Local

Somali President celebrates Eid ul-Fitr with an army

Photo/Somali Times Mogadishu, Somali Times The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, HE Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, prayed for the prayer at the Armed Forces of the National Army Training School in Mogadishu. After the holiday, the President spoke publicly to the army and congratulated the Eid ul-Fitr holiday, reminding the military’s importance of reviving

Read More

UN cuts Amisom troop numbers in Somalia

The Security Council has adopted a resolution that requires Amisom, a regional peacekeeping force in Somalia, to cut 1,000 troops from the over 2,500-strong force. The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) have called for caution following a recent United Nations Security Council resolution ordering a draw-down of 1,000 troops from the African Union Mission in

Read More

US diplomat succeeds ousted UN envoy for Somalia

A former US special representative to Somalia who also served as Washington’s ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo was named Thursday to be the next United Nations envoy to Somalia, replacing an emissary who was expelled four months ago. James Swan will replace Nicholas Haysom, who was declared persona non grata by Somalia’s government

Read More

Japan expands military presence in Africa despite drop in Somalia piracy

By Joseph Hammond Japan is increasing its footprint in the Horn of Africa even as it draws down its anti-piracy force Pirates or no pirates, Japan remains committed to an international security operation off the Horn of Africa which is increasingly a cornerstone of its wider Africa policy. Last month Somali pirates successfully captured a

Read More

Kismayo rising as KDF exit plan takes shape

KDF’s offensive assault thus represented a major, morale-dampening loss for the rebel group that was forced to retreat with massive casualties. Locals say though Kismayo secure, exit of KDF will see the militia group invade the rising town. Seven years ago, the elite Kenya Defence forces launched an offensive operation in Somalia’s Kismayo town against

Read More

Somali leader urges nation to unite against tribalism

President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed was addressing hundreds of Somalis living in South Africa Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has called on Somalis to unite and avoid tribalism, which previous fueled the civil war in the horn of Africa country. Addressing hundreds of Somalis living in South Africa on Sunday night, Mohamed said Somalis were fortunate

Read More

Somali capital blast explosion reported in Mogadishu

A large explosion near Somalia’s old parliament in Mogadishu sent a pile of smoke and dust billowing into the sky on Wednesday, The explosion was used as a vehicle packed with explosives, and exploded. Our reporters also went to the scene to see the bodies and people injured in the blast. Somali police forces have

Read More

Three Somali diplomat kicked out of Kenya arrive in Mogadishu

The Somali Minister and MPs arrived back in Mogadishu this morning, Kenya refuses entry Visa three Somali diplomat effectively skipping a meeting that had been scheduled with the European Union. The three junior Minister of Water and Energy Osman Libah and legislators Ilyas Ali Hassan and Zamzam Dahir arrived in Mogadishu in the morning after an

Read More

18 people killed as al-Shabaab attacks army base in Somalia

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

Read More

What Went Wrong with the Somali National Army?

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

Read More