Somalia’s religious affairsministry has banned the use of the name al-Shabab – “the youth” in Arabic – and asked the public to refer to the militant group as “Khawarij”, a derogatory term meaning a deviant sect.
In a statement, the ministry also prohibited clerics from dealing with the al-Qaeda-allied militants or meeting them.
The government said the directive to brand al-Shabab as “Khawarij” was part of the war against the group.
It is not the first time the Somali government has coined another name for al-Shabab.
In 2015 the government told the media to refer to the militant group as “Ugus”, a Somali acronym for “the group that massacres the Somali people”.
In response, the al-Shabab had threatened to punish anyone, including journalists, who obeyed government directives or used the term.
Last month, the federal authorities banned local media outlets from reporting on al-Shabab activities.
Some unlikely fighters are strengthening the Somali government’s arsenal in its long war against al-Shabab, one of al-Qaeda’s most successful affiliates – and which was behind a twin car bomb explosion in the capital, Mogadishu, last weekend that killed at least 120 people.
Images of men in sarongs and flip-flops running about with guns are one of the most enduring stereotypes of conflict in Somalia.
Footage of these be-skirted fighters careering through smashed-up cities, firing wildly as they go, is shown again and again, much to the annoyance of Somalis who say this is not a fair or accurate representation of their society.
Somalis call these sarongs “ma’awiis”. They usually come in muted colours, decorated with abstract designs originating in Indonesia.
Many men use them as everyday wear, while others put them on to relax in the evenings or to recline more comfortably while chewing the narcotic leaf khat.
Now men in sarongs, or “ma’awiisley”, have become a powerful new weapon in the battle to bring an end to the country’s 15-year Islamist insurgency.
These groups of clan fighters have sprung largely from nomadic and farming communities living under al-Shabab, which controls vast swathes of territory in southern and central Somalia and imposes strict rules on those who live there.
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, As drought bites, people cannot afford to pay al-Shabab taxes
Although the Islamist militants have a powerful network of spies who monitor every aspect of people’s lives and punish severely those who disobey, a grassroots movement has risen up against them.
As the worst drought in 40 years takes hold and famine creeps ever closer, people can no longer afford to pay taxes to al-Shabab.
With more than three million heads of livestock perishing from lack of food and water, they can no longer hand over animals demanded by the militants.
They can no longer bear to hand over their sons and daughters to serve as cannon fodder and sex slaves. They have simply had enough.
Small groups of nomads and farmers have periodically risen up against al-Shabab in recent years, only to be crushed mercilessly.
This time the ma’awiisley militias are larger and more co-ordinated, and are provided with ammunition, food and fuel by the government.
Security analysts say some of them are rehatted members of the Somali National Army.
“The insurgents are now facing an insurgency of their own,” says Mohamed Mubarak, chairman of the Mogadishu-based Hiraal security think-tank.
“If this spreads nationwide, I don’t think al-Shabab will survive.”
‘We have no fear’
The jihadists’ reaction to the ma’awiisley shows how seriously they are taking them.
They have embarked on a spree of burning homes, destroying wells and killing business people and elders who belong to the same clans as the ma’awiisley fighters.
Image source, AFPImage caption, Wells are essential for nomads who pull up the water for their animals to drink
In a recent speech to graduates of al-Shabab training camps, its spokesman Sheikh Ali Dheere described the ma’awiisley as “the robbers and rapists that roamed the country before al-Shabab came to power”.
But Musa Idris Hassan, a member of a ma’awiisley militia in central Somalia’s Hiran region, disputes this.
“We are nomads. We have always been warriors. We have lived under the militants for years so we know everything about them including where they hide.
“We will crawl into every bush to find and slaughter them all. We have no fear of al-Shabab or anyone else.”
@XuseenMacallin
I have never seen the international community so excited about the war against al-Shabab”
The ma’awiisley are not acting alone. They form a crucial part of the government’s new strategy to fight al-Shabab, which includes US airpower, African Union (AU) soldiers, foreign-trained Somali elite forces, the national army and troops from the country’s five federal states.
“I have never seen the international community so excited about the war against al-Shabab,” says the architect of this new approach, National Security Adviser Hussein Sheikh-Ali.
“The ma’awiisley are a key addition to the battlefield. They give legitimacy to our war against the militants because they come from the communities they control.
“They play an essential support role by providing the intelligence which enables our special forces to go in and smash the insurgents. We are now on the road to defeating al-Shabab completely.”
Amina Musa lived for 13 years under the control of al-Shabab in the central town of Booco, which was taken back by the government in September.
“The ma’awiisley are much better than the army,” she says. “They fight from their hearts not their stomachs.
“They are more motivated because their lives have been directly affected by the Islamists, who have stolen their children, their animals and everything that is good about nomadic life. Their anger is real.”
The addition of local clan militias to what Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has described as “the total war” against al-Shabab has made a difference on the ground.
Security experts say Somalia has recovered more territory between June and September than it did in the last five years.
Clan war dangers
But beating back al-Shabab is not enough. The challenge is to hold territory.
The militants have a long history of staging tactical withdrawals then marching straight back in once the army and AU troops move on.
BBC
This strategy will only work if the ma’awiisley are disarmed or subsumed into the regular security forces after areas are recovered”
If the government is to succeed in its “total war”, it will need to replace al-Shabab’s far-reaching governance structures and social services, including police forces, courts, taxation systems, schools and health facilities.
According to Mr Mubarak, the authorities will also need to work out what to do with the ma’awiisley, who he warns could turn out to be a poisoned chalice.
“This strategy will only work if the ma’awiisley are disarmed or subsumed into the regular security forces after areas are recovered and their local issues solved before launching liberation operations, especially in areas with existing local conflicts,” the Hiraal security expert says.
“Otherwise, Somalia risks being confronted by the new danger of having clan militias armed to the teeth and turning on each other. This could take us back to the clan wars of the 1990s.”
The recent gains against al-Shabab suggest the current cocktail of international, regional, formal and informal Somali forces is working on the military front.
Dozens of towns and villages have been seized in recent weeks. Combined with the government’s efforts to disrupt financial flows to the militants and challenge their ideology, this could be the answer to weakening the movement significantly, if not defeating it entirely.
The US has sanctioned the Islamic State group (IS) in Somalia and several of its alleged members said to be smuggling arms in East Africa.
The IS mainly operates in the country’s north-east where it targets security forces and civilians in attacks.
Despite receiving regional and international support, Somalia continues to grapple with deadly militant violence.
IS Somalia has been active in the Horn of Africa nation since 2015.
The sanctioned individuals are accused of providing support to the group’s intelligence unit, smuggling arms across East Africa and co-ordinating high-profile attacks.
Some were former members of the al-Shabab group.
In October, the US blacklisted several al-Shabab members also said to be trafficking weapons between Somalia and Yemen where al-Qaeda and the Islamic State are entrenched.
Violent attacks by Somalia’s militant groups have claimed many lives and instilled widespread fear.
Somalia is heavily dependent on international support to disrupt illicit arms and financing networks aiding activities by al-Shabab and the Islamic State.
The death toll in Somalia is expected to rise further following Saturday’s twin bombings targeting the education ministry.
According to Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, at least 100 people were killed and 300 were injured in two car bomb explosions in Mogadishu.
Mohamud told reporters on Sunday that he expected the death toll from the twin blasts to rise further, blaming the al-Shabab armed group for the attacks.
“Our people who were massacred … included mothers with their children in their arms, fathers who had medical conditions, students who were sent to study, businessmen who were struggling with the lives of their families,” the Somali leader said after visiting the site of the blast.
Death toll climbs to 100, over 300 hurt in the nasty bombings at Sobe junction, says president @HassanSMohamud, adding the fatalities likely to rise. “We will defeat and we already defeated this radical group,” the Head of State said after visiting the site of the terror attack. pic.twitter.com/VcobTx3CgR
Authorities said the attack at the busy Sobe intersection on Saturday targeted the Somali education ministry and a school.
