Somalia

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Mogadishu’s police chief announced he had suspended parliament on Monday, saying he was acting unilaterally to prevent lawmakers from extending the president’s term, only to be fired moments later by the police commissioner.

The chaos underscores the widening divisions within the Horn of Africa’s security services over extending the four-year term of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who faces growing pressure to quit after his term as national leader ended.

MOGADISHU, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The Somali National Army (SNA) special forces killed more than 10 al-Shabab militants including three commanders in the latest onslaught on the fighters of the terrorist group.

The SNA-owned radio station reported on Saturday evening that the successful operation by the Special Forces (Dahab) was aimed at flushing out terrorists and disrupting their plans to terrorize the residents in the Lower Shabelle region.

06 Mar 2021; MEMO: Turkey handed over military barracks to Somalia today, according to an official statement, Anadolu Agency reports.

"As part of restructuring the Somali Armed Forces, the Northern Barracks – 1st Stage Facilities built by Turkey in Mogadishu were handed over to the [Somali] authorities," Turkey's National Defence Ministry said on Twitter.

26 Feb 2021; MEMO: Scores of Yemeni refugees, mostly women and children, arrived in Somalia's coastal city of Bosaso, Somali authorities announced on Wednesday, according to the Yemen Shabab, an independent website.

This is the third boatful of Yemeni refugees to arrive in Somalia. It had 164 families on board.

Somali authorities said that the refugees will undergo medical checkups before they are distributed between the cities of Bosaso and Qardho.

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Gunfire and rockets exploded on Friday in Mogadishu as Somali government forces clashed with opposition supporters angered by delayed elections, fighting that could split the military along clan lines and strengthen the al Qaida-linked insurgency.

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - An alliance of Somali opposition parties proposed the creation of a national council of lawmakers, opposition leaders and civil society to govern the war-ravaged Horn of Africa nation after the president’s term expired on Monday with no clear plan for succession.

The power vacuum and divisions between political leaders was a boost to the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab insurgency, a Somali security analyst warned, citing a spate of recent attacks in a relatively peaceful part of the country.

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali leaders have failed to end a stalemate over the selection of a new president scheduled for next week, government officials said on Saturday, raising the risk of more political turmoil.

President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed flew back to the capital Mogadishu without a deal on the staffing of regional electoral commissions, Osman Dube, the information minister, said late on Friday.

06 Feb 2021; MEMO: Somalia has declared a state of emergency on Thursday over a new generation of desert locust swarms that have caused major damage to farmlands.

On its official Twitter account, Somali state television announced that the country's Ministry of Agriculture had declared a state of emergency due to the desert locust invasion.

MOGADISHU, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- At least five people were killed and several others injured in a suicide car bombing in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Sunday evening, police and witnesses said.

The latest attack started at 5.00 p.m. when a car packed with explosives exploded at the Afrik Hotel near a busy security checkpoint near Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu.

A police officer who requested anonymity told Xinhua that al-Shabab stormed inside the hotel after the first blast went off outside the hotel.

07 Jan 2021; MEMO: The Somali opposition has warned US oil firms not to sign deals with the Somali government, according to a statement posted on the Twitter account of one of the opposition leaders.

The opposition announced in a statement posted on Monday that the federal government in Somalia is planning to sign a secret oil deal with two foreign oil firms.