Somalia

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EU Strikes Somali Pirates
 EU Strikes Somali Pirates 
May 15, 2012 7:10 AM CDT

EU Strikes Somali Pirates

First mainland raid a success

(Newser) - The European Union launched its first raid on mainland Somali pirate bases overnight, destroying five of their boats using warships and helicopters. The naval attack was the first under an expanded Operation Atalanta, which gave the EU power to attack both land and sea targets. Last night’s attack focused...

Somalia's Olympic Head Killed in Blast

At least 10 dead, dozens wounded

(Newser) - At least 10 people, including the presidents of Somalia's Olympic committee and the country's soccer federation, were killed in a blast at the national theater in Mogadishu today. The suicide blast occurred during a ceremony at the theater, which was closed as Somalia's civil war began and...

American Travel Writer Kidnapped in Somalia

Michael Scott Moore was considering writing a book about Somali pirates

(Newser) - Somali gunmen have kidnapped noted travel and surfing writer Michael Scott Moore, and are demanding an unknown ransom for his release. Moore, a Manhattan Beach native currently living in Berlin, holds both US and German citizenship. He was in Somalia because he was considering writing a book about Somali pirates,...

Rescued Aid Worker Loved Africa

Details emerging on Jessica Buchanan, saved in Navy SEAL raid

(Newser) - Jessica Buchanan, the American aid worker rescued in a Navy SEAL overnight raid , first came to Africa as a student teacher in Nairobi. "That experience just planted in her a love and passion for Africa," says the president of the Pennsylvania Christian college from which Buchanan graduated in...

Obama Learned of SEALs' Success Before SOTU

President had ordered Jessica Buchanan's rescue Monday night

(Newser) - If President Obama was smiling last night, it's partly because just hours before the State of the Union he'd taken a phone call telling him that the Navy SEALs rescue of Jessica Buchanan and a companion had been a success, Politico reports. Some 15 minutes after the speech—...

SEALs Raid Frees Yank, Dane in Somalia

Nine pirates reportedly killed as aid workers rescued by same team who killed bin Laden

(Newser) - Navy SEALs, reportedly the same team that took out Osama bin Laden, launched a daring helicopter raid early today in Somalia, freeing an American and a Danish aid worker held by kidnappers since October , reports MSNBC . Helicopters landed just outside the pirates' camp in the pre-dawn hours, entering the camp...

Ex-US Soldier Busted Trying to Join Somali Militants

Md. man flew to Kenya in attempt to join al-Qaeda-linked group

(Newser) - A former US Army soldier is in federal custody for a half-baked plan to join al-Shabab militants in Somalia. Prosecutors say Craig Baxam, 24, decided he wanted to live under Sharia law and tried to make his way to Somalia from Kenya carrying a Koran and a few hundred dollars....

2 Doctors Without Borders Workers Shot in Somalia

At least one killed: report

(Newser) - At least two Doctors Without Borders workers were shot at the aid group's office in the Somali capital today, and at least one person was killed. An employee of the group lost his job yesterday, and came back today to carry out the attack, according to another employee. The...

Somalia's Rising Woe: Mass Rape

Aid workers can't remember the last time so many women were being raped

(Newser) - Add another item to Somalia's long list of woes: A country wracked by violence and famine is also seeing a frightening rise in rape, reports the New York Times , which recounts the findings of aid workers and the tales of victims. The sexual abuse is occurring at the hands...

Militants: Somalia Suicide Bomber Was an American

University of Minnesota student disappeared in 2008

(Newser) - Somali militant group al-Shabab says a 22-year-old suicide bomber who killed "scores" of African Union soldiers in an attack in Mogadishu on the weekend was an American who grew up in Minneapolis, reports the New York Times . The AU has confirmed that two suicide bombers attacked their base but...

US Flying Armed Drones Out of Ethiopia Base

Ethiopia denies US presence, Air Force doesn't

(Newser) - Not only has the United States built a network of military drone bases in East Africa , it is flying its armed Reaper drones out of a base in southern Ethiopia on secret missions against al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist groups from Somalia to Yemen, reports the Washington Post . The Ethiopian government is denying...

