September 2, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report
US Pledges More Military Support To Somalia
02 September – Source: African Press Agency – 232 Words
The United States has pledged more significant support to Somalia’s fledgling military infrastructure, a statement from the Office of the President in Mogadishu disclosed on Tuesday.The statement quoted a visiting US delegation led by Katie Wheelbarger, Policy Director and Deputy Staff Director on the Senate Armed Services Committee as saying that the United States would become more involved in strengthening the military capabilities of the Somali army.
Any future support from the US will be channeled to the ongoing process of integrating the Somali National Army, which is being slowly rebuilt following years of civil strife. It will also include upgrading the capacity of the Ministry of Defense in order to attain a strong civilian oversight within it. The US delegation had met with Prime Minister, Omar Sharmarke and his Minister for Defense Abdulkhadir Diini, with whom strengthening the security were discussed.
The Premier thanked Washington for its continuous support to Somalia especially in the security field but underlined the need to establish a solid and well established armed forces institution. “The process of integrating the National Army is still ongoing, at present there are several camps established nationwide and we hope success in that aspect which would be a cornerstone for nation building” said Sharmarke. Currently Somali government forces are being supported by African Union peacekeepers from Uganda, Kenya and Sierra Leone among other contributing countries.
Key Headlines
- US Pledges More Military Support To Somalia (African Press Agency)
- Qoryoley Town Cut Off After Al-Shabaab Fighters Destroy Bridge (Goobjoog News)
- Somalia: Mayor Vows To Relentlessly Fight Against Illegal Fishing Trawlers (Horseed Media)
- Al-Shabaab Suspects Seized In Dinsor Operation (Shabelle News)
- Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle Conference Delayed (Goobjoog News)
- AMISOM Morale ‘Is High’ (Deutsche Welle News)
- Impeachment Motion Stirs Political Waters In Somalia (IPS)
- President Abdiweli Might Achieve More If Given A Chance (Wardheer News
PRESS STATEMENT
Special Representative For Somalia Condemns Attack On AMISOM Base
01 September – Source: UNSOM – 123 Words
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia (SRSG), Nicholas Kay, strongly condemns today’s attack by Al-Shabaab militants on an AMISOM base at Janaale, Lower Shabelle Region manned by troops from the Ugandan contingent. “I send my deepest condolences to the families who have lost loved ones in today’s attack as well as to the people and the governments of Uganda and Somalia,” said SRSG Kay. “These courageous peacekeepers sacrificed their lives in the ongoing efforts to bring lasting peace and security to Somalia.” “The United Nations remains resolute in our support for the Somali people. Our solidarity with the African Union Mission in Somalia, and Somali security forces in their efforts to defeat Al-Shabaab and build peace and stability will not waver.”
NATIONAL MEDIA
Qoryoley Town Cut Off After Al-Shabaab Fighters Destroy Bridge
02 September – Source: Goobjoog News – 172 Words
Residents of Qoryooley town, which is located on the two sides of River Shabelle, have remained cut off from the rest of the country after Al-Shabaab fighters blew up the bridge connecting the town on Tuesday morning, official says. Qoryooley District Commissioner, Mohamed Haji told Goobjoog News the movement of the people and vehicles had been impeded as the river filled to brim. “The militants blew up the bridge in the town using a donkey cart loaded with explosives and it is very difficult for the residents to access the other side of the town,” said the commissioner. He highlighted that the business of the town came to a standstill for customers and the traders who live on two sides of the town. Al-Shabaab blew up two bridges in Qoryooley and Janaale towns connecting AMISOM military bases in those areas, making it difficult for any reinforcement from outside.