Sadiq Doodishe, a police spokesperson, told reporters that women, children, and the elderly had been killed in the attack.
State news agency SONNA said independent journalist Mohamed Isse Kona was also killed.
The first explosion hit the ministry; then the second blast occurred as ambulances arrived and people gathered to help the victims, police officer Nur Farah told the Reuters news agency.
“I was 100 meters away when the second blast occurred,” witness Abdirazak Hassan told The Associated Press news agency. “I couldn’t count the bodies on the ground due to the [number of] fatalities.” He said the first blast hit the perimeter wall of the education ministry, where street vendors and money changers plied their trade.
A Reuters journalist near the blast site said the two explosions occurred within minutes of each other and smashed windows in the vicinity. Blood from victims of the blasts covered the tarmac just outside the building, he said.
Moments after the blasts, a large plume of smoke rose over the site.
The Aamin ambulance service said on Saturday that they had collected at least 35 wounded people. One ambulance responding to the first attack was destroyed by the second blast, director Abdulkadir Adan added in a tweet.
A driver and a first aid worker were wounded, he said.
One Ameen Ambulance driver was injured when his ambulance was completely destroyed. Our team was attempting to help the victims who were caught in an explosion attack against Ministry of Education building. It is very sad incident that the second explosion hit out vehicle.
The United Nations Mission in Somalia condemned Saturday’s “vicious attack” and extended its condolences to the families of the victims. Turkey condemned the “heinous” attack, while Qatar – firmly rejecting violence and “terrorism” – expressed its condolences and wished the wounded a speedy recovery.
The explosions occurred in the same location as Somalia’s largest bombing in October 2017, which killed more than500 people. In that bombing, a truck bomb exploded outside a busy hotel at the K5 intersection, which is lined with government offices, restaurants, and kiosks.
Al-Qaeda-allied al-Shabab, which has been fighting in Somalia for more than a decade, is seeking to topple the central government and establish its own rule based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law.
The group uses a campaign of bombings both in Somalia and elsewhere, and targets have included military installations as well as hotels, shopping centres, and busy traffic areas.
In August, at least 20 people were killed and dozens wounded when al-Shabab fighters stormed the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu, triggering a 30-hour standoff with security forces before the siege was finally ended.
Mohamud, with support from the United States and allied local militias, has launched an offensive against the group, although results have been limited.
An affiliate of al-Qaeda, al-Shabab has engaged in a long-running conflict with the federal Somali government.
President Mohamud, in power for five months pledged “total war” against the Islamist militants after they attacked a popular hotel in Mogadishu in August killing at least 21 people.
Saturday’s blasts happened within minutes of each other, destroying buildings and vehicles in the vicinity.
Image source, ReutersImage caption, The plumes of smoke arising from the blasts could be seen across the city
The first hit the education ministry and then the second went off as medical teams arrived to deal with the aftermath, the Reuters news agency reports.
A lorry exploded at the same junction almost exactly five years ago, leaving more than 500 people dead – the worst such attack in the country’s history.
After Saturday’s attack, hundreds of people have gathered near the site, looking for missing family members.
Among those killed were a prominent journalist and senior police officer.
“I am here to tell the Somali people that such October attacks will not happen again, God willing,” President Mohamud said after visiting the scene of the attack.
“The bombings were a message sent by the militants to show that they are still alive, despite the fact that they were defeated in battlefield by government forces,” he added.
The African Union (AU) mission in Somalia said that the “attacks underline the urgency and critical importance of the ongoing military offensive to further degrade al-Shabab”.
The US, Turkey, Qatar and Germany have all condemned the attack.
Al-Shabab has been battling the AU-backed federal government for control of Somalia for around 15 years.
The group controls much of southern and central Somalia, but has also been able to extend its influence into areas controlled by the government based in Mogadishu.
Somalia has executed by firing squad two militants from the Islamic State (IS) group.
The state-owned Somali National News Agency (Sonna) reported that a military court found the two “guilty of assassinations” in the capital, Mogadishu, and Bosaso town in north-eastern Bari region.
The two were identified as Adan Mohamed Ali Mohamud and Mohamed Ali Mohamed Farah.
Local media reports said many al-Shabab and Islamic State militants are still in prisons waiting to be executed after being sentenced to death.
The Islamic State insurgentsmainly operate in north-eastern Puntland where they had claimed attacks in the past.
According to the state-owned Somali National News Agency (Sonna), a military court found the two “guilty of assassination” in Mogadishu and Bosaso town in the north-eastern Bari region.
The two were identified as Adan Mohamed Ali Mohamud and Mohamed Ali Mohamed Farah.
Local media reports said many al-Shabab and Islamic State militants are still in prisons waiting to be executed after being sentenced to death.
The Islamic State insurgents mainly operate in north-eastern Puntland where they had claimed attacks in the past.
A car laden with explosives rammed the gate of the hotel and was followed by an attack claimed by the al-Shababarmed group.
An attack on a hotel in the centre of the port city of Kismayo in southern Somalia killed nine civilians on Sunday before security forces killed the gunmen.
Security officers killed three of the attackers and a fourth died in the bomb blast, said Yussuf Hussein Dhumal, security minister for Jubbaland.
“In the explosion, nine people including students and civilians were killed and 47 others were injured, some of them seriously,” Dhumal said.
“The hotel where the explosion happened was near a school so many students were injured.”
A car laden with explosives rammed the gate of the hotel and was followed by an attack claimed by the al-Shabab armed group.
The port city is the latest to be hit following a resurgence of bloody attacks in recent months by the al-Qaeda-linked organisation, which has mainly targeted the capital Mogadishu and central Somalia.
Sunday’s assault began at 12:45pm (09:45 GMT) when a booby-trapped car rammed the entrance of Hotel Tawakal.
“This is not a government target,” said police officer Abdullahi Ismail. “It is just an ordinary, civilian-frequented hotel.”
But Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabab’s military operation spokesperson, said the group intended to strike Jubbaland region’s administrators who work from the hotel.
Kismayo is the commercial capital of Jubbaland, a region of southern Somalia still partly controlled by al-Shabab, which was driven out of the urban centre in 2012.
The armed group was driven out of Mogadishu by African Union forces in 2011. However, it still controls swaths of the countryside.
The city’s port had been a major source of revenue for the group from taxes, charcoal exports, and levies on arms and other illegal imports.
Al-Shabab has been trying to overthrow the government for more than 15 years and regularly attacks civilian and military targets.
Thousands of Somalis have been killed in a decade-long rebellion.
In August it launched a 30-hour gun and bomb attack on the popular Hayat hotel in Mogadishu, killing 21 people and wounding 117.
In 2019, the group conducted a similar attack on a hotel in Kismayo, killing 26 and injuring 56.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who was elected in May, vowed after the siege in August to wage “all-out war” on the group.
It has been confirmed that at least nine people have died following a jihadist attack on a hotel in southern Somalia.
The death toll may rise as close to 50 people have been injured.
Three attackers were killed by the security forces after they rampaged through the hotel in Kismayo, shooting people at random. The fourth died when he blew up his car at the entrance to the hotel.
The al Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militant group has said it carried out the attack.
Kismayo had been relatively peaceful since the jihadis were driven out in 2012.
Federal troops backed by African Union-backed forces and local clan militia have in recent weeks retaken huge territories from al-Shabab, but the group remains deadly.
Drought in Somalia threatens to cause deaths of children on a scale not seen in half a century, the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, has warned.
At least one child is being admitted in hospital for malnutrition in Somalia every minute, Unicef said.
In August alone, more than 44,000 children were in hospital with severe malnutrition.
‼️“Today in #Somalia, every single minute of every single day, a child is admitted to a health facility for treatment of severe acute malnutrition.
Without greater action and investment, we are facing the death of children on a scale not seen in a half a century.” ‼️ – @UNICEFpic.twitter.com/XZxHY10QdJ
Pressure is now mounting on the authorities to formally declare famine in order to facilitate an emergency response.
