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Heavy fighting in Somalia leaves 23 dead
MOGADISHU: Heavy fighting between Ethiopian troops and extremist insurgents in central Somalia have left at least 23 people dead, witnesses and officials said on Thursday.
The fighting broke out after insurgents ambushed an Ethiopian military convoy late Wednesday near the village of Garsani, around 300 kilometres north of Mogadishu. Witnesses said at least 13 civilians and eight Ethiopian soldiers were killed in the fighting. The insurgents admitted to losing two fighters in the battle.
“The fighting was heavy and our warriors won a huge victory,” Sheikh Abdirahin Ise, an insurgent spokesman told reporters, adding, “In return they (Ethiopians) killed civilians who were near the fighting zone.”
“I have counted bodies of 13 civilians, including four children,” said Ibrahim Adan Moalim, a local resident. The insurgents promised to avenge the killing of Hashi Aden Ayro - a senior leader accused of being Al Qaeda’s point man in Somalia - in a US air strike last week.
Ethiopian troops entered Somalia in 2006 to rescue an embattled transitional government. They defeated an extremist militia that had taken control of large parts of Somalia. afp
Posted on Friday 9th May at 10:46:36 Somali insurgents briefly seize police base
By Abdi Sheikh
MOGADISHU, May 9 (Reuters) - Islamist rebels firing rocket-propelled grenades briefly seized a major police base in the heart of Somalia's capital, residents said on Friday, raising even more doubt over prospects for rare peace talks.
Witnesses said the insurgents took control of the compound late on Thursday and burnt at least one government "technical" -- a truck mounted with a heavy gun -- before retreating as reinforcements arrived.
"The fighting was hideous, terrifying," one resident, Hawa Abdi, told independent local broadcaster Shabelle by telephone from Mogadishu's central Waberi district.
"I thought it would smash the walls of my concrete home."
Islamist spokesman Abdirahim Issa Adow told Reuters their forces killed eight policemen, while two of their fighters died.
Government officials could not immediately be reached.
The attack in a heavily guarded area that neighbours the city's air and sea ports followed a flare-up of fighting between the insurgents and allied Somali-Ethiopian troops in which at least 19 people were killed.
The violence cast a pall over tentative, U.N.-brokered peace talks between Somalia's interim government and opposition exiles that were due to begin on Saturday in Djibouti.
The militants behind near-daily ambushes and roadside bombs are the remnants of an Islamist movement that was ousted by the government and its Ethiopian allies at the start of last year.
The leaders of that group, and other critics of President Abdullahi Yusuf, have since moved to Ethiopia's arch-foe Eritrea and formed the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia.
They had repeatedly refused to meet government officials until Ethiopian troops left Somali soil. But last month they dropped that demand and agreed to send delegates to Djibouti.
The U.N. envoy to Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, said the meeting would initially be attended by seven delegates from each side. If progress is made, more participants will fly in.
"This is the first time that the Somali parties have agreed to meet with a limited number of delegates, on a scheduled date within a specified time frame and at a planned venue," he said.
"This is a clear indication that Somalis are willing to respect their commitments when they believe in what they are doing," he said in a statement. "We should allow them to meet without outside interference and come to an understanding."
A local human rights group says up to 6,500 civilians were killed by fighting in Mogadishu last year. About 1 million Somalis are refugees in their own country because of violence that residents say has stoked a wave of human rights abuses. (Additional reporting and writing by Daniel Wallis in Nairobi; Editing by Matthew Tostevin) (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/)
Posted on Friday 9th May at 10:44:25 Somalis die in mountain clashes
Clashes in central Somalia between Ethiopian troops and Islamic insurgents have killed at least 20 people.
The fighting began when insurgents ambushed an Ethiopian convoy in a mountainous region 300km north of the capital, killing eight soldiers.
Eyewitnesses said the Ethiopians responded by killing at least 10 people tending livestock nearby.
Earlier this week, rights group Amnesty International said Somali civilians are totally at the mercy of armed groups.
It said the situation was "dire" in the centre and the south with government troops, their Ethiopian allies and Islamist insurgents "out of control".
In separate incidents, a bomb killed three government soldiers in Baidoa and a UN driver was shot by militiamen on Wednesday.
Somalia has been without a central government for more than 17 years and for the past 17 months, the Ethiopian-backed interim government has been struggling to exert its control over the country.
Prominent Islamists die
The ambush took place on Wednesday between the villages of Garsani and Nur Fanah in Hiran region.
The BBC's Ayanle Abdi in the area said at least 10 civilians died in the fighting.
Two prominent regional Islamist officials, including Sheikh Amin Barkhadle, in charge of Hiran region for the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), were killed in the clashes, he says.
