The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Somali

  • Somali security forces fend off Islamic State attack in Puntland

    Somali security forces fend off Islamic State attack in Puntland

    Authorities in the Somali autonomous region of Puntland said eight foreign militants were killed following an attack by Islamic fighters on security forces early Tuesday. Residents said the attack started with a suicide bombing that targeted an area in Dharjale village in the far eastern highlands of Puntland, where security forces and officials were camped.

    In an audio statement posted on the Telegram channel of the region’s security forces, spokesperson for Puntland security operations Brigadier General Mohamud Mohamed Ahmed confirmed the attack.

    “Puntland anti-terrorism forces in the Dharjale, Bari region were attacked by the bloodsucking Daesh terrorist group,” he said.

    Read Also: Akpabio, Abbass pledge support for Mr. President

    “The security forces have been following their movements, and they were ready.The bodies of eight foreigners and their weapons have been displayed.” Ahmed said Puntland security forces sustained “limited casualties.”

    Residents reported additional casualties among civilians in the village from the shrapnel of the explosion.

    Photos purported to be of dead militants show severed heads, and burned and mutilated flesh, indicating the use of a massive explosive device.

    Puntland this month announced that preparations for an offensive against extremist groups in the region have been completed. The region’s leader, Said Abdullahi Deni, urged the public to support the operation, without disclosing when it may start.

  • Akpabio lauds Somali Parliament on female representation

    Akpabio lauds Somali Parliament on female representation

    Senate President Godswill Akpabio has praised the Somali Parliament for having a high number of female representation.

    For this, he said: “Nigeria can learn from Somalia in giving the female gender opportunities in appointive and elective positions.”

    Akpabio gave the commendation when a delegation of female senators and members of the House of the People of the Republic of Somalia visited the Nigerian Senate.

    At least 30 per cent of seats on the Somali Parliament are legally reserved for women.

    A statement yesterday in Abuja by the Special Assistant to the Senate President on Media and Communications, Anietie Ekong, said Akpabio expressed the desire of Nigeria to have more female representation in the Parliament and other positions.

    He said: “We used to have more female aenators in Nigeria than we currently have in the 10th Senate. But one thing you should bear in mind is that for every female senator you see here, there is one male candidate that failed.”

    The Senate President, whose speech was interpreted into Arabic for the Somali parliamentarians, said Africans can work towards integration by removing language barriers.

    Read Also: Old banknotes remain legal tender indefinitely, says CBN

    He said: “Though colonialism divided Africa in terms of territories and further divided us in terms of languages, we can encourage future generations of Africans to learn more than one language, a native language and one other African language. That way, we can bond together, realising our common heritage and ancestry.

    “I am convinced that no matter the difference in our parliaments, we share similar objectives of good governance and improvements in the living standards of Africans. We will like to see Africa without strife, where peace and prosperity reign.”

    Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women Affairs, Ireti Kingibe, said the Nigerian Senate was happy to host their Somali counterparts, stressing that the Nigerian Parliament could do better by having more female representation.

    Leader of the Somali Parliament delegation and Senate Chief Whip Zamzam Ibrahim Ali said the female parliamentarians from Somalia were in Nigeria to exchange knowledge and ideas, knowing that Nigeria share similarities with Somalia in cultural and linguistic diversity.

    “Somalia is a growing democracy. With this opportunity, we will improve our knowledge of democratic participation,” she said and thanked the UNFPA for facilitating the visit.

  • Huge blast heard in Somali capital Mogadishu

    A huge blast was heard in the heart of the Somali capital Mogadishu on Monday and clouds of smoke could be seen rising, a Reuters witness said.

    It was unclear what caused the explosion, however Islamist militant group al Shabaab frequently carries out bombings in Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia against government military and other targets.

    The group is trying to remove the Western-backed central government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of sharia law.

    Read Also: Somalia orders top UN official to leave over interference

    Al Shabaab’s militants also carry out attacks outside Somalia especially in Kenya to pressure the country to return its troops who form part of the peace keeping force AMISOM that helped defend the central government.

    Its latest assault in Kenya, a suicide and gun attack at an office and hotel complex in the capital Nairobi in january killed 21 people.

  • Car bomb kills Somali journalist

    Car bomb kills Somali journalist

    A Somali television journalist was killed in a car bombing in the capital Mogadishu on Monday, an editor for the TV station and local authorities said.

    Mohamed Gabow had borrowed the car from a friend, Mohamed Mustaf, an editor at Kalsan TV, told Reuters.

    “Unexpectedly it exploded and he died on the spot. We do not know who was behind it,” he added.

    Local government officials confirmed the incident.

    “The journalist … died after a bomb planted in a car he drove exploded.

    “His body has now been taken to a hospital. The police will investigate,” said Abdifatah Halane, the spokesman for the mayor of Mogadishu.

