Security officials in Afgoye said that the operation started on Monday and  400 people suspected of having possible ties with al-Shabaab militant group have been detained so far.

The operation was led by Somali military officials such as the Commander of Somali Armed Forces, General Abdulkadir Sheikh Ali Dini, Police Commissioner Sharif Shiekhuna Maye and other prominent security officials.

Officials said the operation was meant to heighten the security of the town in which the joint forces seized last week.

TFG and AMISOM forces took control of the strategic town of Afgoye on Friday from al-Shabaab militant group.

Maqaaladda La Xiriira:

1. AMISOM to minimize civilian casualties in Afgoye
2. TFG, AMISOM take over Afgoye corridor
3. 15 suspected militants arrested in Bakol region

Nairobi city

At least 30 people have on Monday been injured after a blast exploded in a building in central Nairobi.

There are fears that some people might have been killed in the explosion.

Kenya police and firefighters sealed off the area before the injured people were rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital for treatments.

There are still confusion over the exact cause of the blast, however, Kenya police chief, Mathew Iteere said in a press conference that an electric fault might have caused the blast.

The assistant for Kenya interior security minister, Orwa Ojode, said that the police will investigate a possible bomb blast.

There has been a heavy traffic jam in the city center after police condoned off Moi Avenue and forced car drivers to use alternative routes.

Maqaaladda La Xiriira:

1. Puntland arrests five over deadly blast in Galkayo
2. Deadly blast hits a government compound in Mogadishu
3. Man arrested in connection with Dagahley blast

AMISOM forces/File photo

Officials from African peacekeepers AMISOM in Somalia confirmed that TFG troops and AMISOM forces have secured the Afgoye corridor and have taken over another al-Shabaab stronghold of Elasha Biyaha on Saturday.

Taking over Elasha Biyaha and Afgoye corridor has reportedly enabled local residents to move freely between Afgoye and Mogadishu.

Brigadier General Audace Nduwumunsi, the Deputy AMISOM Force Commander, hailed and congratulated AMISOM forces for their professionalism in avoiding civilian casualties during the weeklong operation.

“By avoiding fighting in areas with large civilian concentrations, we have ensured that there was minimal displacement of people within the corridor,”

The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Boubacar Diarra, urged aid agencies to start providing much needed humanitarian aid to hundreds of Somalis in the area.

“The humanitarian community can now provide much needed aid to the people of Afgooye,” Diara said in a press release.

Maqaaladda La Xiriira:

1. Al-Shabaab evacuate Elasha Biyaha and Afgoye
2. TFG, AMISOM advance to Elasha Biyaha
3. AMISOM to minimize civilian casualties in Afgoye

ASWJ officials met with Galgadud women and youth associations on Sunday to discuss on issues related to security, development and the war against al-Shabaab fighters.

Residents have agreed on working with the ASWJ administration on the issues agreed during the meeting in Dusamareb town.

Hawo Abdulle Barre, a member of the SSWC women association in Dusamareb said that the women and the youth of Galgadud will support ASWJ in their efforts to stabilize the region and wipe out al-Shabaab from the area.

Sheikh Mohamed Yusuf Herow, one of the ASWJ officials speaking at the meeting urged al-Shabaab fighters to surrender to them promising that amnesty will be granted to anyone that defects from al-shabaab.

Galgadud is one the regions in central Somalia controlled by both ASWJ and al-Shabaab fighters.

Maqaaladda La Xiriira:

1. ASWJ officials meet traditional elders in Wahbo village
2. ASWJ clash with al-Shabaab in Galgadud
3. ASWJ fighters take over El-Shil village in Galgadud

“Since May 22 to date the UNHCR Somalia Population Movement Tracking (PMT) system has recorded 9,200 displacements from Afgoye due to military activity in the area,” the UN agency said in a statement.

The agency stated that majority of the displaced people fled from Afgoye to the capital, Mogadishu, while others arrived in some parts of the two regions of Lower Shabelle and Lower Jubba respectively.

Meanwhile, Afgoye fallen into the hands of the joint forces last week and securing the corridor is expected to ease the humanitarian hurdles caused by al-Shabaab’s ban on international aid agencies.

Afgoye corridor is a strategic town located 30 kilometers from the capital, Mogadishu.

