Tag Archives: Somalia

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.

The president’s spokesman said the are no plans to resign. Hassan Dahir Aweys rejected current peace talks. A boy was killed in an IED attack in Mogadishu. A policeman was murdered in Baidoa. A reported said a suspected US unmanned spy play crashed near BAidoa.

Heavy fighting erupted in Mogadishu, wounding 23 people and killing 3 others. The fighting originated at the presidential palace between government fighters and insurgents. The African Union urged Ethiopia to delay its troop withdrawal until more AU troops can be deployed.

Ethiopia announced that it would be withdrawing troops from Somalia by the end of December. Nigeria is planning to send an estimated 850 troops to Mogadishu after Ethiopian forces withdraw. Switzerland stated that it may send warships off Somali coast to protect Swiss vessels.

One Somali was killed and 19 were wounded in a Shabaab attack in Baidoa. Heavy fighting was reported in Mogadishu as insurgent groups attacked Somali and Ethiopian bases. Insurgents mortared the police academy in Mogadishu. Iran will send warships to battle Somali pirates.

A UN delegation visited Johwar in southern Somalia to address humanitarian and security issues. The new UNSC resolution allows for US air strikes over Somali territory to fight piracy. China is planning to send warships to Somali cost for anti piracy operations.

The UN has permitted nations to pursue pirates on land in Somalia. Pirates have seized four ships in the Gulf of Aden. Shabaab fighters killed five in attacks on Ethiopian and Africa Union troops in Mogadishu. Shabaab has begun to seize World Food Program supply trucks in Kismayo and ordered the halt of deliveries.

Prime Minister Hussein won a vote of confidence after the president tried to remove him from office. Ethiopian forces may have killed up to 23 nomads in Kaba Hirig after being attacked by Shabaab. Shabaab attacked a base manned by Burundian peacekeepers in Mogadishu. Uganda may pull its peacekeepers from Somalia.

Many members of the security forces are deserting and taking their weapons with them. The president relieved the prime minister of his duties. The leader of the African Union wants to keep forces in Somalia. Pirates freed a captured Greek cargo ship.

The Indian Navy has arrested 23 pirates as they were trying to board a merchant ship. Thousands watched as two men were executed by Shabaab for murdering their parents. The Somali government has been accused of murdering civilians in Mogadishu.

Somali pirates captured two Yemeni fishing boats and 22 Yemeni fishermen. The German government approved the German Navy to assist the EU in its anti-piracy fight in the Gulf of Aden. Ethiopian troops took control of Abudwaq district in Galgadud region. The United States expressed concernsabout Somalia and Yemen based terrorist safe houses.

Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, leader of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), arrived in Mogadishu. African Union peacekeepers, along with Islamic Courts Union (ICU) fighters set up security patrols throughout the city. Shabaab destroyed graves in Kismayo after accusing locals of worshiping “dead people.”