Tag Archives: Somalia

Shabaab launched mortars as a plane landed at the Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu. Twelve were killed and 35 were wounded in heavy fighting in Mogadishu. Airlines have refused to fly into Mogadishu. The Islamic Courts said it would continue to wage jihad despite ongoing negotiation in Djibouti.

Shabaab fighters killed three civilians, two Somali soldiers, and a Ugandan soldier in ambushes in Mogadishu. An Ethiopian convoy was ambushed near Baidoa; Shabaab claimed it killed many soldiers. Shabaab warned it would close the Mogadishu airport.

Shabaab fighters occupied Beledweyne after Ethiopian forces withdrew from the town. Shabaab mortared Baidoa, the seat of the Transitional Federal Government. Swedish prosecutors dropped charges against three men accused of funding Shabaab.

Owners of the German-owned cargo ship that was released on Thursday by Somali pirates paid a $1.1 million ransom. Nine Filipino seamen who were among the 13-member crew of that German-owned vessel were also freed by the pirates. At least six Ethiopians have been killed and 23 others injured in a new series of clashes […]

Residents are leaving the town of Bardale after heavy fighting between Ethiopian and Shabaab fighters. Shabaab has declared a nighttime curfew in Kismayo. Two Kenyan soldiers were killed and three were wounded after “bandits” crossed the border from Somalia and stole weapons and ammunition.

Pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades attacked three vessels off Somalia’s coast but failed to hijack them. Kidnappers holding an Alberta journalist in Somalia have demanded a $2.5 million ransom in exchange for her release. The three Royal Malaysian Navy vessels have arrived in the Gulf of Aden to help patrol Somali waters.

An unidentified warship captured 14 pirates and sunk their boat. Shabaab conducted attacks against peacekeepers in Mogadishu and a police station in Baidoa. An Islamic Courts official rejected the appointment of new leaders in Kismayo as local clans were not represented.

[Update 2] Shabaab has seized the frontier town of Dobley in the lower Juba region. A total of nine Somali and Ethiopian soldiers surrendered themselves to Islamist fighters on Saturday. Ethiopia’s ETV aired a bulletin saying that Sacad Mohamad Al Sacad, a Nigerian officer of the al Qaeda network, has been killed by Ethiopian troops. […]

Shabaab has taken over the town of Walaweyn. Five Ethiopian soldiers were killed in a Shabaab ambush outside the town of Baidoa. The UN has declined to send peacekeeping forces to Somalia until the political situation improves.

Shabaab leaders revealed earlier today on Paltalk that the group would announce the establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Somalia very soon. Shabaab has made overtures to merge with Al Qaeda over the past several weeks.

Islamic Courts fighters forced restaurants in the Middle Shabelle region to shut down for Ramadan. Somaliland released a politician after accusing him of having links to Shabaab. Pirates seized an Egyptian ship and a French yacht; 10 ships and their crews are being held for ransom.

Shabaab vowed to continue attacks during Ramadan. Fifteen Somalis were killed in a Shabaab attack on the Presidential Palace in Mogadishu. The Islamic Courts said the government is incapable of retaking Kismayo.

Shabaab admitted Abu Talha al Sudani was killed during fighting last year in a videotape designed to pave the way for a merger with al Qaeda. Leaders in the Transitional Federal Government said the military would retake Kismayo from the Islamic Courts. Opposing groups in the Islamic Courts clashed in Jowhar. Sheikh Yusuf Indha’ade spoke […]

The Islamic Courts Union set up sharia courts in Buulobardte, the provincial capital of Hiran. Colonel Barre Hirale vowed to fight the Islamic Courts in Kismayo. Three Somali soldiers were wounded in a grenade attack near Baidoa.

Shabaab taunted the Ethiopian prime minister for his suggestion that he might pull troops from Somalia. A group of Somali members of parliament condemned the Ethiopian government. Two civilians were killed in an attack on an Ethiopian base south of Mogadishu. Shabaab forces ambushed a Somali military convoy in Mogadishu.