Anti-terror police in Malindi have killed an Islamist thought to be behind the murder of a police reservist involved in counterinsurgency operations. The US Director of National Intelligence believes that Shabaab militants are planning new attacks on Kenya.
President Mohamud wants the current UN arms embargo freeze extended, as Somali troops still need equipment to fight insurgents, and said increased operations against Shabaab are imminent. In Lower Shabelle, infighting between two clans within the Somali army killed at least 18 people, including two civilians. In Kismayu, locals demonstrated against the relocation of Kenyan […]
A Somali special forces unit called ‘Alpha Group‘ has begun operations to detain suspected Shabaab members. An angry mob formed yesterday in Mogadishu when an AMISOM convoy failed to stop after it hit and killed a local man. Shabaab urged Somalis to take up arms and help the group kill AMISOM soldiers for failing to […]
A Nigerian bishop has detailed how parishioners were killed in this weekend’s attack on a church in Waga Chakawa village. President Jonathan said he fired his defense staff because of rivalries between top staff members that helped enable Boko Haram to carry out its attack on the Air Force base in Maiduguri.
Shabaab has confirmed that intelligence operative Sahal Iskudhuq was killed by a US strike over the weekend. US security officials speaking off the record said the drone strike was targeting Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane. AMISOM has launched a 35-day training program for over 1,000 soldiers from the Interim Jubba Administration.
The death toll from Boko Haram’s weekend attacks has reached 85. Alleged Boko Haram leader Muhammad Nazeef will be arraigned on Feb. 3 in Abuja.
A parliamentary committee investigating the Westgate Mall attack claimed that security agencies in the border town of Mandera have given over control to Shabaab. Discrepancies were found in the testimony of a police officer who claimed he killed a terrorist during the Westgate Mall siege.
Shabaab threatened more violence in response to Ethiopian troops’ formally joining AMISOM. Over the weekend, a US drone strike killed an Amniyat commander in Lower Shabelle, and Puntland forces attacked a Shabaab base in Galgala. In Mogadishu, Shabaab killed five Somali soldiers in a brazen daytime attack, after having attacked a police station the night […]
Boko Haram attacked twice over the weekend; in Borno, the group killed 52 people in the town of Kawuri, and in Adamawa, the group killed 22 people in an assault on a church. The UNHCR claims that 6,000 people have fled northern Nigeria for Cameroon and Niger as a result of Boko Haram attacks.
The Sufi militia Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa (ASWJ) has given its support to Ethiopian integration into AMISOM. Shabaab militants shelled Mogadishu last night, wounding four people. Shabaab has arrested more than 100 people in Bardere town in Gedo for crimes ranging from trading khat to arson.
A ceasefire has been agreed between the government and rebels meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. However, reports have emerged alleging that the government is still attacking rebel-held territory in Jonglei and Unity states.
Security forces are on alert following reports that Shabaab is planning to attack various targets across the country. Kenyan defense spending will rise to US $5.5 billion by 2018, with dramatic equipment procurements expected.
Shabaab fighters are poised to retake Mahaday after Somali troops retreated from the town. A drop in gun prices in Mogadishu is thought to be due to Somali soldiers selling off their equipment.
Shabaab has shut down mobile Internet access in areas under its control. A tipoff from Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa forces led to the Kenyan Defence Forces airstrike on Shabaab leaders in Birta Dher village. Over 4,000 Ethiopian soldiers have formally integrated into AMISOM with orders to operate in the regions of Bay, Bakool, and Gedo. […]
The new Chief of Defence Staff claims that he will end the Boko Haram insurgency by April. Suspected Boko Haram militants killed a teacher and wounded another person in an attack on Wulgo village, Borno state, near the border with Chad. Boko Haram is believed to have murdered 18 locals with IEDs and petrol bombs […]
Two Somali soldiers were killed in a landmine explosion outside of Mogadishu when their vehicle entered a minefield. Somali police and their Ugandan counterparts have signed a counter-terrorism agreement that includes joint equipment procurement and intelligence sharing.
Boko Haram has killed at least 12 civilians in Gashigar village near the border with Niger; three more villagers drowned while trying to escape. Some 60 shops and eight vehicles were also destroyed in the attack.
Three men were arrested for defrauding the Nigerian government of over $400,000; the men claimed to be Boko Haram leaders and convinced the government that they could persuade others to drop arms and embrace dialogue. Over 1,000 people have been arrested as the Nigerian military clamped down on illegal oil refineries.
Shabaab militants have fled into Kenya following infighting among the group’s leaders. Security officials in southern Kenya think Shabaab is behind the current uptick in violence in the region.
Shabaab insurgents raided military facilities in Middle Shabelle on Tuesday night, stealing RPGs and anti-tank weapons. Ten government soldiers were killed in the attack. In Bay, government forces have arrested suspected Shabaab fighters in a security crackdown following the death of two Somali soldiers.
Boko Haram attacked Banki town, killing a policeman and civilians. President Jonathan appointed an air force officer from the northeast as the chief of defense after purging his defense staff.
Civilians from Banki town, Nigeria were pursued by Boko Haram as they fled across the border into Cameroon. Cameroonian forces intercepted the Boko Haram fighters and made arrests.
The trial of four men charged in connection with the Westgate mall attack has begun in Nairobi. Police have ramped up investigations into Shabaab’s terror financing.
Djiboutian Forces have received 26 Land Cruisers from the US to help fight Shabaab in Beledweyne. Six army and police officers were killed in a Shabaab attack in Middle Shabelle. The federal government has confirmed the US military presence in Mogadishu.
A suspected Boko Haram car bomb attack has killed at least 29 people in Maiduguri. The former governor of Borno insists that the ruling APC party was behind the blast, not Boko Haram.
Shabaab is targeting youth in the refugee camps of Dadaab and Kamuka on the Somali-Kenyan border in an attempt to bolster its numbers. Shabaab’s Kenyan affiliate, al Hijra, is radicalizing youth and preaching against what it calls an anti-Islam campaign across East Africa.
Shabaab officer Abdullahi Dalas turned himself in to authorities in Lower Jubba. Government officials have downplayed Shabaab’s threats against using the Internet in Somalia.
In Maiduguri, 17 people were killed in a suspected Boko Haram suicide bombing. The federal government has been given seven days by the High Court to bring charges against Mohammed Nazeef Yunus.
Shabaab has warned residents of Mogadishu not to work for international aid organizations. The group also threated to attack US forces in Mogadishu, following reports that the US has a base at Mogadishu airport. A delegation of Somali parliamentarians visited their counterparts in Iran to extend bilateral ties.
A rebel demand that the government release detainees before the signing of a ceasefire is preventing a deal from being reached. Government troops are moving on Bor, the last state capital still in rebel hands.