Somalia

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Diphtheria, a Child Killer, On the Rise Again Globally

Nations with conflict and weak health systems, including Somalia, are seeing a spike in cases

(Newser) - Diphtheria—a killer of children once nearly eradicated—is making a comeback in parts of the world plagued by conflict and weak health systems, reports the New York Times . The story reports large outbreaks in Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, and Chad, and it focuses on Somalia, where more than 2,000...

Somalia Kills Militants to End Prison Siege

Government says no officers were killed and no inmates escaped

(Newser) - Somali government forces successfully ended a six-hour siege by militants at a major prison located near the president's office in the capital, Mogadishu, killing all seven attackers, the government said Sunday. The government said no civilian or security officers were killed in the Saturday attack, which was claimed by...

In One Sense, Trump Got Done in 5 Months What Took Biden 4 Years

He's ordered nearly as many airstrikes as his predecessor in much less time

(Newser) - Donald Trump entered his current term in the White House touting ambitions to be a "peacemaker" president, pledging an end to America's often drawn-out conflicts. Yet within his first six months, the Independent reports that Trump's administration has launched at least 529 airstrikes across Africa, the...

Bomber Kills Military Recruits Waiting in Line to Register

Passersby are among the casualties at Mogadishu camp, witnesses say

(Newser) - A suicide bomber in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Sunday targeted young recruits waiting to register at a military camp, killing at least 13 people and wounding 21 others, witnesses said. A soldier who was part of the camp's guard unit told the AP that the recruits were...

Police: Dozens Dead in Attack on Beach Hotel

Al-Shabab takes responsibility for attack, which left dozens more injured, in Somalia's Mogadishu

(Newser) - Police in Somalia said Saturday that 32 people died and 63 others were wounded in an attack on a beach hotel in the capital, Mogadishu, the previous evening. Al-Qaeda's East Africa affiliate, al-Shabab, said through its radio that its fighters carried out the attack, per the AP . Police spokesperson...

Two Navy SEALs Missing Off Somalia Coast

One went overboard during mission Thursday night, the other went in after

(Newser) - Two US Navy SEALs are missing after conducting a nighttime boarding mission Thursday off the coast of Somalia, according to three US officials. The SEALs were on an interdiction mission, climbing up a vessel, when one got knocked off by high waves. Under their protocol, when one SEAL is overtaken...

US Navy Sailors Go Missing Off Coast of Somalia

Search and rescue operation is underway

(Newser) - A search and rescue operation is underway off the coast of Somalia after two sailors from the US Navy went missing on Thursday night, reports Reuters . "For operational security purposes, we will not release additional information until the personnel recovery operation is complete," read a statement from US...

Runner's Extremely Slow Race Is a Head-Scratcher

Somalia's sports minister apologized after strange incident

(Newser) - Somalia's sports minister publicly apologized Wednesday and ordered that the chairwoman of the national track and field federation be suspended after a seemingly untrained female sprinter represented the African country at the World University Games in China and took more than 20 seconds to finish a 100-meter race, the...

Somalia Asks for Doctors After Bombings

At least 100 were killed, president says, in extremist group's attack

(Newser) - Somalia’s president says that at least 100 people were killed in two car bombings Saturday at a busy junction in the capital in the country's deadliest attack since a truck bombing at the same spot five years ago killed more than 500. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, at the...

It's Probably Too Late to Avoid Famine in Somalia

'We are facing the death of children on a scale not seen in half a century,' says UNICEF

(Newser) - The last time famine was declared in Somalia, 260,000 people died—half of them children—and “the world vowed never to let it happen again,” according to CBS News. That was in 2011, but it is happening again, and this time it could be much worse, according...

Brazen Hotel Attack May Signal Dangerous New Phase

Al-Shabab stormed Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu after new president warns of crackdown

(Newser) - Somali authorities on Sunday ended a deadly attack in which 21 people were killed and dozens more wounded when gunmen stormed a hotel in the capital, per the AP . It took Somali forces more than 30 hours to contain the fighters who had stormed Mogadishu's Hayat Hotel on Friday...

Troops Fight al-Shabab at Hotel
Militant Attack on Hotel Kills 20
Aug 20, 2022 1:10 PM CDT

Militant Attack on Hotel Kills 20

Troops fight al-Shabab militants in Mogadishu gunbattle

(Newser) - Islamic militants have stormed a hotel in Somalia's capital, engaging in an hours-long exchange of fire with the security forces that left at least 20 people dead, according to police and witnesses. In addition, at least 40 people were wounded in the late Friday night attack, and security forces...

Biden Is Redeploying Troops to Somalia

Move to station forces in country reverses Trump order

(Newser) - President Biden signed an order Monday to redeploy hundreds of US troops to Somalia to counter the Islamic extremist rebel group al-Shabab, an effort that American military leaders said had been hampered by Donald Trump's late-term decision to withdraw forces from the country. US troops will be repositioned from...

UN Warns 350K Children Could Die in Drought by June

In Somalia, some 1.4M under age 5 are malnourished

(Newser) - "The situation cannot be more dire," said Adam Abdelmoula , a UN humanitarian official. Unless something is done quickly about the drought in Somalia, Adam Abdelmoula said, "350,000 of the 1.4 million severely malnourished children in the country will perish." The drought is Somalia's...

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...

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