Daily report from the Halgan Media editorial board detailing conflict related developments in Somalia within the past 24 hours as of 30/1/2020.
Confirmed reports reaching the Halgan Media service desk reveal a series of Al Shabaab attacks in the following provinces of Hiiraan, Jubada Dheexe, Shabellaha Hoose and the capital Mogadishu.
Mogadishu 30/1/2020
The capital Mogadishu was rocked by a series of explosions in the early morning hours. What at first seemed like a barrage of mortar rounds shelling the city, turned into unidentified explosive ordnance’s detonating after being attacked to various CCTV cameras installed throughout the capital.
Al Shabaab militants attached unidentified explosive ordances to several CCTV cameras on the busy Makka Al-Mukaramah road in Mogadishu, than detonated the devices causing the CCTV cameras to be obliterated. The militants claimed responsibility for the attack on a statement published on the pro militant website dubbed Somali Memo.
Its still not clear how the militants where able to access street lamps and attach explosive devices without being spotted. The CCTV cameras where installed in various junctions and busy streets in Mogadishu on the pretext to combat crime and terrorism.
In a separate incident militants claimed responsibility for an attack on a military outpost in the Ex Control junction at the outskirts of Mogadishu, killing one soldier. The Ex Control junction is also the same place where a Suicide bomber killed over 80 civilians and two Turkish nationals on the 28th of December of last year.
Jubada Dheexe 30/1/2020
US special forces launched a Night raid targeting the Al Shabaab controlled town of Jilib in the Jubada Dheexe (Middle Jubba) province. Confirmed reports reveal US troops descended from unmarked helicopters outside the town before approaching on foot.
The US special reportedly opened fire on a farmer as they where hunting for militants. A man in his mid 30’s identified as Abkoow Adaan Duure was gunned down by the US special forces. The Americans fled shortly after the botched raid in an unmarked helicopter.
US special forces and state department funded Bancroft mercenaries are notorious for carrying out Night raids in Somalia. They’ve been complicit in human rights violations, extrajudicial killings and even disappearances as a result of the US led war on terror being waged in the country.
Shabellaha Hoose 30/1/2020
A government official reportedly survived an assassination attempt in Shabellaha Hoose province also known as the Lower Shabelle province. Al Shabaab militants claimed responsibility for the ambush that nearly took the life of a Mayor for the city of Qoryooleey.
The incident occurred in the town of Buufoow, situated outside the coastal city of Marka. The militant group Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the ambush claiming to have killed two body guards of the mayor.
The militants went further by stating the mayor sheltered in a nearby military base housing foreign troops from Uganda under the AMISOM mandate. Local authorities are yet to address or debunk this claim. Yet what’s most surprising is why the mayor of Qoryooleey traveling nearly 80 kilometers away near the coastal city of Marka.
The vast majority of territory in Southern and Central Somalia is controlled by the Al Qaeda affiliated militant group Al Shabaab. Therefore traveling by road as a government official is a death defining stunt that only few live to tell about and in this case, the mayor was very lucky to be one of those few.
Hiiraan province 30/1/2020
Al Shabaab fighters fired a series of mortar shells targeting a Military base hosting foreign troops from Djibouti under the AMISOM mandate. In the early morning hours of January 30th, the Militants unleashed a heavy barrage of mortar rounds hitting an AMISOM base in the town of Jalaqsi in Hiiraan province.
The casualties from the shelling remains unknown. The militant group Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack shortly afterwards on a statement published on the pro militant website dubbed Somali Memo.
The Western backed AMISOM coalition is yet to respond to this latest attack. Authorities in Djibouti are silent on the incident as well. Around 2,500 troops from Djibouti are currently deployed in Somalia, with the bulk of those troops deployed in Hiiraan province.
