Investigative Dossier

Listeners name @i_dossier among the most listened programs. 62% of respondents listen to programs like Galka Baarista & Cawayska on VOA. 49% said VOA produces quality programs compared to 40% for BBC. Overall performance,accuracy, fairness 53% VOA, 47% BBC sra.so/wp-content/upl…

UK backs Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara, Lammy says reuters.com/world/africa/u…

VOA’s @HarunMaruf caught up with FAO Senior Water and Land Advisor @paron_paolo to hear about the upcoming super El Niño weather phenomenon and and what at-risk communities can do NOW to prepare themselves. 🎙️ Hear the whole story: voasomali.com/live/audio/65/… #ElNino

Somalia’s army commander says he is unsure frontline countries will participate in the planned military operations against al-Shabaab despite earlier commitment.    Major General Ibrahim Sheikh Muhudin told @i_dossier in his first interview since his appointment that it doesn’t appear to him that troops from Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti will participate in the second phase of “Operation Black Lion” - given their preparations. But a senior Kenya defense official who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity said their position has not changed.    “From our perspective we are still committed to Operation Black Lion," the official said.  My exclusive report fb.watch/mrnu-UXKQx/?mi…

Somalia and Kenya have entered an air services agreement that will allow ‘designated’ airline companies from two countries to operate Mogadishu and Nairobi flight routes. But Somali airline companies are apprehensive about the agreement as they are concerned that the deal could create air service imbalance, which eventually may lead to Somali companies being squeezed out of the market. But in an exclusive interview, Transport and Civil Aviation Minister @fardowsaegal who signed the agreement for Somalia tells VOA the agreement will protect Somali companies, and does not apply to domestic flights. Audio in Somali -> voasomali.com/a/7220805.html

Two other well publicised killings took place in August 2015 and in December 2016. In the first, six men at a wedding event in Marka town were killed by AU forces after al-Shabab grenade attack on a military convoy. Six people were also killed in the second incident near the town of Qoryoley after AU forces fired upon a minibus, reportedly after suspecting it was carrying explosives.     The AU office told @i_dossier that both incidents were “throughly” investigated, and ex-gratia payment was recommended which will be paid “when funds become available.”     Mohamed El-Amine Souef, the special representative of the chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia said the mission does not have funds to compensate the families, but he confirmed the mission has recorded “more than 70 cases” involving the peacekeepers.      “I think roughly I can say maybe like 74 cases, but the major incidents we can say roughly like five very well-known,” he said.      @souefmo_elamine said the mission made payments for two of the roughly 74 cases. The Mission has also contributed towards funeral costs or medical treatment.      Souef said he needs about $2 million dollars to compensate the families      “It is not a big amount but as you know, the mission, like other peacekeeping missions, rely on partners who are contributing mainly the European Union and UK,” he said.      He said he wants support from non-traditional partners of the AU, like UAE. Souef reiterated the Mission’s main goal is protect the civilians, and says the circumstances around the incidents should be taken into account.      “You know that most of the time we are in a war zone or a conflict zone, so we may have collateral damage,” he said.      “So it would be difficult to acknowledge [liability].”      He said there is an incident where six people were killed during a firefight against al-Shabab militants.      “It was a complex attack, there was explosion followed by a shooting coming from al-Shabab, So nobody can confirm that those people have been killed by our troops or have been killed by the VBIED, or they have been killed by the shooting that came from al-Shabab,” he said.      Souef said some of the troop contributing countries (TCCs) took the initiative to deal with the victims directly and have paid ex-gratia payments and contribution of funeral costs.      “Recently, a TCC has made amends payment for about 9 cases mainly for the families of victims of traffic accidents for the past one year including the payment of 20000 US dollars to the family of a child killed in a convoy accident in November 2022,” he said.      But the process to investigate incidents and make payments is slow and drags on for years.     Mohamed Gulaid was a technical adviser to the AU troops Civilian Casualty Tracking and Analysis Unit between 2015 and 2017. He said the office is understaffed and lacks the manpower to manage and investigate allegations in a timely manner.      In addition, @guled_29 said, the Mission has not allocated enough resources to pay for civilian harms.      There is also lack of access to AMISOM/ATMIS.      “Because of security in Somalia, the civilians don’t have access to report cases,” Gulaid said.      AU soldiers face many challenges too, on top of serving in a hostile environment, Gulaid added. 
  
“It’s difficult to distinguish between civilian and military combatant,” Gulaid said.     He said AU military convoys get involve into road traffic accidents but because of the rules of engagement, vehicles are not permitted to stop because they will make an easy target for attacks.      Unaware of this rules of engagement, locals often criticize AU forces for immediately leaving the scene of an accident.     Another challenge is the language barrier.     “AMISOM don’t speak the local language and only serve one year,” Gulaid said.     “By the time troops learn how to navigate, a new rotation is sent and they go through learning process.”

