At least 17 people died over the weekend in an attack attributed to a terrorist group close to Al-Qaeda targeting transport buses in the Hiran region of central Somalia. According to the official Somali news agency Suna, it was the al-Shabab militia that carried out this operation. “Seventeen civilians were …
Read More »Somalia: Heavy toll after hotel attack by gunmen
The attack on a hotel in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, by Al-Shabab Islamist militants caused the death of at least 21 civilians, according to a new official report on Sunday. The attack lasted 30 hours until Saturday evening, according to reports. The attack was the bloodiest in Somali Capital since …
Read More »Somalia: former al-Shabab leader appointed cabinet minister
Former deputy leader and spokesman of Al-Shabab Islamist militant group, Mukhtar Robow, has been appointed religious affairs minister in Somalia’s new government. The former militant leader had been under house arrest for four years. He was detained during the previous president’s term for organizing a militia. He was also accused …
Read More »Somalia: several dead including local authority in a suicide attack
A suicide bomber, wearing an explosive belt, burst into the Merka governorate building in Ethiopia’s Shabeellaha Hoose region and blew himself up, Anadolu Agency reported, citing a police source. According to the agency which quotes the source, the attack “caused the death of 6 people, including the governor of Merka, …
Read More »Somalia: two journalists injured in explosion of a mine
Two journalists were injured on Monday following a landmine explosion in the town of Qabno in central Somalia, Anadolu Agency reported, citing a security source. According to the source, the blast was caused by a landmine laid beside a road. The landmine targeted a car carrying two journalists in the …
Read More »Somalia: tight security in the capital for new president’s inauguration
Security has been tightened in the Somali capital, Mogadishu and around Aden Adde airport ahead of the inauguration of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Thursday. Main roads in Mogadishu were closed on Wednesday with police deployed in large numbers and armoured vehicles on the streets leading to the presidential palace. …
Read More »Somalia hunger risk ignored because of Ukraine – UN
If famine is to be avoided in Somalia the world must first “widen its gaze from the war in Ukraine”, says the UN’s children’s agency Unicef. “An explosion of child death is about to happen in the Horn of Africa,” Unicef Deputy Regional Director Rania Dagash has warned. There were …
Read More »Somalia: Lawmakers elect Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as new head of state
Lawmakers in Somalia elected former president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the new head of state in presidential elections on Sunday. Mr Mohamud defeated current president, Mohamed Abudallahi Farmajo, in office since 2017. The ballot was limited to Somalia’s 328 MPs due to security concerns over holding a wider election, and …
Read More »Somalia. Curfew imposed on the presidential polling place
The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (Atmis) imposed a curfew on the Afisyoni air force hangar in the capital, Mogadishu, and the surrounding areas ahead of the presidential election due to take place on Sunday, the BBC reported. The curfew runs from Tuesday to Monday next week. More than …
Read More »Somalia: President Farmajo is seeking second term
Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has announced his candidacy for a second term in presidential elections scheduled for May 15. On Twitter, President Farmajo said he was seeking a second term in “response to the call of the Somali people” and to continue “on the path of progress and development”. …
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