September 3, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Ugandan CDF Gen. Katumba Wamala Visits And Commends Frontline Troops In Janaale, Somalia
03 September – Source: AMISOM – 350 Words
Uganda’s Chief of Defense Forces (CDF) Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala has visited and briefed AMISOM frontline troops in Janaale, Lower Shabelle region, commending their gallantry in their fight against Al-Shabaab terrorists. He took particular note of the spirited fight they put up against Al-Shabaab militants, who attacked the AMISOM base at Janaale early this week, using a vehicle borne explosive to gain forceful entry into the camp, where they were engaged in battle by the troops.
“My visit was prompted by what happened here in Janaale, where we are now, where our base was attacked by the Al-Shabaab using a vehicle bomb IED to breach the defense and where we incurred some casualties; some of our friends lost their lives. I came one, to assess how the situation was and to get a clear picture; how the whole thing happened, and also establish whether they were any flaws in terms of the response. I am convinced that the boys put up a good fight,” said Gen. Katumba.
General Katumba was guided on a tour of the Janaale base by the AMISOM Ugandan Contingent Commander Brig. Gen. Sam Kavuma and briefed by the troops on the ground. He thanked the troops for the high morale they have maintained and asserted that the enemies of peace will be fought and defeated. General Katumba Wamala further thanked the partners and Federal Government of Somalia for the mutual support rendered to enable AMISOM operations progress positively. He also expressed heartfelt condolences to the families and colleagues of the soldiers who lost their lives and wishes for quick recovery for the injured.
Key Headlines
- Ugandan CDF Gen. Katumba Wamala Visits And Commends Frontline Troops In Janaale Somalia(AMISOM)
- Somaliland Rejects Telecommunication Bill In The Federal Parliament (Goobjoog News)
- Somali President Meets With His Djibouti Counterpart (Shabelle News)
- Former Somalia Minister Joins Somaliland’s Push For International Recognition (Wacaal Media)
- Somali Islamists Warn Against “Immoral Culture” At Hotels Beaches (Reuters)
- Majority Of Kenyans Want KDF To Stay In Somalia – Survey (Capital FM)
- Security Council Strongly Condemns Al-Shabaab Attack On African Union Base (UN News Centre)
- Dr Bulhan’s Verdict On Somaliland Political Parties (RBC Radio)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somaliland Rejects Telecommunication Bill In The Federal Parliament
03 September – Source: Goobjoog News – 279 Words
The secessionist administration of Somaliland in the north of Somalia has rejected the Telecommunication Bill currently under debate in the Federal Parliament in Mogadishu. Somaliland Telecommunication Minister Mohamed Jama has told the media that the bill infringes on their control of country code 252 , which he said they share with Somalia. “I would like to make it clear that this bill in the Federal Parliament doesn’t concern us; the only thing that concerns us is the country code 252 which we share.They must know that we are a sovereign nation and we passed our Telecommunication Act in 2010 so we are informing the whole world that this so called bill does not concern us,” said Jama.
But the minister did not rule out the possibility of talks between the two sides on the matter. He however warned that the bill would not be drained down in their throats. The long overdue bill is in the Federal Parliament for debate and is at an advanced stage to be passed into law. It has legally binding articles that would make necessary for international telecommunication authorities to abide, thus affecting Somaliland’s monopoly on the country code against the wishes of the Federal Government.
The bill aims to regulate the telecommunications sector in terms of licensing, taxation, operation and use of the country’s communication resources within the confines of the law. Somaliland one telecommunication company, Telsom and concerns have been raised by the northern state that the Telsom is already operating under an already established legal regime provided for in the Somaliland Telecommunications Act 2010 and therefore risks double regulation and taxation in the event the Mogadishu fronted bill comes into force.
