By Oren Liebermann, CNN
Saturday January 13, 2024

Two US Navy sailors were reported missing while conducting operations Thursday off the coast of Somalia, according to US Central Command.

Search and rescue operations are ongoing to locate the sailors, Central Command said in a Friday statement.

The brief statement gave no additional information about what the sailors had been doing when they went missing other than to say they were “forward-deployed” to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet area of operations and were “supporting a wide variety of missions.”

“Out of respect for the families affected, we will not release further information at this time,” the statement said.

The US maintains a small military presence in Somalia which focuses on the threat of the al-Shabaab militant group, an extremist Islamist organization that has carried out attacks against the Somali government. The US recognizes al-Shabaab as a terrorist organization.

In addition to training Somali forces, the US has also coordinated with the Somali government to carry out strikes against al-Shabaab.

According to US Africa Command, “Al-Shabaab is the largest and most kinetically active al-Qaeda network in the world and has proved both its will and capability to attack U.S. forces and threaten U.S. security interests.”

Saturday January 13, 2024

(ERGO) – After 12 years working as a waiter in a restaurant, Abdirahman Bihi Osman, 38, decided to open his own business selling fresh fruit drinks in the central Somali town of Adado.

Since last October, he has reached regular profits of $25 a day that means he no longer worries about making ends meet for his wife and two children and six nephews and nieces.

“There have been significant changes in our lives. We are doing well now and we take care of ourselves. If you have to depend on someone else they might switch off their phone or tell you they don’t have money and your family might sleep hungry,” he said.

He has enrolled the eight children under his care back in the local Horseed school, paying $80 for their school fees as well as buying uniforms, clothing and stationery.

Abdirahman started his business with $300 borrowed from his relatives.

“I asked a relative to lend me money when I had the idea. I wanted to open my own business as I have children and a wife. Now my business is working well. I have hired three other people to work here with me and I’ve repaid a third of the initial investment that I received,” he said.

He pays $5 a day to his three employees and knows what it is like having to forgo basic necessities including education for the children if you have either a menial job or no work at all.

“They (the employees) were people who came to the city and were looking for jobs. I decided to give them opportunities. Some of them have wives and children,” he said.

He has positioned his shop strategically beside a busy road in Adado, where he serves students, manual workers and travellers.

In January, he began also serving food, turning the juice stall into a small cafeteria. Beginning with fish and flat bread, he hopes to build his business into a fully-fledged restaurant.

The recent heavy rainfall and flash flooding has caused major setbacks for many businesses, including Abdirahman’s. The fresh produce he sources from Hiran and Middle Shabelle regions have not been able to reach Adado because of flooded roads.

He noted that only one food truck a week arrived in Adado at the height of the floods, causing high prices due to scarcity. He has had to source fruit from smaller farms locally in Adado.

Nevertheless, Abdirahman recommends going into business as a good way of breaking through from poverty to a decent way of living.

Saturday January 13, 2024

ISTANBUL (AP) — The son of Somalia’s president testified at an Istanbul court on Friday about the death of a motorcycle courier in the city, Turkish media reported.

An arrest warrant had been issued for Mohammed Hassan Sheikh Mohamud after a diplomatic car he was driving allegedly hit Yunus Emre Gocer, 38, on a highway in Istanbul on Nov. 30. Gocer died in a hospital six days later, by which time Mohamud had left Turkey.

Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said last month that he had discussed the case with his Somali counterpart to arrange Mohamud’s return.

The private Demiroren News Agency reported that the arrest warrant and a travel ban were revoked after Mohamud gave a statement at Caglayan courthouse. He was then released by the court, the agency said.

Mohamud offered no plea, instead repeating the statement he gave immediately after the crash saying the courier was at fault, Demiroren reported.

An indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office calls for a prison sentence of two to six years for “causing death by negligence.” It was unclear when any future hearing would be held.

The death had threatened to sour friendly relations between Turkey and Somalia. Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and a prominent opposition politician, accused the government of “being too weak to defend the rights of its own citizens.”

Turkey launched an investigation into officials who conducted the initial crash investigation and reportedly allowed Mohamud to go free.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told The Associated Press last month that his 40-year-old son, who is a doctor, did not flee Turkey and said he had advised him to present himself to court.

“Turkey is a brotherly country,” the president said. “We respect the laws and the justice and the judicial system. As a president of Somalia, I will never allow anybody to violate this country’s judicial system.”

Turkey has built close ties with Somalia since 2011, when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — then prime minister — visited the East African nation in a show of support as Somalis suffered from severe drought. Turkey has provided humanitarian aid, built infrastructure and opened a military base in Somalia where it has trained officers and police.

Saturday January 13, 2024

NAIROBI, KENYA — Four Ukrainians were on a United Nations helicopter seized by al-Shabab militants in central Somalia this week, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said on Friday.

The U.N.-contracted chopper with nine aboard was conducting a medical evacuation when a technical problem forced it to land near Hindhere village, an area controlled by the Islamist group.

“Our citizens were members of the helicopter crew of the UN Mission in Somalia. … Their identities have been established,” Ukrainian spokesman Oleh Nikolenko wrote on Facebook.

He said that the aircraft belonged to a private Ukrainian company contracted to the United Nations, and that the government was contacting it to coordinate actions.

Security sources earlier told Reuters that nationals from Egypt, Uganda and Somalia were also on board. The sources asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Somalia’s government said on Thursday it was working to rescue the hostages, but military officers said it would be difficult in an area that has been under the al-Qaida-affiliated group’s control for more than a decade.

An internal U.N. memo seen by Reuters said one person on the helicopter had allegedly been killed and six taken hostage. Two people fled and their whereabouts were not known, it said.

All U.N. flights in the area were suspended until further notice, the memo said.

Ugandan army representatives said they had no information. The Egyptian government could not be reached for comment.

Separately, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia said a U.N. guard had been killed in a mortar attack by suspected al-Shabab militants near the capital’s Aden Adde International Airport.

Mortar rounds landed on Thursday night inside the airport area where the U.N. compound is located, UNSOM said.

Al-Shabab could not be reached for comment.

The militants, who control vast areas of the south and center of Somalia, have been fighting the government since 2006 in an attempt to establish their own rule based on their interpretation of Islamic law.