September 4, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.
UN chief: Somalia could still fail; calls for more attack helicopters to fight Al-Shabaab
04 Sept – Source: Washington Post/ AP – 151 words
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, warning that Somalia could slide back into being a failed state, called Tuesday on countries around the world to provide the African Union-led peacekeeping force there with attack helicopters and armored troop carriers to take the fight to Al-Shabab militants in the field.
The U.N. chief called on U.N. members, including African countries not yet involved, to provide the African Union-led peacekeeping force with attack helicopters, armored troop carries and other support to root out the al-Qaida-allied Al-Shabab.
“The political, security and development gains made so far in Somalia are still reversible,” Ban said in a report to the Security Council. The al-Qaida-allied terrorist group Al-Shabab “continues to undermine security throughout the country, including in Mogadishu.”
“Allowing Al-Shabab to continue its training and conduct terrorist activities from bases in Somalia will not only undermine peace in Somalia, but also that of the wider region,” he said.
Key Headlines
- Gunmen kill Somali elder in Baidoa (Radio Bar-kulan/al Shahid)
- Somali president meets elders in Lower Shabelle region (Radio Mustaqbal)
- Water shortage hits villages in Galgadud (Radio Ergo)
- Al Shabaab claims ambush on Somalia president’s convoy (Raxanreeb)
- Ban Ki-Moon urges more help for Somalia (mfa.gov.et)
- Puntland urges youth to learn job skills (Radio Ergo)
- Puntland President meets Ethiopia Prime Minister (Garowe Online/Horseed Media)
- Hargeisa Municipality Starts Construction of City Ring Road (Somaliland Sun/Hiiraan Online)
- Al Qaeda set up anti-drone cells secret US documents show (Daily Nation/AFP)
- Somalia refugee return talks put off (Star)
- UN chief: Somalia could still fail; calls for more attack helicopters to fight Al-Shabaab (Washington Post/AP)
SOMALI MEDIA
Gunmen kill Somali elder in Baidoa
04 Sept – Source: Radio Bar-kulan/ al Shahid – 94 words
Unidentified gunmen have reportedly killed a famous traditional elder in Baidoa on Tuesday night. The deceased, elder Yusuf Ali Sheikh, was shot and killed at the front gate of his home in Baidoa. Assailants managed to escape immediately after the attack. Security officials in the region stated that investigations are underway.
The chief of Madani forces Isack Marihamow has accused al Shabaab militant group of killing Yusuf Ali Sheikh, a prominent elder in the southern Somali region of Bay.
Somali president meets elders in Lower Shabelle region
04 Jul- Source: Radio Mustaqbal- 191 words
The president of Somalia H.E Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has met the traditional elders and scholars of Lower Shabelle region in Southern Somalia which he visited on Tuesday. The president and elders discussed a wide range of issues concerning security, development and social affairs in the district of Merka.
The elders told the president how the regional administration of Lower Shabelle for Somali government works. The president was accompanied by the interior minister, minister of defense and minister of justice.
The Somali president reportedly slept last night in Merka and left on Wednesday morning to Mogadishu according to sources close to the president who confirmed it to Mustaqbal radio.
Water shortage hits villages in Galgadud
04 Sept- Source: Radio Ergo- 253 words
Residents in villages in Galgadud region of central Somalia are suffering severe water shortages as the dry season of Jilal intensifies. Maarsamage and Deey villages, about 130 km east of Adado, are the worst-affected areas. People there are relying on water brought from 35 km away.
Residents in these villages told Radio Ergo’s local reporter that water pans, boreholes and other sources of water had almost all dried up. They fear the water shortage will worsen and threaten living conditions of the people and their livestock in the area, which is populated mainly by pastoralist communities.
The price of water brought from water pans in other villages has sharply increased since the scarcity set in. A traditional elder, Ahmed Salad Roble, told Radio Ergo a barrel of rainwater from the water pans now costs 40,000 Somali shillings, up from 10,000 Somali shillings before the crisis. “We cannot afford paying this, but at the same time we can’t survive without it,” complained Roble.
The area did not receive the Gu rains which were due to start in May. Residents are also worried that Deyr rains, which are expected in October, might also fail. If the area does not get the Deyr rains, Radio Ergo’s local reporter warns that many families are likely to have to leave the area in search of water and pasture. He said those who lose their livestock will migrate to urban areas, as has been the increasing trend in past years when rains fail.
Al Shabaab claims ambush on Somalia president’s convoy
03 Sept – Source: Raxanreeb – 91 words
Al Shabaab said they ambushed on Tuesday a convoy carrying Somalia president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud while heading to Marka town, 110 km away from the capital Mogadishu. According to pro-al Shabaab websites, the group’s fighters ambushed the president’s convoy near Shalanbod district of Lower Shabelle region.
There were no casualties reported; residents said heard a landmine explosion before the president’s convoy passed in the area. Presidential spokesman Abdurahman Omar Yarisow has denied the claims and said there was no any attack.
