U.S. Military Acknowledges Civilian Deaths in Somalia Strike
The U.S. military said two civilians were killed and three were wounded in a February 2019 air strike it conducted in Somalia. Amnesty International says that since 2017, U.S. air strikes have killed fourteen civilians in the country, where the United States targets al-Shabab militants (New York Times)
Al-Shabab Leader Killed in U.S. Air Strike
A U.S. air strike in southern Somalia killed senior al-Shabab leader Yusuf Jiis, the U.S. military and a Somali intelligence official said yesterday (Voice of America)
Amnesty International: U.S. Strikes in Somalia Killed Civilians
Two February strikes in Somalia that the U.S. military claims only killed al-Shabab militants actually killed two civilians and injured three more, Amnesty International alleged. The U.S. military said it was reviewing the claims (New York Times)
Somalia Qualifies for Debt Relief
Reforms in Somalia have qualified the country for a reduction in its external debt from $5.2 billion to around $557 million, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank said. Somalia has spent thirty years outside the international financial system (Reuters)
Militants Attack UN Compound in Somali Capital
Al-Shabab militants launched mortars at the Halane compound in Mogadishu yesterday, which houses embassies and facilities belonging to the United Nations, European Union, and African Union. While Al-Shabab claimed that it inflicted several casualties in its attack, the compound did not report any killed or wounded personnel (Anadolu)
U.S. Investigates Alleged Civilian Deaths in Somalia Strike
U.S. Africa Command is investigating a Somali lawmaker’s claim that an air strike targeting Islamist militants killed six civilians (Reuters)
Al-Shabab Leader Killed in Drone Strike
Senior al-Shabab leader Bashir Mohamed Mahamoud was likely killed in a U.S. drone strike last month, the U.S. military said (Voice of America)
His family told state radio he died in an air strike (National)
U.S. Forces Kill Al-Shabab Militant Behind Kenya Attack
A U.S. air strike killed a senior al-Shabab militant behind the January 5 attack on Kenya’s Manda Bay Airfield in which three Americans died, a top U.S. Africa Command official announced (Voice of America)
Somali officials said the U.S. strike also killed a civilian (Al Jazeera)
Al-Shabab Attacks Two Military Bases
Al-Shabab gunmen and suicide bombers attacked military bases yesterday at Qoryooley and El-Salini, killing twelve Somalian soldiers and briefly capturing the installation at El-Salini to seize weapons and supplies. Government troops and African Union peacekeepers later repelled the militants at both sites and recaptured the base at El-Salini (Al Jazeera)
Somalian Special Forces Attack Al-Shabab Militants
Somalian soldiers attached to the Danab special forces unit killed at least thirteen al-Shabab insurgents in a military operation near the town of Leego northwest of Mogadishu (Anadolu)
Al-Shabab Attack in Kenya Kills Three
Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for an attack on a town in eastern Kenya today that killed three teachers (Associated Press)
U.S. Troops Deployed to Kenya After Al-Shabab Attack
Troops from the East Africa Response Force of U.S. Africa Command deployed to Manda Bay, Kenya after an al-Shabab attack on an air base there killed three Americans (Military Times)
Al-Shabab Attack on Kenyan Airstrip Kills Americans
The attack on a Kenyan military base used by the United States killed one U.S. service member and two Department of Defense contractors, according to U.S. Africa Command (Washington Post)
Al-Shabab Blamed for Car Bomb in Somalia’s Capital
The bomb detonated at a busy Mogadishu intersection and killed at least seventy-eight people. Somalia’s president condemned the attack as a “heinous act of terror” and blamed the militant group al-Shabab. U.S. military officials said they killed four al-Shabab militants in retaliatory air strikes (Associated Press)
Somalia Hit by Desert Locust Invasion
The invasion is the country’s worst in twenty-five years, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and has so far damaged some seventy thousand hectares of land in Somalia and neighboring Ethiopia. Conflict in Somalia has disrupted regular pesticide spraying (Reuters)
U.S. Drone Strike Kills High-Ranking Al-Shabab Militant
A U.S. drone strike killed a top-level al-Shabab officer near the town of Kunya Barow, says Somali intelligence. The United States confirmed the killing and noted that the terrorist official had ties to al-Qaeda (Associated Press)
Al-Shabab Attack Targets Mogadishu Airport
The militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for mortar attacks around the Somali capital city’s airport that injured at least seven people. The area is home to facilities for the African Union and the UN mission in Somalia. (Voice of America)
U.S. Reopens Embassy in Somalia
The reopening of the embassy, which closed in 1991 amid civil conflict, took place as the U.S. Agency for International Development announced nearly $257 million in new aid for the country (Voice of America)
U.S. Military Responds to Al-Shabab Attack
U.S. and partner forces conducted two air strikes that killed ten suspected militants, according to U.S. Africa Command, following an attack on a Somali base used by U.S. special forces. The attack was claimed by the militant group al-Shabab (U.S. Africa Command)
Al-Shabab Carries Out Suicide Bombings Across Somalia
The militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for multiple suicide car bombings today, two on a U.S. military base in southern Somalia and another that targeted Italian peacekeepers in Mogadishu. Civilians were reportedly injured in the Mogadishu attack (Associated Press)
U.S. Air Strike Kills Al-Shabab Militant in Somalia
The U.S. military announced today that an air strike in Somalia killed an al-Shabab militant (U.S. Africa Command)
Al-Shabab Car Bomb Kills Somali Soldiers
A car bombing at a Somali military base today reportedly killed dozens of Somali soldiers. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack (Reuters)
Somali Army Kills Sixteen Al-Shabab Militants
Somali special forces killed at least sixteen al-Shabab militants in an ambush near Awdhegle in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region (Anadolu Agency)
Somalia Executes Al-Shabab Militants
Somali officials executed two al-Shabab militants responsible for a December 2018 attack in Mogadishu that killed at least thirteen people (Bloomberg)
Somalia Mayor Dies a Week After Al-Shabab Bombing
Abdirahman Omar Osman, the mayor of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, died after being injured in a suicide bombing at his office last week by al-Shabab. At least six other people were killed in the attack (BBC)