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/ 13 October 2008
Somali forces raided one of the many ships hijacked off the country’s coast as a deadline loomed in a stand-off aboard another, arms-laden vessel.
Crew members aboard a Ukrainian ship hijacked off the coast of Somalia are living in fear of the pirates, says the United States Navy.
Troops stepped up security across the Somali capital on Saturday after Islamists threatened to disrupt this weekend’s peace conference, saying anyone who takes part ”is sentenced to death”. The threat came from the Shabab, the militant wing of an Islamic group that ruled much of southern Somalia for six months last year.
Guns and mortar launchers were silent on Friday as residents of Somalia’s shattered capital gave mixed reactions to the government’s claim of victory after nine days of fierce fighting with Islamic insurgents. It was not clear how long the peace would last, but some residents made a slow return to their homes.
Somalia’s government is holding up vital aid to tens of thousands of people as car bombs and street fighting brought the death toll to nearly 1 500 in less than a month, sending the country lurching toward catastrophe, diplomats and witnesses warned.
Kenya sent extra troops to the Somali frontier, stepped up security checks and said on Wednesday it saw no reason for Somalis to flee, underlining fears about Somali Islamic militants slipping across the border after losing a power struggle. Kenya stopped short of closing the 675km border.
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/ 26 December 2006
Islamic fighters retreated from the main front line in Somalia early on Tuesday after a week of artillery and mortar duels and attacks by government and Ethiopian troops, witnesses said. Troops loyal to the Council of Islamic Courts withdrew more than 50km to the south-east from Daynuney, a town just south of Baidoa, the government headquarters.
Somalia’s radical Islamic militia has advanced to within 20km of the only town controlled by the government, the closest the fighters have gotten to the fragile administration’s headquarters, an Islamic official. The militia, which has seized much of southern Somalia since taking over the capital, Mogadishu, in June, reached Moode Moode on Tuesday night.
Somalia President Abdullahi Yusuf has told Parliament that the prime minister will name a leaner, better qualified Cabinet to resolve differences in the government and prepare it to counter an armed Islamic fundamentalist group’s bid to take over the country. The current Cabinet will be dissolved.
A second large cargo plane delivered tons of unidentified equipment on Friday to the Islamic militia that controls Somalia’s capital, adding to growing fears that civil war could return to the chaotic country. Fighters loyal to the Supreme Islamic Courts’ Union closed roads around Mogadishu International airport while the plane unloaded the cargo, chasing away onlookers.