No-one has admitted carrying out the attack in Baidoa.
But the al-Shabab militant group had said it would retaliate after a US air strike killed one of its military commanders last week.
Al-Shabab is the militant wing of the UIC which ruled much of Somalia in 2006 before being ousted by Ethiopian forces backed by Somali government troops.
On Tuesday, Amnesty accused Ethiopian soldiers of carrying out killings, torture, rape, beatings, arbitrary detention and forced disappearances.
The Ethiopian government denied this and said Amnesty was ignoring widespread human rights abuses committed by Somali militants.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said its contracted truck driver was shot on Wednesday at a checkpoint in central Mudug region where militiamen were demanding money.
A militiaman opened fire on the convoy of 12 trucks carrying food aid, and shot one of the drivers who later died in hospital, WFP said in a statement.
"We condemn this senseless killing and once again, urge all parties to ensure the safe passage of humanitarian staff and cargo across the country," said WFP's Peter Goossens said.
The United Nations reports that soaring food prices have already forced more than a third of all Somalis to rely on outside assistance to feed their families.
Last week, the UN Food Security Analysis Unit warned that the country was facing a major famine caused by a prolonged drought and the soaring food prices.
Posted on Thursday 8th May at 10:50:02 Somali militants warn rogue traders after food demos
MOGADISHU (AFP) — Islamist militants on Wednesday urged Mogadishu traders to accept Somali shillings over US dollars to try to reduce inflation in the country, warning they would punish defaulters.
The calls followed two days of violent demonstrations against soaring food prices in which at least five died and dozens were wounded.
Protest leaders had vented anger at traders whose refusal to accept the local currency is blamed for helping to push inflation to record levels.
A shortage of dollars has led to a bumper crop of fake 1,000-shilling notes -- the only available denomination -- appearing in market places and fueling the inflation problem.
"We are calling on printers of fake currencies to stop the dirty business they are conducting, otherwise we will punish them," said Sheikh Mohamoud Ibrahim Suley, spokesman for the Islamists.
"All traders in Somalia should accept the shilling because we will discipline anybody who refuses the shilling in favour of the dollar."
Inflation in Somalia started climbing after joint Ethiopia-Somali forces ousted the Islamists from control of parts of the country early last year, sparking a deadly insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives and displaced hundreds of thousands.
Although some Mogadishu traders, fearing for their lives due to threats from angry consumers, had already started accepting the Somali shilling, the value of the currency fell from 25,000 to 31,000 shillings to the dollar over the past two days, according to dealers.
"People cannot afford to buy things in dollars," said Mogadishu resident Abdullahi Jama.
Finance Minister Mohamed Ali Hamoud on Tuesday pledged to work towards reducing inflation by accepting the Somali shilling over dollars in tax collections. He also promised to take steps to stop the printing of fake currencies.
Although there are no official inflation figures, UN monitors say cereal prices have increased by between 110 and 375 percent in the past year as central Somalia has endured its worst drought in recent memory.
In 1991, when the country descended into lawlessness after the ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, the greenback was exchanging at an average of 4,000 shillings. Since then, there has been no central bank to regulate inflation.
Global food prices have nearly doubled in three years, according to the World Bank, sparking riots and protests in several poor countries.
Posted on Thursday 8th May at 10:49:02 Ethiopians forces kill 12 civilians in southern Somalia: elders
MOGADISHU (AFP) — Ethiopian forces killed at least 12 civilians in southern Somalia after being ambushed by Islamist rebels, elders said Thursday.
The nomads were killed late on Wednesday in Walaweyne, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of the capital Mogadishu.
"Those nomads were setting up their makeshift camp in Almore village when they were killed by Ethiopia forces who had been ambushed by insurgents on a nearby road," said one of the elders, Sheikh Mohamed Addow.
Posted on Thursday 8th May at 10:47:19 WFP truck driver killed in Somalia
Nairobi - A truck driver working for the World Food Programme was shot and killed in central Somalia after militiamen stopped a convoy of lorries ferrying relief food, the UN agency said on Thursday.
A gunman opened fire at the convoy late on Wednesday, wounding the driver who died in hospital, WFP's director for Somalia Peter Goossens said in a statement.
"We condemn this senseless killing and once again, urge all parties to ensure the safe passage of humanitarian staff and cargo across the country," Goossens said.
In February, gunmen shot dead the leader of a convoy of WFP-contracted trucks in southern Somalia.
Mounting violence in the Horn of African country has disrupted delivery of aid to hundreds of thousands of civilians uprooted from their homes.
Late on Wednesday, clashes between Ethiopian troops and Islamist militia left 23 people dead in a village some 300 kilometres north of Mogadishu.
