Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Somalia News Update: Al-Shabab Denies Kenyan Military Reports

Al-Shabab denies Kenyan military spokesman’s report on seizure of Fafrah-dhun

Mogadishu (RBC) A spokesman for Al-Shabab fighters in Somalia has denied on Wednesday that Kenyan forces took over Fafrah-dhun, a small village near Kenyan-Somali border.

On Wednesday Kenyan media reported that Kenyan and Somali government troops seized Fafrah-dhun village late Tuesday after heavy gun battle.

“They attacked the village and also their helicopters bombed but in Allah’s will they did not win to capture the town as the Mujahidin resisted back the enemy”. Sheikh Abdiasis abu Mus’ab told reporters in a press conference today.

Abu Mus’ab said that Al-Shabab fighters ambushed Kenyan army convoy in Gedo region and claimed that they gained heavy loss.

Residents told RBC Radio that they heard heavy bombardment in suburb villages late Tuesday.

Meanwhile Kenyan military spokesman Emmanuel Chirchir told the media Kenyan army took over the control of Fafrah-dhun and were approaching towards Bardhere.

There are independent sources to confirm of the opposing statements.

RBC Radio


Kenya Military Reports Battle With Somali Fighters

NAIROBI (AP) Kenya’s military says its forces killed three militant fighters from al-Shabab in a battle in Somalia.

Military spokesman Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir said Wednesday that one Kenyan soldier was also killed in the battle.

Chirchir said that Kenyan and Somali troops are advancing north. Kenyan troops entered Somalia in mid-October to attack al-Shabab militants and have been supported by Somalia’s weak army.

Since then Ethiopian troops have entered Somalia on the country’s west, who along with African Union troops in Mogadishu are squeezing al-Shabab fighters on three sides.


Posted on Tuesday, 03 January 2012 00:20

African forces make headway in Somalia

By Prince Ofori-Atta and Addis

Two days after Ethiopian troops captured the Somali town of Baladweyne from extremist group al Shabab, Ethiopia has confirmed that it had sent troops to Somalia to help the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of that country in the fight against the Islamist militants.

An official who demanded anonymity said Ethiopia sent troops to Somalia at the request of the TFG and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a six member state organisation including Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Uganda, Kenya, and Somalia.

IGAD requested Ethiopia's military backing to buttress existing forces in Somalia during an extra ordinary summit on the situation in Somalia last November.

Somalia now has more than 9,000 peacekeeping forces from Uganda and Burundi under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Peacekeepers from Djibouti joined the mission a few weeks ago.

Number of troops

Kenya, which has already deployed its troops to Somalia after militias from Somalia crossed its border and abducted holiday makers, is awaiting approval from the United Nations Security Council after its parliament voted to allow its troops to join AMISOM.

According to media reports the Ethiopian troops, which are operating independently of the AMISOM and Kenyan troops, are now based in the town of Beledweyne, close to the Ethiopian border.

The strategic Somali border town of Beledweyne was captured on December 31 when, according to media sources, over 3,000 Ethiopian and TGF Somali troops clashed with the Islamist militants.

This comes after reports on Monday indicated that AMISOM troops on Thursday pushed al Shabab out and secured a large portion of Mogadishu, the Somali capital.

It is still unclear how many African troops are in Somalia to assist the 9,000 strong AU troops (consisting mainly of Ugandan and Burundi forces) since Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia joined in the fight against the al Shabab militants.

"Ethiopian troops are in Somalia because of the appeal from IGAD and TFG of Somalia," said the official. He however stopped short of revealing how many troops Ethiopia sent and for how long they planned to remain in Somalia.

So far, all IGAD members states, with the exception of the Sudan, are involved in the fight against al Shabab militants in Somalia.

No opposition

The Ethiopian government's decision to deploy troops to Somalia in 2007 sparked fierce debates in parliament after opposition parties said they had not agreed to the deployment.

This time, however, the Ethiopian parliament counts a handful of the opposition minority.

It is the second time Ethiopia has officially sent troops to Somalia since 2006.

In December 2006, the Union of Islamic Court (ICU) forces were kicked out of Mogadishu ten days after thousands of Ethiopian troops stormed Somalia to help the TFG.

The defeat of ICU and eventual withdrawal of the Ethiopian troops saw the emergence of the extremist Islamist movement, Al Shabab in its bid to overthrow the weak TFG.


Shabelle Media Network (Mogadishu)

Somalia: President Meets With MPs Over Parliament Infighting

3 January 2012

Mogadishu — A number of Somali parliamentarians have had a special meeting with the president of Transitional Federal government TFG, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed over night at the presidential palace and discussed over the controversial removal of Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden.

Reliable sources Shabelle Media received from some legislators, who previously opposed and attended last night in the meeting, stated that the main agenda of the gathering was to ask the president to give an apology from his recent statement, in which he said, "The firing of the speaker by the MPs was against the law".

Lastly, MPs who are struggling to out the speaker and met overnight with Somali president Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed at state office in Mogadishu, suggested that meeting was fruitless and unproductive.

This meeting between Somali president and certain MPs came after rival Parliamentarians have engaged in fist fighting inside parliament hall in Mogadishu yesterday for the third times over the controversial removal of Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden.


Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 at 08:14 am

Somalia: PM says new parliament will be formed soon

Abdalle Ahmed

Mogadishu (RBC) Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali has declared on Tuesday that new parliament comprising 225 MPs will be selected in the June 2012 following the recent agreement reached in Garowe last month.

After closed door meeting with joint committee which its duty is to finalize the preparation of the new federal constitution, the prime minister said that his government will work tirelessly to adopt the constitution which its draft is to complete in the next few months.

“We have very shirt period with large amount of duties to adopt the new constitution and form new and small parliament” the prime minister told reporters in his office in Mogadishu.

He said that adoption of the new federal constitution is the mandate of a constituent assembly which its number is 1,000 members and will be selected by the “stake holders”.

“We expect the new legislative body will be ready on coming June”. He added.

Mr. Ali’s comment came following as political power sharing agreement sponsored United Nations “The Garowe Principles” was signed in Garowe, the capital of Puntland 24th Dec 2011. The signatories included the transitional federal government of Somalia, Puntland, Galmudug and Ahlusuna group.

But the points of this agreement is widely seen as “powering a specific politicians” rather than solution for Somalia’s crisis.

Meanwhile the current interim parliament of Somalia which is facing great rift has not voted for the agreement.

RBC Radio

Shabelle Media Network (Mogadishu)

Somalia: Kenyan Security Forces Arrest Somali Refugees At Ifo Camp

2 January 2012

Ifo — Kenyan security forces were reportedly arrested on Monday at least twenty people of Somali refugees at the IFO camp in northern Kenya, a day after a Somali refugee leader shot dead in the area by gunmen.

One of the IFO camp inhabitants, who declined to broadcast his name told Shabelle Media station in Mogadishu by phone, that the hundreds of security personnel under Kenyan government have conducted massive operations at the IFO refugee camp and arrested fifteen people charging of being mastermind the killing of a Somali refugee leader in Dadaab camp.

Kenyan security forces imposed a night curfew in IFO refugee camp to assure the overall security and stability of the camp, which has witnessed repeated insecurity acts by gunmen.

Kenyan has not yet released any comments about the latest operations by its security forces in IFO camps, where is home for thousands of Somali refugees.

On the other hand, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, AntÃ'nio Guterres, voiced his deep regrets about the senseless killing of a refugee leader in the Dadaab refugee complex in northern Kenya yesterday evening by gunmen.

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