KavkazCenter - Some episodes about real situation in Somalia

Some episodes about real situation in Somalia

Unknown gunmen have shot dead an Ethiopian soldier and wounded another at a shopping market in the port city of Kismayu, about 500 km (310 miles) south of the capital Mogadishu on Thursday. Farhan Lfole, Shabelle correspondent in Kismayu, reported that government and Ethiopian troops in the area cordoned off the market, tracking down the unidentified assailants. The attack that seemed a kind of a hit and run assault was the first one to take place in Kismayu since government and Ethiopian forces reached the port town late last month. He said a number of civilians were soon arrested from the area where the incident occurred. The ambush attack came as the Ethiopian troops began withdrawing from Somalia on Tuesday. Ethiopian prime minister Males Zenawi said in a press conference in Addis Ababa that his troops in Somalia would not fully be withdrawn from war-torn country until the replacement African peacekeepers that are due to reach Somalia in two weeks arrive. The premier pointed out in earlier speeches about Somalia that nearly 500 Ethiopian military troops were killed in Somalia's war between the defunct Islamic Courts Union and the Ethiopian and government forces in the country. Meanwhile unconfirmed reports indicate the Ethiopian and government troops have seized the former Islamist leader for Jubba provinces, southern Somalia. The "government" soldiers caught the mojahed near the Kenyan border. He is under Ethiopian and "government" custody in Kismayu. Sources told Shabelle that he was wounded in the war between Islamists and the Ethiopian and government troops. There have been mounting reports that number of American soldiers was missing in southern Somalia following the recent US air operations on the Islamist and al-Qaeda hideouts in southern jungles of the country, alsharqa, an Arabic newspaper based in Qatar reported on Friday. The paper also reported that Kenyan police have seized armed Asians crossing from Somalia into the Kenyan border. The Kenyan police believe the foreigners were fighting alongside with Somalia's defeated Mojaheds. According to the paper, Arab diplomats, who have asked anonymity, confirmed that unspecified number of US foot soldiers was seized in southern Somalia where Muslims are believed to be hiding after their loss of the capital Mogadishu to the UN and internationally backed transitional government of Somalia and the Ethiopian troops in the country. Western diplomats, who have not been named, also affirmed that US soldiers were missing in southern Somalia, Alsharqa reported. It added that Michael Ranneberger, the US ambassador to Kenya, who met with Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, the defeated Islamist leader under the Kenyan custody, has asked Ahmed to explain where the missing Americans are lingering. Ranneburger has reportedly made the efforts to convince Ahmed to go back to Somalia and take part in a unity government election, which he said, would be held in Somalia next year. He said Sharif could achieve a high government post in the upcoming government election. Meanwhile Kenyan police, who asked to remain anonymous, have confirmed to Alsharqa that they caught two foreign fighters armed AK47s between the Kenyan and Somalia border. The date of the capture was not specified, however. Kenyan security forces are stationed at the Kenyan border along with Somalia to clutch the escaping Islamists and al-Qaeda operatives given a safe heaven in Somalia by the Islamic Courts Union. US ambassador Ranneburger, who spoke to Shabelle on 20 January, said the Islamists were harboring al-Qaeda operatives who were exerting control of the Islamic Courts. Islamists always denied they had al-Qaeda operatives in their Islamic party while in control of the strife-torn country. According to Kenyan Times, Kenyan authorities have arrested five people, including a U.S. citizen and a French citizen suspected to be fighters for Somalia's outdone Islamist movement, on Friday. The "government" administration in Mudug provincial town of Haradhere, central Somalia, has voiced concerns that the Somali pirates have begun massing at the town. The pirates were reportedly intending to launch hijacking the ships crossing Somalia coasts. Abdisalna Khalif, the "government management" for Mudug region, has told Shabelle by the phone that groups of heavily armed pirates have lately been gathering at Hardhere town, which was notorious for piracy in the past. Muslim ruling that were in control in the area for the past six months eradicated the pirating practice in the area before they were forcefully driven out by the Ethiopian and Somali government troops. Khalif rebuffed that residents in Haradhere were supportive of the pirates. "The pirates inflict harm to the civilian population, so there is no way residents can back the pirates", he said. Somalia biggest pirate stronghold was Haradhere, a coastal town in central Somalia, where Islamists have flushed out all pirates in the area. Khalif says the government should send troops to crush down the pirates At least three people were killed and a number of other people were wounded in tribal clashes that took place in Qansahdhere, a district in Bai province, southern Somalia. The three, who died in the skirmishes, were farmers. Reports say the fighting was based on land ownership and occurred near a settlement dubbed Elafey in the district. Residents in Qansahdhere said the fighting could escalate, as there were no ongoing negotiations by the tribal and traditional leaders in the region. The Somali government national security minister, Abdullahi Mohammed Garun, is reportedly making efforts to travel to the settlement where the incident took place, leading a delegation represented by both tribes KC