The worst-affected parts of the country are largely occupied by militants from the al-Shabab group, who have curtailed the humanitarian response.
The drought, which is linked to climate change, is the worst to hit the country for 40 years.
Five failed rainy seasons have led to massive crop failure, livestock deaths and mass displacements.
The UN is warning that 6.7 million people will need food aid in Somalia in the coming months – about 40% of the population.
The current situation in Somalia already looks worse now than in 2011 when famine killed more than 250,000 people, many of them children under five, Unicef said.
Somalisecurity forces have re-arrested Abdalle Ahmed Mumin, the secretary-general of the country’s journalists union.
He was re-arrested following an arrest warrant issued by the Somali police commissioner, privately-owned Radio Risala website reported.
Mr Mumin was first arrested last week after he criticised a government directive banning local media outlets from reporting on activities of the militant group al-Shabab.
CPJ is very disappointed to learn that Somali journalist and press freedom advocate Abdalle Ahmed Mumin has been re-arrested in Mogadishu.
Authorities should release him immediately and bring an end to this victimisation. https://t.co/n7xJ7rvhTw
The information ministry had then said that Mr Mumin was being “held on security-related charges” without giving further details.
He was freed by a regional court a day ago.
The journalists rights’ watchdog, the Committee to Protect Journalists, has called on the Somali authorities to immediately release Mr Mumin “and bring an end to this victimisation”.
The US has blacklisted eight Somalis accused of providing financial and other material support to the Islamist al-Shabab group.
According to Washington, they are part of a network that has smuggled weaponry from both domestic and foreign sources.
This comes a day after the Somali authorities warned businesses in the capital, Mogadishu, against paying taxes to the al-Qaeda affiliate.
Al-Shabab frequently extorts businesses in Mogadishu raising tens of millions of dollars for their militant activities in Somalia and neighbouring countries.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has declared an all-out war against al Shabab and sought international support to defeat the militants.
Last week, the information ministry suspended dozens of social media accounts and websites for allegedly publishing al-Shabab propaganda.
Aid organizations and the United Nations are calling for urgent famine relief in East Africa – as the people of Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia confront their worst drought in 40 years.
Oxfam says food shortages are likely to cause one death every 36 seconds until the end of the year – while the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says help is needed now.
Etienne Peterschmitt, Representative in Somalia, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): “We should not wait for a famine declaration to act, because then it will be too late. We know from 2011, when we faced a famine situation and a famine declaration, that by the time the famine was declared half of the 260,000 people who died had actually already died.”
According to Etienne Peterschmitt, “The current drought is the worst that we have seen in the last four decades. It has affected about 7.8 million people. So just to put things in perspective this is about half of Somalia`s population. 90% of the country is facing extreme drought”.
High food prices caused by the war in Ukraine have exacerbated the situation, while food instability is often linked to an increase in gender-based violence.
The alert coincides with the United Nations’ World Food Day.
President of Somalia is officially an academic “Dr.” after the completion of his PhD programme on Tuesday, October 11.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who returned to the presidency in keenly contested poll this year completed his PhD Program of Peace, Governance and Development at PEACE University.
“We are thrilled to welcome you to our Alumni ranks! @HassanSMohamud,” the University said.
Mohamud lost his re-election bid in 2016 to immediate past Mohammed Abdullahi Farmaajo. Years on, he staged a comeback to defeat Farmaajo to stage a successful comeback.
With a background in education, the former peace activist’s election campaign was focused on ensuring Somalis are united and are at peace with the rest of the world – something he did not fail to mention immediately after he was sworn in, the BBC said in a profile of the president in May 2022.
Hassan Sheikh is said to have joined the Centre for Research and Dialogue in 2001 as a researcher in post-conflict reconstruction – a body sometimes criticised as being too closely affiliated to the West – and has worked as a consultant to various UN bodies and the transitional government.
President @HassanSMohamud receives a PhD in Peace, Governance and Development from the United Nations Peace University #DalsanNewsDesk #Somalia pic.twitter.com/4UNNmKk3rV
— DalsanTV (@DalsanTv) October 11, 2022
Congratulations to President @HassanSMohamud, now PhD.
Dr Hassan Sheikh Mohamud setting a good example for leadership and younger generations.
Islamist militant group al-Shabab has cautioned independent Somali media and journalists from adhering to a government directive that banned use of media materials created by the group.
The government published a list of banned pro-militant websites on Saturday and asked internet service providers to block them.
40 social media accounts that spread al-Shabab propaganda were also suspended and the government warned Somali journalists that it would “regard all al-Shabab-related propaganda coverage – including their terrorist acts and their ideology – as punishable crimes”.
In response, al-Shabab issued a statement accusing the government of a campaign “to silence the truth”.
The group also warned internet providers against blocking its affiliated media outlets.
Al-Shabab has a sophisticated media machinery that includes several affiliated media outlets and dozens of accounts across social media platforms.
The group’s outlets produce a daily mix of audio, text and video material containing the group’s activities and messages that are aimed at winning public support.
Despite Somaliaexperiencing its worst drought in 40 years, more and more young children are dying there.
In the coming days or weeks, an even worse catastrophe, according to government authorities, might engulf the nation.
The tears tumbled down 11-year-old Dahir’s hunger-hollowed cheeks.
“I just want to survive this,” he said quietly.
Seated beside the family’s makeshift tent, on the dusty plain outside thecity of Baidoa, his weary mother, Fatuma Omar, told him not to cry.
“Your tears will not bring your brother back. Everything will be fine,” she said.
Fatuma’s second son, 10-year-old Salat, died of starvation two weeks ago, shortly after the family reached Baidoa from their village, three days’ walk away. His body is buried in the rocky earth a few metres from their new home – the grave already covered in litter and increasingly hard to spot as new arrivals set up camp around them.
“I cannot grieve for my son. There is no time. I need to find work and food to keep the others alive,” Fatuma said, cradling her youngest daughter, nine-month-old Bille, and turning to look at six-year-old Mariam as she gave a rasping cough.
On the other side of the dirt road that loops to the southeast, towards the coast and Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, other displaced families told more grim stories of long treks across a drought-parched landscape in search of food.
‘No strength to bury my daughter’
A new survey has shown that almost two-thirds of young children and pregnant women in the camps are suffering from acute malnutrition, which, along with a high death rate, could indicate that a localised declaration of famine is already overdue.
“I saw my daughter [three-year-old Farhir] die before me and I could do nothing,” said Fatuma, who had walked for at least 15 days with her nine children from a village called Buulo Ciir to reach Baidoa.
“I had been carrying her for 10 days. We had to leave her by the side of the road. We had no strength to bury her. We could hear the hyenas closing in,” she continued.
Image caption, Habiba Mohamud says her home village is unrecognisable
“I’ve brought nothing with me. There is nothing left at home. The cattle are dead. The fields are dry,” said Habiba Mohamud, 50, clutching a piece of twine in one hand, and acknowledging that she will never return to her village.
A succession of droughts, turbo-charged by climate change, is now threatening to end a pastoral way of life that has endured for centuries across the Horn of Africa.
Like other new arrivals, Habiba was busy erecting a tent for her family from branches, twigs, and scavenged scraps of cardboard and plastic sheeting, hoping to finish it before the chill of night. Only after that could she turn to find food and medical help for some of her five children.
On the admissions ward in the city’s main hospital, Dr Abdullahi Yussuf moved between beds, checking on his tiny, emaciated patients. Most were children between two months and three years old.
All were severely malnourished. Some had pneumoniaand many were battling a new outbreak of measles too.
Few infants had the strength to cry. Several had badly damaged skin, broken by the swelling that sometimes accompanies the most extreme cases of hunger.
“So many die before they even reach a hospital,” said Dr Abdullahi, watching his team struggling to connect an intravenous tube to the arm of a moaning two-year-old.
