AU troops attacked in Mogadishu, Islamists take over a police station

Shabelle: SOMALIA

MOGADISHU (Sh. M. Network)—At least one civilian has been killed after Insurgents exploded a convoy of AMISOM troops near Jalle Siad Academy, a base of Burundian troops in Mogadishu, witnesses said on Wednesday.

Residents said fighting erupted between the AU troops and the insurgents after the explosion attack. The civilian was killed when a mortar shell landed on a car that he was traveling in the area during the crossfire.

EU to disburse 72m-dollar humanitarian aid to Horn of Africa. Another 3m euros (4m dollars) has been allocated to address the needs of vulnerable people in Eritrea.

EU to disburse 72m-dollar humanitarian aid to Horn of Africa
The EastAfrican, Nairobi, 06-01-2009

The European Commission is providing 54m euro (72m dollars) humanitarian aid to vulnerable people in the Horn of Africa – Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya and Uganda. This is in the face of high population growth, natural calamities and man-made conflicts.

No Winner Seen in Somalia’s Battle With Chaos, By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

New York Times, June 2, 2009,  News Analysis

NAIROBI, Kenya — Somalia is once again a raging battle zone, with jihadists pouring in from overseas, preparing for a final push to topple the transitional government.

The government is begging for help, saying that more peacekeepers, more money and more guns could turn the tide against the Islamist radicals.

EPRDF’s idea for the Afar region, THE INDIAN OCEAN NEWSLETTER N°1261

..the Addis Ababa government is worried by the Afar attacks. The rebels have carried out three operations between 3 and 7 April: the destruction of an Ethiopian armed vehicle on the As’alé road, near a salt mine in the north of the Afar region; a small skirmish in the Terru district in the south; and an attack against Chinese workers building the Samara-Afdera road, not far from the Erta Ale volcano.

Muslims want tangible change on Mideast from Obama, Associated Press Online June 1, 2009 Monday

“There will be a lot of talk, but I seriously want to see something real coming out of this speech, something tangible,” Wasel said, expressing a view shared by an Eritrean social worker in Rome, a retired teacher in Baghdad and a Palestinian mayor in the West Bank.