Another 30 injured in ‘cruel attack’ and death toll could rise
Ten people have been killed after a rickshaw loaded with explosives was detonated by al-Shabaab Islamists at a popular restaurant in Mogadishu.
The three-wheeler rickshaw, fitted to carry a load on the back, had been packed with explosives when it hit the restaurant near the capital’s port, said Somali police spokesman Sadik Dudishe.
Continue reading...Motorcycle bomber targets Turkish construction company, killed at least five people and injuring 14
A suicide bombing in Mogadishu has killed at least five people, the Turkish health minister has said.
The al-Shabaab group, which is linked to al-Qaida, claimed responsibility for the attack on Saturday in the Somali capital in a post from its Shahada news agency. The group often targets Mogadishu with suicide bombings and other attacks.
Continue reading...‘Extremely dangerous’ if personal information needed to process mobile payments is lost or falls into wrong hands, say staff
The rapid upscaling of digital technology use by international groups in Somalia is causing concern about the risk to the people whose data is being collected.
The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the use of programming by humanitarian organisations to deliver aid, but local staff working with several different NGOs say the organisations are not thinking enough about data protection or obtaining informed consent.
Continue reading...Children among those reported drowned as Islamist insurgency drives thousands of families from homes in Cabo Delgado
More than 40 people fleeing violence in Mozambique’s conflict-torn north are believed to have drowned after the boat carrying them to safety sank, according to reports.
At least 70 people were on board the vessel when it sank on 29 October in the Indian Ocean just north of the provincial capital of Pemba, where tens of thousands of people have sought refuge from a three-year Islamist insurgency, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Reuters reported.
Continue reading...Somalia-based al-Shabaab group claims blast that leaves 14 wounded
A car bomb has exploded at the gates of a military base in Mogadishu, killing at least eight soldiers and wounding 14.
The extremist group al-Shabaab, linked with al-Qaida, claimed responsibility via its radio arm, Andalus. The group often targets military sites in Mogadishu and controls large parts of southern and central Somalia, with little sign of being hampered by the coronavirus pandemic.
Continue reading...Authorities face criticism for withdrawing teaching staff from an already marginalised region where education is badly needed
A series of targeted killings of schoolteachers by a militia group in Kenya has seen an exodus of staff and the closure of hundreds of schools across the north-east of the country.
Thousands of teachers have left their posts in the past two months following several suspected al-Shabaab attacks in the region.
Continue reading...Jihadist group al-Shabaab suspected of placing roadside device
Several Kenyan police officers were killed on Saturday when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb near the Somali border, authorities said.
“Unfortunately we lost some officers and the vehicle they were travelling in has been severely damaged,” said the Kenyan chief of police, Hilary Mutyambai, without giving an exact number of fatalities.
Continue reading...Al-Shabaab claims its fighters launched raid on military base west of Mogadishu
A US military base used to launch drones and a European military convoy have been hit in separate attacks in Somalia.
A Reuters journalist saw a seriously damaged armoured vehicle bearing a small Italian flag sticker in the capital, Mogadishu, on Monday. It was unclear if there were any casualties.
Continue reading...Abdirahman Omar Osman was a naturalised Briton who once worked as a council housing manager in London
The mayor of Mogadishu has died after being badly wounded in an al-Shabaab extremist attack in his office last week, the government of Somalia has announced.
Abdirahman Omar Osman was a naturalised Briton who returned to Somalia to help rebuild the war-torn country. He spent 17 years in the UK including a stint as housing manager at Ealing council in west London.
Continue reading...Briton and Canadian-Somali journalist among dead in suicide bombing and shooting in Kismayo claimed by al-Shabaab
Special forces in Somalia have ended an all-night siege at a hotel raided by armed Islamic militants, officials have said.
The death toll from the attack in the southern port city of Kismayo, which began on Friday evening, has risen to 26 people, including a prominent Canadian-Somali journalist and several foreigners.
Continue reading...Somali people at Kenya’s sprawling refugee camp allege that UN staff want money for everything from food to repatriation
Four years ago, Asha made what seemed like an impossible decision. She knew the journey from Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camp back to her native Somalia was risky. But after an attack by the Somali Islamist group al-Shabaab, the Kenyan government had threatened to close the vast, sprawling camp for security reasons. Asha feared for her family’s safety if Kenyan soldiers moved in to evict them.
“I wanted to be gone before the rough-up,” recalls Asha. “I didn’t want my girls raped by [the] military forcing them on buses. I wanted to protect myself too.–
Continue reading...Blast claimed by Islamist insurgents follows attack in Mogadishu that killed eight
A roadside bomb hit a police vehicle patrolling near Kenya’s border with Somalia on Saturday, killing several of the 11 officers inside, a Kenyan police spokesman has said.
Separately, another blast in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, killed eight people, according to emergency services.
Continue reading...The extremist group’s enduring influence in Mogadishu makes the Somali capital a dangerous place to live and work
Once every other month, journalist Hassan Dahir, 28, leaves his hostel in central Mogadishu under the cover of darkness to visit his mother in Yaqshid district, north-east of the capital.
He will spend the night with her and return to his rented room before dawn.
Continue reading...Al-Shabaab says it carried out Mogadishu bombing and shot manager of Bossaso port
Islamic militants in Somalia have shot dead a senior manager running the port of Bossaso in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, and a car bomb has killed at least 11 in Mogadishu.
The assassination of Paul Anthony Formosa, a Maltese citizen who worked for the Dubai government-owned P&O Ports, and the bombing in the capital, were both claimed by the extremist group al-Shabaab extremist group.
Continue reading...Attack follows extremist group’s assault on hotel complex in Nairobi, which killed 21 people
A US airstrike in Somalia has killed 52 Islamic militants from al-Shabaab, military officials have said.
The strike comes days after a deadly attack by the extremist organisation on a luxury hotel complex in Nairobi, Kenya.
Continue reading...The US military said it carried out an airstrike in Somalia that killed 52 al-Shabaab extremists, in response to an attack on Somali forces.
Related: Al-Shabaab's Nairobi attack is a reminder that tit-for-tat terror never succeeds | Mukoma wa Ngugi
Continue reading...President says planners of assault claimed by al-Shabaab will be relentlessly pursued
Kenya’s president has vowed to relentlessly pursue anyone involved in the Nairobi hotel complex attack, as new details of the 16-hour siege emerged and investigators tried to trace 50 people who are still missing.
Twenty-one people have so far been confirmed dead, including 11 Kenyans, a Briton and an American, as well as five attackers. The figure is expected to rise.
Continue reading...Western officials frustrated by lack of response ahead of assault that killed 14 in Nairobi
Intelligence services in Kenya were warned that al-Shabaab was planning terrorist attacks on high-profile targets in the east African country around Christmas and the new year, western and regional security officials have said.
Officials and other sources told the Guardian the warnings had been passed on several times in recent months, adding that they had been frustrated not to see a greater response from Kenyan authorities.
Continue reading...US citizen confirmed among those killed in assault claimed by militant Islamist organisation al-Shabaab
Police and anti-terrorist forces have regained control of a Nairobi hotel and office complex, hours after Islamist extremist gunmen launched an attack that is thought to have killed at least 15 people, including a US citizen.
The assault on the dusitD2 compound in the Kenyan capital, which includes a luxury hotel, restaurants, a spa and several office buildings housing international companies, was the most outrageous by terrorists in the country for many years.
Continue reading...Amateur footage captured people escaping a terror attack in the Kenyan capital. At least seven people had been reported killed and one suspect detained. At least 10 more were wounded. Militant Islamist organization al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the armed assault
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