SALAM RAMADAN

Somali National Security Agency displays senior militant defector in Mogadishu

21 Sept,2011….416 words

Somalia’s National Security Agency (SNA) has on Tuesday shown the media, an alleged militant leader who recently surrendered to the Somali government. Mustaf Hassan Mohamed, was paraded before a group of journalists at the agency’s headquarter in Mogadishu. Mohamed is allegedly the leader of the militant group in KM 13, on the outskirt of the capital before he defected to the government side, where he sought amnesty. Mohamed thanked the Somali government for giving him amnesty after defecting from the rebel group, adding that he decided to abandon the outlawed group.

The agency’s director Ahmed Hassan Fiqi said the government will always give amnesty to militia fighters once they renounce violence and surrender to the relevant government authorities. The recent defection of the militant leaders comes a month after a group of six al Shabaab rebel fighters armed with light weapons surrendered to Ahlu Sunna administration in Garbaharey town, Gedo region.

Abdullahi Ahmed, one of the defectors said they opted to join the Ahlu Sunna group after realizing that they were part of a group who has no mercy for the Somali population. He accused his former militia group of misinterpreting Islam and urged others still fighting for the militia group to be cautious of al Shabaab’s wrong concepts aimed at fighting against the sovereignty and the integrity of Somalia.

Ahlu Sunna officials said they are welcoming the defection of young militia fighters who have been lured into the fighting after they were brainwashed by the militia.

Somali gov't warns foreign firms taking tax from Mogadishu airport

The supreme court of the TFG on Tuesday warned foreign firms that it is not allowed to take tax from planes landing at Mogadishu international airport. Aidid Ilka Hanaf, Somalia’s Supreme Court chief told the local press that the government wills not allow the foreign companies operating at Mogadishu airport like SKA air and logistics to tax and take income from the airport.

Mr. Ilka Hanaf pointed out that it is necessary that the ministry of Air, Ground and Maritime Transport to take its responsibility about the income from Mogadishu airport. The Supreme Court chief speaking to the government has suggested that SKA is free to hire staff not Somalis and with the ability of conducting operations and services inside the airport.

Gunmen kill Puntland MP in Galkayo town

Unknown armed gunmen have murdered a parliamentarian from the administration of Puntland, in central Somalia town. Reports emanating from Galka’yo town suggested that Mr. Abdurrahman Ahmed Hajji was gunned down by two unidentified men armed with pistols while walking inside the neighbourhood in Galka’yo town.

The murderers immediately escaped from the area, according to local residents. The security forces of Puntland reached the spot and cordoned off all streets leading to the murder area to conduct search operations, locals noted.

Neither group has so far claimed the responsibility of the attack nor has Puntland released any comments about the incident. Puntland authorities suspect al Shabaab of plotting numerous assassinations against Puntland officials.

Puntland President’s meetings with businesspeople and TFG parliamentarians

The President of Puntland State of Somalia, H.E. Abdirahman Mohamed Mohamud (Farole), has led meetings with members of Puntland’s business community and has received a visiting delegation from the Parliament of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Mogadishu. On Sept. 18, the President met with 20 members of the Puntland business community at the State House in Garowe, primarily entrepreneurs who conduct business in livestock export sector and commercial shipping industry.

Mr. Mohamud Hayir, chairman of Puntland’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, opened the meeting with an introductory statement about the “new risks” posed by Somali pirates. Mr. Hayir stated that Somali pirates have hijacked ships and boats that leave or are destined for Puntland’s Port of Bossaso, the State’s economic lifeline.

Meeting with TFG parliamentarians

President Farole received a 10-member visiting parliamentary delegation from the TFG. The discussion covered a range of topics, including TFG-Puntland relations, which are now improving as well as the current security developments in Galkayo, Puntland’s gateway to southern Somalia. The TFG parliamentary delegation included: MP Mohamed Abdi Yusuf; MP Barre Ugas; MP Hassan Abshir Farah; MP Ali Ismail Abdi Giir; and MP Abdirashid Irro.

The visiting delegation briefed the president about the purpose of their visit and their intention to join the ongoing dialogue process in Galkayo. Earlier this month, Puntland government forces launched a counter-terrorism operation targeting al Shabaab extremists hiding out in Galkayo. More than 60 militants were killed and 22 arrested during the two-day security operation. The TFG parliamentarians discussed with Puntland leaders the possible role they could play in the ongoing dialogue process that aims to isolate the terrorist group from local affairs. Later, the President hosted an honorary dinner for the visiting delegation.

