September 3, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Somali president visits Marka Town in Lower Shabelle region
03 Sept – Source: Radio Mustaqbal/Radio Mogadishu/Risaala/Dalsan – 293 words
The president of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud accompanied by other members of the government visited Marka in Lower Shebelle region in Southern Somalia on Tuesday. The president and his delegates arrived in Merka town by vehicle. Somali government security forces backed by African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops ensured the security of the delegates led by the president of Somalia. Residents of Marka hailed the president with open hands and wet leaves.
During the visit to Marka, a vehicle owned by the chief officer of government military forces got into an accident. The district commissioner of Marka said that the visit of the president was historic. The spokesman and adviser of Somali president Mr. Abdirahman Omar Osman “Eng. Yarisow” speaking to the journalists said the president and his delegates were honorably welcomed in Marka town by the residents.
The president will have a meeting with the district administration and will also talk to the population in the coming hours. The federal government of Somalia is committed at this time to restore the international relations and local relations with its citizens.
Key Headlines
- Somali president visits Marka Town in Lower Shabelle region (Radio Mustaqbal/Radio Mogadishu/Risaala/Dalsan)
- President Hassan escapes assassination attempt after his convoy is attacked (Shabelle/Markacadeey)
- Somalia anti-piracy warship casualty air-lifted by rescue helicopter (Coastweek)
- “Vision 2016” National Conference enters its second day (SNTV/Bar-kulan)
- Interior ministry solves two clan battles in Lower Shabelle region (Radio Mustaqbal)
- Military court warns against government officials with private security (Raxanreeb)
- UN welcomes “Vision 2016” National Conference (Bar-kulan)
- Fragile Somalia loses two lifelines in quick succession (Daily Maverick)
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali president visits Marka Town in Lower Shabelle region
03 Sept – Source: Radio Mustaqbal/Radio Mogadishu/Risaala/Dalsan – 293 words
The president of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud accompanied by other members of the government visited Marka in Lower Shebelle region in Southern Somalia on Tuesday. The president and his delegates arrived in Merka town by vehicle. Somali government security forces backed by African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops ensured the security of the delegates led by the president of Somalia. Residents of Marka hailed the president with open hands and wet leaves.
During the visit to Marka, a vehicle owned by the chief officer of government military forces got into an accident. The district commissioner of Marka said that the visit of the president was historic. The spokesman and adviser of Somali president Mr. Abdirahman Omar Osman “Eng. Yarisow” speaking to the journalists said the president and his delegates were honorably welcomed in Marka town by the residents.
The president will have a meeting with the district administration and will also talk to the population in the coming hours. The federal government of Somalia is committed at this time to restore the international relations and local relations with its citizens.
President Hassan escapes assassination attempt after his convoy is attacked
03 Sept – Source: Shabelle/Markacadeey – 119 words
Incoming news from Bufo town, located in the lower Shabelle region, confirm that a motorcade escorting the president of the federal republic of Somalia Mr. Hassan Sheikh was attacked on its way to Marka town.
A string of attacks erupted suddenly when a landmine explosion targeted one of the vehicles escorting the president’s convoy, followed by heavy gunfire which lasted for almost 20 minutes.
The president was on his way to Marka town located in the lower Shabelle region to reconcile two communities who recently clashed in that region. Latest reports say that the president and his convoy have arrived in Marka town safely and heavy security has been deployed in the town.
“Vision 2016” National Conference enters its second day
03 Sept – Source: SNTV/Bar-kulan – 89 words
Vision of 2016 National Conference, a meeting on Somalia’s peace and reconciliation process which kicked off in the Somali capital on Monday enters its second day. The four-day conference was attended by internationals diplomats and the Somali government’s top leaders.
The conference will also discuss the development of a federal system, the constitutional review process and subsequent referendums on the constitution as well as preparations for elections in 2016.
Interior ministry solves two clan battles in Lower Shabelle region
03 Sept – Source: Radio Mustaqbal – 155 words
The Director of Interior Ministry of Federal Government of Somali Republic Ali Abtidon Halane has said that the ministry was successful in solving conflicts between clan militias in Lower Shabelle region.
The director, giving an interview to Mustaqbal radio, said delegates including himself reached Lower Shabelle region and succeeded in their efforts in solving clashes between two clan militias living together in the region.
Mr. Abtidon also added that they (delegates) met with clans and reached a deal between the clan militias to avoid that other clashes take place in the area of Lower Shabelle region in Southern of Somalia.
