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” —...
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...
By Nima Elbagir, CNN Mogadishu, Somalia (CNN) — In a classroom tucked away from the world in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, students practice spelling. Ranging in age from 6 to 11, these girls all have one thing in common: They have either been raped or suffered through the rape of a loved one. Even the 6-year-old is a rape...
Mogadishu – A warlord in southern Somalia’s Jubaland region has declared himself “president” of the region, leaders said on Thursday, shortly after the election of another militia commander to the post. With tensions already high, the move raised the risk of clashes between rival factions in the southern port city of Kismayo, a former stronghold...
By ANNA EDWARDS and JAMES RUSH This is the first picture of an 11-year-old girl who was killed by a lorry on her way home from school. The devastated relatives of Hani Haji Hassan today said she was a ‘lovely girl’ who wanted to be a doctor. Her family have described how they had to take the agonising...
New York, May 15, 2013–Ethiopian police in Addis Ababa questioned an editor for several hours today in connection with a story published in October about the widow of the late Ethiopian leader Meles Zenawi, according to news reports. Officers in the Ethiopian Federal Police Crime Investigation Department interrogated Ferew Abebe, the former editor-in-chief of the...
Ahmed Madobe is key ally of Kenya, and his appointment risks opening rift between Nairobi and Mogadishu. NAIROBI – Former Islamist warlord Ahmed Madobe has been elected “president” of Somalia’s volatile southern Jubaland region following weeks of tense negotiations between rival factions, officials said Wednesday. The vote in the southern port city of Kismayo was...
VOA News A U.S. federal court has handed down prison terms for two men convicted of supporting Somali militant group al-Shabab.Forty-six-year-old Mahamud Sharif Omar was sentenced Tuesday to spend at least 20 years in prison on two separate jail terms to be served concurrently. Twenty-eight-year-old Kamal Said Hassan was sentenced to spend at least 10...