Somalia: Mayor Vows To Relentlessly Fight Against Illegal Fishing Trawlers
02 September – Source: Horseed Media – 290 Words
A mayor in Puntland State of Somalia has sent warning to illegal foreign fishing vessels plundering the waters off the coast of the region. Saeed Aden Ali, the mayor of Bandar Beyla coastal town along the Indian Ocean vowed that they will not tolerate on the illegal fishing activities carried out by the trawlers. “They are costing the lives of fishermen who have many families who rely on them. We cannot just allow them to continue this way and if they don’t stop, we will take harsh actions against them,” he threatened. For decades, foreign trawlers from Europe and other parts of the world have traveled to Somalia waters to fish what they can without permission or licenses. They use efficient mechanical equipment, taking massive numbers of fish stocks. It is estimated that Somalia loses more than $200 million per year because of these foreign trawlers, a huge amount that would be enough to build basic infrastructure in the war-ravaged nation
Local Fishermen have continuously complained about foreign trawlers who engage in the illegal fishing and dumping of waste. Some fishermen have gone missing while others are tortured by the trawlers who at times spray boiling water from cannons. Last year, Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali described illegal fishing as a “natural disaster.” But influential Politicians and businessmen have been found of facilitating the illegal trade by bringing in trawlers to the regional seas from countries such as Iran, Yemen and other Asian countries. Somalia waters, particularly off the coast of Puntland in the country’s North, contain some of the world’s most important stocks of tuna, anchovies, sharks, rays, lobsters, and shrimps, but they are rarely monitored or policed, and wide open to legal and illegal plunder.
Al-Shabaab Suspects Seized In Dinsor Operation
02 September – Source: Shabelle News – 128 Words
Somalia police soldiers have launched an operation near Dinsor town in Bay region, in a bid to thwart Al-Shabaab fighters’ attempts, officials said.The operation was carried out near Dinsor town, where police soldiers detained several people who were suspected to have links with Al-Shabaab. Speaking to Shabelle Media, chief of police, Abdullahi Sheekh Mohamed said that a huge number of suspected Al-Shabaab militants had been arrested and taken to the police station. Mr. Mohamed stated that government soldiers clashed with gunmen from Al-Shabaab during the operation in the town of Dinsor. He also said that Al-Shabaab attackers had been subjected to heavy loses. Dinsor was recently captured by the Somali National Army backed by African Union troops, who are battling with Al-Shabaab militants.
Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle Conference Delayed
02 September – Source: Goobjoog News – 230 Words
Traditional elders and politicians in Hiiraan are expressing concern over the delayed appointment of the technical committee of state formation conference for Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle. The Somali Federal Government had early last month declared it would commence the state formation conference for Middle Shabelle and Hiiraan regions. The state formation process is set to start in the first week of September and run through December which will culminate in the election of the state president.
However, plans to commence the conference have been put on hold. At a press conference in Mogadishu earlier last month, the stakeholders signed Middle Shabelle and Hoiraan regions’ state formation process, which was to pave way for a reconciliation conference for the clans within the region. The Somali Federal Government has yet to make known the technical committee, which is to guide and lay the roadmap for the conference. Meanwhile Elders and clan chiefs of Hiiraan region have once again called on State conference organizers and Somali Federal Government to designate Beletweyne as the official host city of the event.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
AMISOM Morale ‘Is High’
02 September – Source: Deutsche Welle News – 697 Words
Islamist militant group Al- Shabaab reportedly overran an African Union military base in southern Somalia earlyon Tuesday. AMISOM says it never lost control of the base and claims troop morale is high. The attack on the base of the African Union forces in Somalia began with a suicide car bombing at the base’s gate, followed by an hour-long firefight. For more details, Deutsche Welle spoke to AMISOM spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Paul Njuguna.
DW: There are conflicting reports about the incident, especially the number of casualties. Can you briefly tell us what happened?
Lieutenant Colonel Paul Njuguna: The information I have right now is that, yes, there was an attack in the morning. There is a bridge that was taken by Al-Shabaab which we have been to take back in less than half an hour. I cannot talk about how many people have died for now but once we are through with this operation, then it is possible to give proper details.
Witnesses say that Al-Shabaab took over control of the base. What can you tell us about this?
There will be claims all the time. The position of now is that AMISOM has taken over its base and has crossed over to the other side of the bridge and has taken over the bridge. That is the information we have.
In other words, they took over your base for some time?
They were engaged in exchanges of gunfire for a very long time today. At no time at all did we lose control of our areas of operation and up to now we are still in control.
