European Union Training Mission

PRESS SUMMARY 13th April 2018

“In ‘Media’ stat virtus” EUTM - SOMALIA 13/04/2018

Blast Kills 4, Injures 13 at Somalia Soccer Match

April 12, 2018 - Mohamed Olad Hassan - A bomb exploded during a local soccer (football) game in southern Somalia's restive Lower-Shabelle province on Thursday, killing at least four people, security officials said.

"An improvised explosive device went off during the semifinal of a local soccer team's cup" in Barawe town, Bashir Mohamed Yusuf, the town's deputy commissioner for security, told VOA.

Yusuf and hospital sources said at least 13 people were also wounded in Barawe, which is about 220 kilometers southwest of the Somali capital, .

"The bomb was planted in the VIP section of the soccer stadium with the intention of harming the local authorities," said Yusuf. "But since we tactically sat at a different location today, it hit some of the football players and spectators."

A spectator who was at the soccer field at the time and asked to remain anonymous said the bomb exploded at the start of the second half of the game between locally popular teams Elmen and SYL, and "it seems it was detonated remotely from the nearby areas."

Barawe is a strategic port town and major base for African Union troops in the region. It is remembered for being a key stronghold of al-Shabab Islamists, but the Somali National Army captured it in 2014 with the backing of African Union forces.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. But al-Shabab militants have carried out a string of deadly bombings in the region and elsewhere in the country.

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FILE - A Somali soldier attends the scene after a bomb attack near the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Mogadishu, Somalia, March 28, 2018.

At the beginning of the month, they launched coordinated attacks on five military camps in the region.

Two of the attacks targeted a military camp for African Union peacekeepers in nearby Bula Marer, a town 110 kilometers south of Mogadishu and one of the main towns in the region. This was followed by an al-Shabab infantry attack on the camp. Eight Ugandan soldiers were killed, according to Somali government officials.

Over its 11-year existence, al-Shabab has often moved to shut down non-Islamic schools and replace them with those with a strongly religious curriculum.

The group, which wants to impose a strict version of Sharia in Somalia, has also banned the watching of movies and playing of soccer. https://www.voanews.com/a/blask-kills-four-injures-thirteen-somalia- soccer/4344344.html

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Blast kills 5 at Somalia football stadium

Local footballers among the casualties

13.04.2018 - By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia - At least five people were killed and more than 10 injured Thursday when a blast rocked a football stadium in the town of Barawe in Somalia's region.

Barawe District Deputy Commissioner Bashir Mohamed Yusuf told local media the explosion was from a remote-controlled landmine. "The explosion targeted local footballers and football fans. What we can confirm is that five people were killed and more than 10 others were wounded," Yusuf said.

The wounded were rushed to the district hospital and private medical centers for treatment, he added. Three local footballers were among the dead, according to local media. The bomb went off while a match between local teams Elman and SYL was under way.

The Somali-based insurgent group al-Shabaab claimed responsibly for the attack in an online statement. Barawe is a coastal town located 179 kilometers (111 miles) southwest of the Somali capital Mogadishu. Thursday’s explosion comes six days after a double car bomb blast in Mogadishu that killed at least three people. Last October, at least 300 people died in a double car bombing in Mogadishu, the deadliest attack in modern Somali history. https://aa.com.tr/en/africa/blast-kills-5-at-somalia-football-stadium/1116693

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UPDF flags off over 1800 soldiers to Somalia

UPDF dispatches a total of 1822 soldier to Somalia to help fight Al- shabaab insurgents. PHOTO BY JOSEPH KATO

UPDF deputy spokesperson, Lt Col Deo Akiiki, said the 24 battle group will be commanded by Col Jackson Kayanja.

He said these will be deployed at Arabisca, which is 32km from Aden Bullpen Airport in Lower Shebelle.

Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) on Thursday flagged off 1,822 soldiers for Somalia mission in the . Maj Gen Sam Kavuma, deputy commander land forces cautioned the soldiers to always be fit and disciplined, if they are to avoid being attacked by Al-shabab insurgents.

"To protect you must be fit and must have discipline. Being fit would help you fight Al-shabab and return alive," Gen Kavuma said.

On Easter Sunday, alshabab killed 8 Ugandan soldiers and left scores injured.

UPDF deputy spokesperson, Lt Col Deo Akiiki, said the 24 battle group will be commanded by Col Jackson Kayanja.

He said these will be deployed at Arabisca, which is 32km from Aden Bullpen Airport in Lower Shebelle. http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/UPDF-flags-off-1800-soldiers-Somalia/688334- 4390250-mbd4brz/index.html

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Somali National Army marks 58th anniversary

Apr 12, 2018

Mogadishu(SONNA)-Somali National Army is today on Thursday, April 12 marking 58th anniversary of their foundation here in Mogadishu, SONNA reported.

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I Was Not Bribed Millions of Dollars to Resign, Jawari Says In Farewell Speech

On Apr 12, 2018 - Former Somalia’s Lower House Speaker Mohamed Osman Jawari has refuted claims that his resignation was induced by millions of dollars bribe by the executive.

