Somalia

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US Flying Armed Drones Out of Ethiopia Base

Ethiopia denies US presence, Air Force doesn't

(Newser) - Not only has the United States built a network of military drone bases in East Africa , it is flying its armed Reaper drones out of a base in southern Ethiopia on secret missions against al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist groups from Somalia to Yemen, reports the Washington Post . The Ethiopian government is denying...

US, Danish Aid Workers Kidnapped in Somalia

Demining workers seized by pirates

(Newser) - Three aid workers who were helping to remove land mines in northern Somalia have been kidnapped by gunmen who attacked their convoy. The three—a 32-year-old American woman, a 60-year-old Danish man, and a Somali colleague—were seized on their way to an airport and security officials believe they are...

Kenyan Bar Hit With Grenade Attack

Officials fear Somali militants to blame

(Newser) - At least 12 people were injured early today when someone hurled a grenade into a small bar in Nairobi. Speculation is rampant that the attack might be the work of Somali militants retaliating against Kenya’s incursion into the country last week, but so far officials are not publicly blaming...

Disabled French Hostage Dies in Somalia Captivity

Marie Dedieu was a quadriplegic and needed medicine

(Newser) - The wheelchair-bound French tourist kidnapped by Somali gunmen earlier this month died in captivity, France said today. Marie Dedieu, 66, was a quadriplegic and required medication every six hours. Though the French government attempted to send her prescriptions to her and well-wishers offered to bring the medicine to where she...

Kenyan Troops Invade Somalia
 Kenyan Troops Invade Somalia 
Oct 17, 2011 7:58 AM CDT

Kenyan Troops Invade Somalia

Official says they're targeting suspected kidnappers al-Shabab

(Newser) - Kenyan troops crossed the border into Somalia yesterday in an attempt to crack down on militants suspected in a rash of kidnappings, residents say. A Kenyan official confirms to the BBC the country’s troops are targeting al-Shabab, the Somalia group suspected of crossing the border and seizing four Europeans...

Stars Unite to 'F*** Famine'

Group aims to raise awareness, not money

(Newser) - Bono, George Clooney, Colin Farrell, and a host of celebrities spout the F-word in a new ad with a simple message: "F*** famine." (Don't worry, it's still SFW, thanks to a lot of censoring.) "Famine is the real obscenity," explains Bono in the...

Truck Bomb Kills 70 in Somalia
 Truck Bomb Kills 70 in Somalia 
Oct 4, 2011 7:32 AM CDT

Truck Bomb Kills 70 in Somalia

Islamist militants claim responsibility

(Newser) - A truck laden with explosives blew up in front of the Ministry of Education in Somalia's capital today, killing 70 and injuring 42, a rescue official says. A Mogadishu police officer says the vehicle blew up after pulling up to a security checkpoint at the entrance to the ministry...

Somali Gunmen Kidnap Wheelchair-Bound Tourist

Attackers may be in standoff at sea

(Newser) - Echoing other recent assaults by Somali gunmen, a gang of Somalis kidnapped a wheelchair-bound French tourist today from her bungalow in Kenya. The attackers slipped into one of East Africa's fanciest tourist areas by boat at around 3am, burst into her bungalow on Manda Island and dragged her away...

Kenya Can Help Stop 'Mass Rape' of Somali Refugees Fleeing Famine
 Kenya: Help Stop 
 Rape of Somali Refugees 
Nicholas Kristof
Sep 25, 2011 1:45 PM CDT

Kenya: Help Stop Rape of Somali Refugees

Donor fatigue no excuse for giving up: Kristof

(Newser) - The severe famine gripping Somalia is not only starving millions of people, it's creating "an instance of mass rape" for refugees fleeing into Kenya, writes Nicholas Kristof at the New York Times . About 1,000 a day are forced to trek 50 miles from the border to a...

