European Union Training Mission

Somalia

PRESS SUMMARY

18th August 2018

“In ‘Media’ stat virtus”

SUMMARY

TITLE PAGE

Deadly explosion hits AU vehicle near Marka town 2

Somalia: Farmajo Shakes Security Chiefs to Rump Up War On Al-

Shabaab

3

Somalia: President jets off to Turkey, 2nd trip in two months 4

Somalia army commander survives bomb attack 5

Gen.Zakia Ahmed The Story of A Diaspora Woman Who Rose To

Become Somalia’s First General & Highest Ranking Police

6

Somali Puntland forces recapture strategic town from al Shabaab -

officer

7

Ahmed Madoobe Warns The Federal Government Against

Interference Of His Administration

8

AMISOM Starts Vacating Mogadishu Stadium 9

Schools, Clinics, Businesses Reopen In El-Afweyn After Nine

Months Of Strife In Sanaag

10

Families Displaced After Al-Shabaab Divert Water From River

Shabelle To Flood Villages

11

Somalia To Register Foreign Nationals In The Country 12

No rivalry among stakeholders in Somalia: Turkey 13

Latest updates on humanitarian situation in Somalia 15

Moscow Says Hopes Improvement Of Eritrea-Somalia Relations To

Boost Stability In Region

17

Farah Maalim makes shocking revelation about KDF in Somalia 18

Somaliland: A helping hand for resilient women can transform

whole communities

19

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Deadly explosion hits AU vehicle near Marka town

17th August 2018 MOGADISHU, Somalia –

Roadside bomb explosion has targeted

Ugandan forces with African Union

peacekeeping forces near Marka town,

some 91km southwest of Somalia’s capital

Mogadishu.

The explosion went off near the town while African Union convoys travelling near the town,

causing untold number of casualty, a witness, who asked to be anonymous, said.

He says an African Union water-tank carrier was destroyed in the bomb explosion. The

African Union forces reportedly opened fire to response to the attack.

The forces sealed off at the scene of the bomb attack and launched an operation over the

attack.

No arrest has been reported.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday’s explosion. But, such attacks are

often carried out by Al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab group. The Al-Shabab has been waging an

insurgency in Somalia for more than 10 years.

A 22,000-strong African Union force is in the country to help the government fight the al-

Qaeda-linked militants. The group has been driven out of many urban areas since 2011,

however, it still controls territory in rural areas and carries out gun attacks and bombings on

military and civilian targets.

https://mareeg.com/deadly-explosion-hits-au-vehicle-near-marka-town/

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Somalia: Farmajo Shakes Security Chiefs to Rump Up War On Al-Shabaab

16 August 2018

The president of Somalia's Federal government,

Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has made a major

security shake-up on Thursday to step up the fight

against Al-Shabaab.

In a presidential decree, President Farmajo

appointed General Dahir Adan Elmi as the

country's new military chief, replacing Gen Abdiweli Jama Gorod.

Amina Sa'ed Ali named as the new the Chief staff of Villa Somalia, the state house,

succeeding Fahad Yasin, who becomes deputy director of Intelligence Agency (NISA).

Yasin takes over from Abdikadir Mohamed Nur who has been relieved of his duties as the

deputy director of (NISA).

Odawaa Yussuf Rageh has been promoted to the force commander of the Somali military

while Hassan Nur Ol-ujog was as named as the country's new Navy Chief.

Sa'eed Ahmed Kediye was appointed as the deputy Police commander-in-chief, the same

position was named a female officer, Zakia Hussein who has been promoted to General.

https://allafrica.com/stories/201808160574.html

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https://www.garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/somalia-president-jets-off-to-turkey-

2nd-trip-in-two-months

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https://www.garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/somalia-army-commander-survives-

bomb-attack

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Gen.Zakia Ahmed The Story of A Diaspora Woman Who Rose To Become

Somalia’s First General & Highest Ranking Police

Aug 17, 2018 - In a move that

may likely easen past criticism

on the Farmaajo

administration that it is

gender insensitive in it’s

appointments, Colonel Zakia

Hussein Ahmed was on

Thursday promoted to General and Deputy Chief of the Somalia Police Force. This is the

highest ranking position for a female police officer in Somalia.

It has been a long journey for Gen Zakia ever since she made the decision to relocate from

London in 2013 to Mogadishu to be part of the national building of a country she is patriotic

about. In June 2014, she was appointed the new Director of Community Policing at the

Somali Police Force. The first woman in many years to hold a senior position within the SPF.

