October 8, 2014 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Government forces and AMISOM conducts operations in Gofgadud
08 Oct- Source: Radio Goobjoog- 162 words
Federal government forces, African Union peace-keeping troops and Ethiopian forces have launched heavy operations in Gofgadud locality in Bay region. The administrator of Gofgadud locality Ahmed Ali told Goobbjoog FM that the crackdown was launched after members of Al-shabab attacked the bases of federal government forces and African Union peace-keeping troops.
Our correspondent in area reports that the joint forces, in hot pursuit of the attackers, conducted door to door search in all the villages of Gofgadud and questioning residents, mostly the youth who are suspected of being Al-shabab members.
Unspecified number of people were arrested during the operations conducted in the area. The situation in the locality is now calm and business activities in the area returned to normal.
Al-shabab forces normally carry out guerilla attacks on government bases, the group has lost a major town, Barawe district and other areas since the military operation dubbed operation Indian Ocean launched earlier 2014.
Key Headlines
- Government forces and AMISOM conducts operations in Gofgadud (Radio Goobjoog)
- Illegal trawlers intimidate Gara’ad fishermen-Official (Radio Garowe)
- Hamar Jajab administration investigates fire exchange between government forces (Radio Goobjoog)
- Terror suspects arrested planning attack on a Nairobi mall (Ghettoradio)
- Somaliland President inspects expansion and modernization work at Berbera seaports and International airport (Somaliland Press)
- Residents flee clashes in southern Somalia (African Press Agency)
- Minneapolis could be the first with a sister city in Somalia (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
- Somali Trade Union leaders discuss work related issues in Mogadishu (Allgalguduud)
SOMALI MEDIA
Government forces and AMISOM conducts operations in Gofgadud
08 Oct- Source: Radio Goobjoog- 162 words
Federal government forces, African Union peace-keeping troops and Ethiopian forces have launched heavy operations in Gofgadud locality in Bay region. The administrator of Gofgadud locality Ahmed Ali told Goobbjoog FM that the crackdown was launched after members of Al-shabab attacked the bases of federal government forces and African Union peace-keeping troops.
Our correspondent in area reports that the joint forces, in hot pursuit of the attackers, conducted door to door search in all the villages of Gofgadud and questioning residents, mostly the youth who are suspected of being Al-shabab members.
Unspecified number of people were arrested during the operations conducted in the area. The situation in the locality is now calm and business activities in the area returned to normal.
Al-shabab forces normally carry out guerilla attacks on government bases, the group has lost a major town, Barawe district and other areas since the military operation dubbed operation Indian Ocean launched earlier 2014.
Illegal trawlers intimidate Gara’ad fishermen – Official
08 Oct- Source: Radio Garowe – 153 words
Fishermen in Gara’ad coastal town of northeastern Somalia are complaining about illegal fishing vessels as the country continues to witness upsurge in marine resources depletion according to official.
Speaking on Puntland-based independent station, Radio Garowe on Tuesday the mayor of nearby Jiriban Abdulahi Ali Yusuf said at least 40 illegal trawlers were sighted in the Exclusive Economic zone (EEC) and in the territorial waters – a few nautical miles-off Gara’ad coast.
“Local fishermen who rely on fishing for their livelihoods face constant intimidation from unlicensed fishing vessels,” said Yusuf, stating that the trawlers more recently cracked their whips. He added, they lodged complaints to the ministries charged with the interminable matter and Mudug region officials.
Puntland Government previously clinched agreement with four South Korean vessels with 200 tons cold storage capacity. War-torn Somalia has been experiencing illegal fishing practices since 1991 when armed opposition groups toppled country’s long standing dictatorial regime.
Somali Trade Union leaders discuss work related issues in Mogadishu
08 Oct- Source: Allgalguduud Online/Alshahid- 463 words
Somali Trade union leaders met in a highly organized meeting in Mogadishu’s Hayat Hotel on Tuesday October 7, 2014, on the eve of World Day for Decent Work and focused among others issues the current conditions of the Somali workers and ILO’s decent work implementation program.
