September 10, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report

At least six people were killed and another 16 injured when a car bomb exploded outside a government office in Mogadishu on Monday, Somali police and rescue workers said. Witnesses saw huge clouds of smoke above the city following a loud blast and gunfire. “Our ambulance teams have collected the dead bodies of six people,” said Abdiqadir Abdirahman, director of the city’s Aamin Ambulance service. He said 16 others were wounded in the blast.

Security forces said a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle laden with explosives at the compound of a local government office. “A suicide car bomb rammed into the office of Hodan district of Mogadishu,” Major Mohamed Nur, a police officer, told the Reuters news agency on Monday.

Photos from the scene show parts of the wall of Hodan district offices destroyed by the blast. “A speeding 4×4 car ran into the district office,” witness Hussein Osman told Reuters. “I ran away and now I see from far the office completely destroyed. I see ambulances carrying casualties but I cannot make out how many dead or injured. I could see five people being taken by ambulance.” Osman added. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Monday’s attack.

Last week, a suicide car bomb carried out by al-Shabab armed group destroyed another district office of Mogadishu. Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab frequently carries out bombings and gun attacks in Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia. They are fighting to topple Somalia’s Western-backed central government and establish their own rule based on their strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Key Headlines

• Suicide Blast Targets Government Offices In Mogadishu (Aljazeera)
• TV: Prime Minister Leads Groundbreaking Ceremony For Rebuilding Al-Shabaab Attack Government Offices (Universal TV)
• RADIO: Now Jubbaland State Supends Work Relations With Farmaajo (Dalsan Radio)
• Puntland And Galmudug Vice Presidents Denounce Kismayo Declaration (Shabelle Media)
• President Farmaajo Is Expected To Address 4th Session Of Parliament (Hiiraan Online)
• Terrorists Being Recruited In The North, Says Roba (The Star)
• The Marine Who Faced Down Somali Pirates (Express)

NATIONAL NEWS

TV: Prime Minister Leads Groundbreaking Ceremony For Rebuilding Al-Shabaab Attack Government Offices

10 September 00:02:52 – Source : Universal TV – 93 Words

Federal Government Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire has led the groundbreaking ceremony for the rebuilding of the Ministry of Planning, Investment and Economic Development office complex in Mogadishu. The PM laid the foundation stone of the project at a function attended by Planning Minister, Jamal Mohamed Hassan, and Qatar Embassy officials. The project has been funded by the Qatar Fund for Development. Briefing the media, the PM reiterated the importance of rebuilding government institutions destroyed by civil war. Planning Minister Hassan revealed more international donors will come on board to support the project.

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RADIO: Now Jubbaland State Supends Work Relations With Farmaajo

10 September 08:05:34 – Source : Dalsan Radio – 119 Words

The Jubbaland state has officially suspended working relations with the President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo’s administration. The move comes just days after the interstate conference in Kismayo, where regional leaders resolved to momentarily cut off links with the Federal Government of Somalia.

Jubbaland Minister of State for presidency, Ahmed Hassan, issued a directive informing all Jubbaland state institutions of the suspension. However, the communication gave no reason for the decision to suspend the working relations with the Farmaajo administration.

The Jubbaland state has lately had frosty relations with the Federal Government. On different occasions, Jubbaland has turned away security officials appointed to the region by the Federal Government citing lack of prior notification.

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Puntland And Galmudug Vice Presidents Denounce Kismayo Declaration

09 September – Source : Shabelle Media – 201 Words

The vice presidents of Puntland and Galnmudug states have criticized the decision by the Federal Member States to suspend relations with the Federal Government of Somalia. Puntland Vice President, Abdihakim Abdullahi Omar and his Galmudug counterpart, Mohamed Hashi Arabey separately claimed outcomes of the Kismayo conference were not beneficial to the people of Somalia.

Speaking separately, both politicians hailed the Somali President’s call for an urgent meeting with the regional leaders on 17th and 18th September 2018 to discuss “the current situation in the country”. In an interview with Voice of America, Galmudug’s VP said the decision by the regional leaders to gang up against the Federal Government would lead to a political crisis.

A communique from the regional leaders’ conference in Kismayo on Saturday indicated the states had ceased cooperation with the Federal Government until the Farmaajo administration accedes to their demands which include non-interference in affairs of regional states and funding support. The regional presidents also criticized the central government for failing in the fight against Al-Shabab militia group, claiming there was no proper coordination between the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops and the national security forces.

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President Farmaajo Is Expected To Address 4th Session Of Parliament

10 September – Source : Hiiraan Online – 134 Words

The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (Farmaajo) is expected to officially open the fourth session of the House of the People (Federal Parliament), Monday. The Constitution anticipates the President to open every session of the Parliament after recess.

Today’s sitting will be attended by the Parliament Speaker Mohamed Mursal Sheikh Abdirahman, all Members of the Parliament and members of the international community. Also in attendance will be the immediate former Somali President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who returned to the country from Turkey last month.

The President is expected to address present the situation in the country during his speech. Parliament on annual recess on 10th July. There are various legislations on card during this session, waiting for debate and eventual ratification.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Terrorists Being Recruited In The North, Says Roba

10 September – Source : The Star – 138 Words

Al Shabaab militants are carrying out massive recruitment in northern counties, Mandera governor Ali Roba has said. He said the level of recruitment is unprecedented and it poses a national security threat. Roba said that if unchecked, the recruitment will have grave consequences. “The national government functions on security have not changed. We need to improve our approach to radicalisation and terrorism,” he said.