‘It’s terrifying, people are dying’
Although Somali officials and international organisations have been sounding the alarm for months about an impending famine in this south-western region, Dr Abdullahi said his hospital was already short of basic items including nutritional supplements for children.
“Sometimes we lack supplies. It’s terrifying, actually, because people are dying, and we can’t support them. Our local government is not handling this well. It has not been planning for the drought or for the arrival of displaced families,” he said, with visible frustration.
A local government minister conceded there had been failings.
“We need to be faster than we are, and we need to be accurate… and more effective,” said Nasir Arush, Minister for Humanitarian Affairs for South West state, on a short visit to one of the camps around Baidoa. But more international support, he insisted, was key.
“If we don’t receive the aid we need, hundreds of thousands of people will die. The things we’re doing now we neededto do three months ago. In reality we are behind. Unless something happens [fast] I think something catastrophic will happen in this area,” he said.
The process of formally declaring a famine can be a complicated one, reliant on hard-to-pin-down data, and, often, political considerations.
Britain’s ambassador in Mogadishu, Kate Foster, described it as “essentially, a technical process”. She pointed out that during the 2011 drought “half of the 260,000 deaths happened before famine was declared”.
IMAGE SOURCE,BBC/ ED HABERSHON Image caption, Locals have been migrating from their villages to Baidoa in search of resources and medical care
The presidential envoy leading Somalia’s international effort to secure more funding thanked the US government, in particular, for recent new funding, saying it “has given us hope”.
But Abdirahman Abdishakur warned that without more help, a localized crisis in one part of Somalia could quickly spin out of control.
“We were raising the alarm… but the response of the international community was not adequate,” Mr Abdishakur said.
“Famine is projected. It happens [already] in some places, some pockets, in Somalia, but still, we can prevent the catastrophic one,” he continued, speaking by phone during a stopover in Toronto, Canada.
Women fleeing, men stay behind
Although estimates vary, the population of Baidoa has roughly quadrupled in the past few months, to around 800,000 people.
And any visitor will quickly notice one striking fact: almost all the new adult arrivals are women.
Somalia is at war. The conflict has endured, in different guises, since the central government collapsed three decades ago, and it continues to affect almost every part of the country, tearing men away from their families to fight for an array of armed groups.
Like most of those arriving in Baidoa, Hadija Abukar recently escaped from territory controlled by the militant Islamist group al-Shabab.
“Even now I’m getting calls on my phone from the rest of my family. There is fighting there – between the government and al-Shabab. My relatives have run away and are hiding in the forest,” she said, seated beside her sickly child at a small hospital in Baidoa.
Other women spoke of husbands and older sons being blocked from leaving areas controlled by the militants, and of years of extortion by the group.
Baidoa itself is not quite surrounded by al-Shabab, but it remains a precarious place of refuge. International aid organisations, and foreign journalists, require heavy security to move around, and any travel beyond the city limits is considered extremely risky.
“We’re looking at populations that are under siege. Sometimes it feels quite hopeless,” said Charles Nzuki, who heads the UN children’s fund, Unicef, in central and southern Somalia.
Image caption, Women and children are leaving areas where they cannot get humanitarian assistance
According to some estimates, more than half the population affected by the current drought remains in areas controlled by al-Shabab. Strict US government rules blocking any assistance from benefitting designated terrorist groups have complicated efforts to reach many desperate communities.
But international organisations, and the Somali authorities, are working with smaller local partners to increase access and are now planning air drops into some contested territories.
Still, one aid worker, speaking off the record, acknowledged that it was almost impossible to guarantee that no food or funds were reaching al-Shabab.
“Let’s not be naïve, [al-Shabab] taxes everything, even cash donations,” they said.
Over the years, the militant group has established a reputation not just for violence and intimidation but for delivering justice in a country with a hard-earned reputation for official corruption.
In at least four villages close to Baidoa, al-Shabab runs a network of Sharia courts that are routinely used by the city’s residents and, reportedly, by people in Mogadishu and beyond, to settle business and land disputes.
Further to the north-east, a sudden uprising against al-Shabab has seen local communities and clan militias – now heavily backed by the central government – drive the group out of dozens of towns and villages in recent weeks.
The military successes have prompted a surge of optimism, but it is not clear if that will help in the fight against famine, or simply distract the Somali government.
“It might, or it might not [help]. I think it may create more [civilian] displacement. Or the government might liberate more areas and people might have more access [to aid]. So, we’re looking at it from all sides,” said local minister Nasir Arush.
IMAGE SOURCE,BBC/ ED HABERSHON Image caption, Baidoa is providing a safe haven for those fleeing villages with no resources
In Baidoa itself – a busy city of narrow, cobbled streets scarred by decades of conflict and neglect – the prices of basic goods, like rice, have doubled in the past month. Many residents blamed the drought, but others also looked further afield.
“Flour, sugar, oil – they’ve all risen by about the same amount. Sometimes we have to skip meals. I heard about the war between Russia and Ukraine. People say that is the root cause of these problems,” said Shukri Moalim Ali, 38, walking over to her dry well, and barren vegetable patch.
While the fight to ward off a deeper, spreading famine is the immediate focus in this region, Somalia’s new government is also looking ahead, seeking to address more existential questions about the future.
“It is a challenging task, to respond to the drought, to fight against al-Shabab, and to campaign to access [international] climate justice finance,” Abdirahman Abdishakur said.
“We have a young population, an enormous diaspora, and vibrant entrepreneurial skills. So that gives us hope. It’s challenging, but we don’t have an alternative.”
Somali authorities say a top leader of the al-Shabab extremist group has been killed in a joint operation by the Somali NationalArmy and international partner forces.
Abdullahi Nadir had a $3 million bounty on his head by the United States and the Somali government described him as “one of the most important members of al-Shabab.”
He was killed Saturday in Haramka village in the Middle Jubba region, said the government statement issued Monday.
He had been close to the former emir of al-Shabab, Ahmed Abdi Godane, and current leader Ahmed Diriye.
“His death is a thorn removed from the Somali nation, and the Somali people will be relieved from his misguidance and horrific acts,” the statement said, adding that Nadir had been in a position to succeed the current al-Shabab leader.
Somalia’s president recently declared “total war” against al-Shabab, which has thousands of fighters and controls large parts of southern and central Somalia.
The group supports itself in part by “taxing” or extorting residents, businesspeople and travellers, according to residents.
Somali authorities say a top leader of the al-Shabab extremist group has been killed in a joint operation by the Somali National Army and international partner forces.
Abdullahi Nadir had a $3 million bounty on his head by the United States and the Somaligovernment described him as “one of the most important members of al-Shabab.”
He was killed Saturday in Haramka village in the Middle Jubba region, said the government statement issued Monday.
He had been close to the former emir of al-Shabab, Ahmed Abdi Godane, and current leader Ahmed Diriye.
“His death is a thorn removed from the Somali nation, and the Somali people will be relieved from his misguidance and horrific acts,” the statement said, adding that Nadir had been in a position to succeed the current al-Shabab leader.
Somalia’s president recently declared “total war” against al-Shabab, which has thousands of fighters and controls large parts of southern and central Somalia.
The group supports itself in part by “taxing” or extorting residents, businesspeople and travellers, according to residents.
Abdullahi Nadir, a co-founder and top al-Shabab member, was reportedly killed on Saturday in the Middle Jubba region of southern Somalia, according to the Somali authorities.
The director of al-religious Shabab’s indoctrination unit, Nadir, was the target of a $3 million (£2.7 million) US bounty, according to the Somali communications ministry.
It added that al-Shabab considered Nadir a potential successor to its current leader, Ahmed Omar Diriye, aka Abu Ubaidah, who has long been rumoured to be “in poor health”.
Abdullahi Nadir, a top leader of #Alshabab terrorists, wanted by Somali government for long time has been killed in operation conducted by Somali National Army and international security partners in Haramka village in Middle Jubba region, on 01-10-2022.#Somaliahttps://t.co/yJsfQL6Wts
— Ministry of Information, Culture & Tourism (@MOISOMALIA) October 2, 2022
Private media reported that Nadir was killed in a drone strike.
