Somalia says 5 soldiers killed in battle with jihadists
Somalia says 5 soldiers killed in battle with jihadists/node/2526601/world
Somalia says 5 soldiers killed in battle with jihadists
Police officers stand near the bodies of alleged Al-Shabab militants who have been killed after the siege at the Mogadishu Municipality Headquarters in Mogadishu on January 22, 2023. (AFP)
Somalia says 5 soldiers killed in battle with jihadists
Government says close to 50 fighters from the Islamist militant group were killed
The resurgent Al-Shabab claims it had taken multiple locations in the center of the country
Updated 12 August 2024
AFP
MOGADISHU: Somalia’s government said five of its soldiers died in a battle in which they killed nearly 50 fighters from the Islamist militant group Al-Shabab Saturday, about 350 kilometers (215 miles) north of the capital Mogadishu.
Government troops and supporting militia forces got word of an attack planned by Al-Shabab in Ceeldheer, in the Galgadud region, set an ambush and “destroyed” them, said a statement.
Their forces killed at least 47 members of the militant group while losing five soldiers in the battle, said the authorities. They said airstrikes were also carried out against the Al-Shabab forces.
Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack on Ceeldheer.
Local resident Mohamed Hussein told AFP by telephone: “There was heavy fighting in Ceeldheer town this morning after Al-Shabab attacked the town from several directions.
“It was very hard to say who is in control a while ago but now we can see that the Somali government forces are in full control,” he added.
Another local man, Hassan Gutale, said: “There were at least six heavy explosions and fighting that lasted several hours.”
Elected in May, 2022, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud vowed to wage “total war” against the Islamist group.
Al-Shabab has been waging a deadly insurgency against the fragile central government in Mogadishu for more than 16 years.
Although driven out of the capital by an African Union force in 2011, they still have a strong presence in rural Somalia.
They have carried out repeated attacks against political, security and civilian targets, mostly in Somalia but also in neighboring countries including Kenya.
Somalia’s beleaguered federal government has joined forces with local clan militia against the Islamists, retaking swathes of territory in central Somalia in an operation backed by an AU mission known as ATMIS and US air strikes.
But the offensive has suffered setbacks, with Al-Shabab earlier this year claiming it had taken multiple locations in the center of the country.
Egypt’s alternative to Trump’s ‘Gaza Riviera’ aims to sideline Hamas
The draft said the board would comprise key Arab countries, members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the United States, Britain, the European Union and its member states, and others
The Egyptian draft does not tackle the issue of what actions could be taken if Hamas refuses to disarm or step aside from politics
Updated 4 min 9 sec ago
Reuters
DOHA: A plan for Gaza drawn up by Egypt as a counter to US President Donald Trump’s ambition for a Middle East Riviera would sideline Hamas and replace it with interim bodies controlled by Arab, Muslim and Western states, according to a draft seen by Reuters.
The Egyptian vision for Gaza, which is due to be presented at an Arab League summit on Tuesday, does not specify whether the proposal would be implemented before or after any permanent peace deal to end the war triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.
Trump’s plan, which envisioned clearing Gaza of its Palestinian inhabitants, appeared to back away from long-standing US Middle East policy focused on a two-state solution and sparked anger among Palestinians and Arab nations.
Palestinian children gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 3, 2025. (REUTERS)
Who will run Gaza after the conflict remains the great unanswered question in negotiations over the future of the enclave. Hamas has so far rejected the idea of any proposal being imposed on Palestinians by other states.
Cairo’s plan does not tackle critical issues such as who will foot the bill for Gaza’s reconstruction or outline any specific details around how Gaza would be governed, nor how an armed group as powerful as Hamas would be pushed aside.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Egypt's draft Gaza plan has no role for Hamas - draft proposal
• Arab states seek to counter Trump's Gaza vision
• Governance Assistance Mission would replace Hamas-run government International Stabilisation Force would provide security
Under the Egyptian plan, a Governance Assistance Mission would replace the Hamas-run government in Gaza for an unspecified interim period and would be responsible for humanitarian aid and for kick-starting reconstruction of the enclave, which has been devastated by the war.
“There will be no major international funding for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Gaza if Hamas remains the dominant and armed political element on the ground controlling local governance,” a preamble outlining the draft Egyptian plan’s objectives said.
A Palestinian Hamas militant shakes hands with a child as they stand guard as people gather on the day of the handover of hostages. (REUTERS)
Details of Egypt’s proposed framework for Gaza’s future have not been previously reported.
Egypt, Jordan and Gulf Arab states have for almost a month been scrambling to formulate a diplomatic offensive to counter Trump’s plan. A number of ideas have been proposed, with Egypt’s considered the frontrunner.
Reuters was unable to determine whether Arab leaders would support the plan presented by Egypt.
The plan does not specify who would run the governance mission. It said it would, “draw on the expertise of Palestinians in Gaza and elsewhere to help Gaza recover as quickly as possible.”
The draft proposal was shared with Reuters by an official involved in Gaza negotiations who wished to remain anonymous because the draft has not yet been made public.
