September 15, 2016 | Daily Monitoring Report
Somali President Arrives In Jowhar Town
15 September – Source: Shabelle News – 110 Words
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and a high-level delegation he was leading has arrived in Jowhar town, the regional capital of Middle Shabelle on Thursday. The President accompanied by several ministers, lawmakers and other officials, including Mogadishu’s mayor on his trip to Jowhar, will open an inter-regional state formation meeting.
The city’s overall security has been beefed up by Somali and African Union forces ahead of the president’s arrival, to prevent possible attacks from Al-Shabaab militants on the Mohamud’s delegation. The latest reports from Jowhar indicated that the second phase of the conference has been officially opened by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
Key Headlines
- Somali President Arrives In Jowhar Town (Shabelle News)
- FIEIT Meets Somali Diaspora In Nairobi
- Baardhere Court Chief Survives Bomb Attack (Shabelle News)
- Dadaab Camp Closure: Repatriation Of Somali Refugees ‘Fails To Meet International Standards’ (BBC)
- Mandera Court Allows Police To Hold Terror Suspect For 14 More Days (Daily Nation)
- Oil In Somalia: Renewed Interest In Somali Oil (Life Peace & Institute)
NATIONAL MEDIA
FIEIT Meets Somali Diaspora In Nairobi
15 September – Source: Hiiraan Online – 137 Words
The Federal Indirect Electoral Implementation Team (FIEIT) held an informational exchange forum in Nairobi on Wednesday to update the Somali diaspora on the 2016 electoral processes. The Chairman of FIEIT, Omar Mohamed told the attendants they visited the Kenyan capital to share more information on the electoral process with the Somali nationals living in the area.
Mohamed said the upcoming elections were different from the ones held in 2012 which was solely done by traditional elders who handpicked members of the federal parliament.
“Traditional elders in consultation with sub-clan elders will present 51 delegates from sub-clans sharing parliamentary slots in the 275 member house,” the chairman said. The chairman also briefed participants on the commission’s achievements so far including the progress made on delegate selection and preparations for the voting phase. Several other members of the commission accompanied the chairman.
Baardhere Court Chief Survives Bomb Attack
15 September – Source: Shabelle News – 99 Words
The chief of Baardhere court Sheikh Ibrahim Nur survived a bomb attack targeting his residence on Wednesdaynight, residents and eyewitnesses said on Thursday. Speaking to Radio Shabelle, Baardhere court judge said he has escaped an attempt on his life after unknown assailants hurled a grenade on his house.
“I’m safe and i have survived the grenade attack. There was no any death casualty, but a woman was slightly injured and admitted in hospital,” Nur said. Baardhere which is a former Al-Shabaab bastion in Gedo region has witnessed several grenade attacks by Al-Shabaab in the past few months.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Dadaab Camp Closure: Repatriation Of Somali Refugees ‘Fails To Meet International Standards’
15 September – Source: BBC – 278 Words
The repatriation of Somali refugees from the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya fails to meet international standards for voluntary return, a Human Rights Watch report has found. The organisation says many of those returning to Somalia are motivated by fear of being forced out.
Tens of thousands of refugees have been making the journey back home after years in the camp. Both Kenya and Somalia say it is time Dadaab was shut down. But HRW says Kenya is not giving the refugees a real choice between being repatriated or staying.
It also says the UN’s refugee arm, the UNHCR, is not giving the refugees accurate information about security conditions in Somalia and they face serious risk of persecution or threats to their lives if they return. Pressuring refugees to return to a place where their lives or freedom could be under threat is a breach of the 1951 Refugee Convention, the organisation says.
Some of the refugees are also choosing to leave because they fear being deported later and forfeiting a $400 (£300) UN cash grant, the organisation says. “There is no way these returns can be considered voluntary,” said HRW’s Bill Frelick.
