Security

Baraawe City

Barawe violence: Clan Expansionism or Blunder of Unruly Troops?

The violence in Barawe, the official capital of Southwest State, has exposed the critical flaws in federal leadership in the Lower Shabelle region.

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Askar iyo Bajaj

Why Mogadishu is Grappling with Out-of-Control Violence

Mogadishu, the Somali capital, with a population of 4.5 million, is plagued by out-of-control violence that is going crescendo. Unlike what most people believe, violence is no longer the preserve of the usual suspects: Al-Shabab insurgents. In fact, extremists compete with youth gangs and government forces. Day and night there are assassinations, suicide bombings, police […]

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Villa Rose Hotel

Security Forces Struggle to End Villa Rose Hotel Siege

Another hotel in Mogadishu, another terrorist attack, another siege and yet again the same security gaps as the militant group Al-Shabab has intensified its attacks in recent months. The police spokesman said 6 assailants stormed the Villa Rose Guest House early evening yesterday. Government officials and ministers have used the hotel as their residence in […]

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Macawisley

Ma’awisley Vigilantes: The Surge to Oust Al-Shabab

It has already been three months since a motley array of Somali forces have been fighting the extremist group Al-Shabab on several fronts in the southern regions of Somalia. At the center of the surge, the Ma’awisley vigilantes, local self-defense groups, supplemented by the regular army and the police. However, mixed forces fighting on an […]

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Zoobe 2

Terror attacks on Soobe: All you need to know

More details are emerging from yesterday’s terror attacks that rocked Mogadishu. The two explosions that took place outside the Department of Education at the busy Soobe intersection were reportedly carried out by Al-Shabab suicide bombers who detonated their car bombs. The site of the twin blasts is near the Somali Ministry of Education, but the […]

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The assassination of Farhan Qarole

Farhan Qarole: The Tragic Loss of a Hero

General Farhan was mostly on the front line whether leading a fight against terrorists and other criminal organizations or working with the people and his superior to improve the national security. He was one the rare officials who did not spend his time meeting foreign diplomats in Halane.

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Western flirtation with Al-Shabab

The Pragmatic Embrace: A History of Western Flirtation with Al-Shabab Elements

Western flirtation with Al-Shabab elements stems from a recurring chapter in a history where the “war on terror” continuously negotiates with the very terror it seeks to end, creating a cycle of militant-politicians whose power derives from the violence they once wielded and now promise, incompletely, to suppress.

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HSM Hayat Hotel Speech

Public Reactions to President Mohamud Address

Three days after the tragedy of the Hayat hotel terror attack which killed more than 21 people and injured more than a hundred, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud broke his silence. Earlier in the day, he had chaired a meeting of the Security Council which includes the heads of the security services as well as the […]

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Hayat Hotel Attack

Public Anger over the Hayat Hotel Fiasco

Mogadishu is reeling and public anger is palpable two days after heavily armed al-Shabab militants stormed Hayat Hotel, one of the city’s supposedly secure hotels. it took nearly 30 hours for the longest siege in Somalia’s history to end, and for security forces to regain control after reportedly a group of armed men – the […]

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M. Robow

Why a Terror Leader is Appointed Minister in Somalia

The long-awaited cabinet’s announcement last week, since the selection of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud last May, left the Somali public reeling, but was greeted by representatives of Western nations in Somalia. Mukhtar Robow, former Al-Shabab deputy leader and spokesman who has been detained for the last four years, has been appointed Somalia’s Endowments and Religious […]

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