Police said five people were killed on Sunday when armed men attacked two villages in Lamu district in southeastern Kenya. The attackers also burned homes and destroyed property.
Police described the incident as a "terrorist attack", a term they usually use to refer to incursions by the Somali group al-Shabaab.
Lamu is located near Kenya's border with Somalia, and al-Shabaab militants frequently launch attacks in the area as part of efforts to pressure Kenya to withdraw its forces from Somalia, where it is part of the international peacekeeping force defending the Somali federal government.
The police said that a group of attackers attacked the villages of Salama and Al-Juhoudi in the early hours of Sunday morning, slaughtering a 60-year-old man, burning his house with all his belongings, and killing three others in the same way, while the fifth was shot dead.
The Khatimah administration accused Somaliland forces of indiscriminately bombing the city of Lasanod, the center of the Sool region, killing civilians, and destroying property.
The administration indicated in a statement that Somaliland had carried out its threats made by its army commander earlier this June to bomb the city and accused the Somaliland authorities of committing war crimes.
The statement called on the Somali federal government and the international community to shoulder their responsibilities in protecting the residents of Lasanod and to bring to justice those responsible for the crimes committed against them.
It is noteworthy that since February 2023, the city of Lasanod has been witnessing a conflict between Somaliland forces and opposing forces that seized the city after unrest, and the efforts made to stop the conflict and resolve the dispute at the negotiating table did not succeed.
Puntland's Minister of Information, Mohamud Aidid Direre, reiterated on Friday that the state's presidential elections will be held at a time set by his administration, despite the recent escalation of election-related violence in the state capital, Growe, which has resulted in the death of more than 20 people.
The minister stressed that Puntland will not return to tribal elections, pointing out that the decision related to the elections rests with the Electoral Commission and the political parties.
Indirect elections have been the norm in Puntland for the past 24 years, but the minister said: "Anyone who wants to hold tribal elections should go to the countryside."
He stressed that those who oppose direct elections refuse to involve political organizations in the political process because they seek tribal leadership in Puntland.
At least 8 people were killed and 19 others injured in the two suicide bombings that took place on Wednesday in Bartiri town in the Gedo district in Jubbaland state.
According to Minister of State for Environment and Climate Change Adem O Hirsi, the first bombing targeted a base housing the Somali National Army and the Ethiopian forces of the African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia, while the second bombing took place near the city's airport.
Al-Shabaab extremists claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they targeted the camp because Ethiopian and Somali officials were meeting there. Provincial authorities denied the allegation.
The elite forces of the Somali army, known as "Danab", killed 13 fighters from the Al-Shabaab movement and wounded others during an operation in the village of "Yaqedbil", the terrorist group's stronghold in the Lower Juba region, in southern Somalia, on Tuesday.
Ahmed Abdullah Nur, the commander of the 16th Battalion of the Somali Special Forces “Danab,” indicated in an interview with the Somali National News Agency (SUNA) that the forces found weapons, including 7 AK47 rifles and one RPG, during the special operation.
The battalion commander, Ahmed Abdullah Nur, did not comment on the number of casualties on the part of the Somali Special Forces during the planned military operation.
Tension prevails in the city of Growe, the capital of Puntland state after forces affiliated with opposition politicians took control of parts of the city and closed the roads leading to Parliament.
The opposition forces stopped the movement of vehicles and people in the areas where they took positions, which raised fears of the outbreak of confrontations between them and the government forces guarding Parliament.
These forces oppose a proposal submitted by the Puntland regional state government to parliament that includes an amendment to the constitution, which is opposed by political parties in the state.
The sources pointed to the cancellation of a session that was scheduled to be held by the Parliament of Puntland today, Tuesday, due to the military movements taking place in the city of Growe.
Muallem Muhyiddin Mahmoud Kilmieh, head of the administration of the town of “Run-Nargud,” indicated that the fighters infiltrated the area and abducted the people suddenly.
He added that what the youth movement has done is part of its well-known practices to intimidate, threaten and harm people, noting that the town of “Ron-Nergod” and its affiliated areas have been liberated from the youth movement, but the situation there is unstable, as it is exposed from time to time to attacks by fighters.
Kelmeh stated that Al-Shabaab fighters are still hiding in the forests located between the regions of "Middle Shabelle" and "Galgadud", and revealed a plan to pursue them there to liberate them from the militants, with cooperation between the Somali armed forces and local militias.
