September 26, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

Al Shabaab calls for Kenya to withdraw troops from Somalia

26 Sept – Source: Somali Current – 13 words

Al Shabaab leader Ahmed aw-Abdi Godane known as Abu Zubeir called on Kenyan government to withdraw troops from Somalia in return of peace and security for its country. In an audio speech released online a day after Nairobi’s deadly Westgate attack, Abu Zubeir urged Kenyans to convince their government to change its military presence in Somalia.

“We say to Kenyan people, you entered a fight against your interest, you wasted your security and economy, you lost your sons, you supported the massacre by your troops in Kismayo because you elected the politicians [who took that decision to enter Somalia], the tax you pay is used to equip Uhuru’s troops,” Abu Zubeir said.

“You have to make a decision today and withdraw your troops from our territory, otherwise be ready of bloodshed in your country, economic devastation and displacement,” he added.

Key Headlines

Somali President meets World leaders (Somali Current)
Al Shabaab calls for Kenya to withdraw troops from Somalia (Somali Current)
Girl (12) saw ‘white lady’ among Nairobi terrorists (Independent News)
UPC backs army role in Somalia (Daily Nation)
Uganda’s Chief of Defence Staff calls for more troops for AMISOM (Walta Information Center)
Puntland leader meets Yemen President PM in Sana’a (Radio Garowe/Hiiraan Online)
Two policemen killed in Mandera gun attack (Capital News/Standard Media)
Allied forces seize new town from militants killings occur in Mogadishu (Garowe Online)
Somalia’s al Shabaab poses no threat to international security (Sudan Tribune)
Militant group attacks Kenyan border town (AP)
IGAD says terror attacks won’t make it pull out troops from Somalia (Xinhua)
Abdul Haji’s mission to rescue brother blessing for Westgate hostages (Daily Nation)

SOMALI MEDIA

Al Shabaab calls for Kenya to withdraw troops from Somalia

26 Sept – Source: Somali Current – 13 words

“You have to make a decision today and withdraw your troops from our territory, otherwise be ready of bloodshed in your country, economic devastation and displacement,” he added.

Puntland leader meets Yemen President, PM in Sana’a

26 Sept – Source: Radio Garowe/Hiiraan Online – 168 words

The president of Puntland state government in Somalia met with President of Yemen Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and Yemeni Prime Minister Mohamed Basindawa in the Yemeni capital Sana’a on Wednesday to discuss security and economic relations.

Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole arrived in Sana’a on Tuesday, accompanied by Health Minister Ali Abdullahi Warsame and Security Minister Khalif Isse Mudan. President Hadi of Yemen received the Puntland delegation at the State House in Sana’a.

Puntland sources said that discussions with Yemeni government leaders covered a range of issues, including cooperation between Yemen and Puntland in counter-terrorism, anti-piracy and anti-smuggling operations, and economic cooperation in banking, fisheries and aviation sectors.

President Farole commended Yemen for hosting tens of thousands of Somali refugees and pledged to strengthen cooperation in security and economic ties. The Puntland delegation led by President Farole has visited a number of countries and engaged in high-level meetings in Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, UAE, Belgium, and currently Yemen.

Somali President meets World leaders

26 Sept – Source: Somali Current/Hiiraan Online – 350 words

Somali President Hassan Sh. Mohamud met several world leaders in New York and discussed wide range of issues including the security and development of Somalia, press statement said on Thursday.

The leaders president Mohamud met include, Turkish President Abdullah Gul, The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al- Thani and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

President Hassan thanked the Turkish President for the unwavering support from both the people and the government of Turkey support to Somalia. “In Somalia Turkey have a special place in our history.”

Allied forces seize new town from militants, killings occur in Mogadishu

26 Sept – Source: Garowe Online – 116 words

Somali government forces aided by African peacekeepers (AMISOM) seized control of a new town in Middle Shabelle region on Wednesday, as a police spokesman reported of killings in Mogadishu, Garowe Online reports.

The allied forces seized control of Biyo Adde town, of Middle Shabelle region, after minor skirmishes with al Shabaab militants who have controlled the town in recent years. Local reports said 3 militants were killed during the fight.

