September 18, 2012 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Somali journalist killed in Mogadishu
17 Sept – Source: Shabelle – 89 words
Assailants in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu gunned down a young freelance journalist on Sunday evening, the ninth media worker to be killed in Somalia since January this year. Zakariye Mohamed Mohamud Moallim, a young cameraman working as freelance journalist was shot dead in Nasib Bundo neighbourhood of Shibis district in Mogadishu.
Four men armed with pistols shot the journalist in the head and chest at a restaurant near his village, according to family members. Zakariye died on the spot and the killers escaped from the scene, according to eyewitnesses.
Key Headlines
- Al Shabaab abandons Kismayo and Andulus radio station is off air (Raxanreeb/Radio Mogadishu)
- Somali ambassador condemns Kenyan minister’s remarks over Mogadishu blasts (Midnimo Online/Radio Mogadishu)
- U.S hails election of new president calls for immediate capture of Kismayo (Bar-Kulan)
- Somali Health minister praises Turkish health personnel’s contributions in Somalia (Anatolia News Agency)
Press Statement
Statement from British Ambassador to Somalia regarding the inauguration of President Hassan Sheikh
17 Sept – Source: British Office for Somalia – 132 words
“On behalf of the British Government, I congratulate President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on his inauguration in Mogadishu. As Prime Minister David Cameron said last week, this is an historic moment for Somalia and for the Somali people – a moment built on the successes of recent years and the commitment and dedication of Somalia’s leaders to work together to forge a brighter future. I pay tribute to that commitment.
“As I assured the President last week, the UK will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Somali people in partnership as this new era unfolds.
The British Government looks forward to working in close collaboration with both the President and the Speaker of Parliament as they seek to take Somalia forward in a renewed spirit of transparent and accountable leadership.”
The 334th meeting of the Peace and Security Council of the AU on the evolution of the situation in Somalia and post-transition arrangements
17 Sept – Source: AU Peace and Security – 455 words
The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 334th meeting held in Addis Ababa, on 17 September 2012, was briefed by the Commission on the evolution of the situation in Somalia and post-transition arrangements. Council also listened to briefings by representatives of the Government of Somalia, the United Nations and Uganda.
Council welcomed the successful conclusion of the transition in Somalia, which culminated with the election, on 10 September 2012, of Mr. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the new President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, and noted with satisfaction his inauguration in Mogadishu on 16 September 2012, in the presence of representatives of the countries of the region, in particular President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, Acting Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn of Ethiopia, Third Deputy Prime Minister Lieutenant General Moses Ali of Uganda, Assistant of the President Dr. Nafie Ali Nafie of the Republic of Sudan, and Dr. Jean Ping, Chairperson of the AU Commission, as well as other foreign dignitaries.
Council also commended the outgoing President, Sheikh Shariff Ahmed, for having gracefully conceded defeat and for his significant contribution to the peace and reconciliation process in his country.
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali ambassador condemns Kenyan minister’s remarks over Mogadishu blasts
18 Sep – Source: Midnimo Online/Radio Mogadishu – 217 words
The Somali ambassador to Nairobi, Mohamed Ali “America”, has condemned comments made yesterday by the Kenyan Foreign Affairs Minister, Sam Ongeri. In an interview with state-owned Radio Mogadishu, the ambassador said the comments were not an official position [of the Kenyan government] and that there was no audio or evidence from the minister.
He said he expected Mr. Ongeri to either confirm or deny [his claims]. He said the two countries’ relations would be strained if the minister did not offer an apology. Kenya’s most popular newspaper, the Daily Nation, quoted the country’s foreign affairs minister as saying that the former Somali president, Sharif Sheikh Ahmad, was behind the [12 September] blast at Al-Jazeera Hotel [in which Mr. Ahmad’s successor, Hassan Sheikh Mahmud, survived an assassination attempt].
