September 9, 2015 | Daily Monitoring Report
Gunmen Kill School Teacher In Mogadishu
09 September – Source: Goobjoog News – 115 Words
Unidentified gunmen shot dead a school teacher in Mogadishu’s Dharkeyley district last evening as he was approaching his home in the area.Armed with pistols , the gunmen fled the scene immediately on foot before security forces were alerted about the murder.
One eyewitness has told Goobjoog that the murdered teacher’s name was Ano Gel as he was popularly known in the district.Earlier this month the head of crime investigation of the area police station was been killed in the same district.Authorities are yet to comment on the latest killing as the hit squad seems to be upping their activities to target key people in the district and elsewhere in the capital.
Key Headlines
- Gunmen Kill School Teacher In Mogadishu (Goobjoog News)
- Somalia Welcomes The Commencement Of U.S. Diplomatic Mission (Shabelle News)
- AMISOM Trains New Somali Police Recruits In Baidoa (AMISOM)
- Ahlu-Sunna Fighters Engage In Renewed Clash With Galmudug Forces(Goobjoog News)
- UN Deputy Special Representative Visits Somaliland First time (Cabays News)
- Somalia In Search For Arms (World Bulletin)
- Did Uganda’s Gallant Men Die For A Just Cause in Somalia? (Daily Monitor)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Welcomes The Commencement Of U.S. Diplomatic Mission
09 September -Source:Shabelle News – 178 Words
The government of the Federal Republic of Somalia has welcomed with great enthusiasm the announcement of the commencement of operations of the United States Mission to Somalia. The Somalia president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his PM communicated to U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry during the Secretary’s historic May 5 visit, Somalia stands ready to further strengthen the important U.S.-Somalia bilateral relationship.Mr. Mohamud and his premier thanked to the U.S. government for its continuous support to Somalia and look forward to continued friendship, collaboration, and deep partnership between the two countries.“We appreciate and value U.S. efforts to promote good governance, accelerate the development of our security forces, and help us lay the foundations necessary for sustainable and enduring prosperity”, said Somalia leaders.The President Mohamud and PM Sharmarke said: “We extend our warm welcome to the U.S. Mission to Somalia Chargé d’Affaires and look forward to receiving the next U.S. Ambassador to Somalia once appointed by U.S. President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate”.
AMISOM Trains New Somali Police Recruits In Baidoa
08 September – Source: AMISOM – 382 Words
At least 200 new Somali recruits are undergoing a three month basic recruits course in Baidoa, offered by the police component of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). The new recruits are from all regions of the South West Administration and will be deployed to several towns recently liberated by Somali National Army and AMISOM troops in Sector 3. The newly liberated towns lack police stations for maintenance of law and order.AMISOM Superintendent of Police Sholla Omilade explained that the aim of the training is to expand the capacity of the Somali Police Force but also to build the confidence of force.“We are presently in Baidoa to train the new Somali recruits for Somali Police in Baidoa. We are going to train them for about three months so as to build confidence in the new force and to bring hope again in Somalia,” he said.
He acknowledged the zeal and enthusiasm shown by the new recruits saying, “The enthusiasm in them shows that they really want to build back the confidence of the people in law enforcement. They are really ready to serve the country, to help the citizens. This is also a motivating factor for us the trainers. And now we are more dedicated and more committed to train them.” At the end of the three months training, it is hoped that the recruits will have gained enough skills to help them police regions under the Interim South West Administration: “And we hope that by the end of the course, by the end of the training, we will have new Somali Police Force members who are ready to restore hope and peace and confidence back to the citizens of Somalia, and long awaited peace will be restored back into Somalia,” said Sholla.
One of the trainees, Abdullahi Mohamed Adan, expressed optimism about the training saying, “We are very happy about this training since we are the natives of this area. This training will be a boost to the current police force in the area. We are the youth who are required to bring peace and development to our region and the only way we can do that is to have a strong police force that can maintain law and order and work for the safety of our people.”
Ahlu-Sunna Fighters Engage In Renewed Clash With Galmudug Forces
09 September – Source:Goobjoog News – 110 Words
Reports from Galgaduud region indicate that fighting reignited between Ahlu-Sunna waljam’a fighters and Galmudug state forces in Abudwaq town barely a day after Ahlu-sunna fighters attacked residence of Galmudug minister for trade.A resident in Abudwaq town has told Goobjoog News that fighting started after reinforced fighters of Ahlusunna, for the third time, waged an attack on the house of Mr. Abdilatif Abdullahi Warsame, the Minister for Commerce and Industries of Galmudug state.The casualties are yet to be confirmed.This comes less than 24 hours after fighters loyal to moderate Islamist faction base in Dhusa-mareeb attacked the house of the minister leading death of one person and injured another.
UN Deputy Special Representative Visits Somaliland First time
08 September – Source: Cabays News – 307 Words
The Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (DSRSG), Mr. Raisedon Zenenga, arrived in Somaliland Tuesday on his first leg since he assumed his duties with the United Nations Assistance Mission for Somalia (UNSOM). Mr Zenenga accompanied with other UN officials had a meeting with president Siilaaanyo and his vice at his office with Somaliland foreign, the presidential ministers present.