Remnants of the militant group Al Shabaab retreated from the area as allied forces equipped with armed trucks poured into Biyo Adde town, locals reported. Al Shabaab militants still control rural areas in south-central Somalia, but Somali-AMISOM forces have seized control over provincial capitals since 2011.

Heavy confrontations in Lower Juba, Shabelle regions

25 Sept – Source: Shabelle – 76 words

Heavy fighting between Kenyan peacekeeping forces and al Shabaab fighters occurred at the outskirts of Kismayu the capital of the lower Juba region.

The casualties caused by Tuesday night’s heavy fighting is not yet known as Sierra Leone and Kenyan troops admitted frequent attacks launched by al Shabaab fighters in Kismayu.

Other reports from the lower Shabelle region of Somalia confirm that a military base manned by AMISOM troops and government forces were attacked by heavily armed men.

Somaliland Health Ministry Brainstorms Sectoral Development

25 Sept – Source: Somaliland Sun – 97 words

A two day conference participated by 60 members from the Ministry of Health, UN Agencies and NGOs involved in health sector to discuss working plans implemented in the past 3 months.

The first speaker at the event was the Minister of Health, Suleiman Ahmed Issa Hagletosiye, stated that Ministry of Health highly values its main goal which is to provide any assistance needed by the people of Somaliland health wise, anytime anywhere.

He continued to elaborate on how his ministry always amplifies its efforts to better serve the nation and provide every possible help to every patient.

Somaliland VP Sayli Officiates JPLG Review Meeting

25 Sept – Source: Somaliland Sun – 122 words

Vice president participated in a meeting to discuss ways of further developing the Joint Program for Local Governance-JPLG project already implemented in 7 different regions of Somaliland. The JPLG project is implemented by International NGOs such as UNICEF, UNDP, UN Habitat, UNCDF, and ILO, in cooperation with Somaliland’s Ministry of Interior. The vice president and the participants together analyzed progress made and obstacles faced during the past 6 months.

Attendees at the event included high ranking officials from the international NGOs responsible of implementing this project in Somaliland, and other notable figures of Somaliland’s government.

Vice president participated in a meeting to discuss ways of further developing the Joint Program for Local Governance-JPLG project already implemented in 7 different regions of Somaliland.

REGIONAL MEDIA

UPC backs army role in Somalia

26 Sept – Source: Daily Nation – 304 words

The Uganda People’s Congress party (UPC) has backed the continued stay of the Ugandan peacekeepers in Somalia saying they have pledged to curb the activities of al Shabaab in the Great Lakes Region.

The UPC remarks come after terrorists attacked the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, leaving more than 60 people dead and scores injured at the weekend.

While addressing journalists in Kampala yesterday, Mr Okello Lucima, the party spokesperson, said Uganda Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF) should stay in Somalia for the mean time arguing that the tragedy in Kenya was an indication that terrorists are still interested in Africa.

Two policemen killed in Mandera gun attack

26 Sept – Source: Capital News/Standard Media – 143 words

Two police officers were killed and three others seriously injured in an attack at a police post in Mandera on Thursday morning. The attack occurred when gunmen believed to be al Shabaab stormed the police post and opened fire indiscriminately, including into police officers’ houses before setting more than 10 vehicles on fire.

“They were very brutal, they were out to kill because they were shooting directly into the houses (of police officers),” a police officer in the region said. “Two police officers were killed in the incident and there are others injured, about three of them.”

Area police Chief Charlton Mureithi said the attack occurred at 3am, while officers at the police post were asleep. “We are pursuing them, there is a security operation that is going on after that attack that has left a lot of destruction, including death,” Mureithi said.

Uganda’s Chief of Defence Staff calls for more troops for AMISOM

26 Sept – Source: Walta Information Centre – 232 words

The Ugandan Chief of Defence Forces, General Katumba Wamala, has said that African Union Mission in Somalia, AMISOM, needs more troops. Uganda provides the largest contingent of AMISOM forces.

He said AMISOM had become a victim of its own success. Its achievements in capturing more territory from al Shabaab, he said, meant an increase in AMISOM’s area of operation which threatened to over-stretch its resources.