At least 4 people were killed and 24 injured yesterday, Saturday, in a direct collision between a car transporting khat and a train in the Somali region of Ethiopia.
The accident occurred near Chenil District. The vehicle was on its way to Hari, a small town in the Chenili region, while the train was heading from Djibouti toward the city of Dire Dawa.
According to eyewitnesses, the train from Djibouti hit the car that was carrying Khat. The seriously injured were taken to the hospital in the area.
The local Somali authorities did not comment on the incident, although such incidents are not rare along the long railway linking Djibouti to the Ethiopian city of Drei Dawa.
Reports from the “Koniapro” area in the Lower Shabelle region, south of the capital, Mogadishu, indicated that Al-Shabaab executed 5 people on charges of espionage.
The reports added that the movement carried out the execution in a square in the aforementioned area of the people, who were all men between the ages of 28 and 52.
A court affiliated with Al-Shabaab claimed that the persons had confessed that they were spying for the Federal Government of Somalia and the United States of America.
The execution in the lower Shabelle region came just days after the group executed five people in the town of "Tieglu" in the Bakool region in southwestern Somalia on charges of spying for the governments of Somalia, Ethiopia and the United States.
At least ten people from both sides were killed in clashes between the Somali government forces and the dervish forces of the state of southwestern Somalia in the city of “Eil Bardali” in the Bakool region of the state on Wednesday evening.
According to local residents, both sides used heavy and light weapons, which resulted in casualties among the two armies participating in the battle.
The fighting comes in the wake of previous clashes between the army and the Dervish forces in the city of “Berwai” on Monday, in which more than 10 people were killed.
Neither the Somali federal government nor the regional state has commented on the recent clash between rival military factions.
At least 12 people, including six soldiers, were killed in two separate attacks linked to the terrorist group Al-Shabaab in Sahel and eastern Kenya.
The police said that the attackers used explosive devices to target the security services while they were moving on the roads, wounding dozens.
According to the police, in the first incident, Al-Shabaab gunmen targeted a passenger bus in the eastern district of Mandera by shooting at it to force the driver to stop, to no avail. The driver went off with a flat tire, saving nearly 50 passengers on board.
In the eastern district of Garissa, the police stated that the terrorist group targeted the Kenya Defense Forces with an explosive device, killing four of them after the vehicle ran over an explosive device.
Yesterday, a military court in Somaliland issued a 9-year prison sentence against Faisal Ali Ibrahim, 42, for his membership in Al-Shabaab.
The military court of first instance indicated in a statement that Faisal was convicted of recruiting fighters for the group within the separatist administration.
In January 2022 Somaliland executed six men convicted of murder. These men were convicted of killing soldiers and were executed by firing squad in Mandera prison.
Reports received from the city of Barawi, the official capital of the state of southwestern Somalia, indicated that fierce battles are currently taking place between the Somali government forces and the Dervish forces of the state in the coastal city.
Residents of the city, located 200 km south of Mogadishu, said they had heard the sound of heavy artillery exchanged between the two parties for more than 30 minutes.
It was not possible to know the size of the losses resulting from the ongoing battles between the two sides, and it was not clear until now the motives behind those clashes.
Officials in the federal government forces who are leading the operation said that their main target is the town of “Osini”, where it is expected that Al-Shabaab masterminded the major attack it launched against government forces in “Masgwai” on the 30th of last May.
The officials added that the government forces and their allies are heading to three towns in the Galgudud region of Galmudug province, which are: El-Pour, Golhariri, and Babu, which are controlled by Al-Shabaab.
The regions of Galgudud region are witnessing strong mobilization and military activities. Somali army officers and the Dervish forces of Galmudug say that the allied forces are heading towards the areas outside the control of the Somali government to liberate them.
Brigadier General Abdullah Ali Anoud, a spokesman for the Somali Ministry of Defense, said that the governments of Kenya and Ethiopia have completed their forces participating in the second phase of the war against Al-Shabaab in Somalia.
Anoud pointed out that the forces sent by the Kenyan government are currently located in the areas of El Waq, Hosingo, Girili, Koulbio, and Dave, while the forces sent by the Ethiopian government are stationed in Abedwaq, Yaid, and Qara Jomo.
The spokesman said that the Somali government has now prepared the forces that will work with the forces of the two neighboring countries, noting that the Somali army will lead the war.
Brigadier General Anoud explained that the Somali government has drawn up a plan aimed at not exposing Somali citizens and their property to any harm as a result of military operations involving foreign forces.