“There are statements all over media claiming that I received million of dollars so that I resign. I hereby again clarify considering the above oath as a shield that I again swear in the name of Allah that I never took any bribe from anyone to woo me resign my seat” Jawari said in his farewell speech to Parliament on Thursday.

“The president and I discussed the matter at length and concluded that my resignation is very significant for the nation and the relations with the Somali Federal House. We agreed to work together to restore peace and stability in the country. He promised to consider me in the decision making on national matters as a member of parliament” he told Parliamentarians.

“Anything else apart from what I stated here is nothing but rumors that are intended to disgrace the government and kill its reputation” Jawari said.

Jawari has assumed the duties of a Member of Parliament after he announced his resignation to on Tuesday at a Press briefing with President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo.

“I defended this constitution for the betterment of the people, country and my religion thus to safeguard this principal is what caused me to handover the seat you entrusted me with

EUTM - SOMALIA 6 EUTM - SOMALIA 13/04/2018 on 1/01/2017 back to you and resign with least external force or pressures” Jawari concluded.

On Thursday photos of Prime Minister Khaire and Jawari hand in hand created a buzz of social media as the two rivals reportedly buried the hatch to end a month long tussle.

Three attempts to hold an impeachment motion against him had flopped until his unexpected resignation.

Jawari served as the Speaker since 2012. http://radiodalsan.com/en/i-did-not-receive-millions-of-dollars-to-resign-jawari-says-in- farewell-speech/

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End Of An Era To A Patriot Who Served Somalia For 50 yrs, Will The Next Speaker Fit His Shoes?

On Apr 12, 2018 - By Hassan Ali Gesey

Those who know his contribution to Somalia fondly refer to him as the walking library of the Somalia constitution and law. For close to fifty years the 72 year old Mohamed Osman Jawari served the country in many capacity as early as his college years as a law student at the Somalia National University

Jawari was elected as the Chairman of the committee of specialists tasked with formulating Somalia’s draft constitution putting to use his experience as a legal expert while working alongside UN officials . The constitution was eventually adopted in July 2012.He had been based in Nairobi and Mogadishu working as a expert of constitution after he fled the unforgiving cold winters of where he was working as a part time teacher of .

In 2012 he became an MP and immediately friends in his circle advised him to go for the Speaker position since being from the Digil Mirifle clan he automatically qualified to contest under the 4.5 system. Sharif Hassan Adan a fellow clansman was at the time eyeing for the Presidency.

I met the grey haired law expert and now Mp at an apartment at the Mogadishu Port for a radio interview where he opened up to me about his ambition to be the Speaker of Somalia Federal Parliament.

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From our interview I gathered he had vast experience having served under different capacities in the Pre and Post civil war governments.

Around the the well set dinner table were his close friends and confidantes who encouraged him to be a candidate in the race for Speaker.

A man of humble character who loved his cup of tea we continued with our interview with a few breaks of cigarette puffs. I noticed he was a chain smoker and by the time we had finished my interview I could count three Marlboro cigarette butts squeezed on the ashtray.

I recall I mentioned to him that a couple of my colleagues and I had opened new radio station with the aim of serving Somalia and give the voiceless a voice in a country which was just emerging from a long civil war.

In his Guru like face features complete with his white hair and a long goatie Jawari leaned towards me and advised me to be patriotic to the country even as I embarked on this new mission. I observed he was a true patriot.

Upon his winning the Speaker position on 28 August 2012 I sent a text message to congratulate him. “Thank you. This country is waiting for us to rebuild it “

On 2nd April 2013 Jawari, for close to twenty five minutes, addressed those present at the first anniversary of Radio Dalsan. I had invited him over as a guest and he did not disappoint. In his speech he encouraged the youth to take the mantle and charter the country to greater heights.

Since then we remained in touch until his second term that is from 2016 and recently in the height of the recent political tussle when he humbly said he will not be available for an interview I had earlier requested due to commitments.

Upon his confirmation of resignation after a month long political tussle with the Executive I had a quick chat with him when we met. He had stood up in a gesture of respect to greet me at his Villa Hargeisa residence.

“I wish Somalia prosperity and you guys are the future of this country .I am over 70 years serving this country for 50 years. Have you opened the new tv station?” he asked.

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My answer was “We are almost”.

“By the way I follow your news closely” he added.

End of an era for this politician who Farmaajo last Tuesday called him a “patriot” and “statesman” who he expected to continue to advise the government on legal matters and the constitution review.

Away from politics Jawari is known to be an adherent of the Islamic mysticism sect or Sufism and a lover of Somali culture and has never in the past been linked to Islamist groups or political parties. He would at all times wear the Sarung loincloth locally known as Maawis even in his exiled years in Norway. The traditional beans mix “ambulo” meal set at his dinner table. http://radiodalsan.com/en/end-of-an-era-to-a-patriot-who-served-somalia-for-50-yrs-will- the-next-speaker-fit-his-shoes/

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Turkey's rivalry with the UAE in Somalia is raising tensions in the Red Sea

In Somalia, which already lacks a strong central government, the foreign military presence risks aggravating matters and contributing to the country’s disintegration

Mustafa Salama - Thursday 12 April 2018

Late last month, Somalia called on the Security Council to halt the construction of a UAE military base in Somaliland. Somalia's ambassador to the UN slammed the deal to build the base in the port city of Berbera as a "clear violation of international law".

