September 22, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report
Death Toll Rises In Mogadishu Terror Attack
22 September – Source: Wacaal Media – 122 Words
The death toll from yesterday’s terror attack in Mogadishu has risen to 11 after some of those injured in the attack outside Villa Somalia succumbed to their injuries. Officials confirmed to Wacaal media up to three foreign nationals were among the dead but could not give their exact nationalities although one was said to be Turkish. Warta Nabada district commissioner Yaasin Nuur Isse is among the injured but was said to be in stable condition. The attack came minutes after UN special envoy Nicholas Kay left the scene raising fears that he could have been the target of the deadly Al-shabaab attack. Some of the soldiers in his escort were however injured in the attack. Al-shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack immediately thereafter.
Key Headlines
- Death Toll Rises In Mogadishu Terror Attack (Wacaal Media)
- Severe Water Shortages In Areas Under Mudug Threatens Lives Of People (Goobjoog News)
- AMISOM Claims Victory In Battle Against Al-Shabaab In Hiiraan region (Wacaal Media)
- Shock As Father Strangles Son To Death In Kismayu (Wacaal Media)
- At Least 3 Al-Shabaab Militants Killed In Central Somalia (Xinhua)
- World’s Largest Refugee Camp In Kenya Could Be ‘The Future’ (The Star Canada)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Severe Water Shortages In Areas Under Mudug Threatens Lives Of People
22 September – Source: Goobjoog News – 210 Words
Reports from several districts in Mudug region indicate severe water shortage following a drought in many parts of those areas.The areas affected by the severe water shortage include; Galka’ayo and several areas in other parts of the region.The acute shortage of water in those areas has directly affected hundreds of people who previously weakened by serious drought which slapped some parts of Mudug region.The severe water shortage has led to the death of so many livestock and also the outbreak of diseases in the area.“People started moving away with their livestock in search of water from the neighbouring regions,” said one of the residents in that region. Despite the water shortage in the areas, the locals are also facing lack of health posts and other social amenities in which played very important role in the displacement of the residents. The horn of Africa country, Somalia has experienced several recurrent droughts which swept away thousands of livestock and left of hundreds Somali people with nothing to eat or drink.The nation has large portion of semi-desert regions which are suitable for grazing making Somalia well-known for its livestock which is the backbone of the country’s economic, thought the last two decades the nation was handicapped by droughts.
AMISOM Claims Victory In Battle Against Al-Shabaab In Hiiraan region
22 September – Source: Wacaal Media – 147 Words
AMISOM commanders in Hiiraan region say they have recorded tangible success in their battle against Al-Shabaab militants in the area. Commander of the AU mission’s sector three Col. Areyte Humad Mohamed told the local media that the forces will now embark on an operation to clear and open up the main road linking Baladweyn and Buuloburte. “We will open up the road linking Baladweyn to Buuloburte and ensure security along that road. We faced resistance from Al-Shabaab but we managed to clear them and inflicted huge damages on the militants. It is our moral duty to take the war to Al-Shabaab and ensure they are defeated” said Col. Areyte.
This comes in the wake of Al-Shabaab’s increasing terror attacks in the country. Although they were cleared from major towns, the militants jeopardized transport and movement of people between the same towns by launching ambushes along the roads.
Shock As Father Strangles Son To Death In Kismayu
22 September – Source: Wacaal Media – 135 Words
Residents of Kismayu city’s Farjano neighborhood were yesterday shocked by an unfortunate incident where a father strangled to death his 19 year old son. Mohamed Abdulle Karaaf famously known as Suufi Luubaan killed his son by hanging him on a tree. The slain child was identified as Ahmed Mohamed Abdulle Karaaf but it was not possible to establish why he was killed by his father who is a member of the Suufi movement at the local mosque known as Mahfalka. A neighbor told Wacaal media that the son was disobedient to his parents especially his father who on more than one occasion complained of his son failing to take his orders. Police arrived at the scene and launched investigations into the matter. The estranged father was arrested but later released after local elders intervened.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
At Least 3 Al-Shabaab Militants Killed In Central Somalia
22 September – Source: Xinhua – 210 Words
At least three Al-Shabaab militants were killed on Monday in a heavy battle in a village in Hiran region, central Somalia, police have said. Police officer Ali Kheylshe told Xinhua that Al-Shabaab fighters attempted to attack Ethiopian and Somali forces who were travelling at Nur Fanah village in Hiran region, but the attack was repulsed by the joint forces.”We have managed to kill at least three of them (Al-Shabaab), forcing the rest of the attackers to flee the scene,” Kheylshe said.