The plan firmly rejects the US proposal for mass displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, which Arab states such as Egypt and Jordan see as a security threat.
“President Trump has been clear that Hamas cannot continue to govern Gaza,” White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said when asked about Egypt’s Gaza plan and whether the US would support it.
“While the President stands by his bold vision for a post-war Gaza, he welcomes input from our Arab partners in the region. It’s clear his proposals have driven the region to come to the table rather than allow this issue to devolve into further crisis,” Hughes said.
STABILISATION FORCE
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters the group knows of no such proposal by Egypt.
“The day after in Gaza must only be decided by the Palestinians,” he said. “Hamas rejects any attempt to impose projects or any form of non-Palestinian administration, or the presence of any foreign forces on the land of the Gaza Strip.”
The Egyptian draft does not mention future elections.
Egypt’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the office of Israel’s prime minister, whose support for any plan is seen as vital to secure a commitment that any future reconstruction will not be destroyed again.
Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has ruled the coastal enclave since 2007. It launched the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and started the Gaza war.
A January 19 ceasefire brought a temporary end to the fighting but the first phase of the deal expired on Saturday with no sign of an agreement to move to the second phase.
The Egyptian draft does not tackle the issue of what actions could be taken if Hamas refuses to disarm or step aside from politics.
The proposal envisions an International Stabilization Force drawn primarily from Arab states that would take over the role of providing security from the militant group, with the eventual establishment of a new local police force.
Both security and governance bodies would be “arranged, guided and supervised” by a steering board. The draft said the board would comprise key Arab countries, members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the United States, Britain, the European Union and its member states, and others.
The plan does not detail a central governing role for the Palestinian Authority (PA), which opinion polls show has little support among Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
A Palestinian official told Reuters that, like the West Bank, Gaza falls under the PA’s jurisdiction — and it must be run by Palestinians.
“We agreed with the Egyptians on a committee made of Palestinian experts that will help the Palestinian Authority in running the Gaza Strip for six months. The committee is made of Palestinian experts and coordinates with the PA, and doesn’t answer to non-Palestinian bodies,” said the official, who asked not to be named for sensitivity.
RECONSTRUCTION BILL
Since Hamas drove the Palestinian Authority out of Gaza after a brief civil war in 2007, it has crushed all opposition there. Supported by Iran, it built an extensive security apparatus and military organization based around a vast network of tunnels — much of which Israel says it has now destroyed.
The plan does not say who would pay to rebuild Gaza, a bill estimated by the UN at more than $53 billion. Two sources have told Reuters that Gulf and Arab states would need to commit at least $20 billion in the initial phase of reconstruction.
Egypt’s proposal envisions that states on the steering board could establish a fund to support the interim governing body and arrange donor conferences to seek contributions for a longer-term reconstruction and development plan for Gaza.
The plan does not contain any specific financial pledges.
Oil- and gas-producing Gulf Arab states such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates could be vital sources of funding from the region.
The United Arab Emirates, for instance, sees Hamas and other militant groups as an existential threat and is unlikely to offer any funding until Hamas has been sidelined.
The foreign ministries in Qatar and the UAE and Saudi Arabia’s international media office did not immediately respond to requests for comment about Egypt’s plan, or to questions about their willingness to commit funds to rebuild Gaza.
The draft plan also calls on the steering board to coordinate with a Civil Society Advisory Board, consisting of academics, NGO leaders and other notable figures.
Morocco activist gets six-month sentence for online post: lawyer
In his Facebook post last year, Abdelmoumni echoed accusations of Moroccan espionage against France
Updated 5 min 10 sec ago
AFP
RABAT: A Moroccan court on Monday sentenced activist Fouad Abdelmoumni to six months in prison for “spreading false allegations” and other charges related to a post he had shared on Facebook, said his lawyer.
Abdelmoumni, a human rights advocate, was taken into custody in late October after alleging online that Morocco had spied against France, but released after a two-day detention.
His lawyer, Mohamed Nouini, told AFP that Abdelmoumni will only be imprisoned if a higher court upholds Monday’s verdict issued in Casablanca.
“He should have been prosecuted under the Press Code, which does not provide for prison sentences, rather than the Penal Code,” Nouini said.
The charges against Abdelmoumni include “spreading false allegations,” “defamation” and “insulting public bodies.”
In his Facebook post last year, Abdelmoumni echoed accusations of Moroccan espionage against France.
“France, which sees its position decline among all nations, would not want to give in to the blackmail of a weak state which uses all the means of pressure at its disposal... including espionage,” Abdelmoumni wrote at the time.
Prosecutors argued that his statements constituted “allegations harmful to the kingdom’s interests” and went “beyond the limits of freedom of expression, amounting to criminal offenses punishable by law.”
Abdelmoumni shared the post during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, which had marked a thawing of diplomatic ties between Rabat and Paris after three years of strained relations, partially over the espionage allegations.
In 2021, Morocco was accused of deploying Israeli-made Pegasus spyware to monitor prominent figures including Macron.
The allegations were based on a report by investigative outlet Forbidden Stories and rights group Amnesty International, which Morocco called “baseless and false.”