The deal was struck between the local government of Somaliland and the UAE without the oversight and approval of the Somali federal government. Somaliland is a semi-autonomous region that unilaterally declared independence during the country’s civil war, although this has not been internationally recognised.

The UAE’s decision to build a military base in Berbera violates Somalia’s constitution and its UN-backed federal government. It empowers the local government of Somaliland and entertains its old separatist tendencies. It could stoke huge tensions in the region and Somalia could easily descend back into a state in turmoil.

Strategic importance

Somalia, like other countries in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region, has drawn increased attention from outsiders with interests in the area. Turkey has been extremely active in Somalia, in close cooperation with the federal government, and the UAE has been very active throughout the Horn of Africa.

With the recent Turkey-UAE diplomatic spat and rising rivalry, one wonders how this will play out in Somalia. Critical to this is the wider context of the Red Sea, a vital trading route

EUTM - SOMALIA 11 EUTM - SOMALIA 13/04/2018 for the world and especially Europe - its main route with Asia. As Alex Rondos, the EU special representative for the Horn of Africa, noted: "We have a vital stake here. The artery through which much of the trade, and therefore jobs, that are created runs through the Red Sea."

'We have a vital stake here. The artery through which much of the trade, and therefore jobs, that are created runs through the Red Sea' - Alex Rondos, EU special representative for the Horn of Africa

It should come as no surprise that ’s first permanent overseas naval base was situated on the Red Sea. It opened in last year and aims to help protect this vital trading route, while solidifying its wider strategic engagement with Africa. There are fears that China's influential posture in Djibouti will pose a challenge to the US and France, which each have a military base there. Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE had troops in Djibouti, but after a diplomatic spat, they were evicted in 2015 - although the Saudi troops returned a year later.

Meanwhile, in the last few years, Turkey has boosted its engagement with Africa, particularly Somalia. In 2011, when Somalia was struck by a famine, Turkey's then-prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, became the only non-African leader to visit the strife-torn Somalian capital in nearly two decades. Erdogan led efforts that brought much-needed attention and hundreds of millions of dollars of aid to the country.

It became common to hear from Somalis that the West and the African Union could learn from the "Turkish model". Mehmet Ozkan of the SETA institute, which is close to Turkey’s ruling party, wrote in a 2014 report that this "super country" and "dominant" image should be normalised and avoided, as it was unsustainable in the long run.

Turkey's reach

Turkey’s humanitarian engagement over the years gradually turned into an obvious strategic engagement. Roads, schools and hospitals were built, and today, the Turkish Airlines route to Somalia is one of its most profitable. More importantly, Turkey last year finished building its largest military base outside its territories in Somalia, and its largest embassy is in Mogadishu.

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Somalian Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre shakes hands with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim upon his arrival at Cankaya palace in Ankara on 26 October 2017 (AFP)

At the end of last year, Erdogan visited Sudan and signed economic deals worth billions of dollars with his counterpart President Omar al-Bashir. This included the restoration of Suakin Island, possibly including military installations. The announcement stoked tensions between Sudan and Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with hundreds of Egyptian troops reportedly sent to a UAE base in Eritrea.

Sudan responded by closing its border with Eritrea and withdrawing its ambassador from Cairo, but tensions were lessened after Sudan announced it had no intention of allowing a Turkish military presence on Suakin or any of its territories.

The UAE’s decision to build a military base in Berbera violates Somalia’s constitution and its UN-backed federal government. It empowers the local government of Somaliland and entertains its old separatist tendencies

The UAE, as mentioned above, has a base in Eritrea after a deal that was struck soon after it was evicted from Djibouti in 2015. In Assab, the Eritrean city on the African side of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait shared with Yemen, the UAE’s military base has been used primarily to combat the Houthis and al-Qaeda in Yemen.

The UAE has generally been very active in the Horn of Africa, and somewhat active in security cooperation with Somalia’s federal government. But the UAE military base that the Somali government protested at the UN Security Council was initially a 2016 deal to develop the port in Berbera for commercial purposes.

Fragile peace

Given that the UAE has previously supported and may still be supporting Yemeni separatists, Somalia has every right to be worried. Somaliland is already on the UAE’s side in regional affairs, as it sided with the Saudi-UAE-Bahraini camp in their siege against Qatar; and keeping

EUTM - SOMALIA 13 EUTM - SOMALIA 13/04/2018 in mind that Turkey has sent troops to Qatar, the rivalry between the UAE and Turkey becomes even clearer.

Somalia is in the midst of huge tensions, and the situation could easily deteriorate. Just last week, there was a standoff in parliament over attempts to change the parliament speaker. Somalia already lacks a strong central government and institutions and could easily end up back in a state of turmoil, but this time with a foreign military presence, which would only aggravate matters and contribute to the disintegration of the country.

