Neighbouring Kenya sent troops just across its border with the lawless Horn of Africa nation to support Somali troops engaging insurgents in the strategically important town of Dobley, several military and security sources told Reuters.
They also said Kenya continued to deploy reinforcements along the desert frontier where residents reported heavy exchanges of artillery fire between rebels, Somali forces and their allied militia.
"Our army moved inside Somalia, to Dobley, to help a group of Somali troops who had been ambushed on Sunday. Our forces met stiff resistance, they sustained some injuries but all left safely," said a security source involved in the operation.
IRIN reports
In a recent offensive against rebel groups in Bulo Hawo town on the border with Kenya, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) stated on 17 March, "...children were involved as fighters and a significant number of them were killed. According to reports, intense fighting in the area between Dhusamareb and Ceel bur in Galgadud has also resulted in many child casualties.”-- -- --
"The TFG [Transitional Federal Government] forces, their allies, the Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama, and Al-Shabab are all engaged in the recruitment. Al-Shabab [the largest armed opposition group] is the biggest culprit," said an official working with an NGO that monitors the state of children in the country.
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The NGO official said children who were not recruited faced other problems as government security forces in the capital, Mogadishu, were reportedly picking up children on suspicion that they "may be working for Al-Shabab”.
"There are a large number of children in government jails, simply because someone suspected that the child could be a militant," he said.
The official claimed he had evidence that many of the young people killed by government and AMISOM troops were children brought from Jowhar [90km north of Mogadishu].
In camps where tens of thousands of displaced are sheltering, or in hospitals in Mogadishu, the "vast majority are children", the official said. "Unfortunately, there is no safe place for them anywhere in this country."
UNICEF also said it was worried about reports of children captured by the TFG and its allies after the fighting in Bulo Hawa. “No detailed information is yet available on the conditions under which they are being held but UNICEF is making efforts to find out more, in order to support the delivery of humanitarian assistance and protection.”
VOA: EU Seeks Benchmarks in Extension of Somali Government
European Union officials are in East Africa to assess the situation on Somalia and evaluate the EU's support of the troubled transitional federal government.
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Speaking in Nairobi on Tuesday, the European Union’s managing director for African relations, Nick Westcott ... hinted at a shift towards the approach of the European Union towards Somalia’s breakaway states: Somaliland and Puntland.
"Some parts of Somalia - some regions - have started becoming increasingly stable and, where there are these nodes of stability, we, the European Union, want to support them," he said.
Both Somaliland and Puntland are autonomous regions in northern Somalia, which are relatively stable and conflict-free. Somaliland declared total independence from its neighbors in 1991, but has not been recognized internationally. Officials told journalists the two regions were the focus of more than $300 million worth of current and future EU development projects planned for the country.
The shift follows a similar change in strategy by the United States, which recently revealed it would begin to diplomatically engage, though not officially recognize, both regions as part of its Somalia strategy.
Actually, the US "dual track" policy was preceded by the UK's "twin track", as referenced in this July 24, 2009 cable from the US Embassy in London
3.(C) Indicating a 180-degree policy shift, [Foreign Office East Africa and Great Lakes DAS-equivalent Jonathan] Allen said the UK Government had been reviewing its Somalia policy (reftel) and ministers had decided July 21 that Somalia "matters a lot to UK interests" for migration, counter terrorism (CT), and humanitarian reasons, and that the UK needs to put more resources into dealing with Somalia. Allen said the UK plans to pursue a twin track of support. First, the UK will support the TFG, which is "fragile but still the best game in town," and UN processes, primarily through AMISOM. Secondly, the UK will do more work with Somaliland and Puntland.-- -- --
Monday
Garowe Online:
At least 15 people have been killed and 20 others injured after intense fighting and mortars fire exchange between Somali government forces backed by African Union troops and Al-Shabaab militias in Somalia’s war-torn capital, on Monday.
The clashes broke out on Monday night and continued in the morning after Al-Shabaab attacked AMISOM and Somali government forces bases in the capital Mogadishu.
According to Mogadishu emergency ambulance service 20 people have been injured in the fighting.
A businessman in the busy Bakaro Market who spoke on condition of anonymity told Garowe Online “six people have been killed and eight others injured after mortars hit the market,” He adds that AMISOM and Somali government troops shelled mortars to the market and other neighbourhood districts such as Wardhiigley, Kaaraan and Yaaqshiid.
MISNA:
According to local radios, the clashes erupted after insurgents attacked military posts near the main Bakara market, closed for weeks due to the violence. Witnesses confirmed that the fighting later spread to other areas of the capital, such as Wardhiigley, Kaaraan and Yaaqshiid.
Mareeg Online:
one of the shells fell into the campus of Somali University in between Bar-ubah and the industrial road (Jidka-warshadaha) killing one and injuring 7 others of civilians, eyewitness said.
The dead one was one of lecturer of Somali University named Yusuf Mohamed Abdi while one of university security staff was among the wounded.
Wednesday
AP:
Witnesses say a barrage of artillery shells pounded the largest market in Somalia's capital, and a medical official says seven people were killed.