General Wamala said there was a need to raise the troop numbers from current 17,731 up to between 20,000 and 25,000 troops, and to ensure they were equipped with force multipliers and enablers including helicopters.

The head of the United Nations Somali Office (UNSOM), Mr. Nicholas Kay, also called this week for additional troops for AMISOM. In the wake of the al Shabaab terrorist operation in Nairobi, he said the group, which numbered 5,000 or so, posed an international threat.

Al Shabaab leader confirms Westgate mall attack

26 Sept – Source: News24/Reuters – 105 words

The al Shabaab leader has for the first time confirmed claims by members of his group that it was behind the attack on Westgate shopping mall that killed at least 67 people and destroyed part of the complex.

In an audio posted on the al Shabaab-linked website www.somalimemo.net on Wednesday night, Ahmed Godane, also known as Mukhtar Abu al-Zubayr, said the attack on the mall was in retaliation for Kenya’s incursion in October 2011 into southern Somalia to crush the insurgents.

“Take your troops out or prepare for a long-lasting war, blood, destruction and evacuation,” Godane said in the message, apparently directed at the Kenyan government.

Somalia’s al Shabaab poses no threat to international security

26 Sept – Source: Sudan Tribune – 163 words

Ethiopia on Wednesday dismissed concerns by some opposition groups that the horn of Africa nation could be al Shabaab’s next terror target. After al Shabaab’s four-day attack on a shopping mall in the Kenyan capital,Nairobi, Ethiopian opposition officials told Sudan Tribune that the country could be the group’s next unless Ethiopian troops quits its long-standing military intervention in Somalia.

These concerns, however, have been dismissed by a senior government official in Addis Ababa. “Al Shabaab is a peace threat, although the level of threat it poses might vary. However the terrorist group poses no imminent threat to the country’s national security”, Dina Mufti, the spokesperson for the ministry of foreign affairs, told Sudan Tribune.

“Our defense force and intelligence are capable enough to defend their country and there is no reason [for] the public should be worried” he added. The government official reaffirmed that Ethiopia will continue to keep its troops in Somalia until al Shabaab is weakened and a sustainable peace and security is maintained.

Brig. Dick Olum new UPDF boss in Somalia

25 Sept – Source: New Vision – 259 words

Brig. Dick Olum, the former Commander of Uganda operations against LRA in Central African Republic has taken full command and control of Uganda contingent forces operating in Somalia under African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Brig. Dick Olum takes over from the Acting Contingent Commander, Brig Deus Sande, who briefed him on the current situation in Somalia.

In his remarks to officers and men at Base Camp-Uganda contingent headquarters, Brig Olum emphasised four key points/principles that forces should follow to continue implementing the mandate given to AMISOM by the United Nations Security Council and African Union.

They are Commitment, Discipline, Enthusiasm, Courage and cooperation. He commended the troops for the good work done and promised to continue in the same spirit to fully liberate Somalia and the Somali people.

Abdul Haji’s mission to rescue brother blessing for Westgate hostages

25 Sept – Source: Daily Nation – 1041 Words

Abdul Haji, 38, was in a meeting at Yaya Centre when he received an SMS from his elder brother. “Stuck in Westgate. I think it’s a terrorist attack. Pray for me,” it read. It was a moment he had been dreading for two weeks after a local television station exposed his brother, an undercover counter-terrorism officer, in an investigative programme. Since then, the family of Senator Yusuf Haji has been receiving threats and warnings from people believed to represent the Somali-based al Shabaab militant group.

Mr Haji quickly excused himself from the meeting and dashed to Westgate. It was almost 1pm on Saturday, September 21. Al Shabaab gunmen had stormed the mall a few minutes earlier and started shooting indiscriminately. Mr Haji, a businessman and a father of four daughters, believed the feared attack had come.

“My instinct was that they had come for my brother and that they would later come for the whole family,” he told Daily Nation Wednesday. “I was motivated to go in and fight to save my brother and my family.”

