Somalia: not piracy catch all thread

[davidbfpo]

The BBC adds:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15401898

Note the BBC does not currently have a reporter in country, nor was the LA Times report based on a reporter in country.

I did note Al-Shabab - in the LA Times report - had taken the bodies:

..to a Shabab-controlled area about 10 miles outside Mogadishu.

[TDB]

Second grenade attack in Nairobi in as many days, Al Shabab sticking to their word it would seem. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...79N5W220111024

[davidbfpo]

I know the taking of European hostages got attention here for a short time and last week's Kenyan military incursion too. The linked article gives IMHO a wider viewpoint - mainly affecting Kenya - and helps to understand what is going on. It starts with:

..A fractious mix of violence and politics is unsettling the relationship between east African neighbours and putting more pressure on Somalis living in Kenya. The Somali militia group known as al-Shabaab is often viewed as the source of the problem. But the roots of the turmoil go deep in Kenya's own history..

Link:http://www.opendemocracy.net/daniel-...ape-of-tension

[carl]

The Kenyans say they are going to take Kismayo, and hold it.

http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Ke...malia-20111020

Information Dissemination says too that the Kenyans are being supported by an air force of a Western power.

If the Kenyans are serious about holding Kismayo, this could get pretty big, at least regionally.

[davidbfpo]

A very odd report:

Royal Marines have staged a daring raid in Somalia to seize a tribal leader, it was reported last night...to seize the influential clan chief. He was taken off for talks with MI6 and Foreign Offfice officials aboard a Royal Navy support ship ancored off the coast, centring on issues such as terrror training camps and the seizing of hostages....The raid in July..

Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...n-Somalia.html

Left unsaid is whether the tribal leader is still in 'talks'?

[davidbfpo]

I know Kenya has had a close relationship with Israel, which was very clear after the Entebbe Raid and when a few years ago a SAM was fired at an Israeli charter flight, full of tourists from an Indian Ocean resort.

Now there's this single strand reporting, which is almost a gift to Al-Shabab:

Kenya's prime minister is seeking Israel's support in stopping reprisal terror attacks by an al-Qaida-linked militant group Kenyan troops are pursuing in Somalia.... for assistance in building the capacity of the Kenyan police to deal with attacks by al-Shabab militants....but al-Shabab could view Kenya's request as a provocation.

Link:http://abcnews.go.com/International/...1#.TsF-4D0Uqsp

[davidbfpo]

Aidan Hartley, a Kenyan farmer - near the Somali badlands - and journalist has written a short article on the terrain facing the Kenyan Army incursion, plus supporters:http://www.spectator.co.uk/columnist...ild-life.thtml

He opens with:

I am proud of Kenya for taking on Muslim extremists in southern Somalia. Rather wisely, the Kenyan military has so far prevented hacks from reaching the field. But for anybody in the outside world who cares, this is not a new battle. Operations against Somalis of varying types of fanaticism have been mounted since the 1960s.