US, Danish Aid Workers Kidnapped in Somalia

Demining workers seized by pirates

(Newser) - Three aid workers who were helping to remove land mines in northern Somalia have been kidnapped by gunmen who attacked their convoy. The three—a 32-year-old American woman, a 60-year-old Danish man, and a Somali colleague—were seized on their way to an airport and security officials believe they are...

Kenyan Bar Hit With Grenade Attack

Officials fear Somali militants to blame

(Newser) - At least 12 people were injured early today when someone hurled a grenade into a small bar in Nairobi. Speculation is rampant that the attack might be the work of Somali militants retaliating against Kenya’s incursion into the country last week, but so far officials are not publicly blaming...

Disabled French Hostage Dies in Somalia Captivity

Marie Dedieu was a quadriplegic and needed medicine

(Newser) - The wheelchair-bound French tourist kidnapped by Somali gunmen earlier this month died in captivity, France said today. Marie Dedieu, 66, was a quadriplegic and required medication every six hours. Though the French government attempted to send her prescriptions to her and well-wishers offered to bring the medicine to where she...

Kenyan Troops Invade Somalia
 Kenyan Troops Invade Somalia 
Oct 17, 2011 7:58 AM CDT

Kenyan Troops Invade Somalia

Official says they're targeting suspected kidnappers al-Shabab

(Newser) - Kenyan troops crossed the border into Somalia yesterday in an attempt to crack down on militants suspected in a rash of kidnappings, residents say. A Kenyan official confirms to the BBC the country’s troops are targeting al-Shabab, the Somalia group suspected of crossing the border and seizing four Europeans...

Stars Unite to 'F*** Famine'

Group aims to raise awareness, not money

(Newser) - Bono, George Clooney, Colin Farrell, and a host of celebrities spout the F-word in a new ad with a simple message: "F*** famine." (Don't worry, it's still SFW, thanks to a lot of censoring.) "Famine is the real obscenity," explains Bono in the...

Truck Bomb Kills 70 in Somalia
 Truck Bomb Kills 70 in Somalia 
Oct 4, 2011 7:32 AM CDT

Truck Bomb Kills 70 in Somalia

Islamist militants claim responsibility

(Newser) - A truck laden with explosives blew up in front of the Ministry of Education in Somalia's capital today, killing 70 and injuring 42, a rescue official says. A Mogadishu police officer says the vehicle blew up after pulling up to a security checkpoint at the entrance to the ministry...

Somali Gunmen Kidnap Wheelchair-Bound Tourist

Attackers may be in standoff at sea

(Newser) - Echoing other recent assaults by Somali gunmen, a gang of Somalis kidnapped a wheelchair-bound French tourist today from her bungalow in Kenya. The attackers slipped into one of East Africa's fanciest tourist areas by boat at around 3am, burst into her bungalow on Manda Island and dragged her away...

Kenya Can Help Stop 'Mass Rape' of Somali Refugees Fleeing Famine
 Kenya: Help Stop 
 Rape of Somali Refugees 
Nicholas Kristof
Sep 25, 2011 1:45 PM CDT

Kenya: Help Stop Rape of Somali Refugees

Donor fatigue no excuse for giving up: Kristof

(Newser) - The severe famine gripping Somalia is not only starving millions of people, it's creating "an instance of mass rape" for refugees fleeing into Kenya, writes Nicholas Kristof at the New York Times . About 1,000 a day are forced to trek 50 miles from the border to a...

Kids Who Won Somali Radio Contest Awarded ... AK-47s

Third-place had to settle for grenades

(Newser) - A Somali radio station run by al-Shabab held an, er, interesting trivia contest for kids this weekend. Kids aged 10-17 were quizzed on Islam and al-Shabab minutiae (example: “Which war was al-Shabab warrior Sheik Timajilic killed in?”), with the lucky winner and runner-up both walking away with a...

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