Woman held over Westgate mall killings

25 Sept – Source: Daily Nation – 237 words

Kenya’s anti-terrorism police unit officers and their US Federal Bureau of Investigations counterparts were last evening questioning a young Somali woman suspected of being linked to the attack on the Westgate Mall.

The woman showed up at Ring Road near the mall Wednesday morning looking and sounding confused. She was arrested after police found suspicious writings in a booklet she had in her pockets.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Girl (12) saw ‘white lady’ among Nairobi terrorists

26 Sept – Source: Independent News – 132 words

A schoolgirl who saw her nine-year-old brother shot dead by terrorists in Nairobi has told her teachers she saw a white woman among the attackers. Poorvi Jain (12) said the woman was accompanied by two boys aged just 15 or 16, one of whom was wearing a bandanna and carrying a guitar case, from which he produced a gun.

Her account is the latest piece of evidence which suggests that British terrorism suspect Samantha Lewthwaite may have been part of the al Shabaab gang that killed as many as 130 people during a four-day siege.

Lewthwaite (29), who was born in Banbridge, Co Down, is the widow of 7/7 bomber Germaine Lindsay. She has been on the run in east Africa for two years after allegedly plotting to attack Western targets in Kenya.

Militant group attacks Kenyan border town

26 Sept – Source: AP – 663 Words

The same extremist group that took over a Nairobi mall attacked a security post near the Somali borderThursday and killed two police officers, while promising the violence would continue until Kenyan troops were withdrawn from Somalia.

The leader of the Somalia-based al Shabaab, Ahmed Godane Sheikh Mukhtar Abu Zubayr, warned the Kenyan public there was no way they could “withstand a war of attrition inside your own country,” in a new statement posted on the Internet late Wednesday.

“Make your choice today and withdraw all your forces,…” Godane said. “Otherwise be prepared for an abundance of blood that will be spilt in your country, economic downfall and displacement.”

The early morning attack on the town of Mandera was the second by al Shabaab militants following the bloody four-day standoff at the Westgate Mall that ended Tuesday in which at least 67 people were killed.

Somalia’s Islamist supremo: Ahmed Abdi Godane

25 Sept – Source: AFP – 685 words

Ahmed Abdi Godane, whose al Shabaab group has said it carried out a deadly raid on a Nairobi mall, has transformed chronically-unstable Somalia into one of al Qaeda’s main global hubs.

Reportedly trained in Afghanistan with the Taliban, Godane — often known by the name Abu Zubayr — took over the leadership of the Shebab in 2008 after then leader Adan Hashi Ayro was killed by a US missile attack.

Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has recognised Godane as the head of the “mujahedeen” in East Africa, although letters released after Osama bin Laden’s death show the late Saudi Islamist leader had lower regard for the Somalia’s abilities.

IGAD says terror attacks won’t make it pull out troops from Somalia

25 Sept – Source: Xinhua – 134 words

The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) said on Wednesday that increased terrorist attacks in the region will not make it pull out regional troops from Somalia.

IGAD Executive Secretary, Engineer Mahboub Maalim said in a statement that the African Union peacekeeping (AMISOM) forces will only pull out of the Horn of Africa nation after durable peace and stability has been achieved.

“Let it be known that these terrorists shall neither discourage IGAD and the Member States in their collective efforts in Somalia nor intimidate AMISOM forces into pulling out of Somalia until total peace and stability has been achieved,” Maalim said.

He was reacting to the Saturday’s terrorist attacks in Nairobi which has so far claimed some 67 lives of civilians and security officers during the siege of Kenya’s largest shopping mall, the Westgate.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“Somalia will remain a breeding ground for piracy and extremism as long as poverty and corruption fester.”

Good governance will end Al Shabab’s terror

25 Sept – Source: Gulf News – 246 Words

In the aftermath of the attack on the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, in which at least 67 people were killed, it is clear that the extremist al Shabaab must be eliminated from Somalia if terrorism in East Africa is to be effectively tackled.

Under a new leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, al Shabaab has taken its fight to establish a fundamentalist state in Somalia beyond the country’s borders. Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya — who have all contributed troops in support of the elected government in Somalia — have been victims of terrorism.