Puntland urges youth to learn job skills
03 Sept- Source: Radio Ergo- 185 words
Puntland’s Ministry of Education has developed a new vocational education curriculum to help equip young people with skills to get a job or start their own business. Mohamed Ali Farah, head of the department of technical and vocational education, said the government-sponsored polytechnics offering free vocational training courses had remained unpopular among the youth.
Radio Ergo’s local reporter in Garowe says that many young people do not consider polytechnics as educational institutions and prefer to enter general education programmes.
“The new technical education curriculum will offer certificates, diplomas and degrees that are officially recognized,” Farah said.
He said the authorities planned to work with employers such as telecommunication and industrial companies to create more technical jobs.
More technical and vocational schools are due to open in early 2014 as part of a 7.5 million euro project targeting improving education. The European Union funded ‘Education is Light’ project is set to help more than 21,000 students in Puntland. It aims to provide technical and vocational education to nearly 1,000 young Somalis, mainly women and those with no formal education.
President Hassan: the IC has not yet fulfilled what they promised us
03 Sept – Source: Shabelle – 84 words
Speaking at yesterday’s Grand National Conference held in Mogadishu, the president of the federal republic of Somalia Mr. Hassan Sheikh said that the international community did not fulfill promises they pledged to in support his government. Mr. Mohamud added that lack of funds catalyzed the government to outreach to various parts of the country.
“The government cannot perform key responsibilities to its citizens because the international community has not fulfilled promises they made except Turkey” said Hassan who read a long lecture in front of attendants.
Puntland President meets Ethiopia Prime Minister
03 Sept – Source: Garowe Online/Horseed Media – 102 words
Ethiopian Prime Minister H.E. Hailemariam Desalegn received in Addis Ababa on Tuesday September 3 a Puntland Government delegation led by President of Puntland State of Somalia H.E. Abdirahman Mohamed Mohamud (Farole) including Puntland Health Minister H.E. Dr. Ali Abdullahi Warsame.
Discussions included advancing security and governance in Somalia, issues relating to the Somali Federal Constitution,and security and economic relations between Ethiopia and Puntland.
The Ethiopian Prime Minister underlined that Ethiopia and IGAD Member States agree that abiding to the Federal Constitution is the basis for rebuilding and reconciliation in Somalia, including the formation of the remaining Federated States.
Hargeisa Municipality Starts Construction of City Ring Road
03 Sept – Source: Somaliland Sun/Hiiraan Online – 115 words
The municipality of Hargeisa has started the construction of a ring road that will circle the city from all sides. The road is planned to reduce the traffic within the the city and to accommodate the heavy trucks that carry goods to the Western parts of Somaliland as well as the cargo trucks carrying commodities that are imported by Ethiopians through Berbera Port . All heavy trucks from Berbera to Ethiopia will go around the city and will not pass by the centre of the city when the ring road is finished.
Environmental activists call for measures to stop deforestation
03 Sept- Source: Radio Ergo- 223 words
Somali environmental activists say massive country-wide deforestation is creating a huge environmental threat to livelihoods and is contributing to the repeated cycles of drought and famine experienced by the Horn of Africa nation.
Most environmental degradation has occurred in the country’s southern regions, where the civil war has had the most severe impact. But it has also been occurring at an alarming rate in more stable regions of Puntland.
“In Puntland, the deforestation is at the highest scale,” Mustafe Abdiaziz Yusuf coordinator of local environmental organization Sahansaho, told Radio Ergo’s local reporter in Galkayo.
“Charcoal is the primary threat leading to the deforestation,” Yusuf said. Mudug region, populated mainly by pastoralist communities, is experiencing the largest losses of forested areas, which is directly threatening the livelihoods of local residents.
Charcoal burning in Mudug over the past two decades has already turned forests, which were known for trees and rich pasture, Yusuf said.
Sahansaho is working to create public awareness on the long-term negative impact of cutting trees. There is a lucrative trade in charcoal between this region and the Middle East. Locally too, Somalis are using charcoal as a primary source of fuel.
Electricity is not widely available and is expensive. Many unemployed rural youth are involved in burning charcoal as their only source of income.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Ban Ki-Moon urges more help for Somalia
04 Sept- Source: mfa.gov.et- 193 words
The U.N. Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, has called on U.N. member states, including African countries not yet involved, to provide the African Union-led peacekeeping force (AMISOM) with attack helicopters, armored troop carriers and other support to finally root out Al-Shabaab. In a report to the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary General said Al-Shabaab “continues to undermine security throughout the country, including in Mogadishu.” He said “Allowing Al-Shabaab to continue its training and conduct terrorist activities from bases in Somalia will not only undermine peace in Somalia, but also that of the wider region.” He cautioned that unless countries around the world intensify their assistance to Somalia and AMISOM the political, security and development gains made so far in Somalia were still reversible. Al-Shabaab attacked the U.N. compound in Mogadishu on June 19, killing a member of the U.N. Development Program staff, three U.N. contractors, four Somali guards and at least six Somali bystanders. It was the first direct attack on a U.N. building in Somalia since 2008. The international aid group Doctors Without Borders recently pulled out of Somalia, citing increasing dangers in the country.
