With casualty numbers rising, at least 62 people are dead, many missing, and hundreds injured in a brazen al-Shabaab attack at the upscale Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. According to unconfirmed reports, between 10 to 15 attackers were involved in… Read More ›
The Somalia Federal Government (SFG) led by State Minister for the Presidency Farah Sheikh Abdulkadir and the Jubba delegation headed by Ras Kamboni leader Ahmed Madobe recently concluded a deal that on paper was one step intended to resolve the… Read More ›
UPDATE: On 21 August 2013, Soma’s website stated that it had hired Philip Wolfe as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) “with effect from16 [sic] September 2013” and lists a part of his bio in the press release: Philip has over… Read More ›
Key Takeaways: [1] Acute divisions among top al-Shabaab figures is less important than the often existential and broader divisions among other armed groups in Somalia. [2] Training/arming Somali forces is less useful unless deeper divisions are better addressed. On the… Read More ›
Ahmed Mohamed Islam “Madobe”–elected Jubaland region President at a conference in Kismayo contested by the Somalia Federal Government and other parties but supported by others–reportedly has arrived in Nairobi, Kenya to address the Jubaland issue. Madobe is likely to meet… Read More ›
In mid-March 2013, Ethiopian troops deployed in the strategic town of Xudur in Bakool region withdrew its forces with little warning to residents or allied forces. Somali National Army (SNA) troops, who left alongside the Ethiopians, could not hold the… Read More ›
Lifting the arms embargo is seen by some observers as a means to address the force capacity of Somali security forces and to reassert Somalia’s sovereignty. However, the internal and strategic factors limiting the effectiveness of Somali security forces and… Read More ›
On 29 January 2013, an al-Shabaab “defector” made it through a series of checkpoints in the heavily guarded Villa Somalia government compound and detonated himself near Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon’s home. The attack killed the bomber, two other people,… Read More ›
On 12 January 2013, French special forces attempted to rescue kidnapped French spy “Denis Allex” in the middle of the night from a hideout in the al-Shabaab-controlled town of Buulo Mareer (about 30 km south of Marka.) However, the operation… Read More ›
One issue that stuck out during President Mohamud’s largely successful first visit to the United States was the future of federalism in Somalia. After a warm reception in the Washington, D.C. area, Mohamud encountered significant protests in his subsequent visit to… Read More ›
In the early hours of 12 January 2013, French special forces failed in an operation to rescue French intelligence agent Denis Allex from al-Shabaab in the town of Buulo Mareer. Buulo Mareer is firmly controlled by al-Shabaab–although Somalia National Army… Read More ›
On 24 December 2012, hundreds of demonstrators filled the streets of northern Galkayo to protest the extension of Puntland President Abdirahman Farole’s term by one year and the recent arrest of elders gathering in Garowe on the charge of “attempting… Read More ›
Al-Shabaab’s most prominent American fighter Abu Mansur al-Amriki, aka Omar Hammami, has been in a tenuous state in the group since releasing a March 2012 video stating his life was in danger due to differences with leaders. He also has issued several public criticisms of… Read More ›
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