills Civilians In S. Somalia
07 October – Source: Xinhua – 127 Words
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has denied reports that a bombardment by its troops killed five civilians in the southern Somali town of Janale during fighting with Al-Shabaab militants on Tuesday.The AMISOM said in a statement Thursday that the fighting, in which 7 militants were killed, was away from populated areas.”AMISOM takes the safety of the Somali people seriously and takes utmost care in all its operations to protect civilians,” the statement.Local media reports claimed five civilians were killed and several others wounded in an overnight mortar bombardment by AMISOM force on a residential area near Janale town in Lower Shabelle region.AMISOM force is helping the Somali army fight the Islamist group Al-Shabaab, which carries out frequent attacks in the country.
Split-second Decision To Hide Saved Us From Al-Shabaab, Say Lucky Survivors
07 October – Source: Daily Nation – 702 Words
Survivors of Thursday’s Mandera terrorist attack told of their ordeal in the hands of Al-Shabaab who raided their homes in the wee hours of the morning. Mr George Mvunyi — who hails from Vihiga County — said he escaped by hiding in the ceiling of his room.“At about 2 am, we were attacked and I heard a loud explosion at the main entrance followed by gunshots as those shooting walked into the small compound,” said Mr Mvunyi, who is nursing his injuries at the Mandera County Referral Hospital.
When he heard the gunshots, he and his roommates climbed into the ceiling from where they could hear the attackers struggling to open the door to their abode.“Those who walked in were three but fully covered,” he recalled. “We could not see their faces. They had bullet belts around them.”Mr Mvunyi, a mason, moved to Mandera in May in search of greener pastures.“Most of us in the residential building were from other parts of the country except one Somali guy who lives alone in the compound,” he said.
According to him, he would have been killed were it not for the Kenya Police Reservists (KPRs) who responded soon after the attack.“The KPRs arrived at the scene almost immediately but their guns were less powerful compared to those of the attackers,” he said and asked the government to give the reservists better weapons.
Another survivor, Mr David Kimani, said he hid in a space above the door to his house.The split-second decision said his life. His roommates were not so lucky.“After the explosion at the gate I could not run out because our room is the first from the main entrance,” said Mr Kimani from Nyeri.“I saw two armed men walk past me and shoot dead my roommates. I only came down after hearing people who identified themselves as KPRs on a rescue mission talking.”
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Poverty, low status of women, widespread traditional beliefs and harmful practices further contribute to the high burden of ill-health among mothers and newborns in Somalia. Due to poor basic education and lack of sexual education in schools, levels of information on risks related to pregnancy and childbirth are low, and are more likely to derive from traditional beliefs than from informed health staff. ”
Promoting Birth Spacing To Save Lives
06 October – Source: UNFPA Somalia – 545 Words
A new pool of 25 health personnel has been created in Somalia to contribute to saving the lives of women and newborn babies through the provision of birth spacing methods. Somalia has one of the highest lifetime risk of maternal deaths in the world. One out of every 12 women die due to pregnancy related causes. The maternal mortality ratio stands at 732 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to 2015 estimates by WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF & UN Population Division.
Concerning birth spacing, 26 percent of Somali women have unmet needs yet only less than 3 percent of the women use a modern method of birth spacing, according to Chief Technical Adviser for Reproductive Health Commodity Security (RHCS) Ibnou Diallo. “Poverty, low status of women, widespread traditional beliefs and harmful practices further contribute to the high burden of ill-health among mothers and newborns in Somalia. Due to poor basic education and lack of sexual education in schools, levels of information on risks related to pregnancy and childbirth are low, and are more likely to derive from traditional beliefs than from informed health staff. Awareness of beneficial effects of preventive health services such as birth spacing is poor and many misconceptions prevail,” said Diallo.
He said it was therefore paramount that a training to equip a team of health professionals with the right knowledge, attitude and practice on long acting birth spacing methods such as Implanon NXT and Jadelle insertion be conducted to ensure that there is personnel in place to provide women with the required services.
BCC and Family planning analyst for UNFPA in Somaliland, Layla Mohammed Hashi, indicated that the pool of qualified reproductive health staff has been limited and under-trained, with a significant shortage of qualified midwives and doctors who are sufficiently trained and experienced to offer birth spacing services and especially those that are long acting but reversible. “The newly trained health personnel are now cascading the training to other service providers in their respective zones. It is expected that family planning uptake will improve considerably,” said Hashi.
TOP TWEETS
@UNFPA_SOMALIA: Promoting & sustaining midwifery in rural areas to ensure no woman or baby dies during birth@BotevNikolai @emily_denness @Pilirani
@VickyNwogu: Visiting Puntland, UN SRSG for Somalia, Micheal Keating championed the 30% quota for women.#Somaliwomenmatter #Roadto30% #Vote4Women
@HassanIstiila: #BREAKING Heavy gun fighting between#Galmudug & #Puntland forces broke out at Garsoor village in Galkayo, #HQ of Mudug region of #Somalia
@globalfreemedia:#PressFreedom bodies urge #Somalia to investigate journalist’s murder
@Aynte:Best satirical piece on the do’s and don’ts of #SomaliaPresidential Election https://somalianewsroom.com/
IMAGE OF THE DAY
SRSG Michael Keating and SRCC Francisco Madeira meet President Abdiweli Gaas to support electoral progress
Photo: UNSOM