The meeting, which was attended by the Secretary General of the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), Mohamed Ibrahim, Chairman of Somali Congress of Trade Unions (SCTU), Mohamed Osman Haji and representative from Somali Federation Trade Union, Mohamed Nor Mohamed was discussed the best way to improve the poor pay of the workers, including media workers and the right to have contracts improve the health safety at work and the precarious working conditions and the importance of the ILO’s Decent work implementation program and how the genuine trade unions can contribute to the program.
Hamar Jajab administration investigates fire exchange between government forces
08 Oct Source: Radio Goobjoog 117 words
Hamar Jajab administration in Banadir region is investigating fire exchange between two government forces near the sea port of Mogadishu on Tuesday night. The district commissioner of Hamar Jajab district Ahmed Osman Dhoore stated that the confrontation started after government forces on patrol ordered another government soldier who was taking bribe from residents to lay down arms but refused hence causing the clashes
The commissioner reiterated that the fire exchange between the forces has affected the locals in the nearby area noting that they are conducting investigations to get the exact number of civilian casualties.
Unspecified number of soldiers died during the fire exchange between the government forces in Mogadishu’s Hamar Jajab neighbourhood.
Somaliland President inspects expansion and modernization work at Berbera seaports and International airport
07 Oct- Source: Somaliland Press – 367 words
President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud Silaanyo has today took an inspection tour of the ongoing expansion and modernization projects in the Berbera sea port and Berbera International airport. President Silanyo during the inspection tour of the ongoing expansion work at the main ports was briefed by the managing director of Berbera ports authority Engineer Ali Omar Mohamed.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Terror suspects arrested planning attack on a Nairobi mall
08 Oct- Source: Ghettoradio- 382 words
Police on Tuesday arrested two terrorism suspects and said they were looking for three others. They said the group was planning a major attack on a mall in Nairobi on Wednesday.
According to the Daily Nation the two were arrested at 3pm, moments after they picked a parcel at a courier office in Ngong Town. Sources said undercover officers who had been waiting for hours opened the parcel and found a live bullet.
It also had a map of the shopping mall on Ngong Road, with instructions to call the sender of the parcel in Isiolo and confirm it had been received.
According to a source privy to the operation, the officers asked one of the suspects to make the call as they listened. It is after the voice on the other end gave more orders that police confirmed that they were dealing with a serious security matter.
IGAD asks ICC to postpone Uhuru Kenyatta’s trial
08 Oct- Source: New Vision/Standard Media- 540 words
The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development has asked the International Criminal Court to postpone the trial of Kenya’s President, Uhuru Kenyatta at The Hague, until he leaves power. The IGAD Executive Secretary, Ambassador Mahboub Maalim on Wednesday warned that the trial would weaken Kenya and the region, in the wake of terror attacks from the Al-Shabab.
“I am here to say that this is no time to weaken a country and weaken a region by removing its President for trial,” said Maalim, in a tersely worded statement.
“We believe that this prosecution, should it be needed, must take place at the end of Uhuru Kenyatta’s Presidency. The evidence and witness statements can be taken and safely stowed away until then,” Maalim said.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Residents flee clashes in southern Somalia
08 Oct – Source: African Press Agency – 168 Words
Nearly 20 families living in Jilib district in lower Jubba region of southern Somalia on Tuesday morning fled their homes, after the Somali government and African Union forces moved towards the remaining districts under Al Shabaab control as part of an offensive against the terrorist group. Mohamed Aden Abdi, a resident of Jilib told to APA that the families, mainly women and children, had filed at bus stations in Jilib district to reach Kimanyo the capital of Jubland semi-autonomous state of Somalia.
Minneapolis could be the first with a sister city in Somalia
08 Oct – Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune – 456 Words
Somali leaders in Minneapolis will ask the City Council this week to consider adding a Somali community to its list of sister cities — a move that would be a first for any American city. The proposal, which has support from a long list of Somali business, cultural and community groups, along with local elected officials, calls for Minneapolis to partner with Bosaso, Somalia’s third-largest city. It’s a diverse port city on the northern end of the country, home to people who have fled other areas during Somalia’s civil war — and a large number of residents with connections to Minnesota.
