United Nations, United States | AFP | Somalia’s president told UN chief Antonio Guterres on Friday that he will not reverse a decision to expel a UN envoy who raised human rights concerns, diplomats said. Guterres spoke by phone with President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed on Friday — his second call …
Read More »Somalia tells UN not to interfere after expelling envoy
United Nations, United States | AFP | Somalia on Thursday told the UN Security Council not to interfere in its national affairs after expelling a UN envoy who questioned the government’s decision to arrest an al-Shabaab defector running for election. Somali Ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman did not specifically mention his …
Read More »Somalia orders top UN envoy to leave
Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | Somalia’s government has ordered the UN top envoy to the troubled country to leave, accusing him of “deliberately interfering with the country’s sovereignty.” The order comes days after the official, Nicholas Haysom, raised concerns at the action of Somalia’s UN-backed security services in recent violence …
Read More »Burundi military opposes Somali withdrawal plan
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | The Burundi army on Sunday said it opposed a request by the African Union that it withdraw 1,000 soldiers serving in an African peacekeeping force in Somalia by February 28. Burundi army spokesman Colonel Floribert Biyereke said in a statement that the military would ask …
Read More »Death toll from Somali bombing rises to 20
Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | The death toll from a double car-bomb attack near the presidential palace in Somalia rose to 20 on Sunday, police said. Police on Saturday had said seven people were killed following the two blasts in Mogadishu, which were claimed by the jihadist Shabaab group. “The …
Read More »Shabab blasts kill seven near Somalia presidential palace
Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | Seven people were killed Saturday in a double car bomb attack claimed by the jihadist Shabaab group near the presidential palace in the Somali capital Mogadishu, police said. “We have confirmed seven people died in the two blasts and more than ten others wounded,” local …
Read More »Burundi told to cut force in Somalia under African pullback
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | The African Union has asked Burundi to reduce its contribution to an African peacekeeping force in Somalia by a thousand men under a progressive pullout from the country by the AU. The AU made the request through a diplomatic document called a note verbale, requesting …
Read More »Brig. Gen. Kabango takes charge of UPDF in Somalia
Mogadishu, Somalia | THE INDEPENDENT | A new contingent commander of the Ugandan troops deployed in Somalia, under the AU peacekeeping mission, has formally taken up office. Brig. Gen. Michael Kabango succeeds Brig. Gen. Paul Lokech, who has completed his one-year tour of duty. This was Brig. Lokech’s second …
Read More »Kenya Airways makes test flight to Mogadishu
Mogadishu, Somalia | THE INDEPENDENT | Ahead of its inaugural flight to Somalia in January 2019, Kenya’s national carrier, Kenya Airways, made a test flight to Mogadishu today, as part of routine preparations preceding the formal launch of the direct flight early next year. The carrier has leased a …
Read More »Air strikes kill 62 Shabaab militants in Somalia: US military
Washington, United States | AFP | The US military said Monday it has killed 62 militants from the jihadist Shabaab movement in six air strikes in Somalia. Four strikes on Saturday killed 34 militants and another two on Sunday killed 28, the US Africa Command said in a statement. The …
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