Somalia

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Somali militants threaten to avenge Puntland killings
By Richard Lough, Reuters
01 May 2013

Al Qaeda-linked Somali militants who have dug into parts of the northern Puntland province pledged vengeance after authorities in the autonomous region executed 13 suspected Islamist rebels.

Puntland long avoided being caught up in successive Islamist insurgencies that have shattered Somalia but has slowly been infiltrated by al Shabaab rebels squeezed out of former south- central urban redoubts in the Horn of Africa state.

Puntland officials say many of the insurgents have taken up positions in the mountains west of the port city of Bosasso.

“Puntland massacred innocent Muslims,” al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage said in an audio recording posted late on Tuesday on www.somalimemo.net, a website linked to the rebel group. “We shall avenge them. All those who spied, bore false witness, judged, and shot them will face a tough punishment.” (read more)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cars burn after al-Shabaab suicide bombers attacked the Benadir regional court complex in Mogadishu on April 14, 2013. (Mohamed Abdiwahab/AFP)

Al-Shabaab in crosshairs of Somalia’s anti-terrorism law
By Majid Ahmed, Sabahi
26 April 2013

In the coming days Somalia’s parliament will debate a proposed anti-terrorism law that targets al-Shabaab and aims to restructure the country’s national security and intelligence services in the fight against terrorism.

The Somali cabinet approved the draft anti- terrorism law on April 18th, four days after al- Shabaab operatives killed at least 29 civilians in a raid on the Benadir regional court complex.

The details of the proposed draft law have yet to be released to the public, but will be available once the debate in parliament formally begins. (read more)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Badbaado camp is the largest IDP camp in Somalia capital.

SOMALIA: 1,700 victims of rape in Somalia last year
By Abdi Muse, RBC Radio
23 April 2013

Mogadishu (RBC) Violence against women and girls is pervasive in Somalia and are of great concern which needs more national attention, UN says.

The UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) on sexual violence in conflict, Zainab Bangura, visited Mogadishu in early April.

She expressed serious concern about the reports of rape in Somalia and specifically about the high number of rapes targeting displaced women and girls. The SRSG said that there were at least 1,700 victims of rape in Somalia last year. (read more)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Late Mohamed Ibraahin Raage was shot dead by unknown assailants in front of his home in Mogadishu late on Sunday.

SOMALIA: Al Shabab blamed for killing a journalist in Somalia
By Malyun Ali, RBC Radio
22 April 2013

Mogadishu (RBC) Somali government officials and colleagues of assassinated journalist blamed Al Shabab militants in Somalia for the murdering of the journalist Mohamed Ibrahim Raage, RBC Radio reports.

Late Mohamed Ibrahim Raage [better known as Honest] was shot to death by unknown assailants late on Sunday in front of his home in Dharkeenley neighborhood in Mogadishu after he returned from his daily work shift at Radio Mogadishu, the state-run radio where the journalist was working. He is the fourth journalist murdered this year. (read more)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Eight killed in gun attack in Kenyan town – Red Cross
By Duncan Miriri, Reuters
18 Apr 2013

Gunmen shot dead eight people when they sprayed bullets into a restaurant in the eastern Kenyan town of Garissa on Thursday, the Kenya Red Cross said.

The east African nation has suffered a series of grenade and gun attacks since it sent troops into neighbouring Somalia in late 2011 to pursue the al Shabaab rebels linked to al Qaeda.

Though the wave of attacks on the capital Nairobi, the port city of Mombasa, and Garissa has tapered off in recent weeks, the latest incident shows the new government of President Uhuru Kenyatta will still have to wrestle with insecurity. (read more)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Suspected militant kills himself in Mogadishu blast: police
By Edmund Blair, Reuters
18 April 2013

A suspected al Shabaab militant was killed on Thursday trying to plant a bomb in a busy district of the Somali capital, a police official said, after the Islamist group threatened more attacks following two deadly assaults this week.

Western and Somali officials are concerned that al Shabaab, who were driven out of Mogadishu two years ago but still control swathes of mainly rural areas, may be regrouping and seeking to rebuild their strength in the capital.