Moderate islamist Ahlu Sunna group infighting deteriorates

Infighting and internal wrangle within Somalia’s moderate Islamist group of Ahlu Sunna Waljama (ASWJ) is reportedly deteriorating with the announcement that a new administration defected from the group in Abudwak district of Galgudud region in central Somalia on Tuesday. The leadership of Ahlu Sunna Waljama in central Somalia accused the TFG of being behind creating inner-conflict and splitting the group in parts.

In an interview with the media Prof. Hirsi Mohamoud Hilowle better known as (Laba Gari), the chairman of Ahlu Sunna in central Somalia said that the government of Somalia is trying to split the moderate group in the aspects of military and leadership. Hilowle said his group will do any step responding government’s destructive moves.

Judge killer executed by firing squad in Puntland

A man convicted of killing a judge was executed by firing squad in the Puntland port city of Bossaso in northeastern Somalia on Tuesday Garowe reports. Puntland Attorney-General Mohamud Aw’Osman told local news agencies Jama Abdulle Abdullahi, 35, as executed at 9:00 in the morning of Sep. 20, 2011 in Bossaso’s eastern neighborhood of Biyo Kulule. Present were Puntland’s Attorney-General, Bari Region attorneygeneral, judge of Bari Region appeals court judge of Bari Region, Bari Region police commissioner, and commander of Bossaso central prison.

Mr. Abdullahi, who is the younger brother of former pirate chief now spending his second year in a Puntland prison Mr. Boyah, was convicted of killing Bossaso court judge Abdinasir Haji Aden in Bossaso on Sept. 14, 2011.

Puntland holds suspects in Galkayo city

Reports from Galkayo region say that security forces of Puntland have made an operation there and held suspects as Puntland MP killed there last night. Operation of Puntland security forces came as an armed group killed member of the Puntland state parliament, Abdirahman Ahmed Kudha last night in Galkayo, reports said.

An exclusive interview with the UN envoy to Somalia ambassador Mahiga by Hiiraan Online

This interview was conducted on September 18, 2011 by Hiiraan Online reporter in Canada, Hassan Geedi Santur

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYDPKrmsw4U

Kenya: Police Hunt for al Shabaab recruiters in coast

DETECTIVES are looking for people reported to be recruiting youths into al Shabaab and other illegal groups in Coast province. The Star exclusively broke the story of a suspect who confessed youth were being trained for al Shabaab at a coast resort. The report said 15 Yemenis, Somalis and a Pakistani were recruited into the al Shabaab and smuggled into Kenya for training the youth early in the year.

The confession was made by Ally Abdulrasoul who had been arrested by the Anti-Terror Police Unit. Coast Provincial Criminal Investigations boss Ambrose Munyasia confirmed that the police and ATPU are hunting for the suspects. “It is not that we are conducting this hunt for the last few days, it is something we have been doing and we'll make sure they are smoked out,” he said. Munyasia added that the Coast police are well equipped for the job. Coast Provincial Commissioner Ernest Munyi had said the outlawed Mombasa Republican Council is behind the illegal recruiting. Yesterday, MRC Secretary-General Randu Nzai said the government's claims were a smear campaign to tarnish the name of their group. Sheikh Amir Banda, the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya Likoni representative also said leaders were on high alert and would always notify each other in case of any intrusions in the area.

Yemeni forces arrest Somalis said hired by tribal chief to kill protesters

A group of armed Somalis were arrested today at Kintaki Roundabout and taken to the field hospital at the Sanaa University Square. Upon investigation, it appeared they were paid by the socalled Hamid al-Ahmar to kill the protesters and are currently held at the 1st Armoured Division camp.

Eyewitnesses: The citizens of Al-Qaeda and Kintaki Roundabout neighbourhood in Amanat Al- Asimah (the governorate within Sanaa where government bodies and ministries are located) praise the security forces for purging their streets of terrorist elements.

Clinton urges al Shabaab militants to let food aid into Somalia

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged al Shabaab, the Islamist militant group that controls parts of drought-stricken Somalia, to allow food aid into the south, where 300,000 children may starve to death.