Kids Who Won Somali Radio Contest Awarded ... AK-47s

Third-place had to settle for grenades

(Newser) - A Somali radio station run by al-Shabab held an, er, interesting trivia contest for kids this weekend. Kids aged 10-17 were quizzed on Islam and al-Shabab minutiae (example: “Which war was al-Shabab warrior Sheik Timajilic killed in?”), with the lucky winner and runner-up both walking away with a...

US Expanding African Drone Network

New bases to target Islamic militants, pirates

(Newser) - The Obama administration is creating an expanded network of drone bases in Africa, which officials say will help the US target Islamic militants in Somalia and Yemen. A new drone base is being built in Ethiopia, and the US is already deploying drones over Somalia and Yemen from its base...

Somali Pirates Free Danish Family

Three children were among those held hostage

(Newser) - The Danish family held hostage by Somali pirates since February has been released and is safe. Jan Quist Johansen, his wife, their three children between the ages of 12 and 16, and two adult crew members are in “relatively good condition,” according to Denmark’s foreign ministry and...

Somalia Famine Could Kill 750K: UN

12M in the region are in need of food aid

(Newser) - The news out of Somalia continues to grow more dismal: Today the UN announced that the drought coursing through East Africa is expected to worsen, and could claim as many as 750,000 lives in Somalia. The UN declared the Bay region a famine zone, making it the sixth area...

African Union Steps Up to Help Drought Victims

Donors conference pledges $356M

(Newser) - An African donors conference set up by the African Union has pledged $356 million to help alleviate the suffering of the 12 million hit by the drought battering the Horn of Africa. The lion’s share of that sum, $300 million, will come from the African Development Bank, with other...

Investigation Finds Massive Theft of Somalia Food Aid

One official estimates up to half of aid deliveries are stolen

(Newser) - Thousands of sacks of food aid meant for Somalia's famine victims have been stolen and are being sold at markets in the same neighborhoods where skeletal children in filthy refugee camps can't find enough to eat, an AP investigation finds. The UN's World Food Program for the...

US Plans $100M in Somalia Famine Aid

Hundreds of thousands of children could die, warns official

(Newser) - As top US officials warn that hundreds of thousands of children could die in Somalia's famine, Washington is preparing to send $100 million in new aid, two officials tell the AP . To raise awareness of the crisis, Jill Biden traveled to a refugee camp to "ask Americans and...

Somalia Famine's Brutal Toll: 29K Kids Dead in 3 Months

All under the age of 5, according to the US

(Newser) - The UN has said that the famine in Somalia has killed tens of thousands, and the first specific estimate to emerge paints an even more heartbreaking picture. More than 29,000 children under the age of five have died in just the last 90 days in the southern part of...

Obama Lifts Anti-Terror Rule to Open Somalia Aid

Aid workers can now pay off al-Shabab

(Newser) - The US plans to back off an anti-terrorism rule that’s stemming the flow of aid to Somalis plagued by drought and famine. The current rules forbid US-funded groups from paying “taxes” or tolls to terrorist groups, the Washington Post explains. That’s proved untenable for aid workers in...

Somali Militants Launch Ramadan Offensive

Despite deadly famine, al-Shabab forces attack Mogadishu

(Newser) - For the fifth straight year, Islamic militant group al-Shabab used the start of Ramadan to launch attacks in Somalia, reports CNN . Despite one of the worst famines in 60 years , al-Shabab fighters attacked African Union forces in northeastern Mogadishu yesterday with suicide bombers, guns, and mortars. "In the midst...

40 Americans Have Joined Somali Terrorists: Peter King

Rep. King refuses to end Islamic radicalization hearings

(Newser) - Rep. Peter King says his controversial hearings on Muslim radicalization in the US have uncovered some actual radicals. As the hearings resumed today, King declared that 40 Americans and 20 Canadians have signed up with Al-Shabab, a Somali insurgent group with ties to al-Qaeda, the National Post reports. “We...

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