Talaado, 19 Aug 2025 {HMC} Somalia’s elite Danab Commandos, backed by international partners, killed more than 100 al-Shabab fighters in an operation near the town of Awdhegle in the Lower Shabelle region, the Defense Ministry said Monday.

The ministry said key militant commanders were among those killed. Precision airstrikes destroyed defensive tunnels and bunkers, while Danab troops advanced on the ground to secure full control of the area.

The state-run Somali National News Agency reported the operation began late Sunday and continued into the early hours of Monday. It followed a string of government gains in nearby Sabiid, Caanoole and Bariire.
Since July, Somali security forces — with support from the AU troops — have stepped up offensives against the al-Qaida-linked extremist group in Lower Shabelle, a region long regarded as an al-Shabab stronghold.

Al-Shabab has fought an insurgency for more than 16 years, frequently targeting government officials, security forces and civilians in a campaign to topple Somalia’s fragile federal government.

Source Hiiraan online

Tuesday 19,August 2025  {HMC} Somaliland has accused Turkey of meddling in its internal affairs after the Turkish ambassador to Somalia met Sultan Abubakar Wabar, a traditional leader linked by Hargeisa to past unrest in the Awdal region.

Somaliland’s foreign minister, Abdirahman Dahir Aden, on Monday summoned Turkey’s consul general in Hargeisa, demanding an explanation for what he called “unacceptable interference.” A ministry statement said the meeting in Mogadishu amounted to a direct threat to Somaliland’s security and stability.

“The government of the Republic of Somaliland considers this action to be a clear and unacceptable interference,” the statement read. “The government has officially demanded that the Turkish ambassador provide an immediate and satisfactory explanation.”
The controversy erupted after photos circulated online of Sultan Wabar meeting Somali Defense Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi in Mogadishu. Fiqi posted a picture of himself with the sultan on X, formerly Twitter, with the caption: “The time for Awdal has come.” Many interpreted the remark as signaling potential federal government support for development projects in Awdal, a region in western Somaliland where some elites have called for closer ties with Mogadishu.

Somaliland authorities view such moves as part of efforts to weaken its self-declared independence, which the federal government in Mogadishu does not recognize. Turkey, a close ally of Somalia, has long backed the federal government, though it has also hosted talks between Mogadishu and Hargeisa in an effort to mediate.

Sultan Wabar, who once commanded a small group of fighters, clashed with Somaliland forces in 2015 before his men surrendered. He fled the country but remains a symbolic figure for Awdal groups opposed to Somaliland’s authority.

Source Hiiraan online

Talaado, 19 Aug 2025 {HMC} The Chinese-built Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Kenya has recorded 3,000 days of safe operation as of Saturday, Africa Star Railway Operation Company Limited (Afristar) said in a press release on Sunday.

Since its launch on May 31, 2017, the railway has transported nearly 15.93 million passengers and more than 41.96 million tons of cargo, according to Afristar, which runs and maintains the line.

Stretching 472 km from the port city of Mombasa to the capital Nairobi, the SGR is the first new railway built in Kenya since independence and a flagship project of China-Kenya cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Designed, built, and operated by China Road and Bridge Corporation, the line was constructed to Chinese standards using Chinese technologies, equipment, and management models. It has improved Kenya’s transport efficiency and lifted the country’s gross domestic product by 1.5 percent, Afristar said.

During its construction and operation, the project has created some 74,000 jobs and trained 2,800 Kenyan specialists in standard-gauge railway technology, contributing to local employment and skills development, the company said.

“The safe operation of the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR has not only provided a convenient and efficient travel method for Kenyan people, but also greatly promoted local trade development and economic growth,” Afristar said.