Shame: African Union troops in Somalia not paid for six months

The EU provides $1,028 (£700) for each Amisom soldier each month; their respective governments then deduct around $200 for administrative costs meaning the soldiers are supposed to take home about $800. An European Union source told the BBC that last six-month payment was being withheld over "accounting issues". The head of Amisom told the BBC the correct papers to account for the last tranche had now been submitted. "These papers are on their way; the money is also on its way," Francisco Madeira said. — The EU provides $1,028 (£700) for each Amisom soldier each month; their respective governments then deduct around $200 for administrative costs meaning the soldiers are supposed to take home about $800. An European Union source told the BBC that last six-month payment was being withheld over “accounting issues”. The head of Amisom told the BBC the correct papers to account for the last tranche had now been submitted. “These papers are on their way; the money is also on its way,” Francisco Madeira said.

The allowances for African troops fighting al-Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia have not been paid for at least six months, the BBC has learned. The 22,000-strong African Union force (Amisom) fighting the Islamist militant group al-Shabab is funded by the EU. An European Union source told the BBC that last six-month payment was being withheld over “accounting issues”. The head of Amisom told the BBC the correct papers to account for the last tranche had now been submitted.

“These papers are on their way; the money is also on its way,” Francisco Madeira said. The EU provides $1,028 (£700) for each Amisom soldier each month; their respective governments then deduct around $200 for administrative costs meaning the soldiers are supposed to take home about $800.

This deployment allowance is much more than the meagre salaries the soldiers receive from their governments. Media captionOn patrol with African Union troops in Somalia The funds are only released to Amisom by the EU once the accounts from the previous payment are signed off. The BBC understands there have been delays over the last two tranches – and last year’s June-November payment has only just arrived.

So soldiers are now receiving money owed to them last year but have not received any of it owed to them this year.

Ugandan military chief General Katumba Wamala said he unable to describe the extent of his frustration over the late payments.

Gen Wamala also said that Uganda would pull its soldiers out of Somalia by December 2017, because of frustrations with the Somali army and military advisers from the US, UK and Turkey. Uganda joined Amisom in 2007 and is the force’s biggest contributor, with more than 6,000 troops.

Burundian military officials also said their troops had not been paid. Amisom officials fear that the late payments are having a negative impact have on troop morale. EU ambassador to Somalia Michele Cervone d’Urso said he was “concerned about the delay” in the stipend which he said was “essential for the motivation of soldiers”.

In the past 12 months four Amisom bases manned by Burundian, Ugandan, Kenyan and Ethiopian troops have been attacked by the militants. According to the Somali president, 180 Kenyan troops being killed in a single incident in January. Kenya has never confirmed how many soldiers it lost in the attack and African Union does not release full casualty figures.

Horrifying images as gunmen storm a Somali hotel killing at least 14

Somali forces take positions at Hotel Ambassador on Maka Al Mukaram Road in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on June 2. Gunment stormed the hotel and took guests hostage after a suicide bomber detonated explosives outside. (FEISAL OMAR / REUTERS) — Somali forces take positions at Hotel Ambassador on Maka Al Mukaram Road in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on June 2. Gunment stormed the hotel and took guests hostage after a suicide bomber detonated explosives outside. (FEISAL OMAR / REUTERS)

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA—Gunmen stormed a hotel in Somalia’s seaside capital Saturday, taking guests hostage and “shooting at everyone they could see,” before security forces pursued the grenade-throwing assailants to the top floor and ended the hours-long assault, police and witnesses said. At least 14 people were killed.

Islamic extremist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the latest in a series of hotel attacks in Mogadishu, one that began with a powerful explosion at the entry gate.

“We have finally ended the siege. The last remaining militants were killed on the top floor,” police Capt. Mohamed Hussein said after security forces cornered the gunmen, who had set up sniper posts on the roof of the Nasa-Hablod hotel. Police said at least four gunmen were involved in the attack, and two were killed.

Somalis gather around a dead civilian victim during an attack on a hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia, Saturday, June 25, 2016. A Somali police officer says a suicide car bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the hotel gate followed by gunmen who fought their way into the hotel and took an unknown number of hotel guests hostage.

Somali men help a civilian who was wounded in a suicide car bomb attack on a hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia, Saturday, June 25, 2016. A Somali police officer says a suicide car bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the gate of a hotel in Mogadishu followed by gunmen who were fighting their way into the hotel..

A vehicle burns at the scene of a suicide bomb attack

“We have so far confirmed the deaths of 14 people. Some of them died in the hospitals,” Hussein said. The deaths included women who were selling khat, a stimulant leaf popular with Somali men, outside the hotel, he said.