“Before the elections, Mr. Sharif had talked with me for one and half hours, requesting that Kenya support him capture the presidency. But I told him that Kenya did not want to support any candidate as it wanted a free and fair elections in order to restore peace among Somali people which they had missed for the last 22 years, ” said Ongeri. The minister said he was surprised when he saw the former Somali president at Al-Jazeera Hotel soon after the incident occurred, appearing unshaken by what had happened.
Political maturity led to changes in Somalia, says former president
18 Sept – Source: Bar-kulan/Jowhar Online – 141 words
Somalia’s former president Abdikassim Salad Hassan has attributed the recent political changes in the country to what he called “political maturity and tenderness” among the Somali political class.
Speaking to Bar-kulan on the phone from Cairo, Egypt, Mr. Hassan praised the way the election was conducted and further praised the former TFG president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed for handing over the power diligently to his successor. The former president congratulated the Somali public, hoping that the country will soon emerge from the ashes of the more than two decades old conflict that crippled it economically.
Hassan said the culmination of the transitional period and the election of the new president will usher in Somalia a new era of hope, inclusive government, peace and tranquility. The former president however urged Somalis to continue supporting the new government as it works stabilizing the country.
Puntland forces carry out security operations in Galka’yo
18 Sept – Source: Shabelle – 96 words
Puntland forces have been conducting security operations in Galkayo, the capital of Mudug region, arresting dozens of suspected al Shabaab members, reports said on Tuesday. The operations, according to Puntand security officer Muhaydin Ahmed Muse who spoke to Shabelle Media, have been to secure the city of Galkayo and to force out al Shabaab agents active in the city.
“The forces are conducting operations that will improve the security of Galkayo whether the insecurity is caused by al Shabaab or other factors, our forces are committed to securing the city of Galkayo,” he added.
U.S hails election of new president, calls for immediate capture of Kismayo
17 Sept – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 184 words
The U.S envoy to Somalia James Swan has once again hailed the election of the new Somali president calling it an election that represents “a new positive opportunity for Somalia”. In a press conference in Nairobi, Swan said the election of the new president will also mean that the new leadership will be facing continued daunting list of challenges, including a continued need to build on recent security gains against al Shabaab.
He urged the new team to continue to demonstrate progress in terms of governance, accountability and service delivery in order that the Somali people truly benefit from a government that is responsive to its needs. The envoy says there will continue to be great demand for reconstruction, development and a return of Somalia to an era of growth and economic development that it has not seen in more than two decades.
Swan hoped that, while these challenges remain great, all of the parties who helped make the transitional process success with the election of the new president will continue to collaborate and face the challenges of Somalia leading into the future.
The Kismayo offensive continues
17 Sept – Source: Garowe Online – 154 words
Allied forces have claimed victory in a battle lasting 3 days in which over 50 people were killed as the allied forces continue their assault on al Shabaab. According to local sources, over 50 people from the battling sides died in the clashes over the weekend in the lower Jubba region.
Somali military officials said that they had minimal casualties in the battle although they did not disclose the number. The allied forces said that they had taken over the town of Birta Dheer a defensive stronghold for al Shabaab, located 70 kms north of Kismayo.
Al Shabaab has been fighting in the past weeks to remain in control of Birta Dheer which is a junction point linking Afmadow and other major districts in the lower Jubba region. Somali and Kenyan forces have reiterated their commitment to capture the port city of Kismayo within the next week.
Somalia’s new president says the national task will go forward
17 Sept – Source: Radio Mustaqbal – 144 words
The New President of Republican and Federal Government of Somalia Hassan Sheik Mohamud has expressed gratitude to Sharif Sheik Ahmed for bringing Somalia to the current stage after a precarious situation faced the leader of Somalia’s transitional federal government, the mandate of which ended on 20th August 2012.
Al Shabaab abandons Kismayo and Andulus radio station is off air
17 Sept – Source: Raxanreeb/Radio Mogadishu – 193 words
As allied forces continue battling with al Shabaab insurgents and advance to the port city of Kismayu and seize more territorial land from the die-hards, the group has reportedly abandoned the city and closed its offices. As residents in Kismayo confirmed, al Shabaab has aired off the pro-Islamist station known as Radio Andulus on Monday around 1:00pm local time and took all the equipment belonging to the station.