More worrying, there are signs that some of those that attacked the mall came from the US and the UK, an indication of efforts by international terror networks to shore up al Shabaab, which has suffered significant military set-backs in recent times. This is further evidence that terrorism is a global problem that can only be tackled through international cooperation on security and development aid.

“This time the people of Somalia are not asking for charity – we are asking for justice. Barclays has to realise its responsibility here. It is not enough to claim that they are concerned about the destination of remittances – they must look at how they can introduce the the checks and balances needed to keep the service active to a country where three million people live in poverty and 2.4 million need urgent humanitarian assistance.”

Somali remittances: It’s about justice, not charity

25 Sept – Source: The Independent – 529 Words

To have a family member in need is distressing enough. When they are thousands of miles away it’s even worse. When a company removes the vital economic lifeline with which you can help them, it is a tragedy. This is what’s happening to people in Somalia right now.

Next week, Barclays Bank will stop a vital money transfer service which could hit up to 40 per cent of the Somali population. Barclays has said that it will be closing the accounts of hundreds of small Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) – meaning that there will be almost no opportunity for the Somali diaspora around the world to transfer money to families, friends and charities in the country.

The impact of this action will be profound and devastating. My wife’s 80 year old grandmother, Khadija, relies heavily on the money we send via MTOs. She is frail and vulnerable and lives in a remote part of Somalia. The money we send pays for the food, clothing, rent and the health care treatment she needs to survive.

We send my uncle $100 per month to pay for his care in a in a mental health centre in Hargaysa; $100 is for two orphans’ life essentials, $200 is for my cousin’s food, clothes and school fees. Like many Somalis living overseas, we also send money to charitable infrastructure projects such as building hospitals and roads. Without the ability to transfer money back home, it’s hard to see how they will be able to afford to live.

In Westgate, al Shabaab fought the wrong war, suffered the right defeat

25 Sept – Source: Daily Nation – 706 Words

Al Shabaab terrorists who attacked the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, which claimed the lives of 68 people, and injured 175, were defeated. After more bodies are retrieved from the collapsed floors of the mall, the casualty figures will rise. The real defeat the terrorists suffered was not during the shoot-out with security forces. It happened further away in the other suburbs and the rest of Kenya. But ultimately, in the minds of the nation.

While people have to deal with the death of their loved ones and the destruction of livelihoods, for terrorists, the human kill is only a means to a bigger end. They seek, as President Kenyatta and several commentators observed, to destroy the way of life of nations and peoples, and the things they hold dear. And in the process, to weaken them for the real battles that lie ahead.

For example, the September 11, 2011 attacks upon the US in New York and the Washington DC area killed nearly 3,000, including 19 terrorists. In retaliation, the US attacked Afghanistan where the al Qaeda leadership was hiding out.

America’s invasion of Iraq was driven by the fear that dictator Saddam Hussein would provide its enemies weapons of mass destruction that he allegedly had in his stores and the US would thus one day be finished off. Of course, it turned out Saddam didn’t have any such weapons.

Top tweets

@ReginaSheba Prime Minister @EnricoLetta says in his speech at the UN: Italy will keep their attention focused on#Somalia. @SomaliaEU.

@Adesoafrica Why does Barclays want to cut #Somalia‘s money transfer line? Interesting video from @islamchannelCA.http://bit.ly/1fpv9Hi #SomaliLifeline.

@BBCAfrica Yusuf Mohamed Ismail Bari Bari, Permanent Representative of #Somalia to the UN, ‘There is no military solution to Al Shabab’ #BBCNewsday.

@Dahirkulane “The foreign ministers of #Somalia and#Denmark met today.#AlShabaab and the financing of #AMISOMwas on the agenda pic.twitter.com/dvl7FokfGy “.

@Daniel_Finnan “May need to be creative,” in securing more resources for #AMISOM says UN Rep @Somalia111, interviewhttp://boo.fm/b1621098 via @audioboo.

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Image of the day

Image of the day Ugandan Contingent Commander Brig. General Dick Olum at the AMISOM basecamp in Mogadishu, Somalia, during a handover ceremony on September 25, 2013. Photo: AMISOM.