More Than 20 Killed in Fighting in Somali Capital

By Alisha Ryu Nairobi 21 August 2009

Dead bodies lay near a street in southern Mogadishu's K4 junction, 21 Aug 2009

Islamist militants in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, launched a pre-dawn raid on African Union peacekeepers Friday, triggering fierce fighting that killed more than 20 people. Meanwhile, government-led military efforts to take control of insurgent-held towns in the country's central and southwestern regions have reportedly suffered setbacks.

As Somalis prepare to observe the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, al-Shabab and Hisbul Islam rebels appeared to have made good on their vow to mark the start of Ramadan with intensified attacks against the government and the African Union mission in Mogadishu known as AMISOM. read more
Voice of America

Somali Islamists cut off hands, feet of thieves

The Associated Press

The Associated Press
Kenya has said it will not send troops, while Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said he has not ruled out sending forces back into the country, ...read more

Guns and intervention have failed; let Somalis talk to each other

By GITAU WARIGIPosted Saturday, May 30 2009 at 19:02
Daily Nation, Kenya

Somalia is once again on the spotlight. It could only be a matter of time before Mogadishu and the beleagured “transitional” government fall to the al-Shabaab militia and their Islamist allies.

In the meantime, Kenya is wondering what to do. So are our regional partners in the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (believe me, Igad has always focused on Somalia rather than on development, and for good reason).

It would be a good start to acknowledge that the Western-backed Igad approach has failed. Prodded by the United States, Kenya, and particularly Ethiopia, have all along operated on the premise that a radical, Islamist Somalia is unacceptable. That is fine as it goes. But what has been the alternative? Pure paralysis. .... read more

FACTBOX-Main actors in Somalia's conflict

Reuters - USA
Residents, rebels and aid workers say some Ethiopian troops crossed the border last week. Addis denies this. * Eritrea has battled arch-enemy Ethiopia since ... Aread more

End of the road for Yusuf and Wayaane soldiers

AFP

Somali President Yusuf resigns
Reuters
By Mohamed Ahmed BAIDOA, Somalia (Reuters) - Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf resigned on Monday and blamed the international community for failing to support the interim government in the Horn of Africa nation.
Somali President Ahmed resigns AFP
Somali President resigns, hands over presidency to Speaker People's Daily Online


By Mohamed Ahmed

BAIDOA, Somalia (Reuters) - Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf resigned on Monday and blamed the international community for failing to support the interim government in the Horn of Africa nation.

Yusuf told parliament that speaker Sheikh Aden Madobe would take over his duties and left for the airport. It was not clear where he was going.

"As I promised when you elected me on October 14, 2004, I would stand down if I failed to fulfill my duty, I have decided to return the responsibility you gave me," Yusuf said.

"Most of the country was not in our hands and we had nothing to give our soldiers. The international community has also failed to help us," Yusuf told legislators in Baidoa, Somalia's seat of parliament.

The president of Somalia's fractured, Western-backed government had become increasingly unpopular at home and abroad and was blamed by Washington, Europe and African neighbors for stalling a U.N.-hosted peace process.

Diplomats in the region are likely to welcome Yusuf's decision. They have said it would provide an opportunity to form a new, broad-based government in Somalia and get the peace process back on track.

Some analysts, however, fear it could open a potentially violent period of political limbo, with feuding camps reviving clan militias in a power struggle -- at the same time an Islamist insurgency is camped on the outskirts of the capital.

Soldiers from neighboring Ethiopia have been propping up the government for the past two years, but there only some 3,000 soldiers left and Addis Ababa says they will leave soon.

The insurgency already controls most of southern Somalia outside the capital Mogadishu and Baidoa and analysts expect them to seize the rest when the Ethiopian troops pack up.

Heavy fighting engulfs Mogadishu

Civilians have been caught in the crossfire in Mogadishu

Heavy fighting has left at least 20 people dead and dozens more injured in clashes across the Somali capital, Mogadishu, officials and witnesses say.

Islamist insurgents have been engaged in fierce battles with government troops and their Ethiopian allies, and both sides suffered casualties.

Five people were also reported killed when a mortar hit their house.

Correspondents say it is the fiercest fighting for several weeks and has engulfed three separate districts. Read more
BBC

UIC fighters capture Somalia's Hiiran

Ethiopian troops in Somalia.

Fighters from the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) and Jabhad al-Islamiya have captured Somalia's Hiiran region from Ethiopian soldiers.

Ethiopian soldiers abandoned at least 17 positions in the town of BaladWeyn in Hiiran after the insurgents' attack, leaving behind military vehicles and caches of ammunition, Press TV correspondent reported. full report

Dozens of Wayanes Solders killed in Somalia

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 11:04:27 GMT

Ethiopian troops on the march

Heavy explosions have rattled the Somali capital, Mogadishu, leaving dozens of Ethiopian troops dead and many others injured.

The blasts hit north Mogadishu's Towfikh district, which drew heavy gunfire from Ethiopian troops and anti-government fighters, killing dozens of Ethiopians, and injuring many others, Press TV correspondent in Somalia reported on Monday.

Eye witnesses say some 13 Ethiopian soldiers are still lying dead on the streets, while 14 other soldiers have been reported as missing.

Meanwhile in Suuq Baced area in northern Mogadishu, three other Ethiopian soldiers were killed by Bazooka rockets as the fighting continued. read more

Wayane Prepared To Pull Out Of Somalia

By Akwei Thompson Washington, DC 31 August 2008

Akwei's interview with Rashid Abdi - Download (MP3)
Akwei's interview with Rashid Abdi - Listen (MP3)

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi last week said his country is prepared to withdraw troops from Somalia. In 2006 Ethiopia invaded Somalia to oust an Islamist militia and re-install the transitional government. The withdrawal of Ethiopian troops has been a key demand of the Islamist insurgents. read more