The group withdrew from many parts of the city following an offensive by the Somali government troops and Kenyan defense forces in the last 48 hours. Credible sources in Kismayo told RBC that in the last 20 hours all the senior officials were fleeing from the city to jungle and forest surrounding the city.
Somali journalist killed in Mogadishu
17 Sept – Source: Shabelle – 89 words
Assailants in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu gunned down a young freelance journalist on Sunday evening, the ninth media worker to be killed in Somalia since January this year. Zakariye Mohamed Mohamud Moallim, a young cameraman working as freelance journalist was shot dead in Nasib Bundo neighbourhood of Shibis district in Mogadishu.
Four men armed with pistols shot the journalist in the head and chest at a restaurant near his village, according to family members. Zakariye died on the spot and the killers escaped from the scene, according to eyewitnesses.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Al Shabaab in disarray – US
18 Sept – Source: New Vision – 421 words
The United States envoy to Somalia James Swan has said that Al Shabaab militants fighting the Government of Somalia have been cornered by forces of the Africa Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) with the support of the Somalia National Army (SNA). “Al Shabaab is under increasing military and political pressure as they continue to lose ground. There are also signs of increasing pressure on foreign fighters who are in the structure of Al Shabaab and they are beginning to flee seeing the tide is turning against them,” Swan said in a teleconference with selected journalists from Africa Monday.
Uganda pioneered deployment of UPDF soldiers to constitute an African Union authorized peace keeping forces to restore law and order in the Horn of Africa nation where fighting of militants has raged for the last two decades. Other countries; Burundi, Kenya, Djibouti and Sierra Leone have since also deployed soldiers to AMISOM.
The peacekeepers fighting along with the SNA have since driven Al shabaab militants, fighting the Somali government, out of Mogadishu and captured several towns from the extremists. Swan yesterday observed that the numerous successes of AMISOM have shown the force’s military prowess.
Uganda police issues fresh terror alerts
18 Sept – Source: Daily Monitor – 370 words
Police have issued fresh terror alerts ahead of the jubilee celebrations slated for October 9. A statement by Police Chief Kale Kayihura yesterday, indicates that police are basing their call on consistent information about a specific terror attack on the country by al-Shabaab insurgents.
According to Lt. Gen. Kale Kayibura, attempts to verify the threats landed them on two suspects and recovery of six suicide bombs, 12 hand grenades, four rifles, four suicide bomb vests, six bullet proof jackets, 40 kilogrammes of explosive material and 484 bullets along Fourth Avenue in East Leigh, Kenya.
“On Friday night, police officers travelled to Kenya to get more information about the terror threat after a number of suspected terrorists were arrested in Kenya with explosive vests. The raid thwarted an imminent attack by Somali militants.” Lt. Gen. Kayihura said.
Suicide bomber targeted Parliament
17 Sept – Source: Star – 249 words
The two suicide bombers arrested on Thursday night by Special Crime Prevention Unit and Anti Terrorism Police Unit are part of a larger Al Shabaab sponsored terror gang targeting to blow up Parliament and assassinate a high profile Kenyan politician. The suspects found with a cache of bombs and an assortment of weapons have confessed that one of their targets was parliament.
“They wanted to find their way into Parliament and blow themselves while others targeted a senior politician,” said an investigator privy to the probe. Police on Friday morning seized a cache of explosive-laden vests, grenades and automatic rifles in a midnight raid in a an apartment in Eastleigh, Nairobi.
Kenya has been on a heightened state of security since Nairobi sent troops into Somalia to crush al Qaeda-linked insurgents who carried out a double suicide bombing in Uganda in July 2010. Police displayed the six suicide bomber vests, 12 grenades and four AK-47s with more than a dozen loaded magazines.They also seized mobile phones that were to trigger the bombs.
