civilian

Drone strike in Lower Shabelle underscores the moral and strategic dilemmas of remote warfare A reported drone strike this week in Akunji village, in Somalia’s volatile Janaale district of Lower Shabelle, has reopened painful questions about who bears the cost of a campaign fought mostly from the air. Local accounts and media reports say civilians may have been killed; authorities have not confirmed responsibility. The fog that surrounds the incident is familiar in Somalia — and emblematic of a broader global debate over…

Gunfire in Beledweyne after road survey blocked; police officer, civilian wounded Somali police and an armed militia exchanged fire Wednesday in the riverside city of Beledweyne after engineers surveying a new paved road were turned back, residents said. A police officer and a civilian were wounded in the brief but intense clash, underscoring how infrastructure can become a frontline in Somalia’s fragile security landscape. What happened The confrontation erupted in Buundoweyn, a densely populated neighborhood on the…

Rising Tensions in Mogadishu: The Resonating Echo of Conflict Mogadishu, a city with a complex past, witnessed another chilling reminder of its ongoing struggles on Saturday. In the bustling Heliwa district, a landmine explosion tore through the Suqa Xoolaha neighborhood. The attack claimed the life of at least one civilian and left two government soldiers wounded, casting a grim shadow over the area. The Scene and Immediate Repercussions Situated near a strategic checkpoint, the explosion seemed to be a calculated strike…

Rescue teams have resumed their somber search for the deceased as Spain scrambles to provide assistance to its citizens devastated by catastrophic floods that have claimed over 200 lives. With each passing day, the hope of discovering survivors dwindles. More than three days have elapsed since torrential mud-laden waters engulfed towns and devastated infrastructure, marking this as Spain's deadliest natural disaster in decades. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced in a televised statement that an additional 10,000 troops…

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has expressed grave concerns about the plight of everyday Zimbabweans, who bear the brunt of economic sanctions levied against the nation. Although these sanctions target specific individuals, the ripple effects reach far wider, impacting the livelihoods of ordinary citizens. Mnangagwa argues that these punitive measures hinder efforts toward regional cooperation and stifle sustainable development initiatives. In a significant turn of events, U.S. President Joe Biden took steps to forge a new…

Israel has announced that it carried out strikes targeting the intelligence headquarters of Hezbollah in Lebanon, evaluating the aftermath of these assaults after a series of actions aimed at high-ranking members of the group. Iran's Supreme Leader condemned these operations, calling them counterproductive. The air raid on Beirut formed part of a broader offensive that has displaced over 1.2 million people within Lebanon. Reports indicate that the attack focused on a potential successor to the Hezbollah leader, who was…

First we take you to Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission has accused safety forces of finishing up abstract killings of Tigrayan males suspected of being concerned in a lethal assault within the Benishangul-Gumuz space. At least 53 individuals died…

US military releases report on civilian casualties in Somalia NAIROBI, Kenya - The US Africa Command on Friday released a report on civilian casualties in Somalia, which assesses the operations of troops who have assisted local forces, including through aerial surveillance in the fight against Al-Shabaab. The civilian casualty assessment was introduced in 2020 following complaints of deaths…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The US Africa Command has released the fifth civilian accident report on the Al-Shabaab war, which was presented for the first time in 2020, following complaints that the army sometimes targeted civilians in the raids on Al-Shabaab militants. The US military has been directly involved in the fight against the Somali-based militants who have wreaked havoc on innocent civilians, members of security forces and even senior government officials in the country. The latest report for the period ending…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Ethiopia's National Defense Forces serving in the Missionary Forces of the African Union in Somalia has been trained in civil protection, in which aims to reduce the number of accidents during operations. More often than not, there are massive civilian complaints when AMISOM troops carry out operations in Somalia, which often results in serious civilian casualties. AMISOM has rarely acknowledged such cases before. But on Friday, ENDF troops conducted training on respect for human rights, which is…