Maqaaladda La Xiriira:

1. Twenty killed in a fatal road accident in Lower Shabelle
2. IDPs in Lower Shabelle face harsh living conditions
3. TFG, AMISOM advance to Elasha Biyaha

Eyewitnesses told Bar-kulan that several men armed with pistols have shot dead Noor Hashi on his way to his home in Barwaqo neighborhood.

Security personnel arrived on the scene and condoned off the area to conduct a security search, however, it is not yet known whether suspects in connection with the murder of the official so were arrested far.

The motives and perpetrators behind the assassination of the official are unknown so far.

Maqaaladda La Xiriira:

1. Gunmen kill an elder in Galkayo town
2. Gangs kill two in Mogadishu
3. Somaliland Security Official Killed in Lasanod

Somali pirates

Puntland Marine and Police Force (PMPF) have on Sunday captured eleven pirate suspects in Hafun district after the marine forces along with some government officials entered the coastal town of Hafun on Saturday to hunt down pirates.

Among the seven suspects was a well-known pirate Mohamed Mohamud Mohamed Hassan “Dhafoor” who is wanted by Puntland authorities for having connections with a pirate gang that kidnapped several commercial vessels and the Danish family last year.

He was also accused of having close ties with a well-known pirate leader, Isse Yulux and his gang in Hafun peninsula of Karkar region, the apprehended eleven were taken to Bosaso.

The operation in Hafun was led by PMPF Commander Colonel Abdirizaq Dirie Farah, Puntland Police Commissioner, Mohamed Said Jaqanaf and Puntland Security Minister, Khalif Isse Mudan

Puntland has intensified its operations to hunt down pirate gangs in its territory and has detained hundreds of pirates so far.

Maqaaladda La Xiriira:

1. Puntland Security Forces Apprehend 5 Pirates
2. Puntland police arrest 3 suspects in Bosaso for alleged murder case
3. Puntland refutes claims that pirates are holding Pakistani vessel in Hafun area

President Sharif returns to Somalia/File photo

President Sharif Ahmed has today returned to the country after a weeklong trip to Ethiopia, South Africa and Kenya.

The president and his delegation were warmly received at the airport by some members of the cabinet, parliament members and army officials.

He did not brief the media on his arrival at the airport.

During the weeklong trip to the three countries, the president attended the Roadmap signatories meeting in Addis Ababa and African leaders’ summit in South Africa to mark Africa Day celebrations.

The president held talks with South African officials in formalizing diplomatic ties between the two nations.

He also met with Somali community in South Africa promising that a new embassy to handle their demands will be opened soon.

Maqaaladda La Xiriira:

1. President Sharif returns to Mogadishu from Turkey
2. President Sharif left for Dubai
3. Somalia President arrives in Mogadishu

coat of arms of Somalia/File photo

Somali government has said that it will open a new embassy in South Africa after delegates from the TFG led by president Sharif Ahmed visited the country this week.

Hussein Arab Isse, the defense minister of Somlaia told Bar-kulan that TFG officials and their counterparts in South Africa have discussed the importance of restoring diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Isse says the new embassy will handle diplomatic services as well as helping thousands of Somalis living in South Africa in travel and legal matters.

This move comes after South Africa announced that it was formalizing diplomatic relations with Somalia in March this year

Maqaaladda La Xiriira:

1. Community hails South African embassy in Somalia
2. South Africa promises to support Somalia
3. Somalis in south Africa donate food and clothes to drought victims in Somalia

An ill-fated heavy truck involved in a road accident

Three people have died while four others injured during a grisly car accident in a village known as Faluja lying on the main road between Armo and Puntland’s commercial hub city of Bosaso.

The fatal accident occurred after a driver of a speedy truck lost control an overturned, the exact cause forcing the driver to lose control of the truck is yet unknown.

Officials from Puntland traffic police have confirmed the accident and added that the ill-fated truck was carrying goods from Bosaso port and was heading to central Somali regions.

The injured four have been rushed to Bosaso main hospital for treatments.

Maqaaladda La Xiriira:

1. Several killed in a fatal road accident in Garowe
2. Bosaso: Accident Kills One Person
3. Two killed in a grisly accident in southern Somalia