The spyware, developed by Israeli firm NSO Group, can infiltrate mobile phones, extracting data and activating cameras.
UN food program closes its southern Africa office in the wake of Trump administration aid cuts
The WFP didn’t say how much funding it had lost from USAID, but it received $4.4 billion in assistance from the United States last year, around half its total annual budget and more than four times the amount given by the second biggest donor, Germany
Updated 38 min 20 sec ago
AP
CAPE TOWN, South Africa: The United Nations’ World Food Program is closing its southern Africa office in the wake of the Trump administration’s aid cuts, a spokesperson said Monday.
Tomson Phiri said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press that the UN food agency had launched a multiyear plan to streamline its structure in 2023 but as “the donor funding outlook becomes more constrained, we have been compelled to accelerate these efforts.”
Phiri said the WFP would consolidate its southern and East Africa operations into one regional office in Nairobi, Kenya. The southern Africa office in Johannesburg will close.
Officials from USAID and WFP inspect a donation of $11 million worth of food aid at a ceremony in Harare, Zimbabwe, Jan 17. 2024. (AP)
Phiri said food programs would continue.
“Our commitment to serving vulnerable communities is as strong as ever, and WFP remains committed to ensuring our operations are as effective and efficient as possible in meeting the needs of those facing hunger,” he wrote.
The WFP didn’t say how much funding it had lost from USAID, but it received $4.4 billion in assistance from the United States last year, around half its total annual budget and more than four times the amount given by the second biggest donor, Germany.
The Trump administration announced last week it was terminating 90 percent of USAID’s foreign aid contracts because they didn’t advance America’s national interests, stopping $60 billion in spending on humanitarian projects across the world.
The move comes after southern Africa was hit by its worst drought in decades last year, destroying crops and putting 27 million people in danger of hunger, according to the WFP. The WFP made a call for $147 million in donations to help some of those in need even before President Donald Trump started cutting US foreign aid.
The WFP provides food assistance to more than 150 million people in 120 countries worldwide, it says. It won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020 and its last six leaders since 1992 have all been Americans, including current executive director Cindy McCain, the widow of former US Sen. John McCain.
Few UN agencies have been specific about the impact of the US aid cuts.
The UN’s International Organization for Migration reportedly has cut 3,000 jobs linked to resettlement in the United States, and family planning agency UNFPA has estimated that a number of its operations will be affected.
Many UN aid agencies have said they are still assessing the impact and remain unclear about whether some programs or projects will benefit from waivers that could allow US donations to continue to flow.
West African mission leaves Guinea-Bissau following threats
Updated 40 min 24 sec ago
AP
DAKAR: A mission by a West African regional bloc sent to Guinea-Bissau to resolve a dispute over elections there has left the country following threats by President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, according to a statement.
The dispute over the end date of Embalo’s term has escalated tensions and raised fears of unrest in the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau, which has endured multiple coups since gaining independence from Portugal over 50 years ago. The opposition argues that Embalo’s term, which began in 2020, should have ended last week, while the country’s Supreme Court ruled that it ends on Sept. 4.
Last month, Embalo announced that the next presidential and parliamentary elections would be held on Nov. 30.
The bloc, ECOWAS, said its mission left early on Saturday.
It was deployed from Feb. 21 to Feb. 28, together with the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, to help broker a consensus on when to hold the presidential election.
ECOWAS is West Africa’s top political and economic authority, often collaborating with states to solve various domestic challenges.
In recent years, however, it has struggled to reverse coups in the region and disputes with citizens complaining of not benefitting from their country’s natural resources.
Embalo says he has survived two attempts to overthrow him.
After the most recent one in Dec. 2023, which involved a shootout between the national and presidential guard, he dissolved the opposition-controlled parliament, accusing it of passivity.
Last week, Embalo met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss potential economic and security ties. Russia has emerged as the security partner of choice for many African governments, displacing traditional allies such as France and the US.
Tunisia rescues 64 migrants off eastern Mediterranean coast
Updated 51 min 27 sec ago
AP
TUNIS: Authorities in Tunisia say 64 migrants were rescued from a boat that capsized off the country’s eastern Mediterranean coast after running out of fuel.
The country’s national customs agency said in a statement that maritime patrols sent to the capsized vessel rescued 64 people of various nationalities off the coast of Mahdia on Friday evening. No deaths were reported.
“The rescued migrants were trying to cross by boat toward the European space illegally,” the customs agency said.
Initial findings of the investigation suggest that the migrants had set off from an unnamed neighboring country, likely to be Libya.
The migrants were taken to the port of Chebba, 60 km north of Sfax, for further investigation.
More than 30,000 migrants set sail from Libya and arrived in Italy in 2024, according to UNHCR.
The UN refugee agency said 61 percent of those arriving in Italy by sea came from Libya, followed by 32 percent from Tunisia.
The UN’s International Organization for Migration estimates that more than 100 migrants have died or gone missing in the central Mediterranean off the coast of Tunisia and Libya since the beginning of 2025.
There is no official data about the actual number of migrants living in Libya.