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Ambulance service chief Ali Muse said Wednesday that seven civilians died after shells hit Bakara market, and that 21 others were wounded.
Shabelle Media:
At least 5 people were killed and 21 others injured in Bakaara, Mogadishu’s most popular market after volleys of artillery shelling hit it, witnesses and medical officials said on Wednesday.
Local residents said that mortars seemingly fired from the military bases of African Union peacekeepers in Mogadishu.
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The shelling today comes as there were no battles in Mogadishu..
Garowe Online:
At least 10 people have been killed and 31 others injured after African Union troops and Somali government forces shelled mortars in Bakaro, the largest market in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu on Wednesday.-- -- --
A local Emergency ambulance service staff said that they collected 31 wounded civilians from the market streets and its neighbourhood villages and almost all of them were critically injured.
Somali government forces and AMISOM troops targeted Bakaro market while there was no fighting in the capital. Almost all of the market’s business was closed after deadly clashes in Mogadishu the past two weeks.
Bakaro is the largest market in the capital and most of the businessmen left the market to neighbouring districts where the government troops control.
From the Ethiopian govt's propaganda outlet,Walta Information Center:
Two thousand Somali troops trained in Kenya have now been deployed in two strategic areas, the El-wak district of Gedo region and Dhobley town in Lower Juba region. This has given a real uplift to the Transitional Federal Government in general and to its ongoing military operations. The forces are divided into four equal-sized brigades, making up two divisions. One division equipped with a substantial number of vehicles and mortars was deployed two weeks ago into El-wak town, in the area called Burache. It forced Al-Shabaab out of Burache and its surroundings after a fierce fight and set up an advanced camp at Bursar, forty kilometers to the east. Last week, to the irritation of the troops, they were pulled back to Burache, apparently in anticipation of another Al-Shabaab attack...-- -- --
The second division, similarly equipped with the same number of vehicles and mortars, were deployed to the strategic border town of Dhobley, two hundred eighty kilometers away from Kismayo on Sunday, March 20th. The government forces in the area have now agreed a common strategy and joint plans with pro-government militias led by Sheikh Ahmed Madobe...
SMC:
The force commanders of Uganda and Burundi have on arrived Mogadishu on Wednesday the capital of the war ravaged country [Somalia].
The main purpose of the reach of the two force commanders in Mogadishu is said to be consultation with the government officials and the traditional elders on how to sweep out Al-Shabab which is a government opposing faction in Somalia particularly in the southern and central regions.
The meeting of the commanders with the top government officials such as the President and the Prime minister the press had no access to cover the event...
Reuters: Burundi, Uganda to send 3,000 more troops to Somalia
Uganda and Burundi said on Saturday they have committed 3,000 extra troops to the African Union mission in Somalia, bolstering the fight against insurgents.-- -- --
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AMISOM said in a statement on Saturday that after a visit to Mogadishu this week by Major General Godefroid Niyombare and General Aronda Nyakairima, the defence chiefs in Burundi and Uganda, the two countries committed more soldiers.
"In a joint statement to field commanders, the chiefs declared that both Burundi and Uganda had committed the additional 4,000 troops mandated by the U.N. in December and that they were already heading for pre-deployment training."
"Each country has pledged a further 2,000 troops and anticipate an efficient deployment around the middle of the year." Burundi has already deployed 1,000 of the 4,000 extra troops in mid March.
Garowe Online: Parliament Speaker plans committee for presidential elections
Somali Parliament Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden said on Thursday that he will nominate a committee for presidential elections that would take a place in Somali capital on August this year.
Aden spoke to the Press in Mogadishu airport after returning from official visits in Saudi Arabia, Emirates, Ghana and Kenya with delegations from the government.
"Presidential elections would take a place in Mogadishu; it’s the lawmaker’s decision and we will not reverse it," said Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden.
He said that the parliament will nominate a committee for the elections soon, which will be responsible for preparing the presidential elections in Mogadishu, the war-torn capital of Somalia.
"Members from the International Community will attend the elections, and we want to move past this transition period, the international community is satisfied with that," said Sharif Hassan.
Sources told Garowe Online that Speaker Aden is a candidate for the presidency of Somali republic this year but he didn’t confirmed yet to the media.
Shabelle Media: Puntland leader says UN envoy is trying to resolve TFG-Puntland disagreements
Abdurrahman Sheikh Mohamoud Farole¸ the president of Somalia’s semi-autonomous state on Thursday said that he held an important meeting with Augustine Mahiga, the United Nations special representative to Somalia.-- -- --
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In a news conference held in Garowe town, the capital of Puntland, the president of Puntland said the United States is weighing to resolve the deteriorating wrangle between Somalia’s transitional federal government and Puntland administration.
Farole made the statement as Augustine Mahiga, UN’s special envoy was visiting Garowe.
He said that a meeting intended to mediate between TFG and Puntland is due to hold in Nairobi on April 14 and some of international community will be invited to attend it.