Impeachment Motion Stirs Political Waters In Somalia
01 September – Source: Inter Press Service (IPS) – 955 Words
The impeachment motion Somali Parliamentarians filed against President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Aug. 12 has created a political standoff that might further threaten the country’s stability shortly ahead of planned elections in 2016. Last week, the envoys of the United Nations, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the European Union, the United States and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement, calling for a rapid resolution of the crisis and expressing their concern that the motion “will impede progress on Somalia’s peace and statebuilding goals.”
“While we fully respect the right of the Federal Parliament to hold institutions to account and to fulfill its constitutional duties, the submission of any such motion requires a high standard of transparency and integrity in the process and will consume extremely valuable time, not least in the absence of essential legal bodies. Emerging institutions are still fragile. They require a period of stability and continuity to allow Somalia to benefit from the New Deal Somali Compact and to prepare for a peaceful and legitimate transfer of public office in 2016,” the text added.
As a matter of fact, there are important procedural irregularities as well as legal obstacles arising from insufficiently developed institutions that stand in the way of a smooth running of the impeachment process and might indeed cause further political turmoil. In accordance with article 92 of the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) provisional constitution, the impeachment motion has been submitted by one-third of the members of parliament. However, as reported by the Somali Current, at least 25 members of parliament out of a total of 93 deputies endorsing the motion claimed their names were used without their consent.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Perhaps, the only challenge we face in our rush to upgrade and build infrastructure is efficiency in the allocation of resource. We sometimes allocate too much to infrastructure that ends up eating into what we would have invested in the social infrastructure, which deals with immediate needs of the poor.”
President Abdiweli Might Achieve More If Given A Chance
02 September – Source: Wardheer News – 1,215 Words
In the eyes of my kinsmen from Jariiban and Garacad in the Mudug region of Somalia, they have officially joined the league of developed parts of the country. For the first time there will be a tarmac road linking our hamlets to the rest of the world. Add this to the fact that the little hamlets are connected to the national electricity grid and that most schools have concrete walls and floors. In essence, we are developing!
To my people, development does not mean freedom from enduring muddy roads during the rainy season. It is about having lit-up shopping centers where we can charge our phones and quench our thirst in cafeteria. It is about granting our school going children the luxury of not having to walk for long distances to school every morning. Roads and infrastructural development in general remain a big deal – and not just in my village. A promise of accomplishing any of these is a seductive ruse by many an aspirant for political office. Ordinarily presidential hopefuls in Puntland promise to construct tarmac roads while the aspiring local mayors and future hopeful leaders, mainly from the diaspora, would regale us with grand plans to drastically develop every village. For many people, smooth tarmacked roads, clean accessible water and electricity, on their own, should be a potent charm against poverty.
Infrastructure is actually a foundation, a catalyst and a critical enabler of development. It is a facilitator of enterprise that eventually translates into wealth and lifts communities out of poverty. Smooth roads should enable nomadic farmers in the hinterland to ferry their animals and other products more efficiently to the market. It will make the investor, whom every town is busy wooing at conferences and forums, to select a well-served area to set up a factory that will create jobs and market.
TOP TWEETS
@Eye_on_Somalia: #allAfrica ‘At No Point Did Al-Shabaab Control Amisom Base’: [Deutsche Welle] Islamist militant group… http://bit.ly/1XeFPMk #somalia
@Goobjoognews: #Somalia president Hassan off to #Italy just two days after #UAE trip
@Eye_on_Somalia: #horseed Somalia: Mayor vows to relentlessly fight against illegal fishing trawlers: A mayor in the S… http://bit.ly/1JMDRc1 #somalia
@xamarmedia: #Somalia: #UN envoy condemns attack on African Union base http://xamarmedia.com/?p=10468
@neptune_ms: 8 Somalis Convicted of Piracy Released by Seychelles Court of Appeal http://bit.ly/1Q7UeVY #pirates#Somalia #Seychelles via @OCEANUSLive
@LowlandsSN: #African Union troops retake base after deadly attacks by Al-#Shabaab, #Somalia @ http://www.hiiraan.com
IMAGE OF THE DAY
The Federal Government of Somalia supported by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) held consultations meetings on the Citizenship Bill with members of the Somali Diaspora.
Photo: AMISOM