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Topic: Al-Shabaab
Top galleries, list articles, quizzes
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What is Somalia's Al Shabab?
The international community has more questions than answers about the Somali militant group Al Shabab, the target of Kenya's military incursion into Somalia. But they know how it affords food for its troops – and it's not from piracy.
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Four reasons help is slow to reach Somalia’s famine victims
As more information about East Africa’s famine reaches Western audiences, the situation looks increasingly grim – but aid doesn’t seem to be keeping pace with the publicity. What challenges do humanitarian organizations face?
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In Pictures: Eid al-Fitr around the world
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Photos of the Day: Photos of the Day 08/24
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Gallery: American Jihadis
All Content
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Islamist attacks draw Nigeria and US military closer
Dealing with Islamist groups such as Nigeria's Boko Haram will require more than a purely military approach, although Nigeria welcomes training from the US military's Africa Command.
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Africa Monitor
Eritrean opposition takes its politics online
Opposition leader Mohammed Ali Ibrahim disappeared this week, and opposition-run websites wasted little time in disseminating information in multiple languages.
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Why Ethiopia's authoritarian style gets a Western nod
Ethiopia is a geostrategically important ally in the West's efforts to battle extremism in the Horn of Africa. Western leaders have also emphasized its progress in battling poverty.
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Somalia's Al Shabab launches suicide attack ahead of talks
Car bomb kills 15 in the government-controlled center of Mogadishu just weeks before Somali officials attend a London conference on long-term solutions to country's unrest.
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Famine ends in Somalia, as drought looms in West Africa
Aid groups say that improved harvests and food donations have ended risk of starvation, but warn that ongoing war in Somalia could still reverse gains made.
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Change Agent
Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman urge fans to help Africa
In a show of corporate social responsibility, DC Comics unleashes its superheroes on the problems in the Horn of Africa
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SEAL Team 6 rescue in Somalia frees two from pirates' lair (+video)
SEAL Team 6 members raided a compound in Somalia early Wednesday to free two hostages held by pirates since October. The raid signals that US 'will not tolerate' abductions of Americans, Obama said.
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Africa Monitor
Kenya’s foray into Somalia sows seeds of backlash at home
As Kenya attempts to pacify the Islamist Al Shabab movement in Somalia, issues of poverty and security may go unaddressed back home, says guest blogger Alex Thurston.
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Nigeria's Boko Haram attacks are misunderstood as regional Islamist threat
Concern is growing that the Boko Haram militant group in Nigeria is linked to Al Qaeda and Al Shabaab as part of a coordinated Islamist terrorist threat in Africa. But most often, the reasons for the group's attacks are local.
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Africa Monitor
Ethiopia enters Somalia, but avoids African Union joint operation
Unlike Uganda, Burundi, Kenya and Djibouti, which have sent thousands of troops under the African Union banner, Ethiopia is intervening in Somalia unilaterally, and won't stay for long.
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Global News Blog
World reacts to Obama's new military focus on Asia
Chinese newspapers call on China to assert itself, while India and African nations ponder the implications of becoming 'strategic partners' with the US.
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Nigeria dispatches troops to north to stop Boko Haram attacks
The Christmas Day attack on a church is only the latest in string of attacks by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, who has given Christians living in the north three days to leave the region.
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Global News Blog
2011 Reflections: Africa rises, taking charge of its affairs
Seven Monitor correspondents reflect on the world's hotspots. In this installment, Scott Baldauf says Africa showed signs of both the willingness and ability to solve their own problems in 2011.
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For tiny Burundi, big returns in sending peacekeepers to Somalia
For poorer countries like Burundi, sending soldiers to join a UN or African Union peacekeeping mission offers financial and political benefits, as well as better arms and training.
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Africa Monitor
US troops against the LRA? A war worth winning
Guest blogger Kellen McClure argues that sending US military advisors to fight the LRA's Joseph Kony is a small price to pay for removing one of the world's worst mass murderers.
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UN chief visits a safer Somali capital
In the first visit of a UN Secretary General since 1993, Ban Ki-moon promised aid and military support, but warned Somali leaders they must stick to reform pledges.
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Famine alert: West Africa still has time to avoid 2012 food crisis
A Famine Early Warning System – which accurately predicted the 2011 drought in the Horn of Africa – warns that millions of West Africans may face a food crisis in 2012.
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Africa Monitor
Kenya stirs up region with arrest warrant for Sudan's Bashir
Criticism has been widespread since the Kenyan High Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudan's President Bashir, who is also the subject of an international arrest warrant.
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Somali Islamists ban aid groups, renewing famine concerns
Somalia's Islamist insurgency banned Western aid agencies from its territory, raising concerns that famine could return to parts of the northeast African nation.
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Kenya's Somalia operation hits at humanitarian aid
Kenya's military is having battlefield success against Somali militants Al Shabab, but it is hindering access for humanitarian aid groups in the midst of worst famine in 30 years, aid groups say.
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Africa isn't a lost cause, and global consumers are making a difference
In spite of conflicts and humanitarian crises, there's change afoot in Africa. Seven of the ten fastest-growing economies during the next five years will be in sub-Saharan Africa. To support them, global consumers can use the Internet to gain direct access to the goods of African artisans.
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Global News Blog
Good Reads: Pakistan summons outspoken envoy Haqqani, Kenya's Somali operation
Pakistan's envoy to the US, Ambassador Husain Haqqani, explains why Pakistan cannot simply clear out militants from its mountainous regions, while Kenya marches into Somalia to try a similar task.
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Terrorism & Security
Kenya, Somalia look for international help to fight Al Shabab
As much as half of Al Shabab's income comes from businesses in the Somali port city of Kismayo. Kenya and Somalia have requested international support for a naval blockade on the town.
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Crossbones
Two brothers enter the war-torn expanse of Somalia in search of answers.
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What is Somalia's Al Shabab?
The international community has more questions than answers about the Somali militant group Al Shabab, the target of Kenya's military incursion into Somalia. But they know how it affords food for its troops – and it's not from piracy.
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