Sunday 20 -Octo-2024 {HMC} Somalia’s Information Ministry said Saturday the country’s military is targeting al-Shabab militants in the Galmudug region of central Somalia and is making progress in eroding the group’s operational effectiveness.

In a coordinated military operation, the Somali National Army, or SNA, supported by Galmudug State forces and pro-government local clan militias, killed 30 al-Shabab militants and injured dozens more, according to a government statement released Saturday.

“The Somali National Army killed 30 al-Shabab militants and injured 40 others after conducting an operation at the Qeycad location in the southern Mudug region for the past 48 hours,” the statement reads.

Somali authorities say the operation was conducted after the army received intelligence regarding al-Shabab militants’ maneuvers in the region.

The government says three of its soldiers were injured during the operation.

Witnesses in Qeycad, near Ba’adweyn town in the Mudug region, said an intense gunbattle between the two sides lasted several hours, inflicting substantial damage on the militants.

“The fight lasted for hours, and the terrorists were heavily damaged, and the Somali National Army took over the area, and the group’s strongholds in the area were also destroyed during the operation,” the government statement said.

During the engagement, several al-Shabab commanders surrendered to the SNA. Among those were two significant militant leaders, “Mohamed Bashir Muse and Madey Fodey,” according to the government report.

This military action follows an incident two days prior when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vest outside a crowded restaurant in Mogadishu, resulting in the deaths of at least seven people.

The operation also occurred concurrently with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s official visit to Kampala, Uganda, where he aimed to strengthen bilateral relations and enhance regional security cooperation with President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.

“The president will discuss with his counterpart, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, focusing on strengthening bilateral relations between Somalia and Uganda, fostering enhanced regional security and stability cooperation,” a brief Somali National News Agency announcement stated.

As Somalia navigates ongoing diplomatic disagreements with Ethiopia — particularly regarding a maritime agreement signed with Somaliland, a breakaway region — its government has sought closer ties with Egypt and Eritrea, both of which have historical disputes with Ethiopia.

Earlier this month, leaders from Egypt, Somalia, and Eritrea convened in Asmara, reinforcing what analysts describe as an emerging “axis against Ethiopia.”

SOURCE

By Mohamed Olad Hassan

Sunday 20 -Octo-2024 {HMC} The command of the PSF in Puntland has said that they have conducted a military operation against a foreign officer of the Daesh militia in the Bari region.

In a brief video released by the PSF Command, Abdallah Mustaf Abu-Deir appeared and gave his name as Salim, who he confirmed is a member of Daesh.

Abdallah Mustaf Abu-Deir said that he came from Sakhnin, Israel, to join the Daesh militia, where he was studying engineering at a university.

“My name is Abdalla Mustaf Abu-Deir, and my common name is Salim. I used to study engineering at a university in Sakhnin, Israel,” said Abdalla Mustaf Abu-Deir.

“I arrived in the mountains where Daesh is and there were five members of Daesh waiting for me, and they brought me to a place called Istiqbal where I received training,” added Abu-Deir.

The arrest of this officer comes as a security report has recently emerged stating that there is an increase in the number of foreign members joining the Daesh militias in Somalia.

Sunday 20 -Octo-2024 {HMC} A British national has told the BBC that he and several Turkish citizens were abducted in the Kenyan capital Nairobi by masked men on Friday, with four of the Turkish citizens still missing.

Necdet Seyitoğlu, who lived in the UK for 18 years before moving to Kenya two years ago, said he was released after eight hours when he showed his alleged abductors a copy of his British passport.

In a statement, the UK Foreign Office said they were “providing consular support to a British man and his family following an incident in Kenya”.

Kenyan police told the BBC they were investigating a “kidnapping incident” after a motorcycle driver witnessed the abduction.

According to the report, two vehicles intercepted and blocked from the front and behind a silver saloon car with two occupants.

“About eight persons armed with weapons emerged from the two vehicles, pulled out the two occupants” and drove off with them, said Kenyan police spokeswoman Resila Onyango.

“Later, one Yusuf Kar, a British national of Turkish origin” reported to a nearby police station and identified the kidnapped men as Hüseyin Yeşilsu and Necdet Seyitoğlu.

Turkish authorities have not yet commented on the incident.

Mr Seyitoğlu, an education consultant, gave additional details of what he said happened during his kidnapping ordeal, some of which differ from the police account.

He described a white SUV intercepting his car as he was leaving home for work with a friend at 07:30 local time (04:30 GMT).

The pair were blindfolded and handcuffed by four armed men before being driven off to an unknown location, he said.

Repeated requests about what was happening went unanswered, he said.

“We asked them, can you show your identification? Where we are going? But we didn’t get any kind of explanation,” the 49-year-old said.

“It was the worst experience of my life,” Mr Seyitoğlu added.

He said he was eventually able to convince his alleged abductors that he was a British citizen by showing them a copy of his passport on this phone.

After taking a photo, the men received a call that sounded like it was an instruction to release him, he said.

The masked men, who Mr Seyitoğlu said spoke Swahili, then dropped him off at a place he did not recognise and gave him 1,000 shillings ($7.50; £6) for transport back home, but refused to return his phone and laptop.

During this time, Mr Seyitoğlu said his wife reported him missing, and informed the British High Commission.

Mr Seyitoğlu said six other people he knew – all Turkish citizens – were also abducted in the same manner from different locations in Nairobi.

A local law firm, Mukele & Kakai, said in a statement that it was acting on behalf of four men who were registered refugees and warned airlines against allowing them to be brought on board.

“Our clients were abducted in Kenya with the aim of being deported back to Turkey where they are victims of political victimisation,” the lawyers’ letter, seen by the BBC, said.

This was echoed by the campaign group Amnesty International, whose Kenya spokesman said he was “deeply concerned by reports that seven asylum seekers from Türkiye have been abducted on Kenyan soil”.

The UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, told the BBC it was “aware of reports and will provide more information once we have it”.

Additional reporting by Natasha Booty