She served as the Secretary General of the Hanoolaato Party, a Somali youth advocacy

group. Although born in Somalia she was raised and educated in Sweden and UK. In January

this year she decided to relocate permanently to my native country.

She hold a Master’s degree in International Relations and a postgraduate certificate in

Diplomacy in Islam. When first arrived in Somalia she worked as Programme Manager and

Researcher for the Heritage Institute for Policy Studies – Somalia’s first think-tank and was

a part-time university lecturer at the University of Somalia.

https://www.radiodalsan.com/en/2018/08/17/gen-zakia-ahmed-the-story-of-a-diaspora-

woman-who-rose-to-become-somalias-first-general-highest-ranking-police/

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Somali Puntland forces recapture strategic town from al Shabaab - officer

GAROWE, Somalia (Reuters) - Military forces of Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region

have retaken a strategic town from Islamic militant group al Shabaab, an officer said on

Friday.

Captain Saiid Mohamed Diriye said his forces retook Af Urur without a fight. The town is

important because the main road that links the cities of Garowe, Bosaso and the Somali

capital Mogadishu passes nearby.

The militants fled into the hills and we are pursuing them,” Diriye told Reuters from Af Urur.

Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab fighters had captured the town - which they and Puntland forces

have fought over several times - last month, he said..

Al Shabaab wants to expel the African Union-mandated peace keeping force AMISOM from

Somalia, topple its central government and establish an administration based on its strict

interpretation of Islamic sharia law.

Attacks are relatively rare in Puntland, which has its own government and security forces

patrolling its territory on the northeastern tip of the Horn of Africa, jutting out into the Gulf

of Aden and the Arabian Sea.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-somalia-security/somali-puntland-forces-recapture-

strategic-town-from-al-shabaab-officer-idUKKBN1L21LV?rpc=401&

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Ahmed Madoobe Warns The Federal Government Against Interference Of His

Administration

16 August 2018

Jubaland State President Ahmed Mohamed Islam Madobe warned top officials of the federal

government of Somalia not to interfere with the internal affairs of his administration.

The warning comes after the federal government of Somalia appointed a new head of

National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) for Jubaland without consulting the

Kismayo-based administration. “The government appointment of national security

intelligence officers to Kismayo in order to create disharmony among the people of

Jubbaland and their administration,” said Madobe.

Ahmed Madobe added that “The government’s responsibility was to bring the Somali people

together, to ensure their security but not to create conflict in a stable region.” We call the

federal government officials to respect the law of the country, and not appoint whoever

person they feel without any consultation with the administration governing the region.

Jubaland administration sent back to Mogadishu, a government appointed NISA head for

the region after the federal government in Mogadishu appointed the officer with any

consultation with the Jubbaland administration.

http://somaliamediamonitoring.org/august-17-2018-daily-monitoring-report/

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AMISOM Starts Vacating Mogadishu Stadium

16 August 2018

The first batch of AMISOM forces have vacated Mogadishu Stadium, which is the biggest

sporting facility in the county, the mission confirmed. The continental forces have been

occupying the stadium since 2011, when Al-Shabaab militants were pushed out of the city.

Head of AMISOM mission, Ambassador Francisco Madeira said, he is pleased that the

premises will be handed over to the Somali government. “One of the first deliverables of

AMISOM’s Transition Plan, is to vacate the Mogadishu Stadium. I have been briefed by

AMISOM Engineers, on the progress made,” Ambassador Madeira said in a Twitter post, “I

am very encouraged to hear that we are ahead of schedule to return the stadium to the

people of Somalia.”

The development comes less than a month, after Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire

called on AU forces to vacate Mogadishu Stadium. Somali Sports associations have on

several occasion, called on AMISOM to vacate the facility, which had been paralysed since

1991 when the central government collapsed.

The various groups fighting in the country’s during the civil war have always occupied the

stadium. After the fall of the government led by late Mohamed Siad Barre 1990, Mogadishu

Stadium was occupied by US peacekeepers. More than a decade after US forces withdrew

from Somalia, Ethiopian forces took over the facility and had been occupying until 2009. The

stadium was subsequently occupied by Al-Shabaab, which used it for a training base before

the group was forced out of the capital.

http://somaliamediamonitoring.org/august-17-2018-morning-headlines/

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Schools, Clinics, Businesses Reopen In El-Afweyn After Nine Months Of Strife

