Somalia

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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... More »

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... More »

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'... More »

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... More »

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 ... More »

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... More »

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'... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

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... More »

'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,... More »

Mother With Baby, 21 Others Killed in Hotel Attack

23 dead, more than 30 wounded in Mogadishu

(Newser) - A suicide truck bomb exploded outside a popular hotel in Somalia's capital on Saturday, killing at least 23 people and wounding more than 30, and gunfire continued as security forces pursued other attackers inside the building, police said. Two more blasts were heard, one when an attacker detonated a... More »

Hospitals See 'Unspeakable Horrors' After Somalia Bombing

Death toll is now at 276, with hundreds wounded

(Newser) - The most powerful bomb blast ever witnessed in Somalia's capital killed 276 people, with around 300 others injured, the country's information minister said early Monday, making it the deadliest single attack in the nation's history. In a tweet, Abdirahman Osman called the attack "barbaric" and said... More »

Nearly 200 Dead in Deadliest Attack in Somalia's History

More than 200 others were injured in Sunday's blast

(Newser) - Maryan Abdullahi's father had been preparing to fly to Somalia's capital on Sunday to attend the happiest moment in his daughter's life: her graduation day. Instead, he will bury her. On Saturday, the 22-year-old Abdullahi was making final preparations for graduation after years of medical studies when... More »

20 Reported Dead After Truck Bomb Explodes Near Hotel

The explosion rocked the capital of Somalia on Saturday

(Newser) - A huge explosion from a truck bomb killed 20 people in Somalia's capital Saturday, as shaken residents called it the most powerful blast they'd heard in years, the AP reports. The explosion appeared to target a hotel on a busy road in Hodan district of Mogadishu and at... More »

Hijacked Plane Brought Home After 40 Years

Leftists took German plane to Somalia 40 years ago

(Newser) - A Lufthansa passenger jet that was hijacked to Somalia 40 years ago at the height of a far-left militant group's campaign against West German authorities has returned home. The DPA news agency reported Saturday that most parts of the Boeing 737 arrived Saturday in the city of Friedrichshafen, where... More »

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