    Gabow is the fourth journalist killed this year in Somalia, currently ranked 167th out of 180 countries for journalist safety by Reporters Without Borders.

    Read Also: U.S. air strike kills 100 militants in Somali a – Military

    No group has ever claimed the killing of a journalist in the capital.

    Somalia has been convulsed by instability, violence and lawlessness since early 1990s following the toppling of military dictator Mohamed Barre.

  • 26 fishermen held since 2012 freed by Somali pirates

    The crew of a fishing vessel hijacked by Somali pirates four and a half years ago is finally free after payment of a ransom, officials said.

    There were 29 members on the Taiwan-owned Naham 3 fishing vessel when pirates occupied it in March 2012 and took them to the north-central Mudug region.

    Three of them reportedly died of illness and mistreatment in the intervening time.

    The remaining 26 members are now free, who  include natives of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India and other Asian nations.

    The ship was flagged in Oman.

    The pirates reportedly demanded a ransom of three million dollars, but the source said less than that had been paid.

    The money was believed to have come from the Asian countries’ governments and the hostages’ families.

    The hostages were due to be flown to Kenya to prepare them for repatriation. (dpa/NAN)

  • Somali poisons 400 stray dogs over disease fears

    A Somali town has poisoned 400 stray dogs out of concern that they could spread diseases and kill livestocks.

    An unnamed regional official said on the condition of anonymity on Monday in Mogadishu that the campaign was launched in Borama in the breakaway northern region of Somali land over the weekend.

    He said during the campaign, residents were advised to kill dogs by giving them poisoned meat.

    The official said the directive has become imperative because the streets are full of hundreds of dogs and there was fear of possible diseases.

    “None of the dogs had been found to have rabies so far, but they were killing goats.

    “Bodies of dogs were lying on the streets after about 400 of them were killed,’’ he said.

    Meanwhile, the regional animal rights activists investigating the case have condemned the killings, saying there were no proofs that the dogs had diseases.

  • AU Troops capture senior al-Shabaab commanders

    A top Al-Shabaab Commander and two other senior members of the Islamist group have been captured by Somali and AU troops in the country, intelligence sources said on Monday.

    The three were captured near the central town of Elbur late Sunday, senior Somali intelligence officer Mohamed Hasan said.

    Commander Ali Yusuf, also known as Ali Ganey, who is thought to be responsible for the killings of civilians and attacks against Somali and AU troops in the area, was also among those captured, Somali military commander Mohamed Kahiye said.

    Al-Shabaab is yet to react to the development.

    The AU has more than 22,000 troops in Somalia to help the government battle al-Shabaab, which has campaigned for nearly a decade for a state governed under the strictest interpretation of Islamic law.

  • Court to France: Pay Somali pirates damages

    The European Court of Human Rights says France violated the rights of Somali pirates who had attacked French ships and has ordered compensation for them over judicial delays.

    The nine Somali pirates should get thousands of euros because they were not immediately brought before a French judge, the court ruled.

    One is to get 9,000 euros (£7,000) and the others sums of up to 7,000 euros.

    The judges faulted France for keeping them in custody for an extra 48 hours.

    The pirates had held French citizens hostage after seizing a French-flagged cruise ship and a French yacht in 2008.

    The French military captured the pirates on the Somali coast in two operations, after the hostages had been released for ransoms of $2.1million (£1.3illion) and $2million.

    Indian Ocean shipping has been plagued by pirate gangs operating off Somalia in recent years, but international naval action in the region has sharply reduced the attacks.

    Before transferring the pirates to France, the authorities held one group for four days and the others for six days and 16 hours.

    But the extra 48 hours of custody on French soil violated the pirates’ right to liberty and security under the European Convention on Human Rights, the court ruled.

    The convention’s Article 5.3 “was not designed to give the authorities the opportunity to intensify their investigations for the purpose of bringing formal charges against the suspects” a court statement said.

    The judges argued that the time between their arrest and transfer to France was already enough for France to draw up charges, instead of delaying for another 48 hours.

    Court judgements are binding on signatories to the convention.

    The judges did not challenge France’s right to arrest the pirates inside Somali territory, under UN anti-piracy rules.

  • Al-Shabaab attacks hotel used by Somali, AU soldiers

    The radical Islamist group al-Shabaab on Monday night attacked a hotel being used by Somali and African Union troops, in the north of Somalia, military officials said.

    They said on Tuesday in Mogadishu that many al-Shabaab fighters, including at least two suicide bombers, attacked the hotel in Bulabarde, 185 kilometres north of Mogadishu.

    Officials said explosions were heard outside and inside the hotel.

    They said the Somali soldiers responded with machine guns and grenades, in a battle that lasted several hours until midnight.

    Officials in Mogadishu said all the al-Shabaab attackers were killed, but there has been no official death toll