The African nation has been wrecked by violence since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre led to a bloody power struggle that has defied numerous bids to restore normalcy. - Sapa-AFP
Posted on Thursday 8th May at 10:43:49 UN Special Envoy Asks Diaspora to Support Peace Process
By Kenneth Odour
The United Nations' Special Envoy to Somalia, Mr. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, has sent out a special request to the Somali people in the Diaspora to support the ongoing peace process to help save the country.
In a signed statement released from his office in Nairobi, the envoy further thanked the Somalis in the Diaspora for their continued support for the country and their unrelenting show of patriotism to support the processes being put in place to lift the Horn of Africa nation out of its current state of devastating violence.
"I am writing to thank you, the members of the Somali Diaspora, for your continuing patriotic support for your country. I have met many of you in Dubai, Kenya, Norway, Sweden and the US and plan to meet others in the UK, Canada and elsewhere in the near future," Mr. Ould-Abdallah said in his statement.
The UN diplomat further thanked and congratulated the Somali Diaspora for looking beyond clan considerations for the good of the country as a whole. In his appeal, he further called on the Somali people to take full responsibility for the past and the future of the country.
He reiterated the importance of the remittances the Somali Diaspora sends back to the country, saying it was a major contributor to the stabilization of the country's fragile economy.
"Furthermore, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of you for looking beyond the issue of tribes to strive for the good of Somalia as a whole and for your ability to take responsibility for the past and future of the country instead of simply blaming others. The remittances that you send back home on a regular basis are appreciated as a major contribution to the country's economy", the UN Special Envoy added in his statement.
In the statement, Mr. Ould-Abdallah indicated that he w ould be organizing a technical meeting to bring together the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Alliance for the Re- Liberation of Somalia in Djibouti beginning May 10, 2008.
"I believe that together with other committed Somalis we can contribute to a peaceful, prosperous and stable Somalia," the Special Envoy's statement read.
Posted on Wednesday 7th May at 10:45:48 Puntland Security Minister's Bodyguard Killed
A shootout erupted abruptly Thursday in the northern Somali port city of Bossaso, 1500km north of the capital Mogadishu, witnesses and officials said.
There was confusion as to how the fighting started, but locals said the gunfight was strictly between a group of unidentified armed combatants and the bodyguards of Puntland Security Minister Abdullahi Said Samatar.
Some sources suggested that Security Minister Samatar's bodyguards launched a planned attack on a group of armed men suspected of being involved in the kidnapping of foreigners in Bossaso in the recent past.
Other sources said the suspected kidnappers received word that Puntland security forces were looking to apprehend them, and so the suspected kidnappers ambushed the Security Minister's convoy in broad daylight.
At least two men - one of the suspected kidnappers and one of the Security Minister's bodyguards - were confirmed dead at the scene.
Witnesses reported that at least four others on both sides of the battle were wounded.
Bossaso residents were worried about tens of young men armed with assault rifles who were reportedly preparing to join the fight against the Puntland government official.
Tens of extra police reinforcements rushed to the area and were reported to have setup roadblocks inside Bossaso, although they did not directly join the fight.
Emerging reports indicated to Garowe Online that Puntland soldiers from the town of Qardho, south of Bossaso, were dispatched from their bases to reinforce the Security Minister's men.
In recent months, security has been deteriorating in Puntland towns, with increasing reports of shootouts, kidnappings and piracy along the coast.
Earlier this week, an Australia-based mining firm, Range Resources, Ltd., announced that the company and its partners had decided to "delay" efforts to begin drilling in Puntland for oil and gas.
In its press statement, the company did not mention rising insecurity inside Puntland as the main reason for the delay, but stated that "civil unrest" in southern Somalia and "piracy" along the Horn of Africa country's coastlines are causing major logistical problems for the delivery of heavy drilling equipment.
Posted on Friday 2nd May at 9:47:03 War, Drought Push Somalis to Breaking Point
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it is deeply concerned about the plight of civilians caught up in Somalia's endless war. It says problems caused by fighting are compounded by a series of natural disasters, which are pushing people to the breaking point. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from ICRC headquarters in Geneva.
The United Nations estimates more than one million people in Somalia have been forced to flee their homes because of war and drought.
A Spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, Carla Haddad, tells VOA civilians are suffering from a combination of successive disasters. She says poor rainfall, poor harvest and continuous waves of fighting are making it increasingly difficult for people to cope.
"It just does not stop," she said. "It is relentless and this has created a humanitarian crisis. So, people are being pushed really to the very limits of their endurance. Their living conditions, according to our staff there, are shocking. And, when you think that it is difficult to assist them because of insecurity and because of the conflict, things become bleak and the prospects are gloomy."