In Sanaag

16 August 2018 - Students in El-Afweyn have resumed their studies after their education was

interrupted for nine months by inter-clan conflict, in Sanaag region, that led to the closure

of all schools and health centres. A committee of elders from both clans, as well as ministers

from the Somaliland administration, politicians and other leaders worked for 18 days,

seeking to reach an agreement to end the conflict. A peace deal was reached at the

beginning of August, enabling families displaced by the conflict to return. So far, around half

of the 5,000 families who fled have returned. The rest remain uncertain about safety and

1,500 students are back in classroom. But only five of the 14 schools have reopened, as the

rest were being used as military camps for Somaliland forces. According to the chief of El-

Afweyn, Abdirahim Yusuf, another 3,100 students are yet to come back to the area, to

resume their studies. He noted that many of the schools have suffered significant damage

as a result of the conflict. Mohamed Farah Omar’s two sons aged 9 and 12, were due to

move up to Standard Four in August, but have been forced to remain behind. However, Mr.

Omar said he is happy to see his children back in class despite the uncertainty in the area.

Mr. Omar and his family of seven, returned home on 3 August from Erigavo, 90 kilometers

away, where they had fled to live-in with relatives. The hospital and, three Mother and Child

health centres (MCHs) have also reopened. Dr. Nasir Abdirahman Mohamed, coordinator of

the Ministry of Health in El-Afweyn, said all the medical workers in the area left when the

conflict erupted. Four doctors and 32 nurses have now returned to resume work and the

three MCHs were restocked on 7 August. Dr. Nasir said within a week of reopening, 240

people had visited the health centres. More supplies are needed to cope with demand.

Businesses and markets in the areas have also begun to open up again. Sahra Ahmed, a

mother in El-Afweyn running a small stall, told Radio Ergo that during the conflict she could

not earn a living at all. She described the past nine months as like living in a limbo without

food, health and education services for the children

http://somaliamediamonitoring.org/august-17-2018-morning-headlines/

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Families Displaced After Al-Shabaab Divert Water From River Shabelle To

Flood Villages

16 August 2018

Al-Shabaab fighters have been accused of diverting water from River Shabelle to villages

under Qoryoley district, displacing hundreds of families. The local authorities in Qoryoley

district said, the fighters loyal to Al-Shabaab diverted, the water from the river to flood the

areas, compelling the local residents to flee their homes.

Qoryoley Mayor, Said Ali Ibrahim Hassan, who spoke to BBC Somali Service said, the villages

have been inundated with heavy floods after the group formed man-made tributaries. “We

are in planting season, people were farming when Al-Shabaab diverted the flow of the river

water, this is not the normal floods, which occurred naturally but, it is one that came as a

result of the action of Al-Shabaab,” Mr. Hassan said.

The allegations levelled against Al-Shabaab comes amid Somali forces backed by AMISOM

intensified operations against the group in Lower Shabelle region. It is not the first time Al-

Shabaab fighters were accused of diverting water from a river. In June, the group reportedly

diverted the water from Jubba river, forcing many families to flee from the villages along the

river.

Days later, heavily armed Al-Shabaab fighters stormed the base housing a combined force

of Somalis, Kenyans, and Americans. The raid which prompted fierce fighting that lasted for

hour claimed lives dozens of combatants from both sides.

http://somaliamediamonitoring.org/august-17-2018-morning-headlines/

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Somalia To Register Foreign Nationals In The Country

17 August 2018

The Somali government plans to conduct a registration exercise of all foreign nationals in

the country. The motive is to know the exact number of foreigners currently living in the

country. The decision was made at yesterday’s Council of Ministers’ weekly meeting chaired

by Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire. Officials from the immigration were in attendance of

the meeting and briefed the meeting on the issue.

State Minister of Office of the Prime Minister Abdullahi Hamud Mohamed spoke to the press

and stated the meeting resolved to launch a registration exercise foreigners in the country,

adding that the exercise will help the government obtain a comprehensive data of foreigners

in the country. A committee led by Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Mohamed Guled was

tasked with steering the process. An increase in the number of foreign nationals arriving in

Somalia have been recorded and the trend has been attributed to the improving security in

the country.

http://somaliamediamonitoring.org/august-17-2018-daily-monitoring-report/

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No rivalry among stakeholders in Somalia: Turkey

17.08.2018

Turkish ambassador to

Somalia says the country

played important role in

reviving Somalia after 1991

civil war Turkey is not in

competition with any other

country in trying to resolve

the conflicts in Somalia,

according to the Turkish ambassador to Mogadishu.

“We have never been in competition with any actors in Somalia… Turkey has gained the love

and trust of Somalia since 2011,” Olgan Bekar told Anadolu Agency, dismissing claims of

rivalry among some countries.