The information ministry said that Somali security forces and international partners killed Nadir in an operation, but did not mention a drone strike.
The US Africa Command,which frequently targets top al-Shabab militants and positions, has not yet commented on the development.
US-based Somali nationals with ties to Kenya have been identified among 47 people accused of stealing from a programme aimed at providing meals for children during the Covid-19 pandemic.
They have been charged in the US in connection with theft of $250m (£220m) in an alleged Covid-19 relief fraud scheme.
US federal authorities on Tuesday announced that the suspects are linked to Aimee Bock – the founder and executive director of Feeding Our Future, a non-profit organisation that was a sponsor participating in the Federal Child Nutrition Program in Minnesota.
Ms Bock denies any wrongdoing.
As part of the alleged scheme, Feeding Our Future employees recruited individuals and entities to open Federal Child Nutrition Program sites throughout the state of Minnesota.
These sites, created and operated by the defendants and others, claimed to be serving meals to thousands of children a day within just days or weeks of being formed.
The suspects are alleged to have issued bills for meals they did not serve to children who did not exist, said the Department of Justice (DoJ) in a statement.
The department alleges the defendants spent the spoils to purchase luxury vehicles, residential and commercial real estate in Minnesota as well as property in Ohio and Kentucky, real estate in coastal Kenya and Turkey, and to fund international travel.
One of the suspects, Mohammed Jama Ismail, was arrested in the US in April as he tried to leave the country for Kenya via Amsterdam. He pleaded guilty to passport fraud last month.
“Today’s indictments describe an egregious plot to steal public funds meant to care for children in need in what amounts to the largest pandemic relief fraud scheme yet,” said FBI director Christopher Wray.
The suspects are charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and bribery.
Minnesota hosts a large community of immigrants from East Africa, mainly Somalis and Ethiopians.
More than 100 al-Shabab militants have been killed in operations over the last three days by the Somali National Army (SNA) in the central Hiiraan region.
The army is receiving support from US forces, in the central Hiiraan region, the government said on Monday.
“Air support from the United States of America has assisted this operation led by SNA,” the statement shared by the state-owned Somali National TV said.
Hiiraan and the neighbouring Galgudud region have become the epicentre of weeks of clashes between government-backed clan militia and al-Shabab fighters.
The state TV on Monday also reported that the army had killed at least 54 militants in Hiiraan region.
A day before, the army said more than 75 militants were killed in joint operations with clan militia.
In its latest video message on Sunday, al-Shabab spokesperson Ali Dheere threatened to retaliate against the government’s “desperate” use of clan militia.
The number of people displaced by the record-breaking drought in Somalia has topped one million, with the United Nations warning of widespread famine if emergency needs are not soon met.
Ishaku Mshelia, the deputy emergency coordinator for the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, told VOA via telephone Wednesday that people are migrating in search of food and other assistance.
He said the FAO is trying to help.
“Our ability as [a] humanitarian community is to be able to reach the affected people in their communities and provide the services that they need so that they … don’t feel pushed to migrate,” Mshelia said. “Unfortunately, previous droughts, what we have seen is that a lot of mortalities have been reported where people that, unfortunately, died on their way to open areas in search of assistance.”
A statement issued by the FAO on Wednesday said that if the funding gap is not addressed, widespread famine may be inevitable.
Drought-related malnutrition has killed 500 children, according to the U.N. Children’s Fund, UNICEF.
Authorities in Somalia’s Gedo region also confirmed to VOA more than 50 deaths of children due to suspected drought-related illnesses. The deaths were reported in the towns of Bardere and Beledhawo, which border Kenya.
Ali Yusuf Abdullahi, the Gedo regional administration spokesman, said that the region is witnessing a “catastrophic” situation due to drought.
He said that people are fleeing in search of a better life and have gathered in major towns including Dolow, near the Ethiopian border.
As of today, Abdullahi said, Dolow has received more than 50,000 displaced people and there are people who are coming from the Ethiopian side who were affected by the drought there and settling in IDP camps in Dolow. He said the town administrators are doing their best to provide relief, but that is not enough.
Somalia’s federal government declared the three-year drought a national emergency last year. The drought, Somalia’s worst in more than 40 years, has affected more than 7 million people.
According to the Somali prime minister‘s office, the drought has also killed more than two million livestock.
Newly elected Somalian president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, ended Friday a two-day official visit to his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta.
At the end of his trip, the countries’ foreign ministers announced the nations had agreed to restart with immediate effect the trade of the stimulant khat. Which means that air shipments of khat also known as miraa will resume after a 2-year hiatus.
Somalia is one of the biggest markets for miraa and central Kenyan, a big producer of the plant whose leaves and stems are a popular stimulant and appetite suppressant.
Among a range of deals signed, the leaders have directed immediate market access of fish from Somalia to Kenya and vice versa and agreed to ease some visa restrictions a s well as re-open the border.
President Kenyatta and President Mohamud have directed immediate market access of fish from Somalia to Kenya and vice versa.
US officials say President Biden has approved the redeployment of US troops in Somalia, reversing a decision by his predecessor Donald Trump.
The deployment was requested by the Pentagon to support the fight against militant group al-Shabab.
President Trump withdrew about 700 US troops from Somalia in 2020.
The move to re-establish a military presence in the East African country comes as long-overdue elections delivered a new president.
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, a former peace activist, promised to work closely with international partners as he took office on Monday.
Somalia has suffered from decades of chronic insecurity, and the Islamist militants who once controlled the country still hold large swathes of it and continue to collect taxes in places.
Many in the country expressed deep concern when former president Donald Trump ordered the withdrawal of US troops, who had long been relied on as well as more than 19,000 peacekeepers from African Union nations.
This time around, fewer than 500 US troops will be deployed, which has been described as “a repositioning of forces already in theatre who have travelled in and out of Somalia on an episodic basis” by US National Security spokeswoman Adrienne Watson.
Her statement appeared critical of the Trump administration, calling its decision to withdraw troops “precipitous”.
Al-Shabab militants regularly carry out attacks in the capital Mogadishu, which they stepped up in the run-up to May’s election in the hopes of derailing it.
Somalia faces other formidable challenges including a drought that has left millions in urgent need of aid.
Somalia’s former leader Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has been elected president after a final vote that was only open to the country’s MPs.
He defeated the current president, Mohamed Abudallahi Farmajo, who has been in office since 2017.
The ballot was limited to Somalia’s 328 MPs due to security concerns over holding a wider election, and one of them did not cast a vote.
Mr Mohamud received 214 votes, defeating Mr Farmajo who won 110 votes.
Three MPs are reported to have spoiled their ballots.
The unusual circumstances highlight Somalia’s security issues as well as the lack of democratic accountability.
The result marks a comeback for Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who served as Somalia’s president between 2012 and 2017 before he was defeated by Mr Farmajo.
The elections – which were hotly contested and went to a third round – were delayed for almost 15 months due to infighting and security issues.
Mr Mohamud was sworn in shortly after the final results were announced, prompting supporters in the capital to cheer and fire guns into the air. He will serve for the next four years.
In the vote on Sunday, hundreds of parliamentarians cast their ballots at a fortified aircraft hangar in the capital Mogadishu.
Explosions could be heard nearby as voting was taking place, but police said no casualties were reported.
As the incoming president, Mr Mohamud will have to deal with the impact of an ongoing drought in which the UN says 3.5 million Somalis are at risk of severe famine.
But the big task he faces is to wrest control of much of Somalia from al-Shabab. The al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militant group continues to dominate large parts of the country and carries out frequent attacks in Mogadishu and elsewhere.
The country is also being affected by food and fuel inflation sparked by the war in Ukraine
The government is backed in its fight against al-Shabab by the African Union, in the shape of some 18,000 troops and the United Nations.