The deal between the two clans was part of a plan for armed clan militias to be converted into National forces and be handed over the federal government. Bloody fighting between two clan militias took place in Lower Shabelle region in the last two months and government has intervened in the fight which is finally solved.
Military court warns against government officials with private security
03 Sept – Source; Raxanreeb – 119 words
The Somali military tribunal on Monday ruled a death sentence against two armed militia men whom the court said were freelance militia men in Mogadishu.
The court’s decision came after the two armed men were convicted of killing a government military officer weeks ago in Mogadishu, which led for their capture. The Military Court Spokesperson Colonel Abdullahi Muse Kayse said: “each person found armed will be sentenced to death penalty.”
Speaking about the security of Mogadishu, the military court spokesperson Colonel Kayse said they also warned members of the Somali government who were using illegal and unregistered private security guards.
UN welcomes “Vision 2016” National Conference
03 Sept – Source: Bar-kulan – 106 words
United Nations has cordially welcomed the “Vision 2016” National Conference which was launched in the Somali capital, Mogadishu on Tuesday. Speaking at the Nation Conference in Mogadishu, Special Representative of the Secretary-General Nicholas Kay stated that the UN will support the Federal Government’s peace and reconciliation process.
Kay added that the UN will support the Federal Government by providing strategic policy advice including on the development of a federal system, the constitutional review process and subsequent referendum on the constitution, as well as preparations for elections in 2016. Mr. Kay praised the Somali Federal government for the brilliant work the government was able to do during its time in office.
Somali legislator warns Digil and Mirifle clans for their decision on the FG
03 Sept – Source: Radio Mustaqbal – 129 words
One of the Somali legislators of the federal parliament has sent warning talks to the Digile and clans who announced cutting their relationship with the federal government of Somalia.
Legislator Abdikadir Mohamed Aden Sandhere speaking to Mustaqbal radio on the telephone line has called Digile and Mirifle clans to review their decision in they said to have cut their relation with federal government.
Mr. Abdikadir said Digil and Mirifle were part of the members who signed the deal between Jubba administration and federal government.
Digil and Mirifle clans have held a demonstration in Baidoa town against the federal government and these clans were complaining about the deal between the federal government and Jubba administration.
Somaliland government bans development of new villages
02 Sept – Source: Radio Ergo – 162 words
The Somaliland government has put a stop to the development of new villages and urban centres in a bid to protect grazing land. The Minister for the Environment and Pastoralist Development, Shukri Haji Ismail Bandare, told Radio Ergo that the mushrooming of urban centres, if left unchecked, would lead to environmental degradation and depletion of grazing fields.
“We have made this decision to safeguard our environment and prevent deforestation,” the minister said. New villages and trading centres have been springing up rapidly in Somaliland in recent years. Different sub-clans have been establishing their own villages.
The minister indicated that stopping further developments would enhance better national integration and clan cohesion, as it would promote sharing of shopping centres and villages among different sub-clans. However, some sections of the community are concerned about the ban. Chief Farhan Hussein, a member of the traditional council of elders of Sanaag region, told Radio Ergo that it would lead to overcrowding and congestion in towns.
Elders want Intersos humanitarian organization to fill the gap left by MSF
02 Sept – Source: Radio Dalsan – 185 words
The cultural elders of the region of middle Shabelle have requested Intersos to fill the gap (services provided by MSF) left by MSF which recently announced the pullout from the humanitarian activities it carried out in Somalia. In a meeting held at Intersos compound in Jowhar, the cultural elders asked Intersos to provide the humanitarian services that were previously carried out by MSF especially the hospital that MSF used to run.
The cultural elders of middle Shabelle region have emphasized the need for filling the services that were previously provided by MSF. MSF used to provide many health services that benefited many residents of the middle Shabelle region. Some very popular peacemakers and elders of middle Shabelle have requested from Intersos humanitarian organisation to double its efforts in health services as there is currently a great need for maternity services in the region.
The Jowhar regional field co-ordinator mentioned that they encountered a great workload after the departure of MSF Spain as it happenned quickly and unexpectedly.
Bad drivers blamed for rise in Puntland road accidents
02 Sept – Source: Radio Ergo – 222 words
The number of traffic accidents in Puntland has increased dramatically during the first six months of the year, according to statistic released by the police. A new report released by the administration’s Traffic Police Directorate has recorded 1,340 accidents between January and June 2013.
