-
Somalia
Somali Islamic Military leader Aden Ayro has al Qaeda ties
-
Somalia
Anti-Islamist Protest in Kismayo, Somalia
-
Somalia
Kenya sounds warning note after Islamic militia move
-
Somalia
The Islamic Courts army is now on the Kenyan border. The ICU commander of Hiran province has threatened Ethiopia with war if their troops enter the country. The ICU has officially established shariah courts in Mogadishu and appointed leaders.
-
Somalia
“Islamists threaten Somaliland from within” – via the economy
-
Somalia
Somalia: The Calm Before The Storm
-
Somalia
Militia Advances Closer to Somalia Base
-
Somalia
The Islamic Courts takes control of the town of Afmadow in the Lower Jubba region. Members of the Lower Juba Alliance threaten to retake the port city of Kismayo. Kenya is reconsidering its support of the transitional government. An alleged video of an ICU clreic being tortured in Somaliland leads to protests and threats from the ICU.
-
Somalia
The Islamic Courts withdraws from a town bordering Ethiopia as Ethiopian Army units move in. Ethiopian troops are deployed on the outskirts of Baidoa. The transitional government is receiving arms from Ethiopia. The provincial capital of the middle Juba region has been captured by the ICU.
-
Somalia
Peace accord with ICU invald, says Somali government
-
Somalia
Somali Islamists gaining ground
-
Somalia
President Yusuf tells the defense minister to abandon all hope of recovering Kismayo and orders his militias to push to Baidoa. “A convoy of more than 156 [Ethiopian] war vehicles” is said to have arrived in Baidoa. Yusuf’s government still believes it can negotiate with the Islamic Courts Union. An interview with wanted terrorist and ICU leader Hassan Dahir Aweys.
-
Somalia
The Islamic Courts continues its conquest of Somalia. The Lower Shabelle region and the towns of Kalaber and Jawil are now under the control of the ICU. Kenyan troops have been placed on high alert all along the Somali border.
-
Somalia
Uganda is prepared to send troops to Somalia. Aweys is looking to destroy the tribal culture. Ahmed dismisses claims al Qaeda and the Islamic Courts are in league. Three suspects in the Baidoa suicide bombing, including a cleric, are arrested. The Islamic Courts demands their release and has shut down HornAfkik radio in Kismayo.
-
Future Surrender and the Expansion of Talibanistan
NWFP Governor Ali Jan Orakzai recommends expanding the Waziristan Accord to other tribal agencies, as the Taliban and al Qaeda continue to hit government targets Governor Ali Jan Orakzai in 2004, when he was a general in the Pakistani Army. Click picture to view. As we reported just two days after the signing of the Waziristan Accord, and UPI later confirmed, the Pakistani government is seriously considering further negotiations with the Taliban and al Qaeda in Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province. Ali Jan Orakzai, the governor of the Northwest Frontier Province, has confirmed the Pakistani government is eager to negotiate a…
-
Somalia
Somalia: Islamist leader dismisses govt’s al Qaeda accusations
-
Somalia’s Foreign Fighters
Sheikh Hassan Turki flaunts the involvement of “foreign fighters” in Somalia as Shariah law is enforced in Kismayo Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Sheik Yusuf Indohaadde during a news briefing, Saturday, June 17, 2006. AP photograph, click to view. Al-Qaeda’s involvement in the rise of the Islamic Courts has been a well know fact for months, even though the Islamic Courts and many western analysts and media outlets have papered over this issue. Hassan Dahir Aweys, the leader of the Islamic Courts, is on the U.S. State Department’s list of “Specially Designated Global Terrorists.” The Islamic Courts Union is currently…
-
Somalia
Ethiopia claims it has not deployed troops inside Somalia. Residents of Kismayo continue to riot despite a curfew, as the ICU bans khat in the city. Cinemas and sporting events have also been shut down in the city.
-
Somalia
About 300 to 400 Ethiopian troops moved into Baidoa after the Islamic Courts seized Kismayo. Defense minister Bare Hirale is said to be awaiting reinforcements from Ethiopia to counterstrike at Kismayo. The transitional government pleads for the arms embargo to be lifted. Twenty women were arrested by the ICU for protesting in Kismayo, while Hassan Turki admits foreign fighters are helping the militants..
-
The Fall of Kismayo
The strategic southern port city of Kismayo is taken by the Islamic Courts, Baidoa is now in the crosshairs Somalia. Cities in red indicate ICU controlled territory. Click map to view. The Islamic Courts have further consolidated their grip on power in souther Somalia. Just one day after Barre Adan Shire, (or Bare Hirale) the Minister of Defense for the weak Transitional National Government and head of the Juba Valley Coalition, announced his forces would defend Kismayo from an attack, he withdrew his forces and the army of the Islamic Courts entered the city. The BBC reports that “On Sunday…
-
Somalia
The Islamic Courts has taken the strategic port city of Kismayo. UN relief agencies have fled the Wajid district in the southern Bakol region, fearing fighting. Thirty inmates escaped from a jail run by the Islamic Courts.
-
Somalia
The Islamic Courts will open a ‘jihad office’ in Mogadishu. The ICU is advancing towards the strategic port city of Kismayo. The U.S. has negotiated with ‘moderate’ Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.
-
Somalia
Jihad registration office to open in Mogadishu
-
Somalia
Somali Islamist movement tightens Sharia law
-
Somalia
The African Taliban. The Islamic Courts bans khat and cigarettes during Ramadan. Islam is now the official religion and conversion is banned. A karate instructor and six students are arrested for being ‘involved in something against the Islamic ideology.’ The ICU conducted its first public execution.
-
Somalia
Security has been tightened in Baidoa after the suicide attacks against President Ahmed. The CIA (more likely the FBI) is sending a team to investigate the suicide attack. The Jamestown Foundation believes Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed is a ‘moderate.’
-
Somalia
Somalia Drifts Toward Fragmentation as Regional Powers Polarize
-
Afghanistan
Praise for troops who faced fury of the Taliban and triumphed
-
Somalia
Somali government seeks help after bombing
-
Somalia
The Islamic Courts will provide “military training needed to wage jihad” to students from 8th grade and up. Hassan Turki, wanted by the U.S. government, is openly operating in Somalia. The Somali interim government killed 6 and captured 2 suspects in the presidential bombing attack.
