DPA: EU approves mission to train Somali army
Brussels - The European Union is to send soldiers to Uganda in the spring to train Somalia's security forces, EU foreign ministers decided Monday in Brussels. Europe is growing increasingly concerned about the stability of the Somali interim government in the face of attacks from militants.
The council of EU member states "remained concerned about the situation in Somalia and its regional implications" and "agreed to set up a military mission to contribute to the training of the Somali security forces," ministers said in a joint statement.
The mission would run alongside efforts by other players, such as the African Union, the United Nations and the United States, to help set up, train and fund Somalia's security forces.
It would be launched "with the next intake of trainees, scheduled to start in spring 2010," the statement said.
EU diplomats on Monday said that the aim of the mission would be to train around 2,000 soldiers, and that it would probably begin work in May.
That joint statement from the European Commission: 2010 Conclusion Of EU Somalia Training Mission Report
The Council adopted the following conclusions:
“The Council remained concerned about the situation in Somalia and its regional implications, recalling its 27 July Conclusions. It expressed its continued full support to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia.
It stressed the need for the full implementation of the Djibouti Agreement (19 August 2008). The Council reaffirmed the need to deal with the
challenges of Somalia through a comprehensive approach. The EU should therefore continue to help stabilize Somalia by providing support to vital and priority areas such as the security sector, development, assistance to the population and capacity-building support, in addition to ongoing deployment of EU NAVFOR Atalanta and humanitarian assistance.
The Council recalled relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, in particular UNSCR 1872, which urges the International Community to provide technical assistance to the Somali Security Forces. In this context, the Council agreed to set up a military mission to contribute to training of Somali security forces.
This mission would take place in Uganda where Somali forces are already being trained, which would also facilitate the coordination of the EU action with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). It would be launched with the next intake of trainees, scheduled to start in spring 2010. The mission would be conducted in close coordination with our partners, including the TFG, Uganda, the African Union, the United Nations and the United States of America.
The Council recognised the need to carry out this training as part of a wider international effort and encompassing inter alia the vetting of trainees, the monitoring and mentoring of the forces once back in Mogadishu and the funding and payment of the salaries of the soldiers. The Council emphasised the need to ensure that these issues were satisfactorily addressed on a continuing basis, including before the launch of the mission.
Underlining the need for TFG ownership, the Council noted that it would also be essential that the international community gives the necessary support to the TFG to fulfill its role in developing its capacity with respect to its security forces.
The Council agreed to remain seized of the issue and asked the High Representative to report on progress achieved on a regular basis.
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IRIN: Plan to integrate ex-militias into security forces
Mogadishu residents have welcomed plans by the interim government to step up the integration of an earlier, ousted, regime's security forces into its own army.
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In the past, said Sheikh Abdulkadir Ali Omar, Minister of Interior in the Transitional Federal Government, forces of the former President Abdullahi Yusuf and those of the Islamic courts [ousted in December 2006] operated in different commands, "even though they were supposed to be one. What we are now doing is to make sure that there is only one command structure and one cohesive force," he told IRIN on 25 January.
He said the forces' integration was part of an all-out mobilization to get a grip on the security situation in the city and the country at large.
"By the time we finish, there will be an effective force that will deal with and defeat the anti-peace elements," Omar said.
He said there would be no chance that Al-Shabab or any other group would be able to infiltrate the force. "We know who the Islamic court forces are and there will be no possibility that someone from Al-Shabab will infiltrate."
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A civil society source in Mogadishu, who requested anonymity, told IRIN the government had to move with speed to reorganize its forces.
"What we now have is a combination of two forces that don’t work well together," the source said, adding that the government needed not only to find a way of integrating the two but removing criminal elements within them. "There have been numerous complaints by civilians that people within the government forces were committing crimes."
How much longer before the TFG publicly begs Meles to send Ethiopian troops back into Mogadishu?
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Garowe Online: Somali fishermen in great danger
Fishermen in Eyl, an ancient town in the northern Somalia’s Puntland state are voicing concerns over illegally fishing vessels that are looting natural resources and destroying thier equipments.
In an interview with Radio Garowe, Saed Waberi, one of fishermen in Eyl who claims to be a former pirate said his fishing equipments worth 3000 USD has been destroyed twice by the illegal fishing vessels.
He adds that the illegal fishing vessels fire heavy guns to the fishermen boats’, forcing them to abandon their lifetime livelihood for fear of their lives.
“The situation is really becoming worse because we can’t eve get our daily bread,” he noted.
The fisherman said some of the illegally fishing ships are using fishing methods, which destroy the coral reefs and considered illegal in the world.
Hassan Ahmed Saed, Eyl, another coastal village fisherman told Radio Garowe that the pirates, who shattered the image of the coastal with their illegal activities, left the district but the presence of anti-piracy naval force in the region have had huge impact of the fishing business.
Fishing boats from Yemen and Oman, which used to buy fish and other products from the Puntland coastal villages, have disappeared after they became target of foreign warships patrolling Somalia’s waters.