“Turkey has a privileged place in Somalia,” he said, adding that Turkey’s aim was to help

Somalian people, and ease the pain they suffered after the 1991 civil war.

Stating that everything in Somalia needs to be rebuilt from scratch, Bekar highlighted

Turkey’s role in the country.

He said many other countries also made efforts to rebuild Somalia.

“We don’t want anyone to directly intervene in Somalia’s internal affairs. We want countries

to play a constructive role.”

Turkey’s support - Bekar said Turkey established a military training facility in Somalia last

year to revamp security in the country.

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Apart from the soldier training program, Bekar said they also give police trainings and are

trying to establish a special operations unit in the country.

Speaking about ongoing debates on decreasing the number of African Union Mission in

Somalia (AMISOM) soldiers in the country, he said: “Without AMISOM, problems may occur

in Somalia in establishing security.”

The multilateral African peacekeeping force was deployed in Somalia in 2007 to cope with

the threat of al-Shabaab.

The African Union has been calling for gradual reduction of the AMISOM force, leading to

ultimate withdrawal and handing over the responsibility to Somalian military.

TIKA to build parliament building

Bekar said that the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) has reached the last

stage in projects to link water channels on two rivers and to clean a drainage basin.

Noting that Somalia is one of the countries in which TIKA realizes the highest number of

projects, he said: “TIKA is now building a temporary parliament building.”

He also added that once the construction of the temporary building is completed, TIKA will

start to construct the main parliament building.

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/todays-headlines/no-rivalry-among-stakeholders-in-somalia-

turkey/1234177

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Latest updates on humanitarian situation in Somalia

17th August 2018

Recurrent flooding along the Shabelle

River in Southern Somalia has been

one of the key challenges for agencies

involved in community development

in the area. The Shabelle River is

worst affected owing to the

topography of the area, uncontrolled

irrigation activities and poor river basin management following the collapse of pre-war flood

control infrastructure. The Gu 2018 rainy season which was characterised by heavy rains

inside Somalia and the Ethiopian highlands led to a significant increase of river levels

subsequently leading to river flooding that caused agricultural and economic damage in the

Shabelle river basin.

SWALIM, has been involved in analysing and mapping the river breakages along the Shabelle

River using very high resolution (sub meter) satellite imagery and a Digital Elevation Model

(DEM) derived from earlier acquired aerial photographs having 3 meter resolution.

Four types of breakages have been identified along Shabelle River namely; Open, Overflow,

Potential and Closed. The open breakages are those that were still open according to the

latest satellite image analysed and indicated in the attached table. The Overflow, indicates

points where there has been recent river spillage causing extensive flooding. The Potential

breakages represent points that have very weak river embankments or have experienced

several breakages/overflows in the past. The closed breakages are those that were

previously open but efforts have been made to close them either with sand bags or heavy

machinery. A legend/Key is attached herein for further explanation of the different types of

breakages.

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The attached table provides locations of both Open and Overflow points along the Shabelle

River which require immediate attention. A total of 50 Open points have been identified

which is 100% increase from the previous assessment carried out in March 2018. The Gu

2018 heavy rains led to increased river levels and subsequent additional river breakages. 126

Overflow(Overbank river spillage) points have also been identified. The estimated

cumulative length of the Overflow sections along the river bank is approximately 82.6 km

whose calculation is derived from visible spillages and fresh sand deposits during the

flooding period. Several other points, which are either potential or temporarily closed with

sandbags, have also been identified.

With the Deyr rains expected in October and November 2018, river levels will increase with

a likelihood of flooding especially where open and overflow points have been identified.

There is therefore an immediate need to close the open points and reinforce areas where

there are weak river embankments. Maps of the status of river breakages, with detailed

information, have been produced at large scale and hardcopies can be obtained from

SWALIM offices.

It is worth noting that the methodology is biased towards Remote Sensing (RS)

interpretation with only limited “ground truthing” due to access constraints. Open

breakages and overflows might have been omitted in some cases where satellite images

were not available or may not have been very clear due to heavy cloud cover.

https://mareeg.com/81178-2/

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Moscow Says Hopes Improvement Of Eritrea-Somalia Relations To Boost

Stability In Region

MOSCOW 17th August, 2018 Russia hopes that

the improvement of relations between Eritrea

and Somalia will contribute to the stability and

security in the Horn of Africa region, the Russian

Foreign Ministry said Friday.

"Moscow hopes that the improvement of good-neighbor ties between Eritrea and Somalia

will have a positive impact on the overall situation on the Horn of Africa, as well as

contributing to further strengthening of stability and security in the subregion and to the

deepening of the integration in the framework of the East African Intergovernmental

Authority on Development [IGAD]," the ministry said in a statement.

