Friday, August 12, 2011
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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Thursday, August 11, 2011
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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Wednesday, August 10, 2011
North Korea twice fired shells near the flashpoint Yellow Sea border with South Korea Wednesday, prompting warning shots from the South’s marines in response, Seoul’s military said.
The incidents fuelled already high tensions along the disputed sea border, which saw bloody naval skirmishes in recent years and a deadly shelling attack on South Korea’s Yeonpyeong island last November.
The first incident came at 1 pm (0400 GMT), when Seoul’s defence ministry said a North Korean shell landed near the border, known as the Northern Limit Line (NLL).
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Tuesday, August 9, 2011
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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