Tag Archives: Somalia

Shabaab has taken control of Baidoa. The African Union has sharply condemned the takeover of the Somali parliament building in Baidoa and surrounding areas by Shabaab. Islamic Courts leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed may run for president.

A key road in Mogadishu was reopened. Ethiopian troops are scheduled to leave from Baidoa. The African Union warns of possible further suicide attacks against peacekeeping forces in Mogadishu.

Two people have been killed after fresh fighting between pro-government militias and Islamist insurgents in Mogadishu. Islamist insurgents have recaptured Bardhere town in southwestern Somalia.

The UN announced that it would support a Somali peacekeeping mission. Shabaab fighters killed three Somalis during attacks on AMISOM bases in Mogadishu. The Puntland president appointed a new cabinet, along with a seven-member military commission.

Islamists executed a famous Somali statesman in Kismayu town. Dutch seek Somali pirates’ extradition from Denmark.

Ethiopian troops fully withdrew from Mogadishu, ending their two-year stay. Shabaab and other Islamist groups immediately occupied the Ethiopian bases. An explosion targeting a militia commander killed six people in Bardhere town.

Ethiopian troops withdrew from bases in northern Mogadishu and have handed over security to the Transitional Federal Government and a faction of Islamist insurgents. Islamic Courts Union spokesman Sheikh Abdirahin Isse Adow urged Islamists groups not to fight over the city. Four children were killed in fighting between Islamist insurgents and government forces.

Three Somalis died after releasing the giant Saudi Super-Tanker. Spain is sending a frigate and a plane to assist pirate fighting efforts. Two aid workers held hostage for 108 days were released.

Abdirahman Farole was elected as Puntland president. A United States Naval Commander will lead an international force of 20 members to combat the Somali pirate attacks.

A French warship prevented pirates from attacking two cargo vessels; 19 Somalis were captured. Burundi and Uganda governments asked the African Union to allow their troops to take action against the insurgents.

Nine people were killed in Mogadishu, three were civilians shot by Somali solders outside a hotel. Two journalists, one British and one Spanish, were released in good health after being held hostage for six weeks.

Islamic Courts Union fighters are taking control of military bases in Mogadishu vacated by withdrawing Ethiopian troops. Seven Somalis were killed in fighting between Shabaab and Sufi militias in the Galgadud region. Sheikh Sharif and Sheikh Aweys may meet in Egypt.

Ethiopian military convoys have been seen leaving Mogadishu. Two Ethiopian troops were killed in a bombing and eight people were killed in fighting in Mogadishu. Shabaab executed two Somalis in Burhakaba.

The Ethiopian Army is preparing to withdraw its troops from Somalia in the next week. Ethiopian troops disarmed some Somali soldiers in Mogadishu. Somali troops killed a Shabelle Radio reporter in in Afgoi. The US will provide $5 million to Somali security forces.

Interim President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed resigned from office today after months of fighting with Somalia’s parliament. Eight more people were killed in the third day of fighting between Shabaab and a rival Islamist militia in Guriel. Ethiopian troops have moved into the Hiran region.

Twenty-two people were killed during clashes between Shabaab and Islamist groups in central Somalia. Hawiye clan elders called for an end of fighting between Shabaab and local Islamist groups. Twenty-seven members of parliament fled Baidoa after a colleague was assassinated.

A group called Ahlu Sunna Waljamaa defeated Shabaab during a battle for control of the Guriel district in central Somalia; ten people were killed in the fighting. The deputy minister for the reconciliation was assassinated in Baidoa. Three Ethiopian soldiers were killed in an IED attack in Afgoi.