Somalia: Al-Shabaab leader seeks forgiveness from Somalis
Ali Mohamed Hussein, former leader of al-Shabaab forces in the Banadir region, said last week he is willing to condemn the group and separate from it, a move that analysts expect to exacerbate divisions within the group. Hussein asked for forgiveness from residents of Mogadishu and all Somali people who had been harmed by the … Read more
Somalia: Amisom and Gov’t troops capture the strategic town Afgoye
Somali forces andAfrican Union troops have captured the strategic town from Al Shabaab insurgents, Radio Garowe reports. Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces and African Union’s AMISOM troops entered the town of Afgoye midday Friday and captured the town without any casualties. According to government sources, Al Shabaab insurgents fled the town the night before after … Read more
Somalia leaders in Addis set new deadlines and arrangements
The signatories to the Somali Roadmap, meeting in Addis Ababa this week, decided to amend a number of the provisions of the Roadmap to try and iron out disagreements which have been hindering progress and led to failure to implement some of the required timelines. The meeting discussed changes to the draft constitution, clarifications of … Read more
Analysis: Why Kenyan army left Kismayo port in Al-Shabaab hands?
Highlight: Critics also point to Kismayo. Last fall the Kenyan military made it clear that the Somali seaport of Kismayo was key objective. Al Shabaab used it as a communications and supply ink to Yemen and Eritrea. It is also a pirate haven, which is no surprise, since Al Shabaab maintains close ties with Somali … Read more
EU forces hit a pirate base in Somalia; pirates threaten to kill hostages
The first attack on a pirate land base by the European Union’s anti-piracy force was carried out on Tuesday. The attack destroyed several speedboats as well as fuel and ammunition stores. A pirate leader quoted by a news agency said nine speedboats had been destroyed and a key supply center destroyed. The EU said that … Read more
Kenya: Terror suspect not Swedish rather a Swiss citizen
Highlight: The “Swedish” national who was arrested in Kenya on suspicions of having links to the Somali Islamist militia al-Shabaab turned out not to be Swedish at all but Swiss. Kenyan police had arrested what was first believed to be a Swedish national, suspected to have links with the Somali Islamist militia al-Shabaab, a senior … Read more
Somalia: Ethiopia commander says ‘not a problem to liberate Kismayo’
The commander of Ethiopia’s military in Somalia stated that it is not a problem for his military to capture Kismayo, a stronghold of Al Shabaab, Raido Garowe reports. On Friday, a security meeting was held in Baidoa capital of Bay region, which was attended by speaker of parliament Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan and top military … Read more
Somalia: TFG troops captured ‘white Tanzanian’ Al-Shabaab fighter
(May 14 2012 – Garowe Online) – An alleged foreign fighter for the Al Shabaab was captured near Hosingow located in Lower Jubba region, Radio Garowe reports. Ali Bakaari, was captured near the Kenyan border, after Transitional Federal Government (TFG) troops stopped a vehicle Mr. Bakaari was in. TFG officials say the vehicle was stopped … Read more
Kenya to send home a Swedish terror suspect
A Swedish citizen, Magd Najjar, has been detained by Kenyan police on alleged links to Al-Shabaab. Kenyan media reported, citing government officials, that the Swedish was arrested after the police learnt that ‘he was [in the country] illegally and was eager to join or had joined the militant group’. According to Kenyan Police spokesman, quoted … Read more
Report: UK citizens make up a quarter of Al-Shabaab’s foreign fighters
‘Britons are thought to make up about 25 per cent of the 200 or so foreign fighters that the Al-Shabaab group in Somalia currently fields’, a report by the London-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) said. The report added that ‘most of these individuals appear to be only informally networked, making the most of personal … Read more