How the federal government will respond to this is yet to be seen. For now, Somalia’s short- lived peace may well be at stake.

- Mustafa Salama is a political analyst, consultant and freelance writer, with extensive experience and an academic background in Middle East affairs. http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/how-turkey-uae-rivalry-raising-tensions-red-sea- 921144879

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Turkish aid agency puts smile on faces of Somali children, widows

YUNUS PAKSOY

As a part of Orphan Solidarity Days, a Turkish humanitarian agency went to Somalia, which suffers from famine and drought, to respond to the needs of the hundreds of orphans of the country. Support for Somalia from the Turkish government and nongovernmental organizations continue without a respite. The latest humanitarian project was recently launched by aid agency the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH). It rushed to the need of hundreds of children, who had lost their fathers, earlier this week as it distributed dairy goats, food, school materials and toys as well as sewing machines as part of the annual Orphan Solidarity Days, as Somalia continues to reel under a famine threat and drought. Held in the capital city of Mogadishu, the program was kicked off with the distribution of five dairy goats each to 12 orphan families. Aimed at helping orphan families generate income, the dairy goats will be monitored by the humanitarian aid agency throughout the year. Later on, 120 goats were sacrificed, which were distributed to the families of children. Food aid given to each family, in which children had lost their fathers, is estimated to be reaching out to at least five people. In this respect, at least 600 people received meat as part of the Orphan Solidarity Days. Furthermore, the mothers of some 50 children were given sewing machines to help them raise their income by working on their own, namely without needing anybody else.

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In Somalia, the IHH conducts activities to boost the morale of children and help them feel the brotherly ties between Muslims.

On the third day of the program on Wednesday, hundreds of children gathered at a park in central Mogadishu. They were given school materials, toys and T-shirts. In fact, the humanitarian aid delivered to the children was funded by a secondary school and a high school in Istanbul, Turkey. Turkish students donated as much as they pleased to become "orphan friends." Deputy principals of Akyiğit Secondary School and Beşiktaş Anatolian High School also brought letters written by the Turkish students to their friends in Somalia. Faruk Erkılıç, an IHH official from the Eastern Africa department, said activities that would boost the morale of the orphans and help them feel the brotherly ties between Muslims were carried out. "We ate together, we exchanged presents and prayed for each other. What more of a goodness could there be for a human being?" he said.

The IHH says on its official website that the Ministry of Education, Union of Educators and Department of Religious Affairs have endorsed the "Every Class Has an Orphan Friend!" campaign. The agency says 8,834 schools have participated to sponsor 23,939 orphans, or children who have lost one of their parents, so far. Erkılıç said his organization has been active in Somalia for the past 15 years. Erkılıç stressed that the agency prioritizes making sure that the people of Somalia get the best out of the aid in the long term. The agency indeed has been striving to bear some responsibility for orphans and those in need around the world. "We are covering living expenses of 90,274 orphans in 56 countries and in 75 cities across Turkey on a monthly regular basis and support them in terms of education, health care, food and accommodation. Annually we deliver aid to 800,000 orphans in 135 countries," the humanitarian aid agency said as of April 2018.

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The program facilitates a number of strategies to fund the orphan program. For example, a person can fund the expenses of an orphan by donating TL 100 ($24) a month or an SMS would contribute TL 5 to the cause, which would be transferred to a common pool. Placing great value on looking after the orphans around the world, both who have lost single or both parents, whose number is over 400 million per the IHH, the humanitarian aid agency says it has realized 636 projects for hundreds of thousands of orphans across the globe alone in 2016. Underscoring that reaching out to orphans changes their lives, Erkılıç said: "Actually this is what matters for us rather than numbers. It is that the life of an orphan changes in a positive way." Somalia is one of the most affected countries by famine and drought. The 2017 famine in the country, which was expected to surpass that of 2011, led to the starvation of thousands of people. Somalia was one of four regions singled out by the U.N. earlier in 2017 in a $4.4 billion aid appeal to avert catastrophic hunger and famine, along with Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen.

Turkey, on the other hand, stands out as the most sensitive country to the crisis in Somalia. The Turkish government has been working around the clock since 2011 to quench the needs of the people of Somalia and provide them with tangible projects as well as programs. https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2018/04/13/turkish-aid-agency-puts-smile-on-faces- of-somali-children-widows

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Mercy Corps: Facing Famine Threat, Millions of Somalis in Desperate Need

Global organization calls for urgent investment as famine prevention funding stalls

MOGADISHU, Somalia, April 12, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Facing a crushing and continuing drought, Somalia needs urgent investment if it is to avoid another humanitarian crisis, warns the global organization Mercy Corps. The three-year drought blighting the country has claimed thousands of lives, displaced more than two million people and worsened the spread of cholera and measles outbreaks.

Somalia narrowly avoided famine in 2017. Roughly a year after the declaration of a state of emergency by President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, the country remains on the brink of a humanitarian disaster.

"The April rains are expected to be below average so there's a real threat of famine in the hardest hit areas. Aid agencies are struggling to keep pace," says Daud Adan, Somalia Country Director for Mercy Corps. "The situation in parts of Puntland and Somaliland remains dire, with most people suffering from acute malnutrition. They are at stage 4 on the IPC scale; stage 5 is famine. The situation is grave and the need could not be more urgent."

