Topic: Kismayo

Somalia famine has ended, but many still hungry

Good rains and reduced conflict have helped aid groups reach hundreds of thousands of displaced people in Somalia who rely on their aid. The hunger crisis remains a delicate situation, though.

American jihadi in Somalia writes an autobiography

Omar Hammami, an American jihadist from Alabama, wrote a 127-page book about his experience fighting on the front lines with Somalia's Al Qaeda affiliate, Al Shabab.

Somalia: A timeline of change in a troubled country

Here is a timeline of changes, intervention, and mediation in 5 bite-sized bits.

Somalia: For once, some optimism

The UN beefs up an African Union-led peacekeeper mission and Ethiopian troops take the town of Baidoa, as delegates at a London conference contemplate the future of Somalia.

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.

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.

Somalia's Al Shabab Islamists are on the run

But the Somali officials, backed by international forces, are too busy fighting among themselves to govern.

Seychelles becomes site of another US drone crash

Seychelles became the latest foreign country to see a US drone crash. The US Embassy says the drone was unarmed.

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.

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.

Just who knew that Kenya would launch its attack on Somalia?

Somalia's president has condemned Kenya's surprise 10-day-long attack onto Somali soil. Uganda has praised it, and the US and French governments claim no involvement.

US warns of 'imminent' terror threat in Kenya as Al Shabab promises 'open war'

The US embassy in Nairobi said Saturday that it had received 'credible information of an imminent threat of terrorist attacks directed at prominent Kenyan facilities and areas where foreigners are known to congregate.....'

Second tourist kidnapping raises alarms on Kenya coast (video)

A second tourist kidnapping near Lamu, on the Kenya coast, raises concern that Somali criminal groups, pirates, or Islamists may have found a new soft target. Retired French journalist Marie Dedieu was seized Saturday.

Good Reads: Sept. 11 and Somalia famine pieces that rise above

The New Yorker's Sept. 11 coverage is a keeper, while the Globe and Mail's reporting from a Somalia famine victims' camp introduces you to one family's tragic trek toward safety. The Monitor explains how the US allegedly sent Libyan Al Qaeda suspects back to Tripoli, knowing they'd be tortured.

African Union lays siege to Al Shabab-controlled market in Somalia's capital

African Union troops aim to deny the militant Islamist group Al Shabab funds it receives from taxing shopkeepers and traders. An apparent surge of AU peacekeepers is challenging Al Shabab's tacit control of Somalia.

Kenya: Iraq, Afghan, Pakistan fighters in Somalia

Veteran insurgents from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan have relocated to the chaotic country of Somalia in large enough numbers to spark worry inside the international community.

Somalia's Al Shabab recruits 'holy warriors' with $400 bonus

The Al Qaeda-linked militant group, Al Shabab, is recruiting new 'holy warriors' in Somalia with cash bonuses. One former fighter says its more about the money than Islamic militant ideology.

Inside Al Shabab: How the Somalia militant group rules through fear

As the Somalia government fends off militant group Al Shabab, the Al Qaeda-linked insurgency shows its power through intimidation of a whistle-blower.

How Kenya's 'Little Mogadishu' became a hub for Somali militants

The Somali enclave of Eastleigh in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, is now a recruiting and financial center for hardline Islamists fighting in neighboring Somalia.

How one youth was drawn to jihad in Somalia

Like the Somali-American from Minnesota who was killed this weekend, Tawakal Ahmed was recruited through mosques in Kenya to fight for Islamic militants in Mogadishu.

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.

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.

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