“I don’t understand what possible political or ideological benefit comes from allowing women and children to starve in areas you’re responsible for,” Clinton told a United Nations meeting in New York yesterday. Aid agencies are mostly barred from operating in areas held by the al-Qaeda-inspired rebel group that has been fighting to oust the Western-backed administration led by President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed for the past four years. Much of south and central Somalia is under the control of al-Shabaab, which withdrew from Mogadishu last month, allowing the government to take back power in the capital.

The most devastating drought in six decades in the Horn of Africa has hit Somalia the hardest, with famine in six southern regions putting 750,000 people at risk of death in the next four months, according to an e-mailed statement from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs today.

New US drone bases to strike Somalia, Yemen: report

The United States is building an array of secret new drone bases to conduct strikes against al- Qaeda targets in Somalia and Yemen, according to the Washington Post. One of the new installations is being set up in Ethiopia, a close US ally in the fight against the Islamist Shabaab that controls much of Somalia, while another is being established in the Seychelles, the Post reported late Tuesday.

A small fleet of so-called "hunter-killer" drones -- able to fire Hellfire missiles and satelliteguided bombs -- already based on the Indian Ocean archipelago resumed operations this month after a pilot mission demonstrated that they could effectively patrol Somalia from there, it said. The Post said the United States is also conducting drone missions over both Somalia and Yemen from the small African country Djibouti, seeking to weaken Al-Qaeda affiliates in both countries.

"It’s a conscious recognition that those are the hot spots developing right now," it quoted a former senior US military official as saying. The United States regularly launches drone strikes against suspected militants along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, where it claims to have greatly degraded Al-Qaeda's core leadership.

However, US officials have expressed growing alarm about the growth of Al-Qaeda in increasingly lawless regions in both Somalia and Yemen, fearing that such militants could launch attacks on the United States. In late June the Post reported that two senior commanders of Somalia's al Shabaab insurgency believed to have ties to Al-Qaeda in Yemen were wounded in what appeared to have been the first US drone strike on the country. An al Shabaab official in the area of the reported attack described an aerial bombing raid on an al Shabaab base that wounded several fighters, including foreigners, and said he believed it was carried out by US aircraft.

Somali children win guns and grenades for Qur'an recital

An Islamist-backed radio station in Somalia has awarded assault rifles and hand grenades to the winners of a children's Qur'an recital competition. Andalus radio, which is run by al Shabaab militia, said on Monday that the first prize was an AK-47 and £450. The runner-up received an AK-47 and £320, while the child who came third received two F1 hand grenades and £250. The three children also received religious books.

Pictures of the senior Islamist leader and spokesman Sheikh Mukhtar Robow presenting the awards in Elasha Biyaha, about 11 miles from Mogadishu, were posted on an rebel-affiliated website. Al-Shabaab controls much of southern Somalia and is trying to overthrow the transitional government in Mogadishu. Designated a terrorist organisation by several western governments, the group has links to al-Qaeda and practices an extreme version of Islam. In certain areas al-Shabaab leaders have banned musical ring tones, films, football broadcasts, dancing at weddings and even shop signs written in English or Somali, rather than Arabic.

Punishments include double amputations and stonings. The rebels have also systematically recruited children under 15 to fight for them, according to Amnesty International. The Qur'an recital contest has been running for three years and takes place after Ramadan. The two previous award ceremonies have occurred in Kismayo, an al Shabaab stronghold on the far southern coast. In 2009, prizes included hand grenades, anti-tank mines and an AK-47. The winners of that contest were between 17 and 20 years old.

The age of the winners of this year's competition, who represented the towns of Elasha Biyaha, Kismayo and Mogadishu, are not known. Radio Andalus takes it name from Andalusia in southern Spain, which was part of the Islamic empire at various times between the eighth and 15th centuries.

Somalia famine and drought situation report no. 14

his report is produced by OCHA Somalia in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It was issued by OCHA in New York. It covers the period from 15 to 20 September 2011. The next report will be issued on 27 September 2011. I. Highlights / Key Priorities • Partners are scaling up response activities in order to reach the worst-affected population to avert further unnecessary deaths. Food assistance partners have reached 1.39 million people in crisis so far in the first two weeks of September, compared to 1.3 million throughout the month of August. • An estimated 585,000 urban dwellers in Somalia are projected to be in crisis by December if interventions are not scaled up, a quarter more than the first half of the year. • According to UNICEF, children constitute 80 per cent of the worst-affected population in the current famine.