Council Member Abdi Warsame, the first Somali-American elected in Minneapolis, said a sister-city arrangement would formalize the many informal relationships that already exist between the two communities. Several local business owners also have businesses in Bosaso and many of the items in the Somali Artifact and Cultural Museum, near E. Lake Street and Bloomington Avenue S., are from the region.
Perhaps even more importantly, Warsame said, a sister-city agreement would help raise Somalia’s status in the United States and the rest of the world.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Any long-term project that intends to fight extremism must include youth development, community empowerment and poverty reduction schemes.”
How to respond to terrorism recruitment
08 Oct- Source: Raxanreeb- 664 words
You cannot fight a cat in a closed room. By the same token, you cannot defeat terrorists with the conventional tactics and strategies. The harder you try to defeat them, the more empathy and support you create for them. In fact, the support for terrorism comes from hatred born of exclusion, ignorance and prejudice, injustice and alienation, feelings of helplessness and despair.
Last Saturday, I asked a crowd of people at the Eid Prayer about their perception on the notorious youth recruitment to ISIS, or to any jihadist entity for that matter. One shocking response that held common across the board was that the problem was grounded in a situation whereby we ourselves are part of the problem. We laid down the ground for the threat by focusing on a quickfix, narrow projects.
132 out of 150 of the respondents agreed that the vulnerability of the youth to recruitment threats was partially due to the lack of proper developmental programs that can could minimize the risk faced by the youth. Because the state of Minnesota and the federal government failed to uplift the community through economic empowerment, the risk got tripled.
“The genesis of this passionate commitment came with our first Somali Week Festival in 2007. Six years on our passion is stronger than ever. Over the years, we have been able to provide a space for the works of some of the most celebrated and emerging Somali artists and writers from different backgrounds and generations, bringing them together with Somali and non-Somali enthusiasts and fellow writers alike.”
Somali Week Festival 2014
08 Oct – Source: Warta Post – 622 Words
Kayd Somali Arts and Culture, in collaboration with Redsea Culture Foundation and other partners, are proud to present Somali Week Festival 2014. This year’s festival will run from Friday 17th to Sunday 26th October at Oxford House, Derbyshire Street, London, E2 6H, United Kingdom.
Kayd was founded on a desire to promote the cultural and literary heritage of the Somali people. The word Kayd broadly translates as preservation, and captures our intention to encourage current and future generations of Somalis to cherish their heritage, and to embrace a culture of reading and writing that will help them to preserve and further develop their artistic and cultural heritage.
The genesis of this passionate commitment came with our first Somali Week Festival in 2007. Six years on our passion is stronger than ever. Over the years, we have been able to provide a space for the works of some of the most celebrated and emerging Somali artists and writers from different backgrounds and generations, bringing them together with Somali and non-Somali enthusiasts and fellow writers alike.
Let us not stigmatise Somalis
08 Oct -Source Observer Uganda -892 words
That is why we must be very careful not to cheer the regime when it is hunting down Somalis in Kisenyi and Nateete lodges and on Kampala streets. Many of these so-called al-Shabab terrorists will turn out to be innocent Somalis genuinely seeking refuge in Uganda. You remember how the police recycled a photo of Ahmed Khaled, the so-called most-wanted terror suspect. The Uganda Police Force, Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) and Internal Security Organisation (ISO) are celebrating; they recently foiled a terrorist attack against some targets in Uganda.
Parliament, we are told, was one of the targeted institutions. As a result, police and, I guess, other agencies fortressed it. There are gun-wielding men all over the place, including on rooftops. Also, there are more barricades, especially around the main entrance -which has been turned into some sort of quarter guard. It is like our Parliament is a barracks!
“Apart from the belief, the people come together for folklore dances, endless competitions for 3 days. Exhibitions of clan dances and maneuvers. “Dab Shid” is a time when people enjoy”.