"We are now better off from the piracy problem like alcohol and Khat but another problem has emerged. It’s the well armed vessels which are looting and destroying Yemen boats that used to buy our products. They scared them away" said Hassan Ahmed.
A woman who used to give the fishermen financial backings, especially in the selling of White sharks told Radio Garowe that all her equipments were destroyed by foreign vessels.
On the other hand, Puntland fishermen are complaining about the foreign warships, accusing them of not able to differentiate between honest fishermen and actual sea pirates.
Somali piracy started out as a response to the loss of access to the rich fishing grounds and emergence of illegal fishing trawlers which loot natural resources and destroy fishermen boats and equipments.
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An example of Operation ATALANTA aiding illegal fishermen. (h/t to Ecoterra International's SMCM)
Press Release from European Union Naval Force Somalia: Wounded Pakistani Fisherman Saved by EU NAVFOR Returns Home
In early December a Pakistani fishing vessel was hijacked by pirates not far from the territorial waters of Oman and, during the attack, one of the fishermen was shot in the leg just below the knee.
As a consequence, the crew was kept as hostages, including the wounded Pakistani fisherman, who was left for about a month without any treatment of the wound or stabilisation of his leg. The captured fishing vessel was later used by the pirates as a mother-ship from where they launched piratical attacks in the area using smaller skiffs they had loaded on board. After one such successful attack, the pirates abandoned the fishing vessel and the crew were rescued by the EU NAVFOR Warship FS SURCOUF that was patrolling in the area.
The wounded fisherman received immediate first aid medical treatment and was then transferred to EU NAVFOR Flagship ITS ETNA who has a Role 2 Medical facility and surgical team onboard. Onboard ETNA he was examined and received some extended wound-treatment including initial surgery. ETNA subsequently transferred their patient to the French Military Hospital “Bouffard” in Djibouti, where some final surgical treatment was carried out.
After nearly a month in the care of EU NAVFOR and the French Military Hospital, the man was cleared fit to fly home. Before leaving he expressed his sincere gratitude for all the assistance that he received onboard EU NAVFOR ships SURCOUF and ETNA and also at the Military Hospital. He arrived in Pakistan on 26th January.
EUNAVFOR SOMALIA Operation ATALANTA main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the ‘World Food Program’ (WFP), to protect vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy.
Nice, feel-good photo op for EU NAVFOR, if you ignore the context that the Pakistani fishing vessel was an IUU and its crew, therefore, illegal fishermen, exactly the kind of thing many Somalis regularly complain about and have a hard time understanding why the international navies speeding about in their territorial waters don't help address.
Even more embarrassing is that it ends up the boat & crew were also reportedly smuggling contraband...
The Nation (PK): Baloch fishermen warned to get enrolled
ISLAMABAD - Security agencies have warned fishermen from Balochistan to get their fishing boats registered with the respective provincial authorities without further delay, sources informed TheNation on Monday.
Sources said that there were more than 6,000 fishing boats operating out from Makran coast, and most of them have not yet registered with the fishery department or other relevant authorities.
According to informed sources, the move has come about after owners of some of the fishing boats have accused others of involvement in smuggling and other sea-borne crimes.
The matter gained significance in view of increasing incidents of sea-borne piracy off the coast of Somalia and other countries on the Horn of Africa.
Sources said that the situation aggravated last month when ostensibly Somalian pirates hijacked one of the Pakistani boats.
The vessel was released after some time, and later it came to light during the investigations that the said boat was involved in smuggling of goods. “Since the focus of the US-led war on terror is shifting towards Somalia and Yemen, it has become imperative to regulate the activities of the fishing boats operating out from the Makran coast”, sources said. Security agencies also warned the owners of the boats to register the crew manning their boats while at sea for fishing.
oops
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This photo from the TFG's one year anniversary celebration on Friday contains some comical imagery:
Did the PM break his first chair, which required some dirty boots to bring in another from outside? Or was there a mix-up at some point during the setup? Sh. Sharif looks absolutely diminutive in that oversized chair. Is that a booster seat, by any chance? Don't fall...
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Since this is such a clear departure from norm for the major wire service & other western media reports on Somalia these days, it's worth pointing out this paragraph in an Associated Press story on Friday's battles in Mogadishu:
The U.S. State Department says some of the Islamists are linked to al-Qaida, and experts say a few hundred foreign fighters have joined the Islamist insurgency. But it is unclear how much influence the foreigners or al-Qaida have over the insurgency, which is an uneasy alliance of factions with different objectives.
There was heavy fighting in the capital on Friday as TFG and AMISOM forces were attacked on a number of fronts. As that AP article quotes,
"The fighting was a response to the so-called government and the (African Union peacekeepers) trying to intimidate us by saying that they will take control of the whole capital," Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage said.
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Local residents ... said it was the most serious single day’s fighting since August.
"Artillery exchanges and automatic weapons fire echoed in all parts of the city from the north to the south just after midnight, creating new fear that the fighting was at its most intense for almost six months," said resident Iise Shekh Jama.