First prize for a child in Somalia: an AK-47

A typical prize for a children’s contest might be a backpack, a lunchbox or maybe some toys. Not in Somalia.

Over the weekend, a Somali radio station run by the al Shabaab, the most powerful Islamist militant group in the war-ravaged country, held an awards ceremony to honor children who were experts al Shabaab trivia and at reciting the Koran. The prizes? Fully automatic assault rifles and live hand grenades. The contest itself was held during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting, and featured questions that the al Shabaab seemed to think every child should know, like which war was Sheik Timajilic (a famous al Shabaab warrior) killed in?

Without a functioning central government, Somalia has some of the lowest schooling rates in the world, and many Somali children are more familiar with rifles than rulers. Contestants in the al Shabaab quiz included children from all across Shabaab-controlled areas of Somalia, most of the southern third of the country. The children competed live on air from the many radio stations nationwide that the al Shabaab control.

On Sunday, the awards were handed out at a ceremony held at the Andalus radio station in Elasha Biyaha, a small town near Mogadishu, the capital. (Andalus was the part of Spain seized by the Arabs in the middle Ages.) The first- and second-place winners won AK-47 assault rifles, some money and Islamic books. The third-place winner was given two hand grenades. The contestants were 10 to 17 years old.

It was not clear how exactly the sponsors determined the winners — or the choice of prizes. But at the awards ceremony, Sheik Muktar Robow Abu Monsur, who is widely considered a moderate al Shabaab leader, proudly said, “Children should use one hand for education and the other for a gun to defend Islam,” according to Somali accounts of the event.

Al Shabaab and other militant Islamist groups in Somalia have become famous for their zeal in enforcing their strict interpretation of Islamic purity. Last year, al Shabaab outlawed school bells in a southern Somalia town after deciding that they sounded too much like church bells. Al Shabaab have also banned bras, gold teeth, dancing and soccer, deeming them un-Islamic, and barred many Western aid groups, even though Somalia is suffering from a famine and tens of thousands of people have already starved to death.

Another militant Somali group, Hizbul Islam, ordered radio stations to stop playing music, which forced broadcasters to eliminate even the faintest suggestion of harmonious sounds from their daily programming. Some stations substituted the musical introductions to news broadcasts with the sounds of gunshots, engine roars, car horns and animal grunts. Somalia has subsisted without a functioning central government for two decades. The country is now fragmented into various zones of loose control, with Islamist groups, clan militias, regional administrations and a very weak, internationally supported central government battling one another.

UN to target corrupt Somalis with new sanctions

Corrupt Somali politicians could face travel bans and have their foreign assets frozen under tough new United Nations sanctions, a U.N. official said Tuesday, a move that analysts said could also help get desperately needed food aid to the country's growing number of famine victims.

A team of eight investigators is due to begin work this week. It's the first time senior Somali politicians could face consequences for corruption in the 20 years since the country dissolved into civil war. The country's justice system has virtually stopped functioning and there has been no system to hold politicians in the famine-struck Horn of Africa nation to account. "Corruption has been identified as one of the main obstacles to the peace process," said Matt Bryden, who heads the U.N. arms monitoring group on Somalia, which provides an annual report to the U.N. Security Council. "This sends a clear signal that corruption and political obstruction will no longer be tolerated."

The monitoring group was set up 10 years after an arms embargo was imposed on Somalia in 1992, when hundreds of thousands were dying from famine and the country was in the grip of a clan-based civil war. The group's mandate was to report anyone selling weapons to fuel the conflict. In 2008, the U.N. decided it should be able to punish violators by imposing sanctions that include travel bans and freezes on assets such as bank accounts and property.

The list of possible sanctions was expanded the same year to include anyone obstructing access to humanitarian aid. That's a huge problem in Somalia, where Islamist militant groups have denied many aid agencies access to territory they control and militias in areas controlled by the U.N.- backed government steal and sell food.

In July, the sanctions mandate was expanded again to include corruption and those blocking the peace process. The new mandate came at the same month famine was declared in parts of the country. Tens of thousands of people are estimated to have died and the U.N. says 750,000 are at imminent risk of starvation. Now, Bryden said, anyone could be sanctioned for threatening peace and security or for blocking or stealing humanitarian aid or government funds.

