Topic: Al-Shabaab

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Briefing
Top 3 reasons why Al Qaeda is more dangerous than ever

On the one-year anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death, defense analysts say that there are plenty of reasons to think that a resurgence of the perniciously resourceful Al Qaeda is not out of the question.
Somalia: A timeline of change in a troubled country

Here is a timeline of changes, intervention, and mediation in 5 bite-sized bits.
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.
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?
In Pictures: Eid al-Fitr around the world

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Somalia: East African bloc calls for a UN blockade and no-fly zone

The group wants to prevent Islamist militias from getting arms. Meanwhile, Ethiopia's apparent renewed involvement in support of the government carries risks.
Terrorism & Security
Somali government launches new offensive

The latest battle comes as government forces try to regain territory that militants seized last week.
Is Somalia in Ethiopian Army's crosshairs again?

Somalis near the border with Ethiopia say that country's troops have crossed over, raising speculation of another battle with the militant Islamists closing in on Somalia's government.
Islamist offensive ruins the West's plan for Somalia

Militant Islamists have the moderate government surrounded in Mogadishu. If they took over, it would be a devastating blow to US counter-terrorism and anti-piracy efforts in East Africa.
Somali government encircled by hardline Islamists

After five days of assault by better-armed Al Shabab militiamen, pro-government fighters have apparently begun to retreat.
Editor's Blog
Today's news agenda: the pope, Uighurs, Somalia, and young entrepreneurs
Terrorism & Security
Somalia's Al Shabab militants gain ground

Calm returned Monday after four days of heavy fighting in Mogadishu between the extremist group, Al Shabab, and pro-government militias.
Somali insurgency driving thousands of refugees to Kenya

Islamist militias' clashes with Somalia's government has forced more than 25,000 to flee.
Terrorism & Security
Leading opposition figure returns to Somalia

Sheikh Hassan Aweys, whom the US accuses of having ties to Al Qaeda, says he wants to unite warring Islamic factions.
Will pirates join forces with Islamist militias in Somalia?

Escalation of violence could lead pirate gangs to join radical militants, including those with ties to Al Qaeda, say analysts.
World
World
World
Kenyan school offers Somali refugees a modern – and moderate – education

Fathu Rahman Primary School is a rare source of moderate Islamic values in a community riven by war.
Moderate Islamists take on hard-liners in battle for Somalia

Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, a moderate, was elected president last week by Somalia's transitional parliament. But hard-line militant Islamists are fighting to take over the country.
Even in exile, Somali journalists face death

Since 2007, at least 13 journalists have been killed while working on stories and more than 50 have been forced to leave the country, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists and the National Union of Somali Journalists.
Global News Blog
We're baaaaack: Islamists take over in Somalia
Piracy raises pressure for new international tack on Somalia

The world is not willing to allow this strategic nation to remain ungoverned. Can a coordinated effort create a stable government?
World
Pursuit of Somali pirates to get hotter

UN allows antipiracy forces to chase them onto land, attack them by air. But Security Council seems unprepared to address the instability that makes Somalia a 'failed state.'
Terrorism & Security
Ethiopian troops launch major offensives against Islamist insurgents in Somalia

The action raises questions about whether troops will withdraw, as planned, by the end of the year.
Who are Somalia's pirates?

A Monitor Q&A reveals who's behind the modern-day pirates, how they got so good at taking ships, and what's being done to stop them.
Terrorism & Security
Pirates, warships continue tense standoff near Somali coast

The US and Russia fear that on-board weapons could reach Al Qaeda
Stolen tanks add urgency to piracy fight

U.S. warships surrounded the hijacked MV Faina and its military cargo off Somalia's coast Monday.
Pirates help fund Somali warlords

Gunmen hijacked four ship within 48 hours last week. Cash retrieved from ransoms is paying for weapons and salaries of fighters on both sides of Somalia's conflict.