Mandera Court Allows Police To Hold Terror Suspect For 14 More Days
15 September – Source: Daily Nation – 328 Words
A Mandera court has allowed the Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU) to hold a terror suspect for 14 days before charging him. In a sworn affidavit, Police Inspector Simon Kariuki told the court that they needed time to investigate Simon Karuga Gitau from Kirinyaga.
Gitau was arrested on September 11, 2016 about eight kilometres inside Somalia before he was handed over to Kenyan police. “The suspect was arrested by Somali authorities on suspicion that he was heading to join Al-Shabaab and handed over to Kenyan side for appropriate action,” stated Mr Kariuki in the affidavit.
The ATPU argued that their preliminary investigations established that the suspect arrived in Mandera five days before his arrest in Somalia. “I strongly believe his motive and intention of coming to Mandera was mainly to join Al-Shabaab in Somalia for training,” said Mr Kariuki.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“If the extensive exploration continues in Somalia and runs parallel to the creation of political settlements, the state- and peacebuilding processes will constantly be affected by developments from the on-going exploration and it will potentially affect negotiating positions.”
Oil In Somalia: Renewed Interest In Somali Oil
15 September – Source: Life Peace & Institute – 1,824 Words
Promising test wells, seismic and gravimetric surveys, actual oil seeps, and the geological resemblance to oil-rich Yemen strongly indicate the presence of oil in commercial quantities in Somalia. However, Somalia is significantly underexplored and the region as a whole is considered by many as one of the last remaining oil frontiers in Africa.
Historically, oil exploration in Somalia dates back to 1948 but due to its volatile political and security environment Somalia was still underexplored when, in the late 1980s, several major oil companies signed concession agreements with the Siyaad Barre’s military regime. The outbreak of the civil war and the collapse of the regime led oil companies to declare force majeure and abandon exploration activities overnight.
Though most of Somalia is still characterised by clan strife and the al-Shabaab insurgency, the combination of the above-mentioned promising indicators, the establishment of the AU-backed Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) in Mogadishu, and the relatively stable governments in Somaliland and Puntland, have resulted in a renewed interest in Somali oil exploration.
The overarching issue related to oil exploration in the territory internationally recognised as Somalia, is the question of rightful ownership of natural resources. With reference to Article 7 in the Petroleum Law (2008) stating that: ‘(…) all agreements pertaining to petroleum that were signed after 1991 with the entities purporting to be governments of all or any part of Somalia are considered non valid agreements’ the FGS claims a legal right to all natural resources in Somalia.
This claim is, however, contradicted by Somalia’s Provisional Constitution (2012), which provides substantial autonomy for regional governments to enter into commercial agreements with international oil companies.In this way, deals are continuously made with reference to incompatible legal documents, which complicate the possibility of finding long-lasting solutions to the issue of ownership.
TOP TWEETS
@HassanIstiila : #BREAKING Heavy Fighting Between Government Forces And #AlShabaab Erupts at #Muuriyo location in lower Shabelle region in Southern #Somalia
@UKinSomalia : #Internationaldayofdemocracy reminds us of the importance of implementing credible electoral processes in#Somalia on time
@MOALIMUU : #Somalia women gather at Maka Almukrama hotel to demand 30% quota of Somalia parliament@UKinSomalia @UNSomalia
@UNODC_MCP : UNODC-GMCP installs engines in two boats to aid in combating maritime crime #Somalia #Maritimesecurity#Maritimelaw
@IdilayBilan : “The future of our nation demands a collective pursuit of inclusivity & social justice.” Minister Zahra Samatar#UhiilliHaweenka #Somalia
@abdihaile1 : Football for School Somali Youth Clubs will be on air @m_cablesports at 2:00 Live! #MogadishuCableTv#Mogadishu #Somalia
@Bassam_Khawaja : Misled, coerced back to #Somalia, refugees who flee again to #Kenya tell of violence awaiting those returning home
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Military Ops Coordination Committee meeting in Djibouti. Security for Somalia elections tops agenda.
Photo: @AU_Chergui