"It was the worst fighting we have seen for months. Mortars and stray bullets were raining down into the residential areas killing civilians. I cowered all night in our room with my kids and wife," said Aden Muse, a resident in Mogadishu’s southern Medina neighborhood.
Rage says the insurgents attacked seven locations in Mogadishu. Eyewitness Haji Ibrahim Omar said one of the places attacked was a major peacekeeping base at a junction linking the port and airport, where he said AU troops used tanks to fend off the attack.
Statements from one of the TFG ministers in a VOA interview on Thursday were likely part of what provoked the attacks,
Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, minister of planning and international cooperation, said the transitional government has been successful in resisting attempts by hard line Islamic insurgents to overthrow the administration.
“Today we are celebrating and we can say we have achieved a lot, and we are still facing huge challenge to counter it. We defend ourselves against al-Shabab and militias supported by international terrorists. They tried to overthrow the government and we are now planning to undertake a security operation next week,” he said.
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“The expectation is to handle the security of the country, particularly the capital city of Mogadishu. And that is what we are now planning. In the next few weeks we (will) be in a position to say that we will undertake the security operation in the capital. We will kick out the al-Shabab and its allies of Hizbul Islam from the capital. And we will soon put in place law and order in the city and police forces will be in place to protect the civilians,” Warsame said.
In addition, also on Thursday the U.N. Security Council voted to extend AMISOM's mandate for another year
AFP: AU force to stay in Somalia for another year
UNITED NATIONS — The UN Security Counil voted unanimously Thursday to authorize the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia to stay for another year and urged it to boost its strength to 8,000 troops.
Deployed in March 2007, the force known as AMISOM fields 5,300 Ugandan and Burundian soldiers and is currently charged with protecting strategic sites in the seaside capital such as the presidency, the port and the airport.
The 15-member council empowered AMISOM to stay until January 31, 2011 and asked it "to increase its force strength with a view to achieving (its) originally mandated strength of 8,000 troops, thereby enhancing its ability to carry out its mandate in full."
The mandate expires Sunday.
The council resolution also directed the force to continue assisting Somalia's transitional government in developing the Somali Police Force and the National Security Force, and to help integrate Somali units trained by other UN member states or organizations inside and outside Somalia.
And Friday was also, as pointed out earlier, the day the TFG celebrated the fact that AMISOM has kept them alive for the past twelve months.
One of the vital target points of the insurgent was the Somali presidential palace in which they have attacked in different parts, but repelled by the African Union troops, and the Somali government troops. (source)
That was during the battles overnight. During the day there were more attacks concentrated on the presidential palace during the ceremony.
New Vision: Ugandan peacekeepers killed in Somalia
TWO Ugandan African Union (AU) peacekeepers have been killed in a militant attack in Somali capital Mogadishu.
According to reports from Somalia, heavy mortar rounds killed the two peacekeepers, as they matched past the presidential compound, Villa Somali, during celebrations to mark one year since Somalia’s president, Sheikh Shariff Ahmed took office.
However, when contacted yesterday, the army spokesperson, Lt. Col. Felix Kulayigye confirmed that only one Ugandan peacekeeper was killed but did not mention the name.
“It is true one of our peace keepers has been killed while several others were injured in Mogadishu,” Kulayigye told Saturday Vision.
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The body of the dead Ugandan was flown to a Nairobi hospital, together with other injured survivors.
And, finally, one more likely motive for the heavy attacks,
New Vision: AU hails Uganda over Somalia role
UGANDA’s peacekeeping role in Somalia has won accolades at the opening of the 7th African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa yesterday [Wednesday].
Speakers praised Uganda and Burundi for their courageous stance in the conflict-torn country, saying they exhibited a selfless spirit of African brotherhood.
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AU Commission chairman Jean Ping urged states that have not honoured their promises for troops to Somalia to do so, saying the Ugandan and Burundian forces were overstretched.
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This announcement was inevitable w/ the announcement of the extended mandate.
New Vision: AU starts paying UPDF wages
THE African Union (AU) has begun paying the outstanding allowances of the UPDF troops currently on a peacekeeping mission in Somalia. The troops had remained unpaid since May last year.
Donors had halted payments of the peacekeepers, which are channelled through the AU bank accounts in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Speaking to journalists on Thursday at the defence ministry headquarters in Kampala, defence minister Crispus Kiyonga said: “More than six months ago, the African Union secretariat got problems and payments could not continue. But about a month ago, the flow of payments began. The arrears are being paid and all the soldiers will be cleared.”
He added that the arrears of compensation to the injured and the dead soldiers would also be paid.
A peacekeeper is entitled to a monthly allowance of $750 (about sh1.4m). In the event of death, the soldier’s family receives $50,000 (about sh90m) as compensation.
There have been quite a number of UPDF troops killed in Mogadishu. The article puts it at 37 since 2007. Others had slightly more. At 50k a fatality, that adds up pretty fast.
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