Wednesday 29,Jan,2025 {HMC} Somali police shot dead two AS militants on Monday after the gunmen attempted to attack security forces in the Deyniile district of Mogadishu.

The confrontation took place in the Issa Abdi neighborhood, where the militants, armed with pistols, clashed briefly with security forces before being neutralized.

In a brief statement, the Somali police command confirmed that one officer sustained injuries during the exchange of gunfire. Authorities also stated that the weapons and bodies of the attackers are in police custody.

Security forces have since launched investigations and operations in the area to ensure stability and track any additional threats. AS has not yet commented on the incident.

Source Hiiraan online

Wednesday 29,Jan,2025 {HMC} President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, delivered a keynote address at the Africa Energy Summit in Dar es Salaam, presenting Somalia’s ambitious vision to expand renewable energy, boost investment, and ensure nationwide electricity access.

In his speech, President Mohamud emphasized Somalia’s vast potential in solar and wind energy, underscoring the country’s strategic location and natural resources as key drivers for sustainable energy development. He highlighted the need for increased investment in Somalia’s energy sector to support industrial growth, modernize infrastructure, and improve public services.

The President reaffirmed the Somali government’s commitment to prioritizing renewable energy solutions to bridge the electricity gap, as nearly half of the country’s population lacks reliable access to power. He stressed that expanding energy infrastructure is crucial to economic development, enhancing social services, and fostering long-term stability.

The Africa Energy Summit, bringing together African leaders, energy sector stakeholders, and development partners, aims to strengthen collective efforts in addressing the continent’s energy challenges. During the summit, the Dar es Salaam Declaration will be adopted, reaffirming the commitment of African Heads of State to ensuring reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy across the continent.

President Mohamud’s address reinforced Somalia’s position as a forward-thinking nation embracing renewable energy solutions and seeking meaningful partnerships to accelerate development and energy access.

Source SONNA

Wednesday 29,Jan,2025 {HMC}  An initiative to connect 300 million Africans to electricity in the next six years has won new pledges worth more than $8 billion from lenders including the Islamic Development Bank and the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank.

The Mission 300 initiative, launched by the World Bank and the African Development Bank in April, is projected to cost $90 billion. Its implementation faces challenges because the economies of countries in the region are severely constrained, mainly due to sluggish revenue and high debt service costs.

“Our national balance sheets are insufficient… to achieve Mission 300’s objectives,” Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema told an Africa energy summit in Tanzania.

Funding for the project is expected to come from multilateral development banks, development agencies, private businesses and philanthropic organizations such as the Rockefeller Foundation, which is part of the initiative.

Muhammad al Jasser, chairman of the Islamic Development Bank, said in a statement released during the summit that ended on Tuesday, that the Jeddah-headquartered bank was committing $2.65 billion in project financing and another $2 billion to insure power projects in Africa.

Beijing-based AIIB is set to provide $1-1.5 billion in financing.

“Six hundred million people in Africa without access to electricity is intolerable,” said AIIB President Jin Liqun.

Others funding the project include the French Development Agency (AFD), which committed to providing $1.04 billion, and the OPEC Fund for International Development, which made an initial commitment of $1 billion, the AfDB said in a closing statement.

The additional finance builds on commitments of up to $48 billion from the World Bank and the AfDB, officials at the summit said. The two organizations’ contributions could be increased during implementation, they said.

Provision of 300 million people with access to electricity, half of those currently without power on the continent, is a crucial building block for boosting Africa’s development by creating new jobs, said World Bank President Ajay Banga.

Half of the targeted new connections will get electricity from existing national grids, officials said at the summit, while the other half will be from renewable energy sources, including wind and solar mini-grids.

Apart from lighting up homes and businesses, Mission 300 is expected to boost the provision of clean cooking energy to homes, cutting reliance on wood and charcoal which are harmful, said Tanzania’s president, Samia Suluhu Hassan.

SOURCE VOA

Wednesday 29,Jan,2025 {HMC} Authorities in Somalia’s Puntland region this week banned the illegal entry of foreigners and ordered telecom companies to deactivate SIM cards linked to undocumented people and Islamic State terrorists.

The moves are an attempt to disrupt Islamic State financial networks as the military continues an offensive against IS fighters hiding out in the region.

Authorities recently launched military operations against IS fighters in the Alimiskaad and Al-Madow mountains in Puntland’s Bari region. Security forces seized camps and defensive positions and pushed the fighters further into the mountains.

Security agencies have also started a crackdown on undocumented people in Puntland. According to local reports, authorities made more than 300 arrests in the operation.

Meanwhile, Puntland’s Ministry of the Interior has issued a directive banning the sale of SIM cards to undocumented people and barring them from opening financial accounts without proper identification.

Abdirahman Yusuf Farah, a former intelligence chief of Puntland, said that security agencies will not violate people’s rights in their pursuit of members and supporters of IS and that anyone who has entered the Puntland region legally will be respected.

The International Crisis Group, in a report released in December, said Islamic State’s Somalia branch was becoming influential in dispersing money to finance terrorism elsewhere in Africa.

The group extorts civilians and businesses to finance its operation and sends money to other IS affiliates.

Omar Mahmood, a senior researcher at the International Crisis Group, said the IS threat is growing.

“It’s not just about the Islamic State in Puntland or in Somalia itself, but the group there serves as a connective node for Islamic State affiliates elsewhere in Africa — in Eastern Africa, in Southern Africa,” Mahmood said. “They report to the Islamic State in Puntland, and that serves as a connection to the Islamic State core and other affiliates outside of the continent.”

Mahmood said Puntland is trying to block the local IS’s access to international banking systems.

“The group has focused on developing its financial capabilities, whether that is extortion in Bosaso and then transferring this externally,” he said. “They’ve really developed that particular niche, much more so than operational capacity. Puntland is trying to crack down on the use of their formal systems, whether that is the banking sector or telecom, to make it harder for the group to continue to, one, generate financially, and two, then send that money outside of Puntland.”

Puntland is relatively peaceful compared to southern Somalia, but local officials have grown concerned about the Islamic State’s rising strength, fueled by foreign fighters. Authorities are seeking international financial and military aid, including air support.

Source VOA