MOGADISHU: Dozens of fighters were killed in clashes on Monday in the southern tip of Somalia when Al-Shabab militants tried to overrun three army bases, officials and the insurgent group said.
A local security official said government forces repulsed the attacks and safely detonated four car bombs around 80 km (50 miles) southwest of the port city of Kismayo in Jubbaland state.
Videos posted by Jubbaland officials on social media showed at least 35 bodies in a mix of military fatigues near the village of Buulo-Xaaji.
“We thank the federal and Jubbaland forces who killed over 80 Al-Shabab fighters and took their weapons,” the government said in a statement on the state-owned Somalia National News Agency (SONNA).
The government and Al-Shabab often provide wildly differing accounts of the casualties on each side.
Farah Hussein, a military official, said five soldiers were killed.
“We got the information that Al-Shabab was coming, we deserted the three bases and then encircled their fighters, killing dozens of them. I counted 30 dead Al-Shabab and I could see even more bodies lying ahead of me,” Hussein told Reuters.
Al-Shabab said on an affiliated radio station that it had stormed the bases and killed dozens of soldiers.
The area near the Kenyan border, in the traditional heartland of Al-Shabab’s territory, was captured by government forces three months ago. The Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab has been fighting to impose a strict form of Islamic law throughout the country since 2007.
Scores killed in clashes between Somali forces and Al-Shabab
https://arab.news/rj5ke
Scores killed in clashes between Somali forces and Al-Shabab
- Al-Shabab militants tried to overrun three army bases, government forces repulsed the attacks and detonated four car bombs
- Videos posted by Jubbaland officials showed at least 35 bodies in a mix of military fatigues near the village of Buulo-Xaaji
The UN aid coordination agency cuts its funding appeal after Western support plunges
- The UN aid coordinator sought $47 billion for this year and aimed to help 190 million people worldwide. Because of the lower support, it and humanitarian partners reached 25 million fewer people this year than in 2024
GENEVA: The UN’s humanitarian aid coordination office is downsizing its appeal for annual funding in 2026 after support this year, mostly from Westerngovernments, plunged to the lowest level in a decade.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Monday it was seeking $33 billion to help some 135 million people cope with fallout from wars, climate disasters, earthquakes, epidemics and food shortages. This year, it took in $15 billion, the lowest level in a decade.
The office says next year it wants more than $4.1 billion to reach 3 million people in Palestinian areas, another $2.9 billion for Sudan — home to the world’s largest displacement crisis — and $2.8 billion for a regional plan around Syria.
“In 2025, hunger surged. Food budgets were slashed — even as famines hit parts of Sudan and Gaza. Health systems broke apart,” said OCHA chief Tom Fletcher. “Disease outbreaks spiked. Millions went without essential food, health care and protection. Programs to protect women and girls were slashed, hundreds of aid organizations shut.”
The UN aid coordinator sought $47 billion for this year and aimed to help 190 million people worldwide. Because of the lower support, it and humanitarian partners reached 25 million fewer people this year than in 2024.
The donor fatigue comes as many wealthy European countries face security threats from an increasingly assertive Russia on their eastern flank and have experienced lackluster economic growth in recent years, putting new strains on government budgets and the consumers who pay taxes to sustain them.
“I know budgets are tight right now. Families everywhere are under strain,” Fletcher said. “But the world spent $2.7 trillion on defense last year – on guns and arms. And I’m asking for just over 1 percent of that.”
The UN system this year has slashed thousands of jobs, notably at its migration and refugee agencies, and Secretary-General António Guterres’ office has launched a review of UN operations — which may or may not produce firm results.
Fletcher, who answers to Guterres, has called for “radical transformation” of aid by reducing bureaucracy, boosting efficiency and giving more power to local groups. Fletcher cited “very practical, constructive conversations” almost daily with the Trump administration.
“Do I want to shame the world into responding? Absolutely,” Fletcher said. “But I also want to channel this sense of determination and anger that we have as humanitarians, that we will carry on delivering with what we get.”