Somali President Meets With His Djibouti Counterpart
03 September – Source: Shabelle News – 155 Words
High level delegation led by the President of the Federal Government of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has on Wednesday arrived in Djibouti, capital city of Djibouti, diplomats said. Mr. Mohamud has been welcomed warmly by his Djiboutian counterpart Ismail Omar Gelle and other senior officials. They were taken into the State House in the city. The two sides also discussed enhancing for bilateral ties. For his part, Mr. Mahmoud expressed appreciation for the Djibouti’s efforts which its soldiers serving under African Union mission for Somalia (AMISOM) troops battle Al-Shabaab. He said that Somalia National Army, supported by AMISOM troops gained control of several areas ruled by Al-Shabaab in south-central Somalia in newly launched military offensive. “I thank our Djibouti brothers for their efforts to restore and stability in Somalia” he said. Djibouti sent troops into Somalia who are serving under African Union mission for Somalia (AMISOM), in a bid to eradicate Al-Shabaab militants.
Former Somalia Minister Joins Somaliland’s Push For International Recognition
03 September – Source: Wacaal Media – 144 Words
A former Minister of Foreign Affairs in the late Abdullahi Yussuf’s Interim Government of Somalia Mr. Ismail Hurre Buubaa has on Wednesday joined the Somaliland administration and its push to break away from the rest of Somalia. His arrival in Hargeisa yesterday from Qatar was filled with pomp and color as local leaders welcomed him in style. Somaliland has remained an oasis of peace maintaining an internal self-rule after the greater Somalia went to into civil war in the early nineties. It has since then enjoyed relative peace but failed to receive international recognition as an independent state from Somalia after the latter refused to let it go. The Federal government of Somalia still recognizes Somaliland as part of Somalia and efforts to hold negotiations between the two administrations to settle the matter once and for all bore no fruits as both sides cling to their positions.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Islamists Warn Against “Immoral Culture” At Hotels, Beaches
03 September – Source: Reuters – 240 Words
Islamist militants Al-Shabaab issued a warning against Somalis who frequent hotels, beaches and nightclubs in the capital Mogadishu, saying it will target men and women who engage in “immoral culture.” Al-Shabaab frequently stages bomb and gun attacks in the capital – and especially around popular hotels – in its bid to topple Somalia’s Western-backed government and impose a harsh version of Islamic law. Somalia, which descended into chaos after dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991, is trying to rebuild after two decades of conflict and chaos.
Improvements to the security situation in Mogadishu has led some Somalis to return from the diaspora, and they have brought with them habits of playing music into the night and swimming in Mogadushu’s white sand Indian Ocean beaches. “Let Muslims avoid going to the hotels where men and women misbehave,” Sheikh Ali Jabal, Al-Shabaab’s leader for the capital region, said in a statement. “Anybody engaged in this immoral culture is seen as part of the enemies that invaded Somalia.” Somali authorities had no immediate response to the threat.
Al-Shabaab’s warning comes one day after its militants stormed an African Union base, about 90 km (55 miles) south of the capital, where they say they killed AU peacekeepers. The peacekeeping force, known as AMISOM, called it a “heinous” attack, but has not released its own death count. Al-Shabaab often exaggerates the success of its attacks, and officials played down losses.
Majority Of Kenyans Want KDF To Stay In Somalia – Survey
03 September – Source: Capital FM – 344 Words
Majority of Kenyans at 57 percent support the continued deployment of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) to Somalia, according to a new IPSOS survey. The report indicates that among those who support, 70 percent are aligned to the Jubilee coalition while 39 percent are CORD supporters. Of the supporters, Central leads at 80 percent, followed by Rift Valley at 62 percent while North Eastern and Western support least at 39pc and 37pc respectively. Kenya Defence Forces under the African Union Mission in Somalia has played a huge role in reducing cases of terror attacks in the country but the survey indicates that 70 percent of Kenyans still find terror as the major threat in the country.
“In terms of general support for the continued presence of the KDF in Somalia the country appears almost evenly split, with just a modest majority (57pc) favouring this policy. In regional terms, a clear contrast emerges, however, with support for it in Central considerably higher than in the next most supportive region, Rift Valley (62pc), with both far above that in the two regions where such support is lowest, North Eastern and Western (39pc and 37pc, respectively),” it reads.