In the latest escalation of fighting, the leader of the military wing of an Islamist insurgent group was killed in an overnight air strike. The military commander of al-Shabab, Aden Hashi Ayro, died when his home in the central town of Dusamareb was bombed.
Haddad says civilians are among the major victims of Somalia's ongoing war.
"Recently, the weapon wounded people who have suffered because of the conflict are increasing," she added. "And, surgeons are often required to perform operations around the clock. So, we rely on the people who are working there. It is very difficult. But, recently, and since the beginning of 2008, the two hospitals we support have treated over 1,000 wounded and many women are amongst them and children."
Somalia is the Red Cross' seventh-largest humanitarian operation. Besides protection and medical care for the civilian population, aid workers provide basic, life-saving assistance to hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people.
Since late January, Haddad says the ICRC has been transporting more than two million liters of water by road every day to nearly 500,000 people in more than 400 locations. She says the Red Cross also distributes food, household and other relief supplies to thousands of displaced people.
She says insecurity makes it dangerous and often impossible for aid workers to deliver the goods. Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991.
Posted on Thursday 1st May at 9:53:03 UN monitors warn of major famine crisis in Somalia
NAIROBI (AFP) — Record-high food prices and prolonged drought are leading to a major famine crisis in Somalia, UN monitors said Thursday, warning that half the population could need help by the year-end.
Some 2.6 million Somalis now require help to feed themselves, an increase of 40 percent since January, according to figures compiled by the Food Security Analysis Unit, part of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation.
"This increase is mainly due to the addition of 600,000 urban poor, who now face conditions of acute food and livelihood crisis and humanitarian emergency," said a statement from the monitoring team.
The dire situation has been exacerbated by relentless conflict, a sharp devaluation of the Somali shilling and hyper-inflation, as well as the delayed start to the April-June rainy season.
The monitors said cereal prices had increased by between 110 and 375 percent in the last year just as central Somalia endured its worst drought in recent memory.
"The urban poor are struggling to cover their basic needs as the cost of a minimum food basket is now more than double what it was last year," the UN monitors said.
They urged the world to prepare for a worse-case scenario in Somalia, where a weak government is battling a deadly insurgency and worsening insecurity has left humanitarian operations high and dry.
"The number of people in need of assistance could reach up to 3.5 million or half the total population of the country by the end of the year," the UN statement said.
Posted on Thursday 1st May at 9:45:52 US confirms Somali missile strike
The US military has confirmed that it carried out a pre-dawn missile strike which killed a senior leader of an Islamist militant group in Somalia.
A spokesman said the target of the attack in the town of Dusamareb was an al-Qaeda leader, but would not name him or say whether it had been successful.
The strike hit the home of Aden Hashi Ayro, the military head of al-Shabab, which controls much of Somalia.
At least 10 other people, including another al-Shabab leader, also died.
But local elders have said up to 30 bodies have been recovered from the scene, according to unconfirmed reports.
'Militia leader'
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the US Central Command confirmed it had attacked al-Qaeda militants in Somalia, but would not say whether it was an air strike nor name the intended target.
"It was an attack. If we say too much then we give away platforms and things that we use," CentCom spokesman Bob Prucha told the Associated Press.
"It was an attack against a known al-Qaeda target and militia leader in Somalia," he added, giving no further details.
An al-Shabab spokesman, Mukhtar Robow Adumansur, told the BBC that Ayro was killed along with another senior leader, Muhiyadin Muhammad Umar.
Considered a terrorist group by the US, al-Shabab began as the youth and military wing of the Somali Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which controlled much of southern and central Somalia in 2006.
When, at the end of that year, the UIC was driven from power by Ethiopian troops supporting the country's transitional government, al-Shabab melted away into remote and distant parts of the country.
It has since re-emerged as a radicalised group of young fighters, who have been conducting an insurgency against the government and its Ethiopian allies, and attacking African Union peacekeepers.
The US has said al-Shabab is part of the al-Qaeda network, although analysts say it is impossible to accurately establish those links. Al-Shabab's leaders insist it is a purely Somali movement.
Ayro, its military commander, received training in Afghanistan in the 1990s and was an instrumental military figure as the UIC took control of Mogadishu.
The head of the BBC's Somali Service, Yusuf Garaad, says Ayro was considered by fellow militants as a soldier rather than a politician.
He never addressed a rally, was never seen at a public gathering and did not like to give interviews either, our correspondent says.
But his name came into the public domain few years ago when a group of Somali warlords co-operating with Western intelligence agencies stormed his house in the capital. Two men were kidnapped from the house, but Ayro escaped unhurt.
He also escaped a US air strike near the southern port of Kismayo a year ago with only a minor injury.
Posted on Thursday 1st May at 9:44:53 Back
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