Latest news with #US-Somalia
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Somalia air strikes, combat kill dozens of jihadists: govt
Joint US-Somalia air strikes and combat killed dozens of Al-Shabaab jihadists attacking a key town and a military base and also destroyed a shipment of weapons, the Somali government said on Thursday. Growing attacks by the Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist group, including one on President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's convoy, are fuelling worries of a jihadist resurgence after militants were forced to retreat in recent years. One air strike on Adan Yabaal, 220 kilometres (140 miles) north of the capital Mogadishu came as Al-Shabaab fighters raided the key town used as a base by Somali military commanders. The operation on Wednesday night by Somali armed forces and the US Africa Command "aimed to neutralize the threat posed" by Al-Shabaab, the information ministry said in a statement posted on X. "The targeted strike hit a site used by the militants as a gathering and hideout," it said. "Preliminary reports indicate that including senior leaders, were eliminated." The ministry said a second air strike hit an unflagged ship and a smaller vessel in Somali territorial waters "transporting modern weaponry" for al-Shabaab, killing all aboard. In the southwest, Somali forces and allies killed 35 militants around Baidoa town in the early hours of Thursday, after they attempted to attack an army base there, the ministry said. "Acting on intelligence, the forces engaged the militants resulting in the deaths of 35 members, including a foreign commander leading the group," it said in a statement. - Truck bombs - Somali government forces took control of Adan Yabaal from Al-Shabaab in December 2022 during the major offensive backed by African Union peacekeeping forces. On Wednesday, Al-Shabaab launched a dawn raid on the town, with bombs loaded on trucks detonating before militants fought their way into the town, a military official said. The official said the army was getting reinforcements from nearby positions to defend the town, but Al-Shabaab claimed its fighters had overrun the Somalia military and controlled Adan Yabaal. AFP was unable to confirm those claims. Two local residents told AFP that militants had taken Adan Yabaal. The president had visited the town recently, with state media reporting he had met with military commanders to review the ongoing military offensive against Al-Shabaab. Earlier this month, Al-Shabaab fired multiple mortar rounds near Mogadishu's airport, disrupting international flights. Halane camp -- a fortified compound that houses the United Nations, aid agencies, foreign missions and the headquarters of the African Union's Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia -- was also targeted. The group has seized key locations in Middle and Lower Shabelle, coastal regions on either side of Mogadishu. A bomb blast that narrowly missed the convoy of President Mohamud in March underscored that Al-Shabaab again poses a risk in the capital itself. Al-Shabaab has been fighting the government for 15 years, but the African Union-led peacekeeping force helped push the jihadists onto the defensive in 2022 and 2023. str/pma/ach/cw
BBC News
29-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Somaliland hits out over Somalia's offer to Trump of Berbera airbase and port
Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland has rejected an attempt by the central government to give the US exclusive control of a port and airbase in city lies on the strategic Gulf of Aden, on the northern coast of Somaliland. The territory, which declared independence in 1991 as Somalia descended into civil war, says the facilities are not Mogadishu's to give a letter to US President Donald Trump, seen by Reuters news agency, Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud also offered port and airbase within Somalia, saying all four would strengthen US security Foreign Affairs Minister Abdirahman Dahir Aden dismissed the move as "desperate". Signals given before Trump began his second term have given Somalilanders hope that the US may become the world's first country to recognise the self-declared republic, which has functioned as a de facto state for nearly 34 years."There is nothing they can do to stop the upcoming recognition of Somaliland," Mr Adan posted on X in response to the recently expanded port in Berbera is run by DP World from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - a key US ally."The USA is not stupid. They know who they need to deal with when it comes to Berbera port," the minister told Reuters. The US has long played a pivotal role in helping Somalia fight Islamist militants linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group by providing intelligence and air which controls swathes of territory in southern and central Somalia, is regarded as al-Qaeda's most successful say Mogadishu fears that Trump will reduce US support, as he did during his first December, the Somali government signed a $600,000 (£492,000) a year deal with a top Washington lobbying firm for advice on US-Somalia letter to Trump, which Reuters says is dated 16 March, explains how exclusive control of the offered airbases and ports could help the US counter the influence of other international players in the Horn of Africa - a likely reference to China and Russia."These strategically positioned assets provide an opportunity to bolster American engagement in the region... while preventing external competitors from establishing a presence in this critical corridor," it the federal set-up of Somalia may also scupper President Mohamud's offer of the port of Bosaso, which is located in the semi-autonomous north-eastern region of there have yet to comment on the letter, but Somalia's Garowe Online publication says that if the offer was made without consulting them. relations between Puntland and Mogadishu may be further second airbase mentioned is at Baledogle, north-west of the capital, where US soldiers already have a presence training Somali forces to fight is not the first time a port in Somaliland has been a source of year, Turkey stepped in to end a feud that threatened to escalate into a regional conflict after landlocked Ethiopia signed a maritime deal with Somaliland to build a port responded by calling the move an "act of aggression" as it regards Somaliland as part of its territory. You may also be interested in: Ethiopia and Somalia agree to end bitter Somaliland port feudTarget Somalia: The new scramble for Africa?How the crisis in the Gulf could spread to East AfricaSomalia's men in sarongs taking on al-Shabab militantsSomali piracy 2.0 - the BBC meets the new robbers of the high seas Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
Al Arabiya
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
US deploys aircraft carrier to Middle East after listing Yemen's Houthis as a terror group
The US military announced Wednesday that it once again had an aircraft carrier in the Middle East, a day after Washington designated Yemen's Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization. Officials said the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier was back in the Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility this week. The Truman left the Red Sea and docked in Souda Bay last month for a working port visit after two months of combat operations in the Red Sea, mainly countering Houthi attacks from Yemen. Shortly after its working port visit, the Truman collided with a merchant vessel near Port Said, Egypt. After undergoing repairs, the aircraft carrier is now in Middle East waters. It has also been used in joint US-Somalia airstrikes against senior ISIS-Somalia militants. On Tuesday, the Houthis said they shot down an MQ-9 Reaper drone carrying out 'hostile missions' over Yemeni skies. A US defense official told Al Arabiya English that the Air Force lost contact with an MQ-9 while operating over the Red Sea but said it was under investigation. The MQ-9 was conducting operations in support of Operation Poseidon Archer, which refers to US military efforts targeting Yemen's Houthis, the official said. This comes after the Houthis, also in February, launched surface-to-air missiles at an American fighter jet and an MQ-9 Reaper drone but didn't hit either, US defense officials told Al Arabiya English. Officials previously said that the Trump administration was reviewing options for countering Houthi attacks. Meanwhile, the Trump administration officially designated the Houthis as an FTO this week, as per an executive order issued by President Donald Trump shortly after taking office. The Biden administration, citing the humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, removed the Houthis. Critics say this was done as part of the Biden administration's hope to revive the nuclear deal with Iran, which saw the US ease its pressure and sanctions campaign against Tehran. The FTO decision now provides more options for military commanders to order offensive strikes against the Houthis.
