Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | At least 18 people were killed and 20 wounded when two car bombs exploded on Friday near the presidential palace and a hotel in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, the city’s main ambulance service said. Jihadist rebels claimed the attack. “We have so far collected …
Read More »Somalia’s first forensic lab targets rape impunity
Garowe, Somalia | AFP | The new freezers at Somalia’s only forensic laboratory can store thousands of DNA samples, although for now there are just five. The big hope is that they could be the start of a revolution in how the troubled Horn of Africa country tackles its widespread …
Read More »Death sentence for man convicted of Somalia’s deadliest bombing
Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | A Somali military court on Tuesday sentenced a man to death after finding him guilty of carrying out an October truck bombing that killed over 500 people, the deadliest attack in the nation’s history. Colonel Hassan Ali Shute found 23-year-old Hassan Adan Isaq guilty of …
Read More »US drones ‘wiping out’ Shabaab in Somalia: AU mission head
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | Drone strikes by the United States military are “wiping out” Shabaab militants in Somalia, the head of the African Union mission in the country told AFP in an interview Friday. The US has stepped up its operations in the war-torn Horn of Africa nation, …
Read More »US says four Shabaab militants killed in Somalia strike
Washington, United States | AFP | US forces in Somalia said Friday that four Al-Shabaab militants were killed in an airstrike as part of the ongoing offensive against the jihadist rebels. The US Africa Command said the strike took place on Thursday in southern Somalia, around 50 kilometers (30 miles) …
Read More »Somalia, AMISOM agree on 2018 security transition plan
Mogadishu, Somalia | THE INDEPENDENT | The Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), in conjunction with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the UN, the European Union and other key international partners, have established a Transition Core Group, which is tasked with the responsibility of developing a transition plan for Somalia. …
Read More »Inside Somalia’s wars
How a clan system and external players are complicating the country’s reconstruction Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | When I flew to Mogadishu, Somalia’s sandy capital, on December 16, 2017; I was filled with a heady mix of anxiety and excitement because of the image we all have of …
Read More »Somalia’s Shabaab forcing civilians to hand over children: HRW
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Somalia’s Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab insurgents are increasingly threatening civilians to force them to hand over young children for “indoctrination and military training”, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Monday. The rights watchdog said an aggressive campaign to recruit children had begun in mid-2017, with the jihadists …
Read More »Somalia fires top ministers in reshuffle
Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | Somalia’s prime minister, Hassan Ali Khaire, fired three key ministers on Thursday after weeks of political conflict with opposition and clan leaders. Foreign Minister Yusuf Garad Omar, Trade Mminister Khadra Ahmed Duale and Interior Minister Abdi Farah Said all lost their jobs. No reason was …
Read More »US strike targets vehicle bomb in Somalia
Washington, United States | AFP | US forces in Somalia have conducted a strike against a bomb-laden vehicle that was going to be used against civilians in Mogadishu, the US military’s Africa Command said Wednesday. The strike against Al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabaab militants occurred early January 2 about 50 kilometers (30 miles) …
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