The instability is one of the reasons why Somalia has been unable to hold direct elections. Somalia has not had a one-person-one-vote democratic election since 1969.
That vote was followed by a coup, dictatorship and conflict involving clan militias and Islamist extremists.
This is only the third time that the indirect election for president has been able to take place in Somalia itself. Previous ones were held in neighbouring Kenya and Djibouti.
IMAGE SOURCE, BBC/ MOHAMUD ABDISAMAD
Image caption,
Voting took place in an airport hangar on Sunday
This vote was supposed to have happened last year when Mr Farmajo’s four-year term ended. But political differences and instability delayed the poll and the president remained in power.
The MPs who chose the new president were themselves elected by delegates nominated by the country’s powerful clans.
They gathered in a large airport hangar in the well-guarded Halane Camp. This is the main military base of the AU’s mission in Somalia (Atmis), as well as the home of diplomatic missions and aid agencies.
The voting, done by secret ballot, was delayed for hours due to lengthy security checks.
Past elections were marred by allegations of vote-buying with candidates reportedly offering money in exchange for support.
The only female candidate, former Foreign Minister Fawzia Yusuf Adam, was eliminated in the first round of voting.
What has al-Shabab said?
In previous elections, al-Shabab threatened and even kidnapped clan elders after condemning them for participating in what it saw as an un-Islamic poll.
This time around, its response to the elections has been more muted, with fears that its members or sympathisers may have secretly sought parliamentary seats in a bid to undermine the system from within.
The fear was publicly expressed by neighbouring Djibouti’s President Omar Guelleh in 2020, when he was quoted as saying: “I fear we will end up with a parliament indirectly controlled by al-Shabab because they’ll have bought the support of some of the MPs.”
Some analysts felt Mr Guelleh was exaggerating the possibility of al-Shabab gaining a foothold in parliament, but there is no doubt that it is a major political force in Somalia.
Some of Somalia’s newly elected members of parliament are set to be sworn in on Thursday in the capital, Mogadishu, following parliamentary elections that took months.
They will be sworn in at a venue inside the main airport area – one of the highly guarded areas in the capital – as security remains a key concern.
The 11th parliament comprises two main houses – the upper house with 54 members and the people’s house with 275.
Their main task will be to elect a president who will be expected to lead the Horn of Africa nation for the next four years.
The swearing-in also marks a crucial step for the election process, dogged by conflict and political infighting between key stakeholders, leading to the elections being postponed several times.
The current President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, whose first term ended in February last year, continued to stay in power to avoid a political vacuum.
It took the intervention of Somalia’s partners for the process to be hastened. The US imposed visa restrictions on some key players accused of sabotaging the election process.
Somalia has had no stability for over 30 years since the former military leader Siad Barre was toppled in 1991, followed by a bloody civil war.
However, a lot has changed in the last two decades as the country embarks on recovery.
At least five people were killed in Mogadishu on Tuesday after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt near a police academy, according to a Somali Police official.
Spokesperson Sadiq Adan Ali said eight other people were wounded in the blast in the Somali capital.
He said the bomber targeted a restaurant frequented by police.
The Somalia-based al-Shabab extremist group often targets Mogadishu.
Experts for the United Nations have warned that the al-Qaida-affiliated group is improving its explosives-making skills.
Al-Shabab remains the most active and resilient extremist group in Africa, controlling parts of southern and central Somalia.
It has fired several mortars this year at the heavily defended international airport, where the US Embassy and other missions are located.
Somalia is facing a fresh desert locust invasion, the latest in a string of invasions in the last year.
This comes as United Nations agencies warn that the east African nation is one of 16 states that are “at high risk of rising levels of acute hunger”.
East Africa is bracing for a third outbreak of desert locusts, with billions of the destructive insects about to hatch and threaten food supplies in a region already reeling from damaging rains and the coronavirus pandemic.
Spurred by favourable weather conditions, the migratory pests have descended on East Africa in record numbers since late 2019 and another wave is about to take to the skies despite the concerted use of pesticides.
“Tens of thousands of hectares of cropland and pasture have already been damaged across the Horn and East Africa,” the International Rescue Committee said in a report this month, noting even a small swarm could devour the same amount of food in a day as approximately 35,000 people.
In Ethiopia between January and April, locusts destroyed 1.3 million hectares of grazing land and nearly 200,000 hectares of crops, resulting in the loss of 350,000 tonnes of cereals, IGAD, the East Africa regional organisation, said in a June report.
A new report by two United Nations agencies warned Friday of a heightened risk of famine in three conflict-torn African states and Yemen, and a high hunger risk in 16 more.
Some 260,000 people died in a 2011 famine in Somalia.
The Police Administration has deployed One Hundred and Forty-seven Police Officers drawn from the Formed Police Unit (FPU) to the African Union Peacekeeping Mission (AMISOM) in Somalia on 2nd November, 2020, to assist the local police in maintaining peace and order.
The Director, International Relations Department, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr. Baba Saanid Adamu whilst briefing the officers before their departure, advised them to remain professional in their peacekeeping duties.
We share with you some pictures on their departure and arrival at Mogadishu the capital of Somalia, enrooted to their final destination at Baidoa.
At least three people have been killed and seven injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a restaurant in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, news agency AFP reports.
“The target of the suicide bomber was civilians sitting at the [ Blue Sky] restaurant. He walked [among] them and detonated himself killing three civilians and wounding seven others,” Information Ministry spokesman Ismail Mukhtar Omar said.
Witnesses said security forces cordoned off the scene after the blast.
“The blast was very heavy, and I saw people rushed to hospital. Some of them were seriously wounded,” Mogadishu resident Kasim Ali told AFP.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the bombing but al-Shabab, which is affiliated to al-Qaeda, has often conducted similar attacks in the city.
At least 10 people were killed in an al-Shabaab attack on an army base in south-west Somalia, officials said on Monday.
The attack on the base in Baidoa, claimed by the militant group on their Radio Andalus, comes a day after they stormed a beach hotel in capital Mogadishu. The base attack started with an attempted suicide car bombing at the entrance followed by a heavy exchange of fire between the militants and government troops, leaving at least 10 dead from both sides, Somali military commander Yonis Hassan told dpa.
“Our soldiers are now in full control of the base after repelling the militants and killed seven fighters. Three Somali soldiers have also been killed in the attack,” added Hassan.
Several others were wounded on both sides, he said.
The incident comes hours after the attack on a luxury hotel in Mogadishu where at least 17 people, among them five militants, were killed.
Officials in Somalia say 10 people have died during a shoot-out inside the capital Mogadishu’s main prison.
A spokesman for the information ministry said six inmates who were members of the jihadist group al-Shabab were killed and four security personnel also died.
There are reports that one of the prisoners managed to get a pistol off a prison warden and then a group of inmates broke into the armoury.
A specially trained police unit was deployed to deal with the outbreak of violence which appeared to be an attempted prison break.
The prison holds some of the most notorious al-Shabab prisoners who are either serving life or death sentences.
A similar attempt was made by inmates at the prison 2017.
At least 10 people have been killed in a shoot-out between jailed militant Islamists and security officers at a prison in Somalia, government spokesman Ismail Mukhtar has said.
The al-Shabab militants had attempted to escape from the heavily guarded prison in the capital, Mogadishu.
An investigation is under way into how the militants obtained weapons.
Some reports suggested that an inmate managed to disarm a warden and then a group of them raided the armoury.
The BBC’s Bella Sheegow in Mogadishu says Monday’s incident is highly embarrassing for the government as the prison, the second biggest in Somalia, is guarded by elite forces.
The attack was repelled after reinforcements were called in.
‘No prisoners escaped’
The most dangerous al-Shabab militants are kept in the prison, including those serving life sentences or awaiting execution after being sentenced to death.
Inmates had also attempted to break out of the prison in 2017, and the government was under pressure to prevent further such incidents, our reporter adds.
