US, Somalia forces raid Al-Shabaab, kill several
United States and Somali military forces raided a rebel-held village in southern Somalia and killed several Al-Shabaab fighters early Thursday, a senior Somali intelligence official said, as both countries step up efforts against Africa’s deadliest Islamic extremist group.
Somali commandos accompanied by US forces in two helicopters raided two locations, the official said. They included a detention center run by Al-Shabaab in Kunya-Barrow village in Lower Shabelle region, and an unknown number of detainees were freed.
Troops engaged a small number of extremist fighters, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
US Africa Command spokesman Mark Cheadle said US forces conducted an “advise and assist mission” against Al-Shabaab with members of the Somali National Army in Kunya-Barrow.
There were no US casualties, AFRICOM spokeswoman Jennifer Dyrcz said.
The Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab said via its Andalus radio arm that its fighters foiled an attempted raid by US and African forces. (AP)
China to open first overseas military base in Djibouti
Ships carrying personnel for China’s first overseas military base have set sail to begin setting up the facility in Djibouti, as the country’s rapidly modernizing military extends its global reach.
The warships departed from Zhanjiang in southern China to set up a “support base” in the Horn of Africa nation, state media reported late on Tuesday.
China’s agreement with Djibouti ensures its military presence in the country up until 2026, with a contingent of up to 10,000 soldiers, according to international current affairs magazine The Diplomat.
Djibouti’s position on the northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean has fuelled worry in India that it would become another of China’s “string of pearls” of military alliances and assets ringing India, including Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
China began construction of a base in Djibouti last year. It will be used to resupply navy ships taking part in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions off the coasts of Yemen and Somalia, in particular. (Al Jazeera)
Thousands flee as army marches on South Sudan rebel stronghold
A South Sudanese army offensive on a rebel stronghold has forced about 5,000 civilians to seek shelter in neighboring Ethiopia, adding to the world’s fastest-growing refugee crisis, a United Nations official said.
The people have fled their homes since about July 2 as troops advance toward Pagak town in the country’s northeastern Upper Nile region, David Shearer, head of the UN mission in South Sudan, told reporters Wednesday in the capital, Juba. He reported heavy fighting north of Pagak in the past week and said the offensive “is not in the spirit” of a unilateral cease-fire declared by the government in May.
The civil war that began in the world’s newest nation in December 2013 has claimed tens of thousands of lives and uprooted more than 3.5 million people, many of them to neighboring Uganda, Ethiopia and Sudan.
Deputy army spokesman Santo Domic said by phone he had no information and is looking into the reports. (Bloomberg)
Turkey’s leading firm begins canbebe diapers production in Ethiopia
Ontex, Turkey’s leading international producer of personal hygiene solutions for babies, women and adults, has begun producing canbebe diapers at Hawassa Industrial Park in Ethiopia.
The plant commenced production with 6o percent of its capacity and will soon start with its full capacity, it was noted.
Speaking at an event organized to celebrate the plant’s commencement of production, Arkebe Oqubay (PhD), Board Chairperson of the Industrial Parks Development Corporation, said Ontex would contribute a lot for Ethiopia’s ongoing economic growth.
According to him, the company would produce diapers worth 400 million Euros by 2020. The company would supply 60 percent of its product to foreign markets, mainly to Kenya, while the remaining 40 percent will be sold at local markets.
Cherles Aziz, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ontex, thanked the government of Ethiopia for creating fertile ground for his company to come to Ethiopia and build the first of its kind diapers plant in the African soil. (FBC)
