By: AMY FORLITI , Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS – Wide-ranging sentences handed down in the yearslong federal investigation into recruiting and financing for the terrorist group al-Shabab have kindled a mix of outrage, confusion and relief among members of Minnesota’s large Somali community. Some say the 10- and 20-year prison sentences for two Minnesota women who...
By Anthony Denselow There are more than 1,000 convicted Somali pirates in prisons around the world. Some of them end up in a UN-funded jail on the tiny island nation of Seychelles. The Indian shopkeepers along the beach have never heard of the prison at Montagne Posee, but a villager tells me to drive above...
Special for WardheerNews By Hassan M. Abukar Shaikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, one of the leaders of Al-Shabab, confirmed that the American jihadist, Omar Hammami, is still alive. In an interview with Somali Channel TV on May 16, Aweys stated that Hammami was wounded and on the run. He lashed out at an unnamed senior Al-Shabab...
By Peter Kagwanja Three years after the overthrow of Somali military dictator Siad Barre in 1991, Robert D. Kaplan published his highly influential essay in the Atlantic Monthly(February 1994), warning of “The Coming Anarchy” and relating a sad tale of how scarcity, crime, tribalism, disease and overpopulation were rapidly destroying the social fabric of the planet. Africa...
NAIROBI, KENYA: For the first time in over two decades, most parts of Somalia are experiencing relative peace and order following the expulsion of Al-Shabaab militants from Mogadishu and other strategic locations. Efforts by Igad nations Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda to send troops into the war-ravaged country have neutralised the extremist group that had made living in Somalia a prolonged nightmare. Although efforts...
By ABDULKADIR KHALIF Special Corespondent Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon has disowned two politicians claiming to have been elected as presidents of Jubaland State of Somalia, in southern Somalia. Jubaland state is supposed to unite Lower Juba, Middle Juba and Gedo regions. Ahmed Mohamed Islam alias Ahmed Madobe claimed to have been elected by clan...
Megan O’Toole City Hall was dominated Friday by fallout from two separate media reports claiming knowledge of a video that allegedly shows Mayor Rob Ford hitting a crack pipe. TheNational Post‘s Megan O’Toole takes a closer look at three of the key allegations, which Mr. Ford — while dismissing the overall reports as “ridiculous” —...
Citizens and leaders in the autonomous region of Somalia say they are historically and politically a separate country. The Horn of Africa has been ravaged by war and famine for decades, and now one of Somalia’s regions, hopes to become an independent state. Somaliland sits on the Gulf of Aden and is officially regarded as...
BY WILLIAM LLOYD-GEORG Addis Ababa — Despite comments by Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn suggesting the pending withdrawal of his country’s troops from Somalia, many experts have voiced doubts that Ethiopia will pull out of Somalia before it is capable of handling its security without assistance. “Ethiopia has a big interest in Somalia and will...
Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press TORONTO — Somali-Canadian rapper K’naan says lingering disappointment over his last album is pushing him to write and release a new batch of songs. The “Wavin’ Flag” musician says he’s found renewed focus to “be honest” in his work, after playing it too safe with 2012’s “Country, God or the...