According to the United Nations, $717 million is required between January and June 2018 to sustain famine-prevention efforts in Somalia. But after four months, Somalia has received just $271 million.

"We narrowly avoided a disaster last year and yet, just four months into 2018, famine prevention funding is already woefully behind target," says Adan. "Millions of Somalis are living on the brink, and for them, this funding could be the difference between life and death. A humanitarian crisis is not inevitable; we can avert it if the international community wakes up to the scale of the suffering."

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In Somalia, a country of just over 12 million people, half need humanitarian assistance, with one in six people having been uprooted from their homes.

Mercy Corps has worked in Somalia since 2005 and has helped more than 1 million Somalis by improving access to food and clean water, supporting local markets and providing education and civic opportunities for young people. Mercy Corps' emergency drought response reaches 190,000 Somalis across the country. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mercy-corps-facing-famine-threat-millions- of-somalis-in-desperate-need-300628919.html

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Somali famine refugees in Dadaab suffer cold nights awaiting imminent closure of their camp

April 12, 2018

Nimo Mahad and her children outside their dismantled hut in IFO2 camp/Ahmed Nur Yogol/Radio Ergo

(ERGO) – Nimo Mahad Samatar and her seven children have been sleeping out in the cold for 10 days, since being told to prepare for the closure of IFO2 camp in the Dadaab refugee camp complex in north-eastern Kenya.

The rains have begun, on and off, and already the family has been outside during four uncomfortable nights of rainfall.

IFO2 camp has been set to close for some time. Previous information given by the UN’s refugee agency running the camps, UNHCR, indicated that the closure was set to take place from 31 March. The inhabitants of the camp have been waiting to be moved to one of the other camps.

Nimo demolished her hut 10 days ago in readiness to move. They removed and kept all the materials from the fragile structure that they would be able to use again to make a new shelter.

“I don’t understand why UNHCR has delayed our move although they promised to give us houses in IFO 1 camp,” Nimo said.

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“We thought that we were going to move to the other house and use the materials we saved from this shelter to set up the new one.”

Almost half of the 18,000 families left in IFO2 are homeless because they have taken down their shelters in anticipation, according to Ali Abdulle Ali, the camp leader. Ali said that only around 2,000 families have moved to join IFO1 and Dhagahaley camps since last month, when UNHCR started allocating houses in the other camps.

The majority of those living in IFO2 fled to Kenya during the 2011 famine in Somalia. Some have arrived subsequently, including from remote and insecure regions of southern Somalia.

Nimo was given a new card with her name showing that she can claim a piece of land in one of the other camps. But for the time being, she does not have anyone to help her to build a new house or to move the family and her belongings.

According to Ali, refugee leaders were called to a meeting in Dadaab where UNHCR officials talked about the relocation process. The camp leaders and representatives were asked to spread the word among the people that they were going to move and join one of three other camps, as IFO2 was being closed due to reduced funding levels.

Assadullah Nasrullah, Associate External Relations Officer at the UNHCR sub-office in Dadaab, said the process of closing IFO2 camp would be completed at the end of this month.

“We advised them not to demolish their house unless they are told to do so. So I am wondering why people are demolishing their houses when they have not yet been assigned plots in other camps,” he added.

Nasrullah said the families would not all move at once. They would prioritize them in consultation with the camp leaders. UNHCR has prepared shelter materials for those moving and cash grants to assist with transportation and other needs.

UNHCR confirmed that main services offered in IFO2 were stopped at the end of March, including the main hospital and schools. However, students will be able to carry on with their studies once they move to different camps.

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Abduqadir Hussein, 57, has been taking his 90-year-old mother to the hospital for regular check-ups. His mother has high blood pressure and was hospitalized for three days just before the hospital closed. He is worried now the hospital has closed and they are still waiting in IFO2 to be moved.

“It was a regular thing and the doctors had even asked us to bring her back if she got sick again,” said Abduqadir.

The only ambulance serving the area has also been removed. Nasrullah said emergency services are still available in the camp. However, some refugees told Radio Ergo they are going to other camps to seek medical attention.

The Kenyan government suspended the registration of refugees arriving in Dadaab some time ago, despite the requirements of international refugee law. It has stated on numerous occasions its determination to close Dadaab. A voluntary repatriation exercise facilitated by UNHCR has been ongoing since 2014. http://www.radioergo.org/2018/04/12/somali-famine-refugees-in-dadaab-suffer-cold- nights-awaiting-imminent-closure-of-their-camp/?lang=en

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Emiratis plough millions into a country that no one recognises: Somaliland

Somalia’s federal government can do little to stop the project

Print edition | Middle East and Africa

Apr 12th 2018 | BERBERA

THE ancient port town of Berbera in Somaliland, a breakaway state in northern Somalia, is generally a sleepy place. The heat, which can reach 50 degrees Celsius in the summer, stifles even the dogs. Yet visitors will find it buzzing at the moment. Near the edge of town, sand and rubble fill the space where, until recently, there were 19th-century Ottoman traders’ houses. New buildings are springing up. A little out to sea, as half a dozen ships idle in the sun, a barge from Dubai hauls a colossal crane towards the shore.