On July 28-30, the Somalian president paid an official visit to Eritrea for the first time in 15

years. The Somalian and Eritrean presidents agreed to restore diplomatic relations and

bilateral relations. The implementation of the agreements was discussed during the Eritrean

foreign ministers visit to Somalia on Monday.

The agreements were reached two weeks after Ethiopia and Eritrea had declared that their

decades-long "state of war" was over.

https://www.urdupoint.com/en/world/moscow-says-hopes-improvement-of-eritrea-

soma-413157.html

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Farah Maalim makes shocking revelation about KDF in Somalia

17.08.2018

Former National Assembly Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim has associated the Kenya Defense

Forces (KDF) with cases of human rights violation in Somalia.

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KDF is part of the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) troops distributed from

across Africa to maintain peace in the war stricken nation.

But in a tweet Friday, the former Lagdera Member of Parliament claimed that the Kenyan

forces are instead harassing people in the Gedo region of the country. He said that the forces

have been reported to among others, rape women, kill animals and incapacitate

communication channels through destruction of mobile phone masts.

‘’The kind of human rights violations associated with our troops(KDF) in Gedo region of

Somalia are revulsive. There are claims of rapes and destruction of mobile phone masts and

animals,’’ the tweet read in part.

The leader who unsuccessfully tried his luck in the Garissa township parliamentary seat in

the August 8 general polls, therefore, called for intervention of Chief of Defense forces,

General Samson Mwathethe to move in with speed. He called for investigations and

punishment on culpable officers.

‘’Gen. Mwathethe move with speed, investigate and take action. Deal with rotten eggs in

the forces,’’ further read the tweet.

https://hivisasa.com/posts/901-farah-maalim-makes-a-shocking-revelation-about-kdf-in-

somalia

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Somaliland: A helping hand for resilient women can transform whole

communities

17 Aug 2018

The long and bumpy road is dotted with

livestock such camels, goats and donkeys that

wander across the arid landscape of Somaliland,

an autonomous region in Somalia.

In this part of the world, lack of rainfall means

no harvests, no drinking water – and sadly often

enough – no life. Due to prolonged droughts and conflict, thousands of people have become

homeless and lost livelihoods and beloved ones.

One of the places our team visits is the Aden Suleiman camp for internally displaced people,

which has become home for hundreds of families fleeing hunger. Here, I meet some women

who have fled drought-stricken villages after their livelihoods where destroyed.

Almost all lament the loss of their livestock. And to understand their grumblings, one needs

to learn how central livestock are to the way of life of Somalis. The livestock sector is the

nucleus of the economic and cultural life of the Somali people. It provides food and income

to over 60 per cent of the country's population, according to experts.

Livestock reared in Somaliland are shipped to various countries in the Arabian Peninsula and

trekked or transported to markets in Kenya, Djibouti, and Ethiopia bringing in a huge chunk

of the nation's income. Furthermore, livestock is a key local consumption commodity for

household food security.

So, for the ladies at Aden Suleiman camp who have lost livestock, a sense of despair hangs

in the air.

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Hope has however sprung for some after they received support through a programme run

by international children's charity World Vision. These women have become some of Aden

Suleiman camp's most progressive entrepreneurs as they now run small shops selling all

sorts of basic necessities, household items and food. The project helps women increase their

savings and access small loans, enabling mothers in the community to generate income,

plan, and contribute to the overall well-being of their families.

It's undeniable that these women have a remarkable strength of character. However,

resilience alone is not enough to overcome the challenges people affected by natural

disasters face every day. This is where humanitarian agencies and the international

community have a role to play.

Poor rainy seasons have pushed communities in Somalia on the brink of famine. Millions of

people are food insecure, and loss of livestock has reduced household income and therefore

access to food and water. The United Nations estimated in August that more than 5 million

people need urgent assistance in the country. According to World's Vision data, more than

300,000 children under five are acutely malnourished.

The humanitarian situation in Somaliland – and across most of the horn of Africa – remains

dire, yet the response to the crisis remains largely unfunded.

World Vision's efforts to support small groups of resilient women is already showing signs of

transformation of communities, but more has to be done at a global level. The international

community should invest more in projects that enable aid agencies such as World Vision to

scale up their work and assist millions of people affected by the drought in Somalia, and

other countries across East Africa.

https://www.christiantoday.com/uk/somaliland-a-helping-hand-for-resilient-women-can-

transform-whole-communities/130236.htm

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