From Prof. Weinstein's latest analysis, Washington Resists the Transitional Federal Parliament’s Term Extension
A closed source in the Horn of Africa provides intelligence that indicates that Washington is making its move by inspiring the U.N. to hold a conference on Somalia’s future after the transition in Nairobi on April 7. The “consultative” conference would bring together Somali factions and stakeholders to reach some sort of consensus to bring to the donor-dominated International Contact Group meeting in Kampala in mid-April. Then Washington’s plan would be launched.-- -- --
According to the source, Washington’s plan, which it will attempt to press through U.N. Special Representative for Somalia Augustine Mahiga, concedes a one-year extension for the T.F.G./T.F.P. with the election of a new leadership in August, 2011. From then on the plan takes off into the realm of political fantasy. After August, the T.F.G. would keep its name, but would be - what it is fashionable to call now – a “new political dispensation.” It would work under a new “interim constitution” that would replace the present Transitional Federal Charter (T.F.C.) and would be compounded out of the Djibouti Constitution (the recent draft constitution formulated by an independent Somali commission assisted by the U.N.), the T.F.C., and past Somali constitutions. The present constitution commission would be dissolved and a new one that would be more “representative”/”inclusive” would be established and would come up with a permanent constitution to be put into effect in August, 2012. Then a new leadership would be elected under the new (permanent) constitution and the “transition” would be consummated.
The only way in which Washington’s plan might conceivably contain any practical sense would be if Washington was willing to take responsibility for the “transition,” that is, to put full diplomatic and material resources behind it – but Washington does not intend to do that, which renders its plan dead on arrival.
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Washington’s plan is a symptom of the psychological mechanism of “wish-fulfillment” – “This is what I want. It does not matter whether or not it is practical … this is what I want, and I do not intend to do the work necessary to get it.” This is political pathology, not political rationality: psycho-politics, not interest-based politics.
According to the source, the push back against Washington’s plan began with Mahiga pressing for the T.F.P. to reverse or at least abbreviate its term extension and the T.F.P. refusing to do so. The source reports that within the T.F.G. a counter-move to Washington’s initiative is being considered in which the T.F.G. would call a national conference in July in Somalia (Mogadishu or Puntland’s capital Garowe) to elect leadership and to side track the U.S.-U.N. process in Nairobi (Washington does not trust Somali factions to hold a conference and elect a [satisfactory] leadership in Somalia).
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Washington is the most important destabilizing element in the Horn of Africa, because it is not behaving as a rational political actor that bases actions on perceived interests. Instead, it is behaving as a conflicted psychological subject, expressing a wish (to withdraw) and a blocking wish (to hold its position), and ending up with the “compromise formation” of fantasy politics.
How much damage will Washington be able to do as it attempts to “manage” a “transition” that it cannot (will not try to) control? The answer depends on whether the other actors are able to bring it to heel as they pursue their own diverse and conflicting interests. That is likely to happen at the cost of more trouble for everyone, including, of course, Washington.
On Thursday
Shabelle Media: TFG’s National Security Agency Summons Shabelle’s head of the news
The ministry of information for the transitional federal government of Somalia on Thursday ordered TFG’s national security agency (NSA) to summon Shabelle Media Network’s head of the news to interrogate him about report Shabelle had broadcast.
In a letter from national security agency (NSA), the ministry of information of TFG ordered Abdi Mohammed Isma’il (ABDI UD), head of the news for Shabelle, a ocal radio station bases in Mogadishu to come to the headquarter of NSA on Saturday morning (8am) on 26th March, 2011.
“Abdi Mohammed Isma’il will be interrogated by national security agency reports (News-Story) about Somali president failed to visit a place Somali forces confiscated from Al shabaab” said the statement from the ministry.
In the past, Shabelle’s executive director and head of the news were summoned by the ministry of information asking about the report of the president failing to pay visit to the frontlines. But, Shabelle administration said the news was valid and correct, telling them that some international news-outlets broadcasted the same story,
The statement had the signature Khalif Ahmed Ereg, head of TFG’s national security agency (NSA) with these symbols WWB&/XAG/099/11, and issued 24-03-2011 at 10: 00am.
After negotiations to meet on Sunday, rather than Saturday
Shabelle Media: Somali government detains Shabelle’s director, news editor
The interim federal government of Somalia has arrested the director of Shabelle Media Network and news editor.-- -- --
Abdirashid Omar Qase, the director of Shabelle Media Network, and station’s news editor Abdi Mohammed Isma’il (Abdi Ud) were taken into custody by forces of TFG’s national security agency.
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After negotiations, Shabelle administration and officials from NSA agreed to meet on today 27th March 2011.
However, Shabelle’s director and news editor were taken into custody when they reached there.
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Somali government has not released any comments about the incident.
Garowe Online: Somali government extends its mandate for one year
Somali ministers voted to extend the government's mandate for another one year on Sunday, government officials told Garowe Online.
Somali cabinet ministers held a conference led by Prime minister Mohammed Abdullahi (Farmajo) today in the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu and voted to extend all the government institutions mandate one more year and scheduled to expire on august 2012.