Al Qaeda set up anti-drone cells, secret US documents show
04 Sept- Source: Daily Nation/AFP- 169 words
Al Qaeda’s leaders have set up cells of engineers to try to shoot down, disable or hijack US drones, media reported late Tuesday citing top-secret US intelligence documents.
The Al Qaeda leadership is “hoping to exploit the technological vulnerabilities of a weapons system that has inflicted huge losses against the terrorist network,” the The Washington Post said online.
“Although there is no evidence that Al Qaeda has forced a drone crash or successfully interfered with flight operations, US intelligence officials have closely tracked the group’s persistent efforts to develop a counterdrone strategy since 2010,” the report said, citing the secret documents.
The Al Qaeda commanders are keen to achieve “a technological breakthrough (that) could curb the US drone campaign, which has killed an estimated 3,000 people over the past decade,” the Post reported.
Drone strikes have forced Al Qaeda operatives to limit their movements in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia and other places.
Who is behind the unlawful killings of terror suspects?
04 Sept- Source: Standard- 991 words
Since the 1998 terror attacks in Nairobi, the war on terrorism has had its ups and downs. After the launch of Operation Linda Nchi, there have been a series of grenade attacks and other bombing incidents in various parts of the country.
One of the units that has evolved in the fight against suspected terrorists is the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU), formed immediately after the bomb attacks on East Africa that were the first major acts of terror by the Al-Qaeda organisation. Overall, ATPU has become one of the country’s most aggressive security agencies.
Somalia refugee return talks put off
02 Sept- Source: Star (Kenya)- 193 words
A conference that was to discuss the repatriation of Somalia refugees has been deferred to a later date. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the decision was made to give the Somalia government time to consult and build consensus on the exercise.
The government had organised the conference to seek modalities on the safe return of hundreds of thousands of refugees from Dadaab.
The conference was to pull resources and international support to facilitate the return of more than 600,000 Somali refugees to their country following the stability and peace realised in the Horn of Africa country after decades of factional war. The conference was slated for August 28 and 29.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
UN chief: Somalia could still fail; calls for more attack helicopters to fight Al-Shabaab
04 Sept – Source: Washington Post/ AP – 151 words
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, warning that Somalia could slide back into being a failed state, calledTuesday on countries around the world to provide the African Union-led peacekeeping force there with attack helicopters and armored troop carriers to take the fight to Al-Shabab militants in the field.
The U.N. chief called on U.N. members, including African countries not yet involved, to provide the African Union-led peacekeeping force with attack helicopters, armored troop carries and other support to root out the al-Qaida-allied Al-Shabab.
“The political, security and development gains made so far in Somalia are still reversible,” Ban said in a report to the Security Council. The al-Qaida-allied terrorist group Al-Shabab “continues to undermine security throughout the country, including in Mogadishu.”
“Allowing Al-Shabab to continue its training and conduct terrorist activities from bases in Somalia will not only undermine peace in Somalia, but also that of the wider region,” he said.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“An agreed upon solution to the Jubbaland issue could become a blueprint for the federal government to negotiate with other administrations.”
Jubbaland compromise agreement presents challenges, opportunities
03 Sept- Source: Sabahi Online- 279 words
The agreement between Jubbaland regional administration leaders and the Somali federal government last week in Addis Ababa averted a political crisis in Somalia, but aspects of the compromise leave many challenges ahead.
The two parties agreed August 28th to form the Interim Jubba Administration (IJA) comprising Gedo, Lower Jubba and Middle Jubba regions. The agreement also confirmed Ahmed Mohamed Islam Madobe as head of the IJA for a two-year transitional period.
The federal government will assume control of the Kismayo airport and seaport for six months, after which the government will appoint a management team in consultation with the interim administration.
Top tweets
@amisomsomalia The growing number of sporting activities across #Somalia is testament that al Shabaab has lost its grip and peace gradually returning
@amisomsomalia PHOTOS OF THE DAY: A group of weight lifters train together at a gym in the Hamar Weyne district#Mogadishu #Somalia http://bit.ly/13hkgBQ
@omabha Somalia: UN expert hails human rights effort but urges broader consultation … – UN News Centrehttp://dlvr.it/3vg4Q9 #Somalia
@amisomsomalia #Somalis are taking on healthy living, resolute to reach their goal as #Somalia stands determined to put behind it years of war & conflict
@UN1 Although nutrition has improved in #Somalia since the 2011 famine, malnutrition still a concern among displaced pplhttp://ow.ly/oqAtb
Image of the day
H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the President of the Federal Government of Somalia meets H.E. Gunilla Carlsson, Minister for International Development Cooperation of Sweden in Mogadishu. 04 September 2013. Photo: @engyarisow