The Somaliland foreign minister, Mohamed Bihi Yonis said Mr. Zenenga Raisedon’s visit was to boost the cooperation between the UN and Somaliland. Explaining the areas they discussed in the meeting they had with the UN’s representative, Mr. Yonis said their discussion was on mainly improving the cooperation Somaliland has with the UN, but the postponed elections were also raised in the meeting.
Mr. Raisedon however said he was happy to be in Somaliland which he once visited back in 1992 and he praised the progress Somaliland has made since.Other reports say the Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (DSRSG), Mr. Raisedon Zenenga as part of UNISOM mandate is pushing Somaliland to the Federal System in Somalia and his visit is part of the agendas set by Nicholas Kay.
The UN Special Representative is to work closely with Somalia’s government on local affairs and Mr. Raisedon arrival is another attempt to convince the Somaliland government to let the UNSOM office opened in Hargeisa. Somaliland government had firmly rejected the opening office for UNSOM when Nicholas Kay last year tried to pressurise Somaliland to accept his plans and instead he was told to stay away from Somaliland.
Mr. Zenenga succeeds Ms. Fatiha Serour of Algeria who completed her assignment with UNSOM in November 2014. He was appointed by the UN Secretary-General in December 2014. Prior to that he had served as the Deputy Special Representative (Political) with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS)
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia In Search For Arms
08 September – Source: World Bulletin – 600 Words
Somalia needs more support for its national army and new investment to create jobs to help it fight Al-Shabaab fighters, the foreign minister said on Tuesday. Al-Shabaab, which once ruled much of Somalia, has been driven into smaller pockets of the territory by the African Union force and Somali troops, but showed it still packs a punch earlier this month by momentarily retaking a town and killing 12 Ugandan troops at a base.
Soldiers and Al-Shabaab clashed south of Mogadishu on Tuesday. Nine rebels and at least one soldier were killed, officials said. Foreign Minister Abdusalam Omer said that support for Al-Shabaab was “shrinking” but emphasised the battle against the group, which wants to topple the Western-backed government, requires a “holistic approach”. “We need more training, we need more arms and we need more trucks, but equally important we need jobs. We need people to come and invest,” he said in a phone interview from Britain, home to one of Somalia’s biggest expatriate communities. Somalia has been making a fragile recovery since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took office in 2012 after more than two decades of conflict and chaos. New buildings have risen out of bomb sites in Mogadishu, many financed by returning Somalis. But much of the 11 million population lives a precarious life, some reliant on aid and others living in rural areas where Al-Shabaab still has powerful influence. Omer said he would judge his tenure at the Foreign Ministry by whether he met targets he had set for himself of attracting investment. Omer was formerly Central Bank governor, but left in 2013 in the wake of a U.N. report alleging corruption that he strenuously denied. The government also dismissed the charges.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Did Uganda’s gallant men die for a just cause? The answer is invariably affirmative but the explanation is deeply embedded in the paradigm shifts of 30 years of President Museveni’s foreign policy, namely, a departure from the radicalism that characterised post-independence foreign policy rhetoric, to the kind of diplomatic cordiality driving the trade relations that bond the two presidents – Yoweri Museveni and Uhuru Kenyatta – in the so-called ‘coalition of the willing’.”
Did Uganda’s Gallant Men Die For A Just Cause in Somalia?
09 September – Source: Daily Monitor – 530 Words
Uganda’s foreign policy has over the years shifted from neutrality, passivity or non-alignment to active involvement in world and regional affairs; taking sides, to the chagrin of some actors, in disputes and conflicts to which the country is not directly a party. Is that diplomacy for development or doom? Uganda has paid a terrible cost in human lives at the hands of a terrorist attack at a base 90 kilometres South of Mogadishu, leaving 10 Ugandan soldiers dead and an unspecified number of others wounded. According to CDF Gen Katumba Wamala, the Al-Shabaab attackers intended to gain ground at Janaale, which had been liberated by Amisom forces in 2013. The attack reopened the psychological wounds of the 2010 twin bombings at Kyadondo Rugby Club and the Ethiopian Restaurant in Kampala by people linked to Al-Shabaab, in which 76 Ugandans lost their lives.
TOP TWEETS
@MatteoFagotto Matteo Fagotto retweeted UNHCRSomalia Great news! The plight of the #Somali #refugees in #Dadaab,#Kenya is a neglected issue in intl. media #Somalia
@europeaid :Thanks to #EU investment in animal disease prevention, #Somalia‘s livestock sector has record growthhttp://youtu.be/bpUJCXxhBdo #EYD2015
@MogadishuNews :”#Alshabab your time and tricks is up” Women in #Mogadishu protest against #Alshababhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?
@Barkulanradio:#Galmudug, Ahlu Sunna clash in Abudwak,#Galgadud: http://bit.ly/1LjyYIv #Somalia
@HarunMaruf:Violent clashes reported for the 2nd day in Abudwaq as politician turf war turns peaceful town into a war zone. #Galmudug #ASWJ
IMAGE OF THE DAY
The Somali Police Commissioner, Lt. Mohamed Sheikh Hassan and AMISOM Police Commissioner Anand Pillay, inspect a parade during their visit to Baidoa.
Photo: AMISOM