Eighteen people were killed when Islamist terrorist group al-Shabaab attacked an army base in southern Somalia, a local official said on Monday.“Among the dead were 14 militants and four soldiers, who had been manning the army base in Bakol province when al-Shabaab attacked with heavily armed vehicles in the early hours of Monday,’’ Mohamed Abdi

In April 2015, President Omar al-Bashir traveled to the heart of Sudan’s conflict-ravaged Darfur region to congratulate one of his hand-picked commanders on a recent victory over rebels. Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, had led the so-called Rapid Support Forces on a series of counterinsurgency campaigns in Darfur and other restive provinces.

By Paul D. Williams For over a decade, a dozen states and multilateral organizations have invested considerable time, effort, equipment, and hundreds of millions of dollars to build an effective Somali National Army (SNA). So far, they’ve failed. This was the conclusion of a multinational readiness assessment of the SNA conducted during 2017 by the

CORRECTS DATE – In this Friday, May 17, 2019, photo released by the U.S. Navy, the USS Abraham Lincoln sails in the Arabian Sea near the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge. Commercial airliners flying over the Persian Gulf risk being targeted by “miscalculation or misidentification” from the Iranian military amid heightened tensions between the Islamic

KENYA HAS POTENTIAL’: US Ambassador to Kenya Kyle McCarter • Tells Kenya to make choice between Big Four and corruption. • The US is supporting DCI ‘100 per cent’. Corrupt Kenyans will neither be allowed into the US nor pay for their children’s education there, US ambassador to Kenya Kyle McCarter said in Nairobi. The

A damaged bus is seen at the site of a blast near a new museum being built close to the Giza pyramids in Cairo, Egypt May 19, 2019. REUTERS/Ahmed Fahmy An explosion targeting a tourist bus injured at least 12 people on Sunday, mostly South African tourists, near a new museum being built close to

Photo POOL/AFP/File / FETHI BELAID Saudi King Salman has invited Gulf leaders and Arab states to emergency summits in Mecca amid escalating tensions in the region Saudi Arabia has called for urgent meetings of the regional Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League to discuss escalating tensions in the region, the kingdom’s official news agency

Saudi Arabia said on Sunday that it wants to avert war in the region but stands ready to respond with “all strength” following last week’s attacks on Saudi oil assets, telling Iran that the ball was now in its court. Riyadh has accused Tehran of ordering Tuesday’s drone strikes on two oil pumping stations in

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks to party supporters flanked by his wife, Jenny, second left, and daughters Lily, right, and Abbey, after his opponent conceded in the federal election in Sydney, Australia, Sunday, May 19, 2019. Australia’s ruling conservative coalition, lead by Morrison, won a surprise victory in the country’s general election, defying opinion

FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks at North Atlantic Council Mediterranean Dialogue Meeting in Ankara, Turkey, May 6, 2019. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that the purchase of S-400 defense systems from Russia was a done deal, adding that Ankara would also jointly produce S-500 defense