Tag Archives: Somalia

The ICU claims to have captured Idale and to have killed dozens of Ethiopians. Independent journalists are supporting the claim. Artillery and mortar fire is still being reported near Idale, as ICU leader Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys joins the call for foreign fighters. The ICU is also complaining the Ethiopians are using “excessive force,” indicating […]

Fighting continued around Baidoa in Idale, Dinsor and Daynunay Friday. Local reports indicate an Ethiopian convoy is on its way to Baidoa, which appears to be nearing its final stand.

ICU and al Qaeda forces under the command of Abu Talha al-Sudani launch attack on Baidoa on 3 sides – Burhakabo, Idaale and Dinsor. Both claim victory but heavy fighting continues. The ICU claims to be in control of Idaale now. Independent reports that 70 ICU and jihadists killed.

Fighting has been reported in the town of Idaale. The ICU is prepared to take Bardhere, and has deployed more troops on the Ethiopian border. Dozens of TFG troops have defected to the ICU. Kenya has sent a delegation to Somaliland, possibly to recognize the region as a state. Displaced families have demonstrated against the […]

The ICU appears to be backing down on an ultimatum for Ethiopian to withdraw from Somalia. Yemen is attempting to broker a peace agreement between the ICU and Ethiopian. A TFG minister claims no government militias defected to the Islamists. The ICU has arrested two more reporters in Mogadishu.

The chairman of the ICU and the TFG parliament speaker met in Yemen. A Puntland Islamic Courts is urging Somalis to fight the Ethiopians. A bomb was detonated behind a Mogadishu hotel owned by a “leading Islamic Courts ally and financer,” and may have targeted an ICU official.

Civilians flee the area of Baidoa as both the TFG and UIC prepare for combat. The ICU-issued deadline for Ethopians to leave the country by Tuesday draws closer. Pakistan issued a denial that it supports the UIC.

Thousands of ICU fighters have surrounded Baidoa, the only remaining town under the control of Somalia TFG. Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi claims that as many as 3,000 foreign fighters are fighting alongside the ICU with more arriving every day.

Fighting broke out 19 miles southwest of Baidoa. The ICU held a demonstration in Mogadishu to protest the U.N. proposal for African Union troop deployments to Somalia. Uganda is ready to send a battalion once its Parliament approves the engagement.

The United Nations endorsed an African peacekeeping force in Somalia. The ICU opposes the move, saying it would, “contribute to further instability.” Eritrea denies having troops in Somalia. The ICU has announced that residents of a southern Somalia town who do not pray five times a day will be beheaded.

Ethiopia in “technical” state of war with Somalia’s SICC as the UN-backed transitional government rules out negotiations with the SICC and bans cars entering Baidoa from Mogadishu after last week’s suicide attack. All-out war could begin within two weeks as the rainy season ends.

An Ethiopian minister met with the Islamic Courts, but the ICU denies it. The speaker of the TFG parliament says Ehtiopian must withdraw its “15,000” troops.” The ICU claims to have reached an agreement with IGAD not to deploy African troops. The ICU has given Somalis 7 days to turn in their weapons.

Aweys on Shabelle Radio: “We will launch a jihad war against any foreign forces deployed in Somalia regardless of which country they are from.” The TFG approves of a UNSC draft resolution calling for peacekeepers. “Foreign intervention will only destabilize Somalia,” warned the Eritrian government.

Thursday’s death toll in the suicide attack on Baidoa hits 8 and the UIC distanced itself from the operation. TFG claims that 350 militia defected earlier this week, marking the first time that militamen have left the UIC.