The commander of traffic police, Ahmed Abdi Ali also known as Qalyare, said that many people had been killed and injured but he would not release the casualty figures until the end of the year. Last year, however, 380 people died and around 3,500 were injured in 1,704 recorded road accidents. Puntland’s Security Minister, Khalif Isse Mudan, blamed bad drivers for not observing the traffic rules and regulations.
“Drivers use the wrong side of the road and at the same time pick up or drop passengers on the wrong side or even stop in the middle of road,” the minister told reporters in Garowe.
Somalia is a right-hand driving country, but most of the public buses have the steering wheel on the right and the door on the left. The minister ordered all vehicles operating in Puntland to move their doors to the right side, so that passengers can exit more safely. He set a deadline of 10 September to implement the change or face banning from the road.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Somali president ‘ambushed’, militants say
03 Sept – Source: New Vision/AFP/Africa Review – 337 words
Somalia’s Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab insurgents ambushed President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud Tuesday, the militants said, claiming to have destroyed vehicles with rocket-propelled grenades. “We ambushed a convoy that was escorting the self-appointed Somali president,” Shabaab spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab told AFP.
The ambush took place near the small settlement of Buffow, close to the port of Merka, a former Shabaab stronghold captured one year ago around 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of the capital. “We were tracking his (Mohamud’s) movements…the fighting is still going on,” Musab said.
Somalia anti-piracy warship casualty air-lifted by rescue helicopter
03 Sept – Source: Coastweek – 266 words
EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia Operation Atalanta warship ESPS Meteoro has successfully evacuated a member of the ships crew who had a medical issue.
The ship had been conducting counter piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia. The ship broke from counter-piracy operations and closed the coast of Djibouti at maximum speed. When within helicopter range of the Hospital in Djibouti the ship launched its SH60B helicopter with the patient and medical personnel onboard.
During the transit the patient was carefully monitored and treated by the embarked medical officer and medical personnel. The patient was treated at the hospital in Djibouti and is making a recovery.
Unregulated drugs threaten public health in Somaliland
02 Sept – Source: Sabahi Online – 644 words
Imports of poor quality medicine, misuse of drugs and an unregulated pharmaceutical industry are endangering public health in the Somaliland region, officials say.
Self-medication is becoming major health concern in Somaliland as many people take medicine without consulting a doctor or trained pharmacist, according to Ali Sheikh Omer, public health director at Somaliland’s Ministry of Health.
“If you take medicine without a prescription and without any illness that necessitates its use, it will result in the medication becoming ineffective,” Omer said, urging the public to consult a doctor or pharmacist before taking even over-the-counter medications to avoid adverse side effects or building up drug-resistance.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Fragile Somalia loses two lifelines in quick succession
03 Sept – Source: Daily Maverick – 196 words
It’s not all doom and gloom coming out of Somalia. This weekend, the capital Mogadishu hosted its very own TEDx conference, featuring a line-up of inspirational speakers with genuinely incredible stories: Iman Elman, the 21-year-old woman who is a commander in Somalia’s army; Abdifatah Ahmed, the journalist who has defied persecution, and his own blindness, to tell Somalia’s stories; Mohamed Mahamoud Sheik, the young entrepreneur who opened the first dry cleaners in Mogadishu in 20 years, because he noticed the president kept sending his suits to be washed overseas.
For Sebastian Lindstrom, the event’s communications director, TEDx Mogadishu is a symbol that war torn Somalia that has turned a corner. “2012 was the year that peace returned to Somalia,” he told the Guardian. “It was largely seen as the ‘rebirth’ of the country, with the formation of parliament, election of the president and cabinet of ministers.
For the first time in over two decades, Somalia had an internationally recognised federal government. Although the peace and stability remains fragile, in 2013 more Somalis are returning to their country than ever before, rediscovering the home they hadn’t seen in decades, and for some young diaspora, had never seen.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“The only real peace is in those areas controlled by AU peacekeepers (including Ethiopian and Kenyan troops.) There is a growing “Green Zone” around the Mogadishu airport, where most foreign aid groups have set up bases. The Somali government has a growing force of police and soldiers but these are easily corrupted and often commit crimes rather than prevent them.”
No Peace, Just A Ceasefire
03 Sept- Source: Strategy Page – 923 words
Somalia really isn’t at peace. Bandits and clan militiamen are still all over the place and these guys tend to consider themselves a law unto themselves. The only real peace is in those areas controlled by AU peacekeepers (including Ethiopian and Kenyan troops.) There is a growing “Green Zone” around the Mogadishu airport, where most foreign aid groups have set up bases.
