PRESS RELEASE (For Immediate Release) AU Special Representative prepares to leave Mogadishu, June 19th 2014: The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif will be leaving the mission on July 2nd, 2014. Yesterday he held separate meetings with the President, the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the Federal Republic of Somalia and formally introduced the Deputy Special Representative, The Honorable Lydia Wanyoto Mutende and the recently appointed Police Commissioner, Mr. […]

Cracking down on Nairobi’s Somali Al Jazeera investigation uncovers allegations of beatings and rape in Kenya’s ongoing anti-terrorism operation.   Nairobi, Kenya – In Eastleigh, a mostly Somali area of Nairobi, residents say they constantly look over their shoulders when entering grocery stores, to make sure no security agents are following them. Some families have locked themselves up in their homes, and children rush to alert their parents whenever they see a policeman passing by. Some say they would like to […]

Four killed in matatu blast In Summary Incident comes two days after failed grenade attack on tourists in Likoni, Mombasa and Friday’s explosion in Wajir More than 30 others injured in suspected terror attack outside Pangani Girls School, Nairobi. Powerful explosion heard 10 kilometres away At least four people were killed and over 30 injured when an explosive device placed in a matatu went off near Pangani Girls School in Nairobi. The Number 6 matatu that plies the Eastleigh route […]

Somali refugees fear going home – MSF Nairobi – The vast majority of Somali refugees in Kenya fear returning to their war-torn country, Doctors Without Borders says, warning aid must continue despite a recent deal for refugees to go home. Despite living in often appalling conditions in the world’s biggest refugee complex of Dadaab – home to over 400 000 mainly Somali refugees – at least four out of five are too frightened to go back to Somalia, according to […]

Kenya: Somali repatriation process must be voluntary, UN agency stresses 26 November 2013 – The agreement signed earlier this month between the United Nations refugee agency and the Governments of Somalia and Kenya supports the voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees, a UNHCR spokesperson has stressed, reiterating that the parties are not forcing anyone to return to Somalia. “UNHCR does not support forced returns,” UN Refugee Agency spokesperson, Adrian Edwards, told journalists today in Geneva. “This understanding was reaffirmed last Friday,” […]

Milk processing plant to open in Garissa The Garissa county government will soon unveil a multi-million shilling milk processing plant that will process, package and brand the product for market. County Executive member in charge of Industries, Commerce and co-operatives Hajir Mohamed Dahiye said the Sh40 million plant is at its final stage. The county will soon have its own brand of milk. Garissa livestock officer Benson Munyao said the plant will produce 1,500 litres of camel milk a day […]

Somalia’s ‘one-legged’ Shabaab still far from defeat With reinforcements expected, Somali and African forces fighting Shabaab extremists speak confidently of victory, but analysts warn of tough battles ahead and say that military campaigns alone will not bring peace. (Read: UN seeks more Amisom troops in Somalia) The Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab have fled a string of towns in the past two years ahead of the advancing African Union force in Somalia (AMISOM) — fighting alongside Somalia’s rag-tag army, various aligned militia […]

Former TFG fighters behind fresh wave of attacks, says official IN SUMMARY County boss says Garissa is one of several terrorist cells in Kenya and there are more in the refugee camps where police find it difficult to get crucial information on militants The Garissa County Commissioner Mohammed Maalim has attributed the series of terror attacks in the northeastern town to Kenyan- Somalis who deserted the Somali Transitional Federal Government forces in Somalia. Mr Maalim told the Nation in Garissa […]

Waiting to strike the KDF? IN SUMMARY With contributions from the Somali diaspora drying up thanks to its growing unpopularity, al-Shabab knew, long before the KDF reached Kismayo, that it did not have the manpower or money to face a conventional army but this does not mean that they are out, writes James Verini Mogadishu is famous for its destroyed infrastructure. By contrast, Kismayo, home to about 180,000 people, is striking for its lack of infrastructure. Residents will tell you […]

KDF breathe new life into Kismayu IN SUMMARY A port city that was for years deserted due to al-Shabaab terror is now teeming with smiling residents Incredibly, this small port city, a study in ruin in a country that is a parable of ruin, boasts two airports. There is the new airport, as it is known, laughably to all who touch down there, which lies 10 miles inland and consists of a couple of mostly tarmacked runways and the carcass […]