At least 30 people were killed on Sunday by a car bomb, suicide bombers and gunmen at Mogadishu’s law courts and a car bomb explosion near the airport. (read more)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Somali policemen view the scene of a bombing in Mogadishu on April 14, 2013. © 2013 Reuters

Somalia: New Al-Shabaab Attacks are War Crimes 
Human Rights Watch    
16 April 2013

(Nairobi) – The attacks claimed by the Islamist armed group al-Shabaab on the Mogadishu regional courthouse and on an aid workers’ convoy on April 14, 2013, were grave violations of the laws of war. At least four legal professionals were killed, including a judge and three lawyers.

The attack on the court consisted of a suicide bombing followed by additional explosions, and several assailants stormed the court complex shooting live rounds. Shortly afterward a car bomb detonated hitting several cars carrying Turkish aid workers on the airport road several kilometers from the court complex. An al-Shabaab spokesman who claimed responsibility for the attacks told the media that the court was a legitimate military target as they were ruling contrary to Sharia, or Islamic law. (read more)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Feisal Omar/Reuters)

“Are you al-Shabaab or soldiers?” 
By Feisal Omar, Reuters 
16 April 2013

At 11:30 on Sunday morning I was sipping a cup of coffee at the Village restaurant near the palace when I heard a blast followed by gunshots.

I walked out onto the street and could see pickup trucks with anti-aircraft guns mounted on them, rushing toward the Mogadishu court. I started my vehicle and drove speedily in the direction of the court. I arrived moments later at the court building where there was an intense exchange of gunfire.

I could not believe armed fighters had broken into the court, killed the soldiers that guarded it, the lawyers and others. “How did al-Shabaab take over such a well-guarded building in the heart of the town!’ I whispered to myself as I got closer to the building. (read more)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A Somali girl and her brother run to safety near the scene of a blast in Mogadishu April 14, 2013. (Reuters/Feisal Oma)

Somali militants threaten more attacks after killing 30
By Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar
15 April 2013

Somali militants linked to al Qaeda warned on Monday of further attacks in the capital, a day after killing at least 30 people in a wave of coordinated bombings and shootings that exposed the fragility of security gains in Mogadishu.

African peacekeeping troops blocked streets and searched houses across the city at dawn to flush out suspected members of the Islamist militant group al Shabaab, which claimed responsibility for the strikes.

But the rebels warned of more attacks and taunted the Mogadishu government, which they consider a Western stooge, over its trouble securing the city as Somalia struggles to emerge from more than two decades of conflict and anarchy. (read more)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Somalia President Admits Rapes by Security Forces
By Abdi Guled, Associated Press
9 April 2013

After months of denial, Somalia’s government has for the first time acknowledged that its security forces were involved in rape cases that drew an international outcry by human rights groups.

Army commanders often denied accusations that soldiers were involved in a spate of rapes, blaming the crimes on the Islamic extremist rebels of al-Shabab who wore army uniforms to smear the reputation of the military.

“Those few among the security forces who rape and rob our citizens must be fought and be defeated just like Shabaab,” said President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, while speaking to military cadets at a training camp in Mogadishu on Monday. (read more) 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Somalia: Amisom Commander – Alshabab Wiped Out Along Mogadishu and Baidoa
By Maalik_Eng, AllAfrica
7 April 2013

Mogadishu (Sh.M.Network ) the commander of the AMISOM troops in Somalia has assured the Somali public that members of the outlawed group Alshabab have been wiped out of the long highway that connects the city of Mogadishu and Baidoa city. The long highway is estimated to be 241 KM.

The federal Government troops and the AMISOM troops are reported to be finalizing a joint assault on the militia group to eradicate the terrorist along the main highway that connects the two cities. (read more)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Explosion hits Somalia’s Dahabshiil bank headquarters
Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Jon Hemming, Reuters
2 April 2013

A loud explosion hit the headquarters of Somali’s leading money transfer agency in the capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, wounding at least two people hours after al Qaeda-linked Islamist militants warned the bank to cease operations in areas under its control.

Police said they were still searching the rubble outside the Dahabshiil bank, whose doors were shattered by the blast. It was not immediately clear whether anyone had been killed by the explosion.

© Reuters, 2013

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

For earlier articles, please see the “Archived Updates” section on Somalia’s page.

by

by