Somali troops have been battling to curb the insurgency / GETTY IMAGES
“We will not leave anything to chance. The government is investigating how this happened and who was responsible for what happened as well as who facilitated the inmates to get the weapons,” Acting Justice Minister Hassan Hussein Haji said.
Mr Mukhtar said none of the prisoners had managed to escape.
He said four militants were killed in the shoot-out.
He did not give details on who the other six were, except to say that the prison guards had also suffered casualties.
Al-Shabab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, has been waging a brutal insurgency in Somalia for more than a decade.
It has been pushed out of Mogadishu by government and African Union troops, but the group still carries out bombings and assassinations in the city.
An attack on a military base in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, has killed at least eight people and injured 14 others, officials say.
A suicide bomber driving a car targeted the gates of the base near Mogadishu Stadium, military officials said.
The extremely loud explosion was heard across the city.
Islamist militant group Al-Shabab said it was behind the attack. It often carries out bombings targeting security forces and officials.
Col Ahmed Muse told Associated Press that the explosion took place at the gates of the 12th April Army Brigade base close to the recently reopened sports stadium in the Warta-Nabadda district.
The stadium opened in June and was seen as a symbol of the country rebuilding after years of conflict.
Halima Abdisalan, a mother of three who lives near the area told Reuters news agency that soldiers opened fire after the explosion. “We ran indoors in fear,” she said.
Al-Shabab – a group of Islamist militants, allied to Al-Qaeda – has waged an insurgency for more than 10 years. It was forced out of the capital in 2011 but still controls areas of the country.
Hitting a military base is an audacious act which is likely to worry the government, BBC World Service Africa editor Will Ross reports.
International peacekeepers from an African Union force have also been targeted in the past.
A plane carrying food aid from Djibouti crashed at an airport in Beledweyne, central Somalia, on Tuesday.
The crew is safe and no-one on the ground was injured, according to a statement by the US embassy in Somalia. It said the flight was part of efforts to “provide vitally important food aid” to Somalia.
“The accident occurred on the runway during roll-out after landing,” it said.
Aviation Safety Network, which monitors aircraft accidents, posted a photo showing parts of the Kenyan plane engulfed in flames.
Somalia’s ministry of foreign affairs office has told the BBC that they had no comment to make in response to US President Donald Trump’s criticism of the country during a campaign rally on Saturday night.
While bashing Ilhan Omar, a Somali-born US congresswoman, Mr Trump alleged that she wanted to reshape the US like the “anarchy” that was Somalia “where she came from”:
“She would like to make the government of our country just like the country from where she came. Somalia. No government, no safety, no police, no nothing. Just anarchy. And now she is telling us how to run our country. No thank you.†She would like to make the government of our country just like the country from where she came. Somalia. No government, no safety, no police, no nothing. Just anarchy. And now she is telling us how to run our country. No thank you.â€
The BBC Somali service asked the ministry of foreign affairs if it had a response, but it said that it was not making any comments.
Somalia’s UN-backed government in the capital, Mogadishu, does not control the whole of the country’s territory. It is battling with militant group al-Shabab and the country is often beset by security problems.
Mr Trump described Ms Omar as a “hate-filled, American bashing socialist” who will be part of deciding the fate of America should the Democrat’s presidential candidate, Joe Biden, win the November election.
Ms Omar, who has been targeted by the president before, described Mr Trump’s remarks as “racist”, adding that he was angry because polls had shown that he was losing to Joe Biden in her state, Minnesota.
Mr Biden is likely to be the president’s challenger come November’s presidential election.
Ms Omar, 37, has been an ardent critic of Mr Trump.
She and her family fled Somalia after civil war broke out and spent four years in a refugee in Kenya before relocating to the US in 1995.
Her father, who had relocated the family to the US, died last week from Covid-19 complications.
Disclaimer : “Opinions expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and do not in any way reflect those of tigpost.co. Our outfit will hereby not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article.â€
At least seven people have died in two separate bomb attacks in southern and central Somalia.
Three militants blew up themselves up in a car at a military checkpoint in Galmudug state, killing three soldiers.
Separately, two bombs were detonated outside the home of a military official in Wanlaweyn, killing four people.
The Somali Islamist militant group al-Shabab has said it carried out the attack in Wanlaweyn, according to the Somali Memo news website.
No-one has come forward to say they were behind the attack in Galmudug.
In the suicide attack, militants set off a bomb when soldiers shot at the vehicle after its occupants ignored orders to stop at a military checkpoint in Bacadweyn town in central Somalia’s Galmudug state, Maj Abdullahi Ahmed, a military officer in the nearby town of Galkayo told Reuters news agency.
Whilst in Wanlaweyn town, north-west of the capital Mogadishu, two bombs were planted in front of the house of a military official.
“First we heard a blast at the house. The military officer was absent by then. Guards and residents came to find out what caused the blast and then a second blast went off,” Mohamed Nur, a police officer in Wanlaweyn, told Reuters.
Somalia has not had an effective national government for more than 20 years, during which much of the country has been a war-zone.
Al-Shabab is fighting to overthrow the government in the aim to reorder society in accordance with Islamic law, or Sharia.
At least four people have been killed and 15 others were injured in Somalia when an explosion went off during Eid celebrations.
Witnesses say a crowd had been dancing and singing in Baidoa city when the blast occurred.
It is not yet clear who was behind it. For several years the Islamist militant group al-Shabab controlled Baidoa.
Since 2012, when its fighters were pushed out of the city, the jihadist group has remained active there and has attacked military bases and other targets.
Dozens have been killed in flooding in Somalia that has affected nearly 1 million people and displaced over 400 thousand from their homes, according to the United Nations.
People struggled to wade through floodwater in the central Somalian city of Beledweyne after the Shabelle river burst its banks on Sunday and 1,200 people have been left marooned as roads are cut off.
The deluge left much of Beledweyne drenched and officials feared the flooding may spark the outbreak of diseases.
Hassan Elmi is a Beledweyne resident. He said, “the flooding here has affected the entire city. Yesterday the water marker was lower but this morning it is up again. Things have changed and as you can see people are very worried about their safety. The government is helping some people, but those who are too weak or old need more help because they cannot wade through these flooded streets because the water is moving too fast.â€
At least 24 have died so far.
The flooding was caused by heavy rain, which also drenched the highlands of neighbouring Ethiopia.
An explosion in Somalia has killed at least four people including a regional governor.
Correspondents say the bomb blast in Galkayo is widely thought to have been detonated by Islamist militant group al-Shabab, which is very active in the area.
In recent years it has killed numerous officials including senior members of the police force, a mayor and business leaders.
Galkayo is a divided city that is governed by the two states of Galmudug and Puntland.
Militias from rival clans have often fought each other in the city.
An explosion in Somalia has killed at least four people including a regional governor.
Correspondents say the bomb blast in Galkayo is widely thought to have been detonated by Islamist militant group al-Shabab, which is very active in the area.
In recent years it has killed numerous officials including senior members of the police force, a mayor and business leaders.
Galkayo is a divided city that is governed by the two states of Galmudug and Puntland.
Militias from rival clans have often fought each other in the city.
There is a plan for Kenyan troops to leave Somalia by December next year, local newspaper Daily Nation has reported, citing a new book by just retired military chief Samson Mwathethe.
The exit plan includes first ensuring the Somali army can take over security from the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom), which is also made up of troops from Uganda, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Burundi.
The strategy cites the creation of a buffer zone free of fighters from the al-Shabab militant group along the Kenya-Somalia border.
The process will involve “surveillance, trenches, roads and chain-link fencesâ€.
Kenya has suffered frequent attacks on its soil by al-Shabaab since the country sent troops to Somalia in 2011 to fight the militant group.
Flights carrying the mild stimulant khat have been banned from entering Somalia, leaving chewers of the leaves in a stew, write the BBC’s Mary Harper and Bella Hassan.
