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Somalia has accused Ethiopia of supplying weapons to its northeastern Puntland region amid growing tensions between the Horn of Africa neighbours.
There is a history of stormy relations between Ethiopia and Somalia. Tensions increased on January 1 when Addis Ababa signed a deal with another northern region of Somalia — the breakaway territory of Somaliland — which remains an unrecognized entity in the Horn of Africa.
Early Sunday morning, the militant group Al-Shabaab launched an assault on a military base in Jana Abdalle, a village approximately 60 kilometers north of Kismayo, the capital of Somalia’s Lower Juba region. The attack was met with fierce resistance from Jubaland regional forces, resulting in a significant engagement that saw casualties on both sides.
According to reports from the scene, the clash began when Al-Shabaab militants attempted to overrun the base, a strategic location that serves as a crucial link between several cities in the region. The Jubaland state security forces, however, were quick to respond, engaging the attackers in what local sources described as heavy fighting.
Members of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) have reportedly taken over airports in western parts of Somalia, a move that could trigger diplomatic fallout and possible war within the Horn of Africa region.
For eight months, Somalia and Ethiopia have been at loggerheads after the latter signed an agreement with Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia, which gives it access to 20 kilometers of the Red Sea in exchange for recognition as a sovereign state.
Mali’s Tuareg rebels said they had killed and injured dozens of Junta soldiers and Wagner mercenaries in two days of fighting near the Algerian border in the North of the country.
Footage was released on Telegram depicting dozens of dead pale-skinned soldiers in full tactical gear, surrounded by a desert landscape.
Sudan’s army reported on Friday that it killed Ali Yagoub Gibril, a senior commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who was sanctioned by the United States.
The incident occurred during a battle in the besieged city of Al-Fashir in north Darfur.