Today, the Somali federal government announced the killing of 20 fighters of the “Al-Shabaab” movement in an operation in the “Balad Al-Amin” area in the Lower Shabelle Governorate, in the state of Southwest.
This came in a press conference held by the Somali Minister of Information Daoud Aweys a while ago in the capital, Mogadishu, in the presence of the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and Head of the Union Mission in Somalia, Ambassador Mohamed El-Amin Soueif.
Aweys indicated that units of the Somali army and intelligence “in cooperation with international partners” carried out the operation, after receiving information about a gathering of Al-Shabaab fighters who were planning to launch terrorist attacks against targets in the region.
Reports from the border town of Dolo in the Gedo region of Jubbaland state said that Al-Shabaab attacked an Ethiopian army military base on Wednesday with two car bombs.
According to the government account, the first car exploded at the entrance to the base, while the forces succeeded in preventing the second car bomb from reaching the base where Ethiopian forces not affiliated with the African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) are stationed.
For its part, the Al-Shabaab movement linked to Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack and said in a leaflet that its fighters were able to target Al-Qaeda with two booby-trapped cars, but there are no independent sources confirming the claims of both sides.
4 people were killed and others were injured as a result of an explosion that occurred last night in a house in Hadan district in the capital, Mogadishu.
Reports indicate that the explosion was caused by an explosive device and was targeting the former director of the police station in Hadan Abdel Fattah district, who survived the attack unscathed.
The Somali police confirmed that 4 of Abdel Fattah's bodyguards were killed, while several others were injured, and they are currently being treated in a local hospital.
This attack comes at a time when the capital, Mogadishu, has recently witnessed an improvement in security, thanks to the Ugandan-trained paramilitary police responsible for securing the city.
The Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, announced that two Ugandan army officers working within the African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia “Atmis” will face a military trial.
President Museveni stated that the two commanders ordered the troops to retreat during the May 26 attack launched by Al-Shabaab on the African Forces base in Bulo Mrir district in Lower Shabelle region, south of the capital, Mogadishu.
He added, “The mistake was made by two commanders, Major Oloka and Major Obo, who ordered the soldiers to retreat. They have been arrested and will face charges in the military court.”
The Ugandan president had confirmed the killing of 54 of his country's soldiers in the Al-Shabaab attack on their base in the Lower Shabelle region, in one of the most attacks on the Ugandan forces of the African Union.
The US Army Africa Command “AFRICOM” said that the United States launched an air strike against Al-Shabaab militants in Somalia, killing three terrorists from the movement in the Lower Juba region.
Noting that it launched the attack against Al-Shabaab in support of the Somali National Army, AFRICOM said, "The military actions are just one part of the federal government's efforts to comprehensively address its security challenges."
AFRICOM stated that its initial assessment of the raid, which targeted an area 60 km southwest of the city of Kismayo, the interim capital of Jubbaland State, is that no civilians were injured or killed.
The latest air strike came amid an intensifying offensive against al-Shabaab since Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declared all-out war against the militants last year.
The Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency announced that it had succeeded in assassinating a senior leader in the Al-Shabaab movement who was responsible for extorting businessmen and commercial companies in the capital, Mogadishu.
According to the Somali News Agency, Ali Raho was responsible for threatening trading companies through phone calls to force them to provide money illegally.
She indicated that intelligence gathered by the intelligence agency eventually led to the successful neutralization of Ali Raho, which is a severe blow to Al-Shabaab and a victory for the ongoing efforts to restore peace and stability in the capital.
It is noteworthy that the Somali National Forces, in cooperation with international partners, are making great efforts to eliminate Al-Shabaab, and the liquidation of Ali Raho, according to security officials, is an indication of the effectiveness of joint operations against Al-Shabaab.
Jubbaland State President Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Madubi) held a meeting with a senior US diplomat at the US Embassy in Mogadishu.
According to a statement issued by the Jubbaland Presidency, Madobe and US Deputy Ambassador to Somalia Tim Trinkle discussed the war on Al-Shabaab and the results of the National Consultative Council meeting in Mogadishu.
According to the same source, Tim Trinkle affirmed the commitment of the United States of America to support the state of Jubaland in its war against the youth movement.
It is worth noting that the United States supports the Somali government and its regional states in the war against Al-Shabaab fighters and ISIS, whose bases the US military directs from time to time air strikes.
