Tag Archives: Somalia

An Ethiopian army force reportedly re-entered the central province of Hiran and set up a base at the Kala-Beyr junction. The Islamic Courts and Shabaab battled outside Jowhar; one fighter was reported killed. Shabaab raided and looted UN officers in Johwar.

Seventeen Shabaab fighters, including four foreigners, were killed in a premature detonation at a car bomb workshop in Mogadishu. Three Shabaab fighters were killed during an ambush by the Islamic Courts in the village of Ayn in Hiran province. Puntland police detained 15 pirates and seized five boats.

Shabaab captured the strategic central town of Jowhar and is actively recruiting soldiers in the south. Shabaab’s spokesman said it will fight until the government collapses. The UN said it will not take over the peacekeeping mission from the African Union.

Sixteen people were killed as Shabaab and Ahlu Sunna Waljama battled for control over the town of Wabho in central Somalia. The Islamic Courts’ governor of Hiran survived two IED attacks in Beletwein, the provincial capital of Hiran. A curfew has been imposed in Beletwein.

The UN said there are more than 300 foreign fighters working with Shabaab in Somalia. The US accused Eritrea of “fanning the flames of violence” in Somalia. Sixteen Somalis were killed during fighting between Shabaab and Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca in Mahas and Wabho. Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys rejected offers from the government to end the […]

President Sharif officially signed the shariah bill into law. General Said Mohamed Hersi, the chief of Somali forces, resigned and was appointed the chief of the president’s security detail. Shabaab leader Sheikh Muktar Abdirahman released an 11-minute audiotape railing against the government.

At least 113 people have been killed during the last five days of fighting in Mogadishu. Shabaab said the Somali government is no longer Islamic and called foreign fighters their “brothers.” The US will provide African Union peacekeepers with $10 million in funding.

Ten Somalis were killed and 50 more were wounded during heavy shelling and fighting in Mogadishu. Shabaab is sending weapons and fighters to support Islamists in Mogadishu. Sheikh Yusuf Indhoaade backtracked on an agreement to support the government and has turned his weapons over to Shabaab.

Twenty-five people were killed during heavy fighting between Hizbul Islam and government forces in Mogadishu. Islamists are attacking the homes of members of parliament. Shabaab and Hizbul Islam have advanced in the capital, capturing the former defense ministry and a police station.

Seven people were killed after government forces attacked a police station in Mogadishu that is under the control of Hizbul Islam. Two ICU fighters were killed in a market. Fifteen Somalis were killed during fighting in the capital yesterday. Shabaab chopped off the hand of a thief in Kismayo.

Shabaab and pro-government militias are battling in Mogadishu. Former Hizbul Islam Leader Sheikh Amy and Yusuf Indhoaade vowed to support the government. Islamic Courts forces detained 40 Somalis in Beledweyn.

A Burundi soldier was killed in Mogadishu. A Shabaab spokesman said the group would wage jihad even after African troops left the country. Shabaab and Hizbul Islam are moving weapons into Mogadishu. Shabaab is destroying graves and airing violent films in Kismayo.

Shabaab and Hizbul Islam fighters attacked a compound run by Yusuf Indhaade, their former ally who broke away last month. Eritrea said it was “sick” of accusations that it was arming terrorists and said it does not recognize the new Somali government.

Al Qaeda-linked Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys refused to meet with Somalia’s Islamist president. “I cannot think of a reason to talk to Sheikh Sharif, who is being used to destroy Islamists in Somalia,” he said. A French naval vessel crew captured 11 Somali pirates who attempted to hijack the warship.

Soldiers from President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed’s security detail sold armed trucks to Shabaab. Al Qaeda ally Hassan Dahir Aweys said the international community will not allow an Islamic government in Somalia and called for an end to assassinations in Mogadishu. The government sees a role for Aweys in reconciliation. A militia attacked a Shabaab base […]

Three masked gunmen killed Sheikh Muktar, a Shabaab military commander, as he was sitting outside his shop in Mogadishu’s Bakara Market. The Shabaab commander was allied with Muktar Robow. Three Somalis, including a senior intelligence official, were killed in an hand grenade attack in Galka™yo in the semi- autonomous region of Puntland. The ICU claimed […]

Dozens of terrorists are moving from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and into Somalia. President Sharif said African Union forces should stay in Somalia. Shabaab freed three journalists and reopened their radio station.

The prime minister defended the parliamentary vote endorsing Islamic law and has invited Islamist terror groups to join the government. Shabaab shut down a radio station in Baidoa and detained three journalists for “spreading false news.”

Mortars fired at Somalia’s Parliament missed the building but hit a police unit inside the compound as well as a residential neighborhood, killing at least seven people. Somali pirates have seized a German ship transporting grain in the Gulf of Aden; all 17 crew members are unharmed. Two European aid workers taken hostage by gunmen […]

The speaker of the Somali parliament denounced Shabaab for employing foreign fighters and distorting Islam. The government is asking for help to build a coast guard while the Somali president advised against attacks on pirate bases on land. Hawiye clans leaders called for the formation of civil security forces in Mogadishu.

Nine people have been killed as the Islamic Courts Union and Hizbul Islam battle for control of Beletwein. Seven were killed after Shabaab fighters attacked a clan outside Kismayo. A senior Islamic Courts commander was assassinated in Mogadishu; Shabaab has been blamed for the attack.