The Somali government has a growing force of police and soldiers but these are easily corrupted and often commit crimes rather than prevent them. The Somali government and most local leaders are very corrupt and foreign aid groups have to devote a lot of aid money to pay for security and getting the aid to people who need it.
Doctors Without Borders, which operated most of the medical facilities in the country, recently pulled out because of the continuing threat to its staff and the high security expenses. Doctors Without Borders has never fled like this before because they had never faced as hostile an environment as they have in Somalia.
“It is ironic that these so-called “menial jobs” are careers highly touted in many parts of the world.”
The futility of using racist labels
03 Sept – Source: Wardheer News – 477 words
I woke up early Tuesday morning and was checking the latest news with my laptop when I saw a flashing headline in Wardheernews titled, “Midgaans and the Ethiopians are fighting for the last Place in Somaliland.” The article was written by Mark Hay and reprinted from Vice. My initial reaction was one of bewilderment. Is this a typo? The word “Midgaan” is a pejorative in Somalia. It is a word used by clannists and the ignorant to refer to a cluster of minority groups. The problem is more acute in the Somaliland region than any other part of Somalia.
The reporter from Vice himself mistakenly wrote that these minority people’s “actual name” is “Midgaan” and that the groups encompass “the Timal (sic), Yibir, Gaboye and other groups.” He also noted the name “double[s] as an insult.” He added that some “Midgaans” still “see it as a connoting pseudo-slavery in Somali society, where they have traditionally been restricted to ‘unclean’ work like barbering, blacksmithing, infibulation, and leatherwork.”
I am disappointed that a major Somali website like WDN would reprint such a vulgar and tasteless article that demeans an entire community in the name of investigative journalism. It is one thing to cover the plight of a minority group, but insulting them by using the very name that they were given by their oppressors is abominable. A similar example would be writing about the lack of employment opportunities for many African-Americans in inner cities and then debasing them in an article that starts with the “N” word.
“There are some horrible experiences people go through such as rape, trafficking and abuse. Most think that as long as they have not been physically hurt, they will be fine. However, many times, the hurt is on the inside and needs to be dealt with as well.”
Psychotrauma: The wounds on the inside
02 Sept – Source: Daily Monitor – 1774 words
Thirty-one-year old David Coleb Muwemba who recalls being just three chairs from where the first bomb at Kyadondo went off on July 11, 2010 believes it is a miracle he survived with a slight ear injury. In a few weeks, his ear was healed, the only evidence of a physical injury being a barely visible scar.
But Muwemba was far from being healed.
“I had trouble sleeping, forgetting, getting on with life. I remembered all the things I saw, the blood I lay in as we took to the ground afraid of the police and another blast. The ripped apart chest of a woman that lay just next to us. The lifeless body of my friend Frank slumped over the chair, blood seeping from the back. Then there were the mangled broken bodies I saw in the mortuary as I searched for my two missing friends both called Peter,” he says.
The sound of the blast itself haunted him for months. Even today three years after the blast, describing it makes him shiver and lose words. “It was like nothing I have ever heard before. So loud, stronger than several tyre bursts.”
Top tweets
@LailaInNairobi Baidoa elders & leaders calling for formation Southwestern State of #Somalia | Next challenge for the federal gov?t http://bit.ly/15R2KDv.
@ferigom69 Somali president ‘ambushed’, Shebab militants say – Yahoo! News South Africa http://za.news.yahoo.com/
@Guuleyste #Somalia authorities deny #AlShabaab claim that they have attacked Somali president’s convoy. Govt spokesman says that is simply a lie.
@omabha UN Envoy Welcomes National Conference On Somalia Political Future – http://AllAfrica.com http://dlvr.it/3vPb1z #Somalia.
@AnnaCosta85 #Somalia‘s #Puntland Govt does not recognize outcome of #2016Vision #Conference in #Mogadishu -via#GaroweOnline http://bit.ly/14fB90c .
@ahmedwardigley Dahir #Aweys never been a “nationalist” or father of Islamist in #Somalia.He was father of #Jihadism as#Political/militia #leader from 1991.
Image of the day
A Kenyan medical officer takes a woman’s blood pressure at a free medical clinic provided by the Kenyan Contingent serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in the southern Somali port city of Kismayo. Open 7 days a week and seeing an average of 80 patients a day from Kismayo and surrounding villages, AMISOM medical staff provide the free health care to Kismayo’s civilians, treating a variety of cases including malaria, respiratry tract infections, sexually transmitted infections and occasionally gunshot wounds. Photo: AU-UN IST / Ramdan Mohamed.