"Our investigations will help the sanctions committee ensure that violators are held accountable," he said. "These sanctions are most effective against those with an international profile — those with foreign passports, with foreign bank accounts, and those who travel."

On the potholed streets and among the bullet-riddled buildings in the capital, Mogadishu, there's little to show for the tens of millions of dollars donated to the Somali government over the past two years. The mayor has put up a few streetlights and international aid agencies fund a few trash collections. But schools, hospitals and roads are in a state of advanced decay.

Al Shabaab, militia clashes claim five in Somalia

20 Sept - Source: All Headlines News - 188 words

At least five people were killed and three others wounded in fighting between al Shabaab Islamic militants and local militia in the settlement of Miira-Taqwa, 32 kilometers from Mahaday, the second-largest city in the Middle Shabelle region, residents said Tuesday.

“Al Shabaab launched the attack and local militias fought fiercely against them,” said Mohamed Mahad, a resident in Mahaday. Al Shabaab has imposed a night curfew in Mahaday after two of its fighters were killed by local militias earlier this month and the local militias retreated to the Taqwa settlement.

“The local militia is against strict rules and farmland taxations imposed by al Shabaab,” said Khalif Ahmed, an elder from the Middle Shabelle region speaking at a press conference in Mogadishu. Local residents fled the settlement for safety amid concerns that the insurgents could launch retaliate attacks.

Since the start of the revolt against al Shabaab in the region, additional insurgents were arriving in Mahaday and other key towns in the region. Al Shabaab pulled out of key positions and strongholds in Mogadishu in early August, calling the retreat as tactical but vowing to continue its fight against government and African Union peacekeeping forces.

UNHCR scales up aid for Somalis as rainy season approaches

In Somalia, families continue to seek help from aid agencies as the famine spreads. As a result, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has scaled up its presence in Mogadishu and Somalia’s border regions, providing food and medical assistance. And now, with the rainy season just around the corner, it’s taking steps to make sure Somalis are prepared for the expected October rains.

“What we are doing in Mogadishu now is continuing our distributions of emergency assistance packages, basic household items, plastic sheeting, so that people can take shelter from the rains, which are on the way,” explained Andy Needham, spokesperson for the Nairobi-based office of the UNHCR.

Needham has just returned from a three-week visit to Mogadishu. He added, “We are scaling up our distribution of blankets. We have about 60,000 blankets in stock in Mogadishu which we want to distribute to IDP’s (internally displaced people).” The UNHCR is working to avoid a repeat of deaths from hypothermia and weather-related illnesses that occurred during the famine of 1992 in Somalia during the October rainy season, said Needham. The agency is also trying to make sure that children under five in the IDP camps have additional warmth at night.

Even when the rains come, Needham said there’s a long road ahead before Somalia can begin recovering from the drought and famine. He said it will take two successful cycles of rain, planting and harvest before the country can expect to see any type of recovery. “So unfortunately what we are looking at -- we’re going to be in this emergency response situation until at least August 2012,” said the UNHCR spokesperson.

The Somalia death toll mounts but Africa sleeps on

The Times Editorial: Within three months of the UN's declaration of famine in Somalia, the world's attention is slowly shifting away. The story of dying children and displaced citizens has lost its sexiness factor for most people, other than those working for aid agencies such as South Africa's Gift of the Givers.

But things have got far worse since that July announcement. Almost half of Somalia's population of 3.7million has been affected by the famine and UN estimates say that tens of thousands have already died most of them children. Neighboring countries have been affected as well, with Somalis moving into refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia. But the heart-rending pictures are slowly disappearing; the lenses of the world's photographers are ready to turn elsewhere. The global aid agencies are there, but where is the humanitarian focus of governments around the world?

For Britain and France, ushering in a new regime in Libya has been paramount, if the pictures of the shameless Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron are anything to go by. The plight of more than a million Africans has certainly not warranted the personal attention and intervention of Zuma, Mbeki, Sarkozy or German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Our president has much more serious business to attend to at the UN, in New York - while two of his wives fight for the right to be his official spouse.

It would be infinitely preferable to see the president's plane land in Somalia, and his wives holding children in their arms, so that the world would know that we care about those on the continent who have nothing to offer in terms of business deals or oil wells. But to ask governments on this continent to take the lead in saving our own is perhaps too idealistic. Who cares if a few more thousands of Africa's children die?