In normal times, around midday, when the bunches of fresh leaves arrive in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, by plane from Kenya, men disappear from view, lounging in khat kiosks or chewing at home.
The leaf, also known as miraa, acts as a stimulant, sending users into a frenzy of excited chatter. Business deals are made and broken, tired fighters are kept awake.
In March, the government of Somalia banned international flights, including khat planes, as part of its efforts to contain coronavirus.
When it imposed a lockdown, it forbade people from gathering together to chew their beloved leaves as this would break social distancing rules. Officials warned that because khat is picked by hand it could help spread COVID-19.
But the stimulant is still finding its way into the country.
Some comes in by road from Ethiopia. Some is transported by boat from Kenya, where many khat growers and traders say they have lost their livelihoods. The situation is especially grave in central Meru county, the heartland of khat farming in Kenya.
Crafty dealers
The chairman of the Nyambene Miraa Traders’ Association, Kimathi Munjuri, said members of his organisation exported about $250,000 (£200,000) worth of khat a day to the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
About half-a-million farmers cultivate the stimulant in the Horn of Africa; many will be hit hard by the ban.
Although most khat sellers in Somalia have nothing to trade, a few crafty dealers have hit a goldmine.
“Before Covid-19, we got fresh leaves from Kenya,” says a woman who sells khat in Mogadishu. “Now we get it illegally from the port city of Kismayo, and because it is so limited, we can push up the price. I used to sell one kilo of leaves for about $20 to $25. Now I sell it for $120. This ban has been very good for us.”
The United States’ military has admitted there were civilian casualties as a result of an airstrike in Somalia.
A statement from US Africa Command (Africom) says two civilians were “regrettably and unintentionally” killed and three were injured during the incident in February.
It says the same attack killed two members of the Islamist militant group, al-Shabab.
Amnesty International says the airstrike killed a banana farmer and an employee of a telecoms company.
It says over the last year more than 20 Somali civilians have been killed during air strikes. The US military denies this.
Africom says by the end of May a website will be available that will allow people to register allegations of any civilian casualties.
NEWS: Civilian Casualty Assessment Report (1 of 2)
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“Regrettably 2 civilians were killed and 3 others injured in a Feb. 2019 airstrike. We have the highest respect for our Somali friends and we are deeply sorry this occurred.†– Gen. Townsend
Report: https://t.co/VMjyfj8UQHpic.twitter.com/TCpgCZRwdd
Somalia has registered a spike in confirmed Covid-19 cases after 35 People tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours.
The Federal Minister for Health, Dr Fawzia Abikar Nur, said the country now has 60 confirmed cases from 25.
“We hereby confirm 35 new cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of Covid-19 cases in the country to 60,†the Minister told the media in the capital Mogadishu.
Three of the new cases were in the breakaway region of Somaliland.
“32 of the new cases were registered in Mogadishu, while two cases were recorded in Hargeisa and one was found in Borama.â€
Hargeisa is the capital city of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, a region which unilaterally announced separation from the rest of Somalia in 1991. Borama is one of the major towns in Somaliland.
In the daily Covid-19 update, Minister Nur explained on Monday that 52 of the confirmed cases were recovering in their houses, being self-isolated.
One more patient is recuperating at an isolation centre in the Halane camp, the base of the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom).
CURFEW
Meanwhile, on Sunday, the government announced a night curfew in Mogadishu effective April 15th.
General Abdi Hassan Hijar, the commander of Somali Police Force, said the move is meant to contain the spread of coronavirus in the capital.
The curfew will be enforced from 8 pm in the evening till 5 am in the morning.
At least five people were killed, including a district commissioner, when an improvised explosive device targeted their vehicle near the Somali-Kenyan border Wednesday.
Guled Abdirahman, a police official in Lower Juba region, told Anadolu Agency by phone that the roadside bombing also wounded several others.
“A landmine targeted a vehicle carrying Ras Kamboni district commissioner Abdullahi Diriye. Diriye, three of his bodyguards and his driver were killed in the attack,†Abdirahman said.
Ras Kamboni is located around 274 kilometers (170 miles) south of the port city of Kismayo, the administrative capital of Jubaland State.
The Somali-based al-Qaeda affiliated group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.
The group also claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in the capital Mogadishu on Wednesday, saying it had killed nine government soldiers and wounded more than 24 others.
A US air strike in southern Somalia killed civilians, not al-Shabab fighters as claimed by Washington, family members and a politician told Al Jazeera.
Washington carried out the air strike near the farming town of Janaale, 95km south of Mogadishu, on Monday claiming the attack killed “five terrorists”.
The victims were civilians travelling in a minibus heading to the capital Mogadishu, Abdullahi Abdirahman Ali, who lost his father in the air strike, said.
“The Americans are lying. They killed my elderly father. He is 70 years old and can barely move. He can’t walk without the help of a walking stick. He is not al-Shabab,” Abdullahi told Al Jazeera.
“They killed these civilians because they know no one will take action against them,” he added, anger palpable in his voice.
One of the other victims was a 13-year-old boy, relatives said. Photos posted online show some of the bodies burned beyond recognition and the wreckage of a blood-soaked vehicle.
“The minibus was going to Mogadishu. If the Americans suspected anything, they could have waited for them there. For them it is easier to kill civilians than to question them,” Abdullahi added.
The Somali government controls Mogadishu after pushing the al-Qaeda-linked group out of the capital in 2011. The US military has a base in the seaside city.
Mahad Dhoore, a Member of Parliament, also confirmed the victims of the air strike were civilians.
“They killed civilians. They are not telling the truth when they say they killed terrorists. These people are my constituents,” Mahad told Al Jazeera.
“Civilians are paying a heavy price. On one hand they are been punished by al-Shabab. On the other American drone strikes are killing them.”
Washington has carried out at least 25 air strikes in Somalia this year, according to figures released by the US military.
Last year, the United States conducted more than 60 air raids in the Horn of Africa country.
“Our air strikes are a key effort to combating terror and helping to bring stability and security to Somalia,” Chris Karns, US Africa Command director of public affairs, said in a statement following the latest attack.
“Not only do they degrade al-Shabab’s ability to conduct violent activities in the region, but they place relentless pressure on their fighter network and impede their ability to export terrorism,” he added.
A group of five couples, each including a blind partner, got married in a shared ceremony in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Thursday.
The four blind grooms and one blind bride had all struggled to raise money for their weddings.
Traditionally in Somalia families raise money for weddings but in this case private companies stepped in to pay for the ceremony.
One of the brides, Samiira, told the BBC that it was challenging enough to find a husband and she also faced difficulty raising money for the ceremony.
But Samiira advised people with disability “not to give up in finding love”.
Her husband Maslah Ali told the BBC what attracted him to his wife.
“I fell in love with my blind wife while teaching her. I believe that she was a hard working student and one day she will be an amazing mother who will raise our children very well,” he said.
At least 30 people are reported to have been killed by a car bomb during morning rush hour in Somalia’s capital.
The blast took place at a checkpoint at a busy intersection in Mogadishu.
“The blast was devastating, and I could confirm more than 20 civilians killed, there were many more wounded,” police officer Ibrahim Mohamed was quoted by news agency AFP as saying.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the bomb but al-Shabab militants have often carried out attacks there.
Al-Shabab – a group of Islamist militants, allied to Al-Qaeda – has waged an insurgency for more than 10 years. It was forced out of the capital in 2011 but still controls areas of the country.
Who are Somalia’s al-Shabab?
Witnesses described carnage at the scene.
“All I could see was scattered dead bodies … amid the blast and some of them burned beyond recognition,” said Sakariye Abdukadir, who was close to the blast.
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Many were severely injured in the blast
One Somali MP, Mohamed Abdirizak, put the death toll at more than 90, although the information he said he had received has not been independently confirmed.
“May Allah have mercy on the victims of this barbaric attack,” the former internal security minister added.
Five people were killed earlier this month when al-Shabab attacked a Mogadishu hotel popular with politicians, diplomats and military officers.