According to the officer, the joint forces were vigilant at moment of the attack, denying they were casualties on them.”When we use the roads, sometimes a few number of militants are trying to attack us, but they cannot achieve their goal,” he added. Residents nearby said that there was huge battle between the two sides, which lasted for some hours.”The fighting continued for some hours in our village. We later heard that Al-Shabaab ambushed Ethiopian and Somali troops traveling at the village,” local villager Muse Sheikh told Xinhua.The Al-Qaida linked group Al-Shabaab, which is battling to topple the Somali federal government, has lost strongholds in southern and central Somalia, though the group still is able to launch attacks in Somalia and neighboring countries, like Kenya
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Faced with bleak futures in the camps, hundreds of thousands have decided to take their chances, opting to pay smugglers and board overloaded boats to cross the Mediterranean, now considered the world’s most dangerous border crossing,”
World’s Largest Refugee Camp In Kenya Could Be ‘The Future’
21 September – Source : The Star, Canada- 1503 Words
There are no guards patrolling the perimeter where the rows and rows of tarp-covered domes end and Kenya’s unforgiving desert stretches to Somalia in the east and north to Ethiopia. Dadaab is the world’s largest refugee camp, where the United Nations says 350,302 people live, although the population is more likely half a million. Next year the camp, set up as emergency shelter from Somalia’s civil war, will pass a grim milestone — 25 years in existence. Dadaab attracts little attention, unless a famine or terrorist attack in Kenya jolts us into awareness.
Earlier this year, Al Shabab attacked Garissa University College, about a 90-minute drive from here. It was Kenya’s worst terrorist attack in more than two decades, with dozens wounded and 148 students killed. “The way America changed after 9/11 is the way Kenya will change after Garissa . . . We must secure this country at whatever cost,” said Kenya’s Deputy President William Ruto.He then threatened to expel Dadaab’s refugees to Somalia if it was not closed in 90 days.
Later it became clear that the attackers were Kenyans, including the son of a Kenyan government official. But Dadaab nevertheless became the scapegoat. And while Kenya responded to outside pressure and backtracked, the threat underscored how precarious the lives of refugees are. Even after a quarter of a century.
Meanwhile, the camp residents, some of whom were born here, carried on. The camp is remarkably resilient and vibrant. The thriving market places are run by local residents or entrepreneurial refugees. Shop owners hawk cellphones alongside stalls selling goat meat, the humid air smelling of spiced tea and diesel.
TOP TWEETS
@alijira:#Mogadishu #Somalia – Deadly Car Bombing at Somalia’s Presidential Palace Is Claimed by Shababhttp://nyti.ms/1YwJ4Q0
@AmbAmerico:Let’s unite to bring peace in #Somalia, stop bullets and be friends #MaalintaNabadda
@eu_echo:Violence against aid workers has increased in#Somalia, with 60 incidents reported in first 5 months of 2015 alone: http://bit.ly/Xv77x2
@SomaliPM:Solidarity..! It was a felicitous to attend World Peace Day event with Regional Presidents #Somalia@Somalia111
@engyarisow:#Somalia joined the rest of the world in marking the International Day of Peace, with calls for unity and…http://fb.me/3pjALIZct
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Minister of Interior and Federal Affairs of Somalia Abdirahman Mohamed Hussein (Odowa) makes a point during the recent consultative meeting held in Mogadishu. Photo: UNSOM