Man confesses al Shabaab links
17 Sept – Source: Citizen TV – 72 words
A man arrested in Nairobi’s Eastleigh estate with bombs and a cache of weapons has confessed being a member of the Al Shabaab terror group. Abdimajid Yassin stunned a Nairobi court when he said he could be more than a member of the Al Qaeda linked terror group. Yassin appeared in court together with his co-accused Omar Abdi in connection with the seizure of suicide bombs, grenades, guns and hundreds of bullets.
Security firms make a killing in piracy fight
17 Sept – Source: Daily Nation – 211 words
Security companies are making a killing by escorting ships in the piracy-prone Somali waters of the Indian Ocean. Their involvement in anti-piracy efforts has reduced global naval counter-piracy deployments.
Some of the companies’ boats are equipped with drones and helicopters to counter the sea bandits. The report Pirates and Privateers: Managing the Indian Ocean’s Private Security Boom, released recently, sheds light on the involvement of the security companies in fighting the sea crime.
The report cites military fellow at the Lowy Institute James Brown saying that there is a legitimate role for private companies in fighting piracy, adding that almost half of the ships travelling on the Indian Ocean are employing them. Seafarers Union of Kenya secretary Andrew Mwangura said there was an increase of more than 200 private military security boats in the Indian Ocean fighting piracy.
Al Shabaab tries to mislabel Kenyan forces as ‘invaders’ of Somalia
17 Sept – Source: Sabahi Online – 703 words
Attempts by al-Shabaab to convince Somalis that the Kenyan military intervention in Somalia is an “occupying force” reflect deep frustration within the group, analysts say.
Since Somali and Kenyan forces operating under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have advanced towards Kismayo, one of the last remaining al-Shabaab strongholds, al-Shabaab has started a media campaign alleging that the Kenyan forces are invaders who want to occupy Somalia.
On Twitter, the group frequently refers to the Somali National Army as an “apostate militia” and AMISOM troops as “invaders”, particularly focusing their verbal attacks on the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali militants al Shabaab ‘leaving’ Kismayo stronghold
18 Sept – Source: BBC/Africa Review – 249 words
Residents in the Somali city of Kismayo have told the BBC that fighters from the Islamist group al-Shabab are leaving their stronghold in the port. Kismayo is the group’s main base in its fight against the Somali government, which has been converging on the town with African Union (AU) soldiers.
Local residents say militants have been leaving on buses and trucks, taking heavy equipment with them. But al-Shabab denies the reports, saying they have fought off AU forces.
Somali Health minister praises Turkish health personnel’s contributions in Somalia
18 Sept – Source: Anatolia News Agency – 152 words
The Somali Health Minister has eulogized Turkish medical staff’s contribution to advancement of Somali health personnel. “Our medical staff should advance what they know and learn new things.
Turkish health personnel are teaching the latest procedures to the Somali doctors. We are better now if we compare it with the past. Turkish health personnel are assisting our staff to expand their knowledge.
We are still in the need of lots of things in terms of health sector. In this sense, we are signing agreements with Turkey,” Somalia’s Health & Human Services Minister Abdiaziz Sheikh Yusuf told Anadolu Agency correspondent in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Tuesday. Minister Yusuf also observed a cataract surgery that was conducted by Turkish doctors at the National Eye Center in the capital city.
BBC Newsday interview with al Shabaab spokesman on Kismayo withdrawal
18 Sept – Source: Sound Cloud (audio) – 2:26 min
Residents in the Al-Shabaab stronghold of Kismayo have been in contact with the BBC to say the Islamist fighters are leaving their Somali stronghold. This is the Islamist group’s main base in its fight against the Somali government — which, backed by African Union troops, has been slowly converging on the town for months. If it falls, it would be a significant blow to Al-Shabaab.
The residents say the city’s calm but a lot of people have been leaving on buses and trucks. Al Shabaab militants have reportedly taken away their heavy equipment including generators and radio transmitters. They reportedly left behind armed youths to shoot anyone believed to be anti al shabaab.