Roba spoke on Saturday in Malindi during the closing ceremony of the Inaugural Asals conference. Terrorism and radicalisation were key issues discussed during the conference that brought together 29 Asal counties and more than 1,000 delegates.

One speaker, Uba Hassan, said the government needs to improve cross-border collaboration. Chief Rapporteur of the Asals conference Benson Momanyi said strategic plans for security should include the youth.

 

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OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE

““Garaad, who commanded up to 800 rag-tag pirates and countless skips and dhows, masterminded the first multi-million pound hijack. Shipping companies would soon routinely pay £3million for the return of a vessel. Some paid up to £6million.””

The Marine Who Faced Down Somali Pirates

10 September – Source : Express – 572 Words

In 2009 oil tankers, container vessels and luxury liners sailing down the east coast of Africa were constantly vulnerable to hijack by drug-addled pirates armed with rocket launchers and AK-47s. In one three-week period no fewer than 17 container ships were attacked – one of them the Maersk Alabama, which was boarded by four Somali pirates in a super-fast skiff who demanded a $1million ransom for its release.

The story of how the ship’s commander was rescued by US Navy Seals was turned into a blockbuster movie called Captain Phillips starring Tom Hanks. But a former Royal Marine from Ormskirk, Lancashire, called Dom Mee has an equally gripping story. He began offering protection to vessels off the Horn of Africa in the same year the Maersk was boarded. In time he found himself controlling the biggest private navy since the Dutch East India Company more than a century before.

His five patrol boats were armed to the teeth and he commanded more than 1,000 battle hardened troops, most former Royal Marines, whom he stationed aboard his clients’ ships. Now he has told the inside story of his exploits protecting thousands of multi-million pound ships from pirates in a page-turning memoir Warlord Of The Seas. In the early days cruise ships and tankers refused to allow guns aboard, forcing Mee to employ cruder methods of repelling pirates.

While his colleagues sharpened machetes and honed steel rods into lethal lances, Mee favoured his short-handled axe. “It’s perfect in a confined space where I’ll only get one chance to split a head like a watermelon,” says Mee, 47, who doesn’t mince his words. He also had a soft spot for fire bombs, which consist of empty beer bottles filled with unleaded petrol. He adds motor oil to each incendiary cocktail for what might be described as humanitarian reasons. “Oil helps fl ames stick to the target,” he says. “I’m an honourable man so hate to see prolonged suffering – it’s fairer to both parties if they die quickly.” His private navy grew as hijacking attempts soared off the coast of Africa and in the Gulf of Oman. After all, £250million oil tankers and passenger-filled luxury cruise liners made tempting targets.

Almost weekly ships fell to pirate attack. “Fighting pirates was not to be taken lightly,” says Mee. “We had to revert to real brutality. It could be hand-to-hand combat, showing no mercy. But we tried to avoid violence. Sometimes we could outrun them. One time I was taking a super-yacht to the Seychelles when just after dawn we stumbled upon 21 pirate boats.

Fortunately there was an early morning radiation fog and we escaped into the mist.” Governments and navies offered them little help, he claims. “The navy ships were vastly outnumbered by pirates and the EU laid down a crazy catch-and release rule, if a pirate was captured their weapons were confiscated, then they were fed, watered and sent home to do it all again. “It was incredible. Governments were greeting medieval violence with 21st-century morality. I also felt for the poor sailors taken hostage. They were often beaten, malnourished and abused while companies haggled for months over the ransom. I felt that I could make a difference.”

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TOP TWEETS

@Kalfadhi_SO: Former intelligence chief General Abdullahi Gafow Mohamed who emerged winner in a recent by-election has been sworn in as a new member of the house. #Kalfadhi #Somalia #4thSession

@abdi_adaani: BREAKING: Death toll from the suicide bombing and jumps to ten people, including Govt soldiers and civilians, and hurt over 20 persons, according to medical officials. #Somalia #Mogadishu

@WRRS_NGO: With an aim of improving food security on community level, we conducted a 4 day training to 400 farmers on ASAL best farming practices and alternative food production, thanks to our partnership with @avsi_somalia and @aics_it

@shf_somalia: In 2018, the SHF allocated $34 million to life-saving activities in Somalia, funding projects in food security, education, nutrition, health, water, hygiene and sanitation, protection, among others. Visit our webpage to know more about our activities:

@RAbdiCG: Somalia: Senior Jubbaland cabinet minister @JustAwHirsi says federal states willing to engage in dialogue with Mogadishu but won’t attend National Security Council meeting called for by Prez @M_Farmaajo.

@Showqi2013: #BREAKING The SNA Forces of #Somalia retook Baqdad Village, Adam Serar Form & Kala Beyr Junction which separates both Regions this morning, reisdents told me that there is no Clash B/N Al-shabab & #Somali forces.
@HarunMaruf @TheVillaSomalia @amisomsomalia @AFP

@sidselmarie_: At least six dead in al Shabaab attack on Somalia’s capital https://ift.tt/2Ntq47s At least six people were killed on Monday in al Shabaab attack on a local government building in Somalia’s capital, the director of an ambulance service and a Reuters witness said.

IMAGE OF THE DAY

President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo inspects a guard of honor at Gen. Kahiye Police Academy ahead of the official opening of the 4th session of Parliament today.
Photo : TheVillaSomalia