An ancient pre-Islamic culture that evolved into religion and culture
07 Oct- Source: Somali Current- 863 words
When I was a kid in Jammaame, in every early August, the farms were at their harvest time. Maize, sorghum, beans, peas, sesame, pumpkins, cotton and many types of fruits were ready for harvest: mango, grapefruit and lemon and water melon. This is the time of the plenty and it is time for celebration.
The Dab Shid is a time for celebration of the bounties. But not only that, the culture of Dab Shid is a remnant belief of the past, probably when the Somalis believed in ” Waaq”. It indicates a time when Somalia was not a Muslim country – a pagan period of time. The Dab Shid is the beginning of the Solar Year in Somalia. Each family starts a fire and it is required that each member jumps over it in order to move, for example from 8 to 9 years old. I remember I used to jump every year one time in order to move to the next year. If I did not do that, it simply meant that I was not blessed for the next year. Such belief has faded away over the years and in its place Islam has taken deep roots.
“Somalia has been a site of business innovation since Biblical times; it was a man from these lands that founded the Bazaar of Baghdad and it was another Somali trader who founded the famed eastern market of Damascus…Perhaps, in a new kind of unapologetic, migratory, diasporatic colonialism, we should allow Detroit to be a “New Mogadishu” for the Somalis.”
Is Detroit a Suburb of Somalia?
08 Oct – Source – Hiiraan Online/The Public Policy Journal – 1, 286 Words
After past trips to Somalia and Somaliland, I’ve argued that Somalia is really the westernmost province of China. But, today, I argue there is – in turn – a westernmost province of Somalia in the American midwest. The Somalis in Detroit are not so different. They arrived about thirty years ago and have become dominant in Detroit, as landlords, owners of small businesses, taxi services, and other enterprises. They lend to each other at extraordinarily low interest rates, while African-American businesspeople in Detroit borrow at rates at least four to five times higher, meaning on a cost-of-capital basis the Somalis are already miles ahead. Somalia is a place of weak regulatory structures and informal cartels, so forming cartels in a new place is natural – this cooperative business culture means informal networks easily crush competing businesses (as in Somalia, in Detroit fifty seemingly-independent Somali taxi drivers may form a cartel that effectively controls the livery business in an entire postal code). The level of business communication in the Detroit Somali community is nonpareil; agreements that are cooperative, franchisesque, creditor-debtor, and otherwise are commonplace and generally efficient with surprisingly well-aligned incentives.
Top tweets
@dafricanfuture Minneapolis could be the first with a sister city in Somalia http://strib.mn/1xn0mAb
@DeoAkiiki The Liberation of Barawe could be a game changer in the AU struggle to save Somalia from Alshabaab terrorists
@CrisisDigest How we can boost the Somalia power shortage and protected the environment: One of the highest priorities of…http://goo.gl/b5H1E0
@R2Pindex @R2Pindex —> Allied Forces and Alshabaab Clash in Kamsuuma and Bula Gaduud: [Dalsan Radio]AMISOM an…http://bit.ly/1vSIzPX #Somalia
@quasiadu First ever serving president at the ICC, first ATM in Somalia, first case of Ebola contracted outside Africa… A week of firsts
@AbdirashidMuse 2 UPDF soldiers were injured in Somalia during operations to dislodge Al-shaabab from the port city of Baraawe.
@KathyKendi Somalia: Somalia’s Media Union Calls for Release of Online Journalist Detained in Kenya http://tinyurl.com/ml82n77
@UNFPA_SOMALIA Click the link to read the story of the Rapist who was convicted to 20 years in prison in Somalia.http://countryoffice.unfpa.
@alijira #somalia:true democracy are equality, freedom, peace, justice n freedom of speech,@SomaliPM,@UNSomalia,#
@Zindzi_K In other news: There is something cooking up in Somalia! And it’s not war! Could we finally be seeing Somalia back on her feet.
@Mogadishu_City Welcoming the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia H.E. HASSAN SHEIKH MOHAMUD. @ the Adan Adde Airport… http://fb.me/6Q6lpkDS4
Image of the day
Somalia’s first-ever cash withdrawal machine has been installed in the capital, Mogadishu. Photo: BBC