Just before these reports from residents came through to us, Newsday’s Tom Hagler managed to get through to a spokesman for al-Shabaab – Mohammad Usman Arus, who is based in Somalia. Tom asked him, has Al-Shabaab lost Kismayo?
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“If the new team fails to measure up to the challenge, history and the Somali people will judge them harshly.”
Somalia’s fleeting opportunity for hopeful change?
18 Sept – Source: Aljazeera – 1745 words
Celebratory gunfire filled Mogadishu on a cool evening, on September 10, 2012, as citizens cheered the defeat of the corrupt leaderships of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the election of a new leader for the country.
The objective of this essay is to assess whether this change of leadership will usher in a new dawn for an exhausted and humiliated people or if it will reproduce the misery of the past 30 years. Many of those rejoicing the change of leadership might wonder why the question mark in the title of the article.
There are three reasons for the guarded optimism of the author. First, the process which produced the change was deeply and thoroughly corrupt and as such one might conjecture if such a mechanism can produce a genuine break with the past. Second, one wonders if the UN and the international community (IC) that steered the transition have the decency to change their attitude and genuinely assist the new leadership serve the Somali people.
Finally, a critical concern is whether the new Somali team will break with the sectarian ways of building a government and reintroduce what Somalia’s most distinguished democratic Prime Minister called “Karti iyo hufnaan” (governance based on integrity and competence).
Figuring out the profiteers of Somalia war
17 Sept – Source: Africa Review – 548 words
In his first novel, From a Crooked Rib, he portrays a Somali woman struggling with the restraints of the traditional Somali society. Forty one years later, the Baidoa-born writer and winner of the prestigious Neustadt International Prize for Literature, has bounced back with a tale of Somalia under the Union of Islamic Courts and country’s subsequent civil war titled Crossbones.
The novel, his eleventh and the final instalment of his Past Imperfect trilogy, depicts the reality in the horn of Africa through the eyes of three characters of Somali descent. One of the characters Jeebleh travels to Mogadishu from Yemen to meet his old friends, twelve years after a previous visit. Here, he is confronted with the real Somalia, not the stereotypical screen images that has fed his imagination over years. His son-in-law, Malik, a freelance journalist based in New York city, also accompanies him determined to tell the story of the on-going crisis in his ancestral land.
In a different instance, Malik’s older brother Ahlulkhair also travels to the other side of Somalia, Puntland, in search of his stepson Taxliil who disappeared from Minnesota and is suspected to have been recruited as a volunteer for the Al-Shabaab militia group. In a way, Taxliil symbolises the growing list of American-Somali youths joining the radical group.
Top tweets
@MohamedMascud#Somali militants #alShabaab ‘leaving’ #Kismayo strongholdhttp://bbc.in/PMorgr #Somalia #Kenya.
@OCHASomalia RT@UNHCRSomalia: 4,300 people fled #Kismayo from 1st September to date. Numbers expected to rise fast. cc: @Refugees#Somalia.
@BBCAfrica “It seems that Al-Shabaab are losing the war in every corner of#Somalia,” BBC’s Daud Aweis tells #BBCNewsday. http://bbc.in/WSlive .
@CispSom Sadly another #journalist killed in #Somalia, the ninth one this yearhttp://ow.ly/dMXgE .
@Refugees This year’s Nansen #Refugee Award recipient is “Mama” Hawa – a true hero helping girls in #Somalia. http://rfg.ee/dNa1v.
@UNPOSomalia Behind the scenes of @UNPOSomalia – Bringing #Somalia’s ‘new era’ into the homes of its global audience: http://bit.ly/PnflF3 @UN@UN_DPA.
Image of the day
Terror suspects Abdimajid Yassin Mohamed alias Ali Hussein (left) and Omar Abdi Adan alias Salman Abdi (right) listen to the charges filed against them on the 17th of September 2012. They were found in Eastleigh, Nairobi with four improvised explosive vests, which were approximately 30kgs heavy, among other weapons. Ali Hussein pleaded guilty to five of the ten counts filed against him. Photo: Daily Nation.