All of this activity relates to a new port being built by DP World, a company mostly owned by the government of Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). At the moment, Berbera’s port is small—used mostly for the export of livestock to the Persian Gulf, and the import of goods to Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland. However, over the next decade or so, thanks to DP World, it could turn into one of east Africa’s biggest. The port and another Emirati project, to build a military base in Berbera, are powerful reminders of how money from the Gulf is changing the Horn of Africa. It also risks exacerbating the struggle between Somalia’s weak, but internationally recognised federal government in Mogadishu and its restive, secessionist regions.

The Berbera port, which will cost some $450m, is by far the biggest investment in Somaliland since the province declared independence from Somalia in 1991 (in practical, but not legal, terms it is a separate country). It has taken on a new significance since February, when DP

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World was thrown out of neighbouring Djibouti, where it had operated the main port since 2009. Djibouti currently handles over 90% of Ethiopia’s sea trade, and also hosts French, American and Chinese naval bases. Somaliland officials probably hope to steal some of that traffic. In March Ethiopia announced it had bought a 19% stake in the Berbera port.

The project annoys politicians in Mogadishu, who fear losing more of their already meagre authority. So they have kicked back at the UAE. Last month parliament passed a law banning DP World from all of Somalia (something it cannot enforce). On April 8th the authorities in Mogadishu temporarily seized an Emirati plane carrying some $9.6m in cash, apparently intended for soldiers in Puntland, another autonomous state, being trained by the UAE. On April 11th the defence minister announced that Somalia would end a similar programme in which the UAE paid and trained soldiers in the national army, who will henceforth be paid by the (penniless) federal government.

Officials in Somaliland are unruffled. The federal government “cannot control even ten square kilometres of Mogadishu”, says Liban Yusuf Osman, Somaliland’s deputy foreign minister, dismissing its objection to the port deal. But the dispute drives a big wedge between the two governments, says Rashid Abdi of International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based NGO. It does not help that many politicians in Mogadishu are thought to have taken money from Qatar, the UAE’s rival, or that Turkey, another rival, is one of Somalia’s biggest foreign investors.

Indeed, the government in Mogadishu is a mess, thanks in part to constant manoeuvring by foreign-funded politicians. On April 9th the speaker of parliament, Mohamed Osman Jawari, stood down, having apparently lost a power struggle with the prime minister, Hassan Ali Khayre, and the president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known by his nickname “Farmaajo”.

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A few days before, African Union soldiers had to step in after Mr Jawari’s bodyguards stormed the parliament and ran up against troops loyal to the prime minister. Both sides ostensibly oppose the port in Berbera, but Mr Jawari saw an opportunity to seize more power for parliament by holding a (symbolic) vote on the deal, without consulting Mr Mohamed.

The bickering does not help the cause of a unified Somalia. The government in Mogadishu has little to offer the country’s regions. That allows countries like the UAE to swoop in and fill the gaps. Al-Shabab, a terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda, continues to mount successful attacks. On April 1st dozens of Ugandan soldiers were killed by the jihadists in the most deadly raid in over a year. The greater the chaos in the areas ostensibly controlled by federal government, the smaller the incentive for regions such as Somaliland to care what its politicians think. https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21740477-somalias-federal- government-can-do-little-stop-project-emiratis-plough

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Ethiopia Acquires 19 Percent Stake in Port of Berbera

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — Shipping company DP World and the Republic of Somaliland have agreed to grant Ethiopia a 19 per cent stake in the Port of Berbera.

The trade operator said it would retain 51 percent with Somaliland keeping the other 30 percent. This paves the way for the world's fourth biggest operator to invest $442 million. Financial details were not disclosed but an official statement said the Ethiopian Government would develop a 260-kilometer road from the site to its border. A new company will be formed to manage the shares which will then be divided between all three governments.

"I am so excited about the project," said Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman. "It demonstrates our commitment towards the people of Somaliland and Ethiopia. Our vision is to make Somaliland a maritime hub in the Horn of Africa. The new advancements will create jobs and meet fast-growing demands for logistics and infrastructure."

The positive news comes a week after neighbouring Djibouti ended a contract with DP World to run its Doraleh Container Terminal. This move was deemed illegal by the shipping company and proceedings have begun before a court in London. The six year dispute threatens to damp investor appetite in Djibouti and further disrupt its relationship with the UAE, where DP World is headquartered.

Boasting a portfolio of over 77 marine and inland terminals, DP World is supported by 50 related businesses in 40 countries across six continents. Container handling is the company's core business and generates more than three quarters of its revenue. The new partnership strengthens political ties with the UAE. Up until now, the Port of Berbera has only been importing and exporting on a small scale - but that is soon to change. http://allafrica.com/stories/201804120655.html

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Kaspersky Lab Uncovers 'Operation Parliament': New Cyberespionage Campaign Targeting MENA Region

April 12th, 2018

Kaspersky Lab experts believe that “Operation Parliament” represents a new geopolitically motivated threat actor that is highly active and skilled.