Security forces rescued most of the hostages; it was not clear whether any were killed. Police and medical workers said another nine people were wounded in the assault. Police said the attack began when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the hotel entrance, ripping off its gate. Gunmen fought their way inside, and a witness said they began shooting randomly at hotel guests.

Blood was splattered on the hotel floor. The bodies of two men, including one thought to be a hotel guard and an attacker dressed in a military uniform, lay on the first floor.

Bullets pockmarked the hotel walls. Security forces combed through the dark hotel rooms, searching for explosives.

At least 14 killed in Somalia hotel attack; police say ended

A view of the Nasahablod Hotel, destroyed after a bomb attack in Mogadishu, Somalia, Saturday, June 25, 2016. A Somali police officer says a suicide car bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the gate of a hotel in Mogadishu followed by gunmen who were fighting their way into the hotel..(AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Gunmen stormed a hotel in Somalia’s seaside capital Saturday, taking guests hostage and “shooting at everyone they could see,” before security forces pursued the grenade-throwing assailants to the top floor and ended the hours-long assault, police and witnesses said. At least 14 people were killed.

Islamic extremist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the latest in a series of hotel attacks in Mogadishu, one that began with a powerful explosion at the entry gate.

Security forces rescued most of the hostages; it was not clear whether any were killed. Police and medical workers said another nine people were wounded in the assault.

Police said the attack began when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the hotel entrance, ripping off its gate. Gunmen fought their way inside, and a witness said they began shooting randomly at hotel guests.

Blood was splattered on the hotel floor. The bodies of two men, including one thought to be a hotel guard and an attacker dressed in a military uniform, lay on the first floor.

Bullets pockmarked the hotel walls. Security forces combed through the dark hotel rooms, searching for explosives.

A witness, Ali Mohamud, said the attackers randomly shot at guests. “They were shooting at everyone they could see. I escaped through the back door,” he said.

Yusuf Ali, an ambulance driver, told The Associated Press he evacuated 11 people injured in the attack to hospitals.

“Most of them were wounded in crossfire,” he said.

The Somalia-based, al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab has been waging a deadly insurgency across large parts of Somalia and often employs suicide car bomb attacks to penetrate heavily fortified targets in Mogadishu and elsewhere.

In early June, an overnight siege by extremist gunmen at another hotel in the capital killed least 15 people, including two members of parliament. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for that attack.

The latest attack comes during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, during which extremists often step up attacks in this volatile East African country.

“They came shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ and fired bullets on every side,” said a hotel staffer who escaped through the back door. He declined to be identified for fear of reprisal.

“They are devils who merely care for death and blood,” the staffer said.

The assaults in the capital have highlighted the challenges facing the Somali government and African Union forces that are struggling to secure the country. An attack on another Mogadishu hotel and public garden in February killed at least nine civilians. A car bomb outside a restaurant in the capital in April killed at least five.

The African Union force faces shrinking resources after the European Union recently cut its funding to the AU mission in Somalia by 20 percent. Citing that cut, Uganda’s military chief said Friday his country plans to withdraw its more than 6,000 troops from the AU force in Somalia by December 2017.

Somalia: Man executed for journalists’ killings

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A former journalist who joined the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab was executed in Somalia’s capital for the killings of five Somali journalists.

Hassan Hanafi Haji, who was extradited from Kenya last year on the request of the Somali government, was killed by firing squad at a police academy in Mogadishu on Monday. Firing squad is the only execution method in Somalia.

In his role as a liaison officer with al-Shabab, Haji was known to threaten journalists and radio stations for any reporting not in favor of the Islamic extremist rebels, forcing many media outlets to practice self-censorship for security reasons. Haji later led al-Shabab’s media unit, inviting journalists to press conferences and giving them tours of battlefields.

He often urged journalists to report according to al-Shabab’s media rules, which included avoiding stories related to the group’s military setbacks.

Haji was one of the few suspects prosecuted by the Somali government following years of criticism by rights groups who urged authorities to do more to establish the rule of law and end the killings of journalists.

Hanafi said he confessed to the killing of journalists following torture by authorities in Mogadishu [AP]

The killings of media workers often happened in government-controlled areas that journalists generally consider safe.

Somalia is one of the most dangerous countries for media workers. At least 18 Somali journalists were killed last year, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

It’s not entirely clear who has been killing journalists. Al-Shabab rebels, warlords, criminals, and even government agents all could have reasons to see journalists killed in Somalia.

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