September 11, 2018 | Daily Monitoring Report
Senior Al-Shabaab Commander Killed In Mogadishu
11 September – Source: Garowe Online – 271 Words
A police officer said two members of the Al-Shabaab militia group, including a senior commander, were killed during an operation in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Monday. Somali Police spokesman, Gen Kasim Ahmed Rooble, identified the commander as Abukar Hassan Adde, a leading figure of the militia group’s Amniyat (Intelligence wing). He was shot dead in Heliwa district during a raid.
The slain operative, popularly known as Sayid Abu Karey, has been the mastermind of assassinations in Yaqshid and Heliwa districts, which according to Roodle have been volatile areas in the northern part of the capital since 2015: “Somali Police raided suspected houses in Heliwa district on Monday following a tip-off from local residents, which led to the murder of the two Al-Shabaab members, including a leading commander,” said Rooble.
Independent sources confirmed to Garowe Online that a policeman died and several other officers sustained wounds in a confrontation between the security forces and the extremists during the operation. Armed with AK-47 rifle and pistol, Abu Karey, who is reported to have operated with top Al-Shabaab commanders in the past, exhibited stiff resistance as the Police tried to capture him alive. However, he died in the process. Al-Shabaab is yet to comment on the murder claims of their commander.
On Monday morning, at least ten people, mostly civilians, were killed after an explosives-laden vehicle was detonated at the headquarters of a Hodon district in Mogadishu, the second attack on a local government office in a month. At his inauguration in February 2017, Somali President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, offered amnesty to Al- Shabaab members and leaders, who were ready to renounce violence.
Key Headlines
- Senior Al-Shabaab Commander Killed In Mogadishu (Garowe Online)
- Hirshabelle And Galmudug Speakers Denounce Resolutions Of Kismayo Conference (Hiiraan Online)
- Displaced Families From Southern Somalia Deprived Of Aid In Hargeisa IDP Camps (Radio Ergo)
- Abdinasir Abdi: Helping Improve Education Standards In Somalia (UNSOM)
- Are Somali Troops Prepared To Lead The War Against Al-Shabaab? (Voice of America)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Hirshabelle And Galmudug Speakers Denounce Resolutions Of Kismayo Conference.
11 September – Source: Hiiraan.com – 169 Words
A wave of resistance to the resolutions of regional leaders arrived at during the recent Kismayo conference is quietly sweeping across the regions. Already Hirshabelle and Galmudug leaders, the two youngest states, have challenged the position of the region leaders suspending ties with the Federal Government.
Addressing the opening of the fourth session of the Federal House of the People on Monday, Galmudug Parliament Speaker Ali Gacal Casir, said Galmudug did not agree with the position taken by regional leaders in Kismayo. He warned the move was aimed at weakening the nation. Similarly, the Speaker of Hirshabelle Parliament Osman Barre Mohamed said there is no disagreement between the Federal Government and Hirshabelle regional state and observed the two were ready to continue working together.
Earlier, Galmudug Deputy Presidential Mohamed Abdi Hashi Arabey dismissed the outcome of the Kismayo conference, saying one person could not speak on behalf of the entire Galmudug state. Similarly, Puntland deputy president Abdihakin Haji Amey opposed the decision stating it was arrived at in haste.
Displaced Families From Southern Somalia Deprived Of Aid In Hargeisa IDP Camps
10 September – Source: Radio Ergo – 416 Words
Impoverished internally displaced families from southern and central Somalia, living in camps east of the city of Hargeisa, are being denied access to basic services because they are not recognised as IDPs by the Somaliland authorities. Camp leaders report that a total of 771 displaced families live in two of Hargeisa’s so called IDP camps, Nasa-Hablood A and B. The area, locally known as Istanbul, is dry and dust-blown and some distance away from the city. Due to restrictions placed by the owners of this private land, only traditional Somali huts can be erected as shelters.
Sharif Osman Gelle and his family, who come from Afgoye, are among a number of families from southern Somalia living in the camps without any form of identity enabling them to access basic services. Sharif told Radio Ergo he struggles to find the 2,000 Somaliland Shillings ($0.25) he needs a day to buy the minimal amount of water they need. When his wife gave birth to their last child he had to find $30 for her maternity care as they have no access to the free health services accessed by other IDPs. Sharif told Radio Ergo he would love to go back to Afgoye, Lower Shabelle, where they fled conflict in 2012, but he lacks the money to move back and restart life there.
Abdi Bade Yusuf, the camp leader of Nasa-Hablood B, said 26 out of the 231 families in this particular camp are living in a limbo without registration because they are from southern regions of Somalia. According to a survey by the Ministry of Relocation in Somaliland, 50,000 “refugee” families from southern and central regions of Somalia, as well as Yemen and Ethiopia, are living in various camps within Somaliland.
The independent Human Rights Centre (HRC), a local Somaliland NGO, reported that displaced people from southern Somali regions are highly vulnerable to all manner of risks including gender-based violence. The HRC report highlighted the case of a mentally ill woman, who was raped in Nasa-Hablood B camp. The relatives of the woman, from southern Somalia, did not report the case to the police as they feared more hardships if they reported.
Guled Ahmed Jama, director of HRC, told Radio Ergo that it is important to recognize displaced people from southern Somalia either as IDPs or as refugees, so that they can access their entitlements. Some displaced families joined the camps in Hargeisa more than eight years ago, and still lack IDP or refugee status.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Abdinasir Abdi: Helping Improve Education Standards In Somalia
08 September – Source: UNSOM – 841 Words
Most graduates in business tend to choose a career involving accounts, finance and marketing, to name but a few. Not so for Abdinasir Muhumed Abdi. Despite finishing university with a degree in business administration, the 33-year old decided that his calling lay with educating college students in the subjects of English, communication skills, social studies and public administration among others.