AU must compensate us before peacekeepers leave, Somali families say Since April, @i_dossier has been talking to the families of Somali civilians killed and maimed in the hands of African Union forces. The families are demanding compensation from the mission now that the drawdown of the peacekeepers is moving ahead. @i_dossier also spoke to the AU. This was the story.    The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia - ATMIS, previously known as AMISOM has recorded over 70 cases where civilians have lost their lives, injured or had their properties damaged in incidents involving AU peacekeepers.      One such killing took place on August 10, 2021 outside Golweyn village when Ugandan forces executed seven farmers immediately after an al-Shabab ambush of their troops. An AU soldier was killed in the ambush and another was injured. Seven kilometers from the scene of the attack, at a farm near Golweyn village, the same AU forces rounded up the farmers including 65 year old and owner of the farm Omar Hassan Warsame and shot them dead.      Initially the AU claimed the troops killed al-Shabab fighters, but they walked back after evidence emergence that they were civilians, and after the Somali defense ministry contradicted. x.com/modfederal/sta…      The AU mission took full responsibility for the “unlawful acts of its personnel.” amisom-au.org/2021/10/amisom…      The victims were “productive people,” the statement said.      On October 22, the then AU chief in Somalia Francisco Madeira announced the result of the investigation  
 x.com/amisomsomalia/…      A Ugandan court martial in Mogadishu sentenced two of the five soldiers behind the killing to death, three others got 39 years in prison terms each.  Upon appeal, the death sentences were overturned and the soldiers were given long prison terms. On Dec 17, 2021, the Uganda embassy in Mogadishu paid $100,000 to the families of the seven victims.      The agreement described the payment as “expense” for the seven victims killed in Golweyn. It also said the families have “unanimously forgiven” Uganda and will not ask for anything from the UPDF [Ugandan Peoples Defense Forces.”      But the families say the payment was for funeral expenses only, and they insisted the AU owes them compensation.      “We have received $100,00 termed as expenses, and not compensation,” Mohamed Abdi Moallim nephew of Warsame and spokesman for the families said.     Moallim told @i_dossier that the AU told him through “word of mouth” that the families will be compensated.      Their lawyer Mohamed Hassan Mohamud said the compensation matter needs “political intervention” from the Somali government to tell the AU and countries that sent the troops to compensate.      “If they [government] can’t do that they should give us legal aid so that we can pursue our case against the troops who violated international laws.”      The families of other victims allegedly killed by AU peacekeepers want the same.      Duale Ali Muse represents the families of three people killed near Garbaharey town in Gedo region on 12 August 2017.      Ethiopian forces killed the three pastoralists including a 77-year-old man shortly after an an-Shabab ambush of the peacekeepers, Muse alleges.      “We tried to make contact with the Ethiopian forces, it was not possible for us,” he said.      “We came to Mogadishu in November last year, and until now we do not have any word from them…we want compensation for the three civilian men.”      ATMIS said the Garbaharey case is before the Amends Advisory Committee for consideration.      Abdifatah Salad Mohamed who was 24 when died was one of two people killed in a road accident involving AU military vehicle.    His mother Asha Salad Iid said her son was the breadwinner, giving the family the money he earned from working as a minibus driver      “As a mother I want support,” she said.      “The government and the Muslims should help us get his rights.”   (1 of 2 pages)

Exclusive: At Least 3,500 AU Soldiers Killed in Somalia Since 2007 voanews.com/a/exclusive-at…

Activist Puts Spotlight on Potential Dangers of Skin-Whitening Products. Thanks ⁦@Aadawe⁩ for sharing your work with @W_SquareVOA ⁦@voasomali⁩ ⁦@falastiniman⁩ ⁦⁦@beautiwell⁩ voanews.com/a/activist-put…

An amazing new program from @HarunMaruf and the VOA team

Thanks so much, @HarunMaruf and Falastin @voasomali for highlighting my research and our work through @beautiwell and raising awareness on this important issue. #endskinlightening #endcolorism

Somalia, Cuba Resume Diplomatic Relations After 46 Years voanews.com/a/somalia-cuba…

Today we have launched a new bi-weekly program, the Women’s Square! In the first episode we cover a hidden danger overshadowed by the politics and conflict - skin whitening. We are grateful to @Aadawe for sharing her work and experiences with us. Please listen to the first episode and give us your feedback fb.watch/jJoPd1n9XN/?mi… @falastiniman @AshaIAden @SahraCabdi

Somali Government Forces ‘Repulse’ Al-Shabab Attack, Official Says voanews.com/a/somali-gover…

Somalia's Neighbors to Send Additional Troops to Fight Al-Shabab voanews.com/a/somalia-s-ne…

A portion of my interview with @Westminster_Ins on Sept 2020. (Views based on my conversations with experts and journalistic observations) Here is the full video for your weekend watch! m.youtube.com/watch?v=gd2TNm… #SomaliaUprising #SNA

National Security Advisor ⁦@XuseenMacallin⁩ tells me govt’s objective is defeat al-Shabab by next year. “Our ... primary goal is that in the summer of 2024, there will be no al-Shabab person occupying a territory in Somalia. You can note that down.” voanews.com/a/exclusive-so…

Exclusive: Somalia Sends Thousands of Army Recruits Abroad for Training voanews.com/a/exclusive-so…

This report by ⁦⁦@PDWilliamsGWU⁩ and ⁦@afyare_elmi⁩ is a must read! - It details challenges facing Somalia security sector reform - Ongoing military operations & capability gaps - Meeting Dec 2024 deadline for AU troop withdrawal heritageinstitute.org/security-secto…

Prof @PDWilliamsGWU & I wrote this report - see it here - heritageinstitute.org/security-secto…. We identified 10 challenges & provide recommendations. Hopefully, the report contributes to the debate on the security sector reform. Thank to @HarunMaruf for this report voasomali.com/a/6941472.html

@HarunMaruf @HassanSMohamud @MoF_Somalia @i_dossier @WorldBank @IMFNews @Hormuud @Dahabshil But the most important factor is there will not be #accountability on how this sums has been spent and after a year we will get another damning report on misuse and corruption as usual from @mafgoi the Auditor General.What Gov of @HassanSMohamud will do about corruption?@UNDPPA