Somalia announced on Thursday the expulsion of Ethiopia’s ambassador and the closure of a consulate in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland and another in the Somaliland region, in the context of escalating tension between the two countries.

In light of the crisis in Mogadishu with Somaliland, the former is at odds with Puntland, which has begun to move away from the authority of the central government, especially after it signed a memorandum of understanding with Ethiopia.

On Wednesday, the Minister of State at the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry, Misgano Arga, received a delegation from the Somali state of Puntland, headed by the Minister of Finance in the state government, Mohamed Farah Mohamed.

In Addis Ababa, the two sides discussed trade and investment cooperation as well as cooperation in the field of energy and joint infrastructure projects to strengthen and expand bilateral relations.
Continue reading🔗

#Somalia #Ethiopia #Ethiopia_News #Puntland #Somali_Region #Somalia_News

Somalia announced on Thursday the expulsion of Ethiopia’s ambassador and the closure of a consulate in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland and another in the Somaliland region, in the context of escalating tension between the two countries.

In light of the crisis in Mogadishu with Somaliland, the former is at odds with Puntland, which has begun to move away from the authority of the central government, especially after it signed a memorandum of understanding with Ethiopia.

On Wednesday, the Minister of State at the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry, Misgano Arga, received a delegation from the Somali state of Puntland, headed by the Minister of Finance in the state government, Mohamed Farah Mohamed.

In Addis Ababa, the two sides discussed trade and investment cooperation as well as cooperation in the field of energy and joint infrastructure projects to strengthen and expand bilateral relations.
Continue reading🔗

#Somalia #Ethiopia #Ethiopia_News #Puntland #Somali_Region #Somalia_News

Reuters reported that Somali pirates released the hijacked ship “Abdullah” and its crew of 23 members after a ransom of $5 million was paid.

One of the pirates, Abdul Rashid Yusuf, told the agency that they received the money two nights ago as usual, then validated and divided the funds, before releasing the ship and its entire crew on Sunday, avoiding government forces.

Somali government officials did not respond to requests for comment.

The Bangladeshi-flagged bulk ship was hijacked in March while on its voyage from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates, about 600 nautical miles east of the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Waters off the Somali coast were in chaos between 2008 and 2018 due to pirate activity, and things remained calm until the end of last year, when pirate activity began to rise again.
Continue Reading🔗

#Somalia #Bangladesh #Mogadishu #Mozambique #Pirates #Somalia_News #UAE

The Somali government has requested the termination of a UN political mission advising it on peace, security, and democratic reforms for more than 10 years.

This came in a letter sent by Somali Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Faki to the UN Security Council.

Three U.N. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the 360-member U.N. Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) was surprised by the request to leave when its mandate ends in October.

In the letter, Foreign Minister Faki did not give reasons for the decision, saying only that the government believes it is “now appropriate to move to the next phase of our partnership.
Continue Reading 🔗

#Ahmed_Maalem_Faqi #Somali_Foreign_Minister #Somali_Government #Somalia_News #United_Nations #United_Nations_Mission_in_Somalia #United_Nations_Security_Council

A military court in Puntland province has begun trying five individuals accused of links to the terrorist group al-Shabaab, convicting and sentencing four of them.

The trial took place in the city of Bosaso on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden in northeastern Somalia.

The five defendants were charged with belonging to “al-Shabaab” and using their vehicles to transport the group from mountainous areas to carry out attacks against civilians and government officials in Bosaso.

During the arrests, security forces arrested a vehicle, which the defendants are believed to have used to facilitate their terrorist activities.

Somaliland authorities have begun deploying military and artillery forces on the outskirts of Og in the eastern Sool region.
continue Reading🔗

#Aden_Gulf #Al_Shabaab_Movement #Bosaso_City #Counterterrorism #High_Security_Committee_Khatumo #Khatumo #Military_Court #Puntland_Region #Somali_Region #Somalia_News #Sool_Region

The UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on three “al-Shabaab” leaders at the request of the Somali government, in an important step to combat terrorism.

The decision, issued on Thursday, included sanctions against three individuals identified as key figures in the organization, Abdelkader Ekrema, Mohamed Mahmoud Mir and Mohamed Omar Mohamed, and sanctions imposed on the three individuals include asset freezes and travel bans.

Somalia has been plagued by insecurity for years, with the main threats emanating from al-Shabaab and other terrorist groups such as ISIS.

In a horrific incident on Wednesday, the capital Mogadishu shot and killed Ibrahim Abdi Abdirahman, a member of parliament from Somalia’s southwestern regional state.
continue Reading🔗

#Abdiasis_Hassan_Mohamed_Laftagaren #Al_Shabaab #Counterterrorism #Ibrahim_Abdi_Abdirahman #ISIS #Mogadishu #Sanctions #Somali_Government #Somalia_News #Southwest_State_of_Somalia #UN_Security_Council

The Somali Federal Government forces and the Dervish forces, affiliated with the Lower Jubba region in the state of Jubaland in southern Somalia, headed to the Badadi area, where Al-Shabaab fighters are based.

The military officials leading operations against Al-Shabaab in Badadi explained that their goal is to liberate the area and remove the movement’s members from it.

Local residents in the area are concerned that a battle could break out at any time, which indicates that both sides are seriously preparing and that there are intense movements and preparations.

The allied forces recently took control of the Boluhaji area and expelled Al-Shabaab fighters, which control Jubaland.
Continue Reading🔗

#Somalia #Al_Shabaab #Badadi #Boluhaji #Dervish_Forces #Galgaduud #Juba #Jubaland #Somalia_News

The Somali government called for postponing the withdrawal of the African peacekeeping force “ATMIS” in order to avoid a security vacuum that might enhance the return of the “Al-Shabaab” movement after the defeats it suffered.

The African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia is scheduled to withdraw by December 31 of this year, to be replaced by a smaller African force. However, the Mogadishu authorities have requested to postpone the withdrawal of half of the forces scheduled for this June, consisting of 4,000 soldiers, until next September.
Continue Reading🔗

#African_Peacekeeping_Forces #African_Union #African_Union_Mission_in_Somalia #Al_Shabaab #Ethiopia #European_Union #Mogadishu #Somali_Government #Somalia_News #UN_Security_Council #United_States_of_America