Ethiopian heavy armor and infantry have moved into the town of El Barde in Bakool. In Baidoa, security forces have boosted their operations over the past week, and have arrested over 250 suspects with ties to Shabaab. In Mogadishu, at least two people were injured when mortar shells were fired towards the Presidential Palace.
President Issoufou said he would attempt “to lock” his country’s borders to combat free access by Islamists and traffickers. He also warned that Libya may become like Somalia.
A suspect has been accused of planning the Westgate mall attack in Nairobi. Police have arrested a number of radical Muslim youth who attempted to forcefully take over a mosque in Mombasa. Those arrested are believed to be sympathizers of the slain Sheikh Aboud Rogo.
In Mogadishu, a Ugandan university lecturer was gunned down by unknown attackers, and a Somali MP was killed near the Presidential Palace when an IED planted in his vehicle detonated.
Shabaab carried out a suicide attack in Bossaso. In Beledweyne, Shabaab fighters unsuccessfully attacked an AMISOM base, with both sides believed to be using heavy artillery. Nearby, in the Mahas region, pastoralists have begun fighting back against Shabaab attacks aimed at stealing their livestock. A total of 139 Somali soldiers have completed their EU-led urban […]
Boko Haram’s recent brazen assault on a military base in northern Nigeria has shown that the insurgency has not been quelled and the group is capable of shifting its tactics. Given the group’s history of attacks during the Christmas holiday, authorities have reason to be apprehensive.
Bail has been denied to four Somali men accused of aiding the Westgate attackers, providing support and shelter to the gunmen, and using false documents. In Moyale the Gabra-Borana conflict has intensified along the border with Ethiopia. In Mombasa, Muslim leaders are meeting to discuss the growing threat of youth radicalization.
UN investigators in Kismayu say that Kenyan forces, Ras Kamboni militiamen, and Shabaab split charcoal profits with each other despite being at war. Somalia’s central regions have banned a widely used schoolbook called “Islamic Education” that promotes the idea of apostasy and justifies suicide bombing.
A Defense Headquarters Joint Investigation Team has recommended that Nigeria immediately try 500 of the 1,400 Boko Haram suspects detained in and around Maiduguri. It also recommended releasing another 167, while 614 whose cases were inconclusive have been recommended for review.
A UN Security Council report says Shabaab may be moving closer to al Qaeda’s “global ideology and agenda.” President Mohamud has called for an end to clashes after eight people were killed in a skirmish between Puntland troops and a local militia.
The government will seek foreign help in training and information-sharing, but has ruled out seeking military assistance to fight terrorism after the latest Boko Haram raid. One of Nigeria’s largest opposition parties has called for a probe into intelligence failures before the attack, and questioned how several hundred militants could strike a military facility in […]
Boko Haram launched a major assault on an air force base in Maiduguri in Borno state. A 24-hour curfew has been imposed in the state.
Reports suggest that Shabaab militants attacked a Somali and AMISOM convoy in Baidoa. Prime Minister Shirdon and his cabinet have lost a vote of confidence by Somali lawmakers. Shirdon will leave office, ending his long-running dispute with President Mohamud, which may end weeks of government paralysis.
A combined force of Djiboutian and Somali troops has reportedly retreated to Beledweyne after meeting heavy Shabaab resistance in Luuq-Jeelow and Baar Village. If true, this would be the first significant setback since AMISOM and Somali troops renewed their offensive in the area.
State Security Services (SSS) have been ordered to produce a Federal High Court order that allowed them to detain suspected Boko Haram cleric Muhammad Nazeef Yunus for another 45 days. The Army has recently acquired new arms and ammunition to help in the fight against Boko Haram.
To support an African peacekeeping force, France will triple the amount of soldiers it has in CAR to over 1,000 for six months. France’s ambassador to the UN predicted that the intervention will probably be easier than the one in Mali. France also has a military presence in Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Chad, and Gabon.
Three Shabaab fighters were killed when Somali and AMISOM soldiers captured Buq-gosar village, west of Beledweyne. In Kismayo, the police have accused Shabaab of planting a roadside bomb that killed one person and wounded six on Monday, while two suspected Shabaab members were arrested for entering the city illegally. Unconfirmed reports indicate that the two […]
It has been claimed that the military killed over 100 Boko Haram militants in Borno state last night. The Nigerian army said that it does not plan to reopen blocked cell phone networks in Borno anytime soon. A sectarian crisis is brewing in Plateau state, where Fulani herdsmen have killed 37 people in four largely […]
Authorities believe Shabaab has significant infrastructure in Garissa. Most Somali refugees are against leaving Kenya, and less than 100 have registered at the UNHCR office despite the creation of a voluntary repatriation framework.
AMISOM and Somali troops have launched a fresh assault to liberate central Somalia. In Lower Shabelle, a Shabaab landmine missed an AMISOM convoy, killing at least 21 camels instead. A judge was assassinated by Shabaab in Hurwa.
12 Nigerians were killed over the weekend when suspected Boko Haram militants raided a village in northeastern Nigeria. The ongoing insurgency has led the International Criminal Court to officially designate Nigeria as embroiled in a civil war.
Following the defeat of the M-23 rebels, UN peacekeepers are now targeting a Ugandan Islamist rebel group named the “Allied Democratic Forces” that is operating in eastern Congo. The extremist group is reportedly linked to Shabaab, and is blamed for some 300 kidnappings in the past year.
The United Nations has approved a plan to integrate Ethiopian troops into AMISOM and increase the number of peacekeepers to over 22,000. Shabaab infighting continues, with the detention today of Yusuf Isse and other leaders by Ahmad Abdi Godane.
The family of alleged Boko Haram cell leader Muhammad Nazeef protested his arrest, claiming he was “set up.” Boko Haram killed at least six people and injured many more during an attack that lasted several hours in Yola, the capital of Adamawa state. Police closed all roads leading out of Yola as they pursued the […]
Amid reports that infamous LRA leader Joseph Kony is in CAR, the UN Secretary General said the anarchy in the country risks spiraling further and that 9,000 peacekeepers could be needed. Human rights groups say both Muslim and Christian militias may have committed war crimes, and a UN expert on genocide warned that the situation […]
A Borno state official accused Cameroonian authorities of habitually refusing to arrest or chase Boko Haram militants fleeing across the border after attacks in Nigeria. Borno has mobilized another 1,000 volunteers to join the controversial Civilian JTF. In Abuja, state security paraded five suspected Boko Haram members said to have been planning attacks in Kogi […]
The government extended emergency rule in the northeastern states of Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe, in an effort to crush the Boko Haram insurgency. In Kano state, Nigerian forces killed two Boko Haram militants and recovered weapons and ammunition.
Shabaab warned Kenya of impending terrorist attacks, in the latest edition of its English-Swahili magazine. A Kenyan Muslim human rights group accused antiterrorism police of unlawful killings. Police detained a suspected Shabaab recruiter in Nyeri. Interior Secretary Lenku announced plans to install CCTV cameras along the Somali border to prevent Shabaab infiltration.
A senior AMISOM commander said the force will gain 4,000 additional troops and may renew its offensive against Shabaab. In Beledweyne, Shabaab carried out a suicide assault on a police station, killing at least 21 people.
Authorities have confirmed that all four of the attackers at Nairobi’s Westgate mall have been identified. Reports indicate that the Shabaab gunmen trained in Somalia and crossed into Kenya in June before carrying out the attack. A Western official privy to the investigation said the four had a “local support network” in Kenya, and that […]