Kaspersky Lab experts have uncovered a new cyberespionage campaign “Operation Parliament” that is targeting high profile organizations from around the world with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa. The attacks have been active since 2017 and have targeted top legislative, executive and judicial powers, including but not limited to governmental and large private entities from the region, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, Lebanon, Oman, Djibouti and Somalia.

Kaspersky Lab experts believe that “Operation Parliament” represents a new geopolitically motivated threat actor that is highly active and skilled. Attackers are also believed to have

EUTM - SOMALIA 27 EUTM - SOMALIA 13/04/2018 access to an elaborate database of contacts for sensitive organizations and personnel worldwide, especially of non-trained staff. Victims of the attacks include government entities, political figures, military and intelligence agencies, media outlets, research centers, Olympic foundations and large private companies.

Based on the findings, the attackers infiltrated their victims using malware that provides them with a remote cmd/powershell terminal that enables them to execute any scripts/commands and receive the result through http requests. The attacks have taken great care to stay under the radar and have used techniques to verify victims’ devices before infiltrating them. Kaspersky Lab products successfully detect and block attacks conducted using these techniques.

“Operation Parliament is another symptom of the continuously developing tensions in the Middle East and North Africa. We are witnessing higher sophistication and smarter techniques used by attackers and it doesn’t look like they will stop or slow down anytime soon” Said Amin Hasbini, Senior Security Researcher at Kaspersky Lab. “The type of people and organizations targeted in this attack campaign should elevate their levels of cyber maturity in order to mitigate such attacks in the future” he added.

In order to prevent falling victim to such an attack, Kaspersky Lab researchers advises organizations to exert special attention and extra measures, including:

 Train staff to be able to distinguish spearphishing emails or a phishing link from legitimate emails and links.  Use not only proven corporate-grade endpoint security solution but also acombination of specialized protection against advanced threats, such as Threat Management and Defense Solution, which is capable of catching attacks by analyzing network anomalies.  Follow strict rules to avoid data leaks and deploy techniques to prevent insider threats. https://www.albawaba.com/business/pr/kaspersky-lab-uncovers-%E2%80%9Coperation- parliament%E2%80%9D-new-cyberespionage-campaign-targeting-orga

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Centuries-long war for Somali Peninsula

Thursday April 12 2018

Emperor Menelik II statue and Ethiopian Flag are seen during the celebration of the 121st Anniversary of Ethiopia's Battle of Adwa at King II Menelik Square in Addis Ababa on March 2, 2017. FILE PHOTO | AFP

Ethiopian kings and Western powers haggled and battled for firearms market and control of strategic Somalia coastline.

Long before the European colonialists shared the coastline amongst themselves, the Abyssinian and Tigray kings were keen on it and you would meet them in the corridors of diplomacy, communicating with the kings and emperors of Europe.

By NURUDDIN FARAH

For centuries, foreign powers have alternately come, conquered, and colonised the peoples of the Somali Peninsula, turning the entire region into scenes of big-power showdowns, each eager to control portions of the coastlines: Italy; France; Britain.

During ’s reign, the Soviets and the Americans leased Kismayu and Berbera as bases.

In fact, long before the European colonialists shared the coastline amongst themselves, the Abyssinian and Tigray kings were keen on it and you would meet them in the corridors of diplomacy, communicating with the kings and emperors of Europe.

They were interested in gaining access to the coastline so they would import firearms.

Have Somalis reason to suspect that Ethiopia might stretch its long arms solely to do just that: occupy Somalia’s seaports?

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We know that Ethiopia, through Menelik, did make a claim of owning the Somali seas in his correspondence with European kings; we know, too, that Ethiopia in a more recent past, during Haile Selassie’s reign connived with European powers to hand over parts of the Somali coastline.

Frequent wars

Shewa isolated for centuries and sandwiched between the highland mountains like saxifrage and had rival kingdoms like Gondar, Gojam and Tigre was an inland kingdom, as small in size as her king was in stature, its king, Menelik, had grand ambitions, large and uncontainable like the waters of the sea.

And because there were frequent wars between these kingdoms, history taught them that whoever had European backing, access to the sea and therefore firearms, would have the upper hand in the event of conflict.

Ethiopian soldiers walk towards Somali army in the Ogaden desert during fights at the Somalia- Ethiopia border on June 14, 1978, in a war for control over Ogaden. FILE PHOTO | AFP

Yohannis, the King of Tigre, had been for a time the strongest because he had received the benevolence of the British government’s gift of arms in return for his services. What was more, he had been promised free access of a port.

But the coastline had always remained in the hands of other peoples - the Somalis and other local peoples.

Territorial claims

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In years gone by and recently too, Abyssinian kings would appeal to the Christian solidarity of Europe when the power ruling the coast happened to be Muslim. Nor were they beyond making unfounded territorial claims later when a European power did not allow them free use of the ports.

Kings Yohannis and Menelik would play one European power against the other in their attempt to secure outlets to the sea.

