Somalia

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At Least 20 Dead After Car Bombing in Somali Capital

Vehicle with explosives crashed into popular restaurant in Mogadishu, Somalia

(Newser) - The death toll has risen to at least 20 after a vehicle packed with explosives rammed into a popular restaurant in Somalia's capital on Friday night, with 30 wounded. The Somali National News Agency cited the Aamin ambulance service for the death toll. The Luul Yamani restaurant also was...

In This Nation, Few Take COVID Seriously

Mitigation efforts are missing in Somalia, which will be among the last to receive vaccines

(Newser) - As richer countries race to distribute COVID-19 vaccines, Somalia remains the rare place where much of the population hasn't taken the coronavirus seriously. Some fear that's proven to be deadlier than anyone knows. "Certainly our people don’t use any form of protective measures, neither masks nor...

Trump: Pull US Troops Out of This Nation by January

Somalia joins Afghanistan and Iraq in Trump's end-of-term troop drawdowns

(Newser) - Last month, US officials announced President Trump would be pulling a significant number of US troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq by January. Now, another country joins the list, in a different part of the world. The Pentagon said Friday that nearly all of the 700 American troops in Somalia...

NATO Chief Responds to Trump's Troop Cuts

ISIS could take advantage of the vacuum in Afghanistan, secretary-general says

(Newser) - President Trump's plan to reduce US forces in Afghanistan and Iraq in the next two months drew a warning Tuesday from NATO. "The price for leaving too soon or in an uncoordinated way could be very high," said Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, per the BBC . He said Afghanistan...

Outrage in Somalia Over Possible Child Marriage Move

Parliament considering a bill that would allow it

(Newser) - An outcry is rising in Somalia as parliament considers a bill that would allow child marriage once a girl’s sexual organs mature and would allow forced marriage as long as the family gives their consent. Somalia in 2013 agreed with the UN to improve its sexual violence laws, and...

UN Pleads for Help Amid 'Devastating' Locust Invasion

Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya all overtaken; UN says locust numbers could grow 500 times by June

(Newser) - Last month, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization reported on the plague of locusts that had overtaken Somalia and Ethiopia, and now a new East African nation is being beleaguered by the bugs. The FAO says Kenya is also dealing with an "unprecedented" and "devastating" number of...

3 More Americans Killed in Base Attack

Al-Shabab strikes again, this time at Camp Simba in Manda Bay, Kenya

(Newser) - With Iran on everyone's mind, Americans killed in Africa don't get much attention—but three were indeed killed Sunday at a military base in Kenya, NBC News reports. According to US Africa Command, al-Shabab forces attacked a base used by US troops before dawn, killing a US service...

Horrific Truck Bomb Kills 78
Horrific Truck Bomb Kills 78
Dec 28, 2019 11:00 AM CST

Horrific Truck Bomb Kills 78

At least 125 are wounded in Mogadishu

(Newser) - A truck bomb exploded at a busy security checkpoint in Somalia's capital Saturday morning, killing at least 78 people including many students, authorities said. It was the worst attack in Mogadishu in more than two years, and witnesses said the force of the blast reminded them of the city'...

Locust Plague Swoops Down Upon 2 Nations

Somalia, Ethiopia seeing worst invasion of desert locusts in 25 years: UN food agency

(Newser) - Crops on nearly 173,000 acres of land have been destroyed in Somalia and parts of eastern Ethiopia in what the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization is deeming the region's worst desert locust invasion in a quarter century. The FAO notes the insect plague is imperiling farmers' livelihoods...

Rand Paul Floats Controversial Idea for Ilhan Omar

Says he'll help buy a plane ticket for her to visit Somalia so she can better appreciate US

(Newser) - Rand Paul has been staunchly on the side of President Trump during Trump's public feud with Rep. Ilhan Omar and others progressive members of "the Squad." Now, the Kentucky senator has ramped up his defense with a provocative statement about the Somalia-born Omar, reports the Louisville Courier-Journal ...

Shocking Hotel Attack Leaves 26 Dead

Including 2 Americans and a prominent journalist

(Newser) - Islamic extremists blew up the gate of a Somali hotel with a car bomb and took over the building for more than 14 hours, leaving 26 people dead before Somali forces who besieged the hotel overnight killed the attackers, the AP reports. The victims included a prominent Canadian-Somali journalist. Three...

Glaring Error on Africa Map Called 'Act of Aggression'

No, Ethiopia has not annexed Somalia

(Newser) - Typically it's New Zealand that gets left off maps . But this time, Somalia is getting a taste of the affront via a map published by its neighbor and longtime rival, Ethiopia. The map, removed Sunday from the website for Ethiopia's foreign ministry, showed Somalian territory included within Ethiopia'...

Uber Driver Ordered to Pay $500K to Torture Victim

Yusuf Abdi Ali was commander in Somali military

(Newser) - Uber and Lyft say they have permanently removed accused war criminal Yusuf Abdi Ali from their apps. The Somali ex-colonel, who drove for the rideshare apps in northern Virginia, was ordered to pay torture victim Farhan Tani Warfaa $500,000 by a jury in the state Tuesday, the Washington Post...

Amnesty: US Is Killing Civilians in Somalia

Pentagon disputes report

(Newser) - There is credible evidence that US military airstrikes in Somalia have killed or wounded nearly two dozen civilians, an international human rights group said Tuesday, charging that the Pentagon is not adequately investigating potential casualties. US Africa Command officials immediately disputed the allegations laid out in a report by Amnesty...

After 28 Years, American Diplomacy Returns to Somalia

Embassy in Mogadishu was evacuated during civil war

(Newser) - In a sign of how much the security situation in Somalia's capital has improved, the US has established a permanent diplomatic presence there for the first time in almost 28 years. In a sign of how dangerous Mogadishu remains, many staffers will remain at the US diplomatic mission to...

He Said He Needed Toilet Paper. It Was a Ruse to Escape

Michael Scott Moore's attempt to flee Somali pirates didn't work

(Newser) - He said he needed to use the bathroom, and that he had toilet paper downstairs—he just needed permission to get it. There was some verbal tussling, but then Michael Scott Moore was given the OK to retrieve it. It was all a ruse, and the downstairs location he headed...

Doc on Genital Victim: 'I Never Saw Anyone Mutilated Like That'

10-year-old Somali girl dies after procedure; dad says he still stands behind FGM

(Newser) - In Somalia, about 98% of girls undergo female genital mutilation, but one 10-year-old is now part of an even grimmer statistic: those who've died from it. A doctor at a Dhusamareb hospital tells Voice of America the child was brought to the ER early last week, two days after...

US Special Operations Soldier Killed in Somalia

Allegedly at hands of al-Shabab

(Newser) - There are more than 7,300 US Special Operations forces soldiers operating around the world, reports the New York Times , and one lost his life in Africa on Friday. The BBC reports the incident in southwest Somalia was believed to be an ambush by al-Shabab militants; four other American service...

Militant Group Stones Woman to Death

Al-Shabab militants in Somalia execute her because she had multiple husbands

(Newser) - A militant group in Somalia on Wednesday enacted a brutal sentence on a woman accused of having multiple husbands. Militants with al-Shabab buried the woman up to her neck, then pelted her to death with stones, while residents in the town of Sablale looked on. The death sentence came after...

'Several Terrorists' Dead After Big US First in Somalia

For first time, US conducts airstrikes against Islamic State in the country

(Newser) - The US military for the first time has conducted two airstrikes against Islamic State group fighters in Somalia, where the extremists are a growing presence in a country long threatened by the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab. The US Africa Command said the two drone strikes killed "several terrorists" in northeastern Somalia,...

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