He credits an uncle of his, one to whom he was very close, for convincing him to pursue teaching, not only as a career but also as a service to Somalia. “I used to sit next to him as he marked students’ assignments and he would tell me interesting stories about the profession and why I should pursue it,” Abdinasir says. “He made me view teachers as problem-solvers; the people society look up to for solutions,” he adds.
Abdinasir was born and raised in Belet Weyne, the capital of Hiran province in south-central Somalia, a few years before the outbreak of the civil war in 1991, which led to the collapse of the central government, leaving the education sector, which heavily depended on state funding, in disarray. Even then, education – his own, in this instance – was important to him. He often had to dodge bullets to reach the few schools that were still operational. “It was difficult going to school in an environment where conflict was the order of the day. However, I was determined to complete my primary and secondary education,” Abdinasir says, noting that many of his classmates were not as determined and ended up fleeing the country or joining militia groups controlled by warlords.
Finishing his primary and secondary studies, he moved in 2008 to the national capital, Mogadishu, where he enrolled at Simad University for his undergraduate studies. However, the violence he had experienced attending school in his home town was also part of life there, with his arrival coinciding with fierce fighting for control of the city.
OPINION, ANALYSIS & CULTURE
“We need to build a state, and building a state meant the Somalis needed to take responsibility not only of the military, but also of the administration of the country,”
Are Somali Troops Prepared to Lead the War Against Al-Shabaab?
10 September – Source: Voice of America – 1010 Words
As the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) prepares to implement the planned phased withdrawal of more than 21,000 troops fighting militant groups, including al-Shabab and the Islamic State in Somalia, some experts are concerned that the country may not be prepared to take on the task in the face of growing political divisions and lack of military equipment and training.
As part of the first phase, AMISOM plans to withdraw about 1,000 troops by February 2019. The process of handing over responsibility of some forward-operating bases to the Somali national army has already begun. The plan is to gradually withdraw all AMISOM troops from the country and hand over the lead security responsibility to local government forces. The transition would occur based on the conditions on the ground and the preparedness of the Somali National Security Forces (SNFS), according to officials at AMISOM.
At a meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, in late August, the military operations coordinating committee of the AMISOM urged its commanders to conduct an operational readiness assessment of the Somali national army. But some experts charge that the timelines are hard to follow and that it would take a longer process for AMISOM to withdraw from Somalia. “I will be surprised if these timelines are held,” Omar Mahmood, a Somali analyst with the South Africa-based Institute of Security Studies Africa, told VOA. “I think it’s going to be a much longer process than what people are really thinking about right now,” he added.
Mahmood said there has been some progress with the training of the Somali security forces, but they are unable to take on a leading role without international support. “If you are talking about in terms of the whole security of Somalia, no, of course not. I don’t think the security forces are ready, but I think you need to start showing some signs of progress, especially because the issue is linked to AMISOM’s talk of withdrawal,” Mahmood added.
Paul Williams, an associate professor at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, said he thinks the success of the process depends on accurate and calculative assessments on the ground. “The effect is likely to vary depending on what type of forces AMISOM might withdraw, and where,” Williams told VOA. “If a relatively small number of troops were withdrawn on the basis of an accurate assessment of the al-Shabab threat, and the remaining forces are given better enablers (aviation, rapid reaction and ISR units), then the impact would likely be small or even net positive.”
Somali officials maintain that the country has made progress and that it’s in a better position to take on more responsibility for the security of parts of the country. In May, Abdisaid Musse Ali, Somalia’s national security adviser, reportedly told a joint A.U.-U.N. delegation that he was assessing the situation in Somalia ahead of the planned transition of security responsibilities to the Somali security forces, and that his country should not be judged based on the past.
TOP TWEETS
@abdi_adaani: BREAKING: A convoy escorting SouthWest state MP and top commander targeted landmine blast at Hawo Abdi area, outside of #Somali capital of #Mogadishu, moments ago, so far it’s unclear the casualties, and who staged the attack.#Somalia
@amisomsomalia: #AMISOM condemns the terrorist attack on#Hodan district offices, which claimed the lives of innocent civilians & destroyed property. These attacks on gov’t premises are desperate attempts by terrorists to curtail progress to rebuilding national institutions.
@amisomsomalia: #AMISOM commiserates with the bereaved families and calls for increased and continued vigilance as we work together towards a safer and stable #Somalia. #Hodan
@Eye_on_Somalia: #Garowe Somalia: Senior Al-Shabab commander killed in Mogadishu 11.09.2018. https://ift.tt/2CJrruz #Somalia
@i_dossier: Program alert! Episode 13 of @i_dossier is ready, don’t miss it tomorrow at 4:00pm and 7:00pm Mogadishu time. You can also “like” the new #GalkaBaarista Facebook page ->https://m.facebook.com/
@US2SOMALIA: #Somalis have an incredible appetite for milk. In 2014, milk production earned about $3.3 billion ($2.7 billion from camel milk) in profits from local sales. @USAIDSomalia’s@GEEL_Somali activity is helping #Somalia revive its dairy industry.
@GEEL_Somali: For #Somalifarmers, climate-smart#agriculture is an important aspect of #resilience.@GEEL_Somali provides technical expertise and facilitates access to inputs like #greenhouses and drip irrigation systems to maximize farm yield and quality. @FeedtheFuture #EndHunger#harvest
@radiogarowe: #HirShabelle State leader, Mohamed Abdi Waare makes stiff accusations against @TheVillaSomalia. “We faced pressure after #Kismayo Inter-state forum”.https://www.garoweonline.com/
IMAGE OF THE DAY
President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo follows proceedings of yesterday’s parliamentary session.
Photo: Abdiaziz Billow