Ethiopian kings and Western powers haggled and battled for firearms market and control of strategic Somalia coastline. FILE PHOTO | NATION

Menelik addressed the heads of the governments of Italy, France, Germany, and England in a letter in 1878: “My country is far distant from your country.

“My road to the coast, to Zeila, Tajura and Aden is at present closed by the Muslims. They prevent my receiving into my country provisions, arms, agricultural implements, artisans or even messengers of the Gospel.

“Will you kindly raise your powerful voice in order that I may have this way opened to me, for I desire to inaugurate in my country European civilisation, intelligence and arts?”

During this period, however, he does not make any territorial claim of any city-state on any coast — like Mogadiscio, Merka or Brava, three city states on the Somali coast, which had known the splendour of world fame as grand centres of commerce.

Maybe he had not by then heard of them in the way he had heard of Zeila and Tajura, the ports through which his kingdom imported “provisions, arms, agricultural implements, artisans or even messengers of the Gospel” and which he used for his country’s exports.

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And before Menelik, a prominent political figure of Tigre Dajazmach Sebagadis Weldu wrote a letter in 1827 to King George III that his country “needed firearms, which could only be obtained with European assistance through Massawa.

“We want you to take Massawa from the Turks and either hold it (yourself) or hand it over to us as our country is lost by it ... and the Muslim on the Red Sea coast.”

'Barbarous nation'

Another Tigrean king Yohannis, corresponding with a British envoy (General) Gordon, says that “in the event the taking of any of the ports is rendered impossible, the King of Tigre would be satisfied if he is at least granted “territorial, and not only functional, access to the sea.”

Desperate as ever and needing firearms, Menelik said to the French that he was prepared to give up Harar city, which had just conquered, in exchange for a port. The French were not ready to accept the exchange. He laments:

“I am about to die from anger because I have remained without bringing one (new) skill, imprisoned (as I am) ... I am a man who has been sentenced to imprisonment for life and prevented from bringing into this country rifles, cannon and workers.

The French, however, would sell him plenty of arms and Italy complained to Britain about this great influx of arms sold to this “barbarous nation.”

With the help of these weapons, Menelik annexed vast territories and proclaimed himself King, then King of Kings, then Emperor as the Somalis were specifically kept unarmed and defenceless.

Somalian troops brandish the Ethiopian flag on February 27, 1964 in the war for control over Ogaden. FILE PHOTO | AFP

The weapons, which he had imported from France through Djibouti, gave him supremacy over all the other minor

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Italian offer

On the other hand, Yohannis, of Tigre, determined to take a coastal city, refuses the Italian offer to open a consulate in Massawa, saying: “I wish Massawa itself,” and wrote to Queen Victoria, saying that he did not “very much mind sharing the pagan districts around the coast with the British, but with no one else.

The Italians would offer 5,000 rifles to Menelik on condition that he attacked Emperor Yohannis. Menelik who gained strength from the weapons, wrote to the European powers, “If I cannot take Tajura by sea, it is not difficult for me to seize the port from this side (overland). However, without coming to blows, I hope that civilised Europe will render me justice and give me satisfaction!”

In the same letter, he went on, “we hope that our crown which honours Jesus Christ will never be trampled to the ground by the children of Mohammed.”

And yet, a little later: “If truly you are the protectors of Christians, it is today that you must give us proof.”

Came the Scramble for Africa — and Menelik would write to the Governments of Britain, Italy, France, Germany and the Czar of Russia.

We note the change of the tone of his voice, because he is a changed man, and he would specify the boundaries of Ethiopia, which has been “for four centuries a Christian island in a sea of pagans. Formerly, the boundary of Ethiopia was the sea ... our frontiers on the seacoast fell into the power of the Muslims.

At present, we do not intend to regain our sea frontiers by force but we trust that the Christian powers guided by our Saviour, will restore to us our sea coastline, at any rate, certain parts of it.

“If God gives me strength, I shall re-establish the ancient frontiers (tributaries) of Ethiopia up to Khartoum and as far as Lake Nyanza with all the Gallas included.

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Fall of Massawa

Haile Selassie would in 1948 present a Memorandum to the UN, saying, “Prior to the race of European powers to divide up the continent of Africa, Ethiopia included an extensive coastline along the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

It was only the last 15 years of the 19th century that Ethiopia had been deprived of access to the sea by the loss of the Somali Peninsula and Eritrea.

The first step in this direction was the Italian conquest of Massawa in 1885, followed by their seizure of the Benaadir and the rest of southern Somalia.

Having failed in dislodging the European colonialists, Emperor Haile Selassie would say in an interview to the UN Mandate Trusteeship territory that “Eritrea, should be given to Ethiopia.” And it was.

More recently, Mengistu Haile Mariam would say at a press conference during his reign in the mid-1970s, that “Ethiopia would defend its access to the Red Sea, even if this would make the sea redder on account of enemy blood, which we will shed.”

And the war for the coast on the Somali-speaking Peninsula goes on. http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/Centuries-long-war-for-Somali-Peninsula/2558- 4390276-12ccecn/index.html

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