Somaliland’s minister of Defence, Ahmad Haji Ali Adami, today released a statement saying that the Somaliland Armed Forces will not and cannot accept the encroachment of sovereignty and criminal behaviour of the Puntland backed militia that yesterday kidnapped and killed members of a Somaliland delegation headed by Salaban Yusuf Ali Koore parliament member, on route to the Somaliland province of Sool.

He was quoted as saying, “We are waiting for the response from the administration of Puntland, based in Gerowe, on how they will respond to the killing and kidnapping of our government officials that were headed to their home villages of Taleeh on government work”.

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Fierce fighting between the self-declared republic of Somaliland and the semi-autonomous state of Puntland on Wednesday took place in Taleh area in Sool region of northern Somalia, officials said.

The fighting has broken out as Puntland forces ambushed a Somaliland delegation in Taleh area which is close to Garowe, the capital of Puntland.

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The town of el Arish in Egypt sits on the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean, its fine beaches lined by palm-trees. Developers have built luxury resorts close to this town of about 100,000 people.

But in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, el Arish is becoming known for something far different from tourism. A well-armed jihadist group is making its presence felt on the dusty streets here, intimidating opponents and demanding Egypt becomes an Islamist state.

On a scorching hot day late in July, several dozen people were demonstrating outside the al Nasr mosque in el Arish after Friday prayers. They were Salafists - conservative Islamists who want Egypt governed according to Islamic law. But not conservative enough for members of the Takfir-wal Hijra - a group sympathetic to al Qaeda’s goal of establishing an Islamic Caliphate.

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The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in South Kordofan and two factions from the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) in Darfur sealed an alliance with the publicized goal of overthrowing the government of President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir and establishing a secular state in the country.

The Darfur Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) however distanced itself from the accord over the issue of the secular state and insisted instead that the focus should be the creation of a citizenship rights state.

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Deadly fighting between Somali government forces and al-Shabaab fighters took place in parts of Gedo region in southern Somalia, reports said on Monday

The battle flared up after heavily armed al-Shabaab combatants launched attacks on Somali soldiers who have bases in Luq district where the two sides pounded heavy and light weapons each others.

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Libyan rebels say they have gained control of the strategic southwestern town of Bir al-Ghanam, following fierce clashes with pro-government forces.

Opposition fighters said Saturday that they had managed to push back forces loyal to leader Moammar Gadhafi following a battle that left at least four rebel fighters dead.

There was no immediate word from the Libyan government concerning the town’s status.

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Somalia’s Islamist opposition fighters Al-Shabaab on Friday night withdrew its militants from the restive capital Mogadishu following intense artillery shelling from forces of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG) backed by the African Union peace keeping mission to Somalia (AMISOM)

Al-Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage told Radio Andulus “the voice of the islamists” that their militants are out of Mogadishu as part of their own military strategy.

“The reason why we moved our forces out is to change our military and battle tactics. We have also moved out in a bid to safe the lives of troubled residents” Rage told Radio Andulus.

“But in the next few hours we will conduct a wave of military battles to wipe out AMISOM and TFG forces”.

The News:
http://www.hiiraan.c … ut_of_mogadishu.aspx