Security Council Strongly Condemns Al-Shabaab Attack On African Union Base
02 September – Source: UN News Center – 218 Words
The United Nations Security Council today strongly condemned the recent attack perpetrated by Al-Shabaab against a base belonging to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in Janaale District, which resulted in a number of deaths and injuries. In a statement to the press, the Council condemned the attack, which occurred on 1 September and expressed their deep sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims, as well as to the people and Government of Uganda. The Council also wished a speedy recovery to those injured. In addition, the members of the Council underlined their gratitude to AMISOM and its troop-contributing countries for their bravery and sacrifices in the fight against Al-Shabaab.
Reaffirming that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, the Council underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice. The 15-member body also urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law, and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Somali authorities in this regard: “The members of the Security Council underlined that neither this, nor any other act of terrorism, would weaken their commitment to supporting the peace and reconciliation process in Somalia,” the statement concluded.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Dr Bulhan’s judgement shows Somaliland needs leaders with a new political agenda to transform political parties into parties based on inclusive policies….If Somaliland has no genuine political parties it is the political leaders who should take responsibility for failing to revitalise Somaliland political landscape.”
Dr Bulhan’s Verdict On Somaliland Political Parties
03 September – Source: RBC Radio – 369 Words
After two Presidential elections and two local and parliamentary elections Somaliland political elites have not succeeded to form political parties based on ideas rather than personalities or clan interests.This is the judgement of Dr. Hussein A. Bulhan, the founder and President/Chancellor of Frantz Fanon University. In 1994 Dr Bulhan left a tenured professorship at the medical school of Boston University to play a peacemaking role in Somaliland, where a civil war raging. He co-founded the Academy for Peace and Development, founded a psychiatric hospital and took up a two- year Chancellorship of Hargeisa University.
Dr Bulhan’s verdict is not a cause for disappointment but an opportunity for political soul-searching. His emphasis on ideas as a basis for forming political parties does not necessarily mean that only ideas lead to political change; action is inseparable from political ideas as a stepping-stone to changing to the status quo. Clinging to clan loyalties means resistance to change. According to Adam Musse Jibril Somaliland has succeeded by marrying the clan system with a multi-party political system. The credit to this creative synthesis goes to the second President of Somaliland, Mohamed Ibrahim Egal, who introduced the most successful, locally conceived reconciliation in Somalia. Out of the reconciliation initiative emerged two seminal policies that put Somaliland on the path to creating political institutions: the dissolution of Somali National Movement and the agreement that all clans in Somaliland share common political history in the fight against the military regime.
TOP TWEETS
@lasoco: Ugandan bodies flown home after Somalia al-Shabab attack – BBC News http://j.mp/1hWdOct #Somalia
@faoinsomalia: @faoinsomalia: It’s #Somalia National day today @Expo2015Milano supported by @faoinsomalia and@EU_in_Somalia.
@Abdi_AlSheikh: QC relief for Yemeni refugees in Somalia – Peninsula On-line http://dlvr.it/C2vWcn #Somalia
@KurgatSamson: #Kenya mourns #AU soldiers #killed by#Alshabaab in #Somalia @Kass_FM @kasstvKE
@Elirri: Bodies start to arrive from #Somalia #UPDF#AMISON.But we still don’t know the exact number of casualties
@itayron5: #alshabaab attack in #Janaale was 1 year revenge for the killing of sect leader #Godane and not for citizens killing by #AMISOM . #Somalia
@GlobSomDiaspora: #Somalia is taking off & already in the process of re-establishing itself. The good thing is many more people arrive than those leaving,
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Uganda’s Chief of Defense Forces (CDF) Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala has visited and briefed AMISOM front-line troops in Janaale, Lower Shabelle region, commending their gallantry in their fight against Al-Shabaab terrorists. He took particular note of the spirited fight they put up against Al-Shabaab militants, who attacked the AMISOM base at Janaale early this week, using a vehicle borne explosive to gain forceful entry into the camp, where they were engaged in battle by the troops.
Photo: AMISOM