MOGADISHU: Two joint Somali-US airstrikes killed 12 Al-Shabab militants in central Somalia and destroyed a ship carrying weapons for the Al-Qaeda-linked group, the Somali government said on Thursday, following recent advances by the Islamists.
The airstrikes came hours after the Islamists attacked the strategic town of Adan Yabal, which lies about 245 km (150 miles) north of the capital, Mogadishu, and has been used as an operating base for raids on Al-Shabab.
Al Shabab has been waging an insurgency since 2007, seeking to seize power and rule based on its own strict interpretation of Islamic law, and it has been gaining ground since last month.
Several senior Al-Shabab fighters were among those killed in an airstrike carried out by Somali forces and the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) in the Adan Yabal district late on Wednesday, Somalia’s government said.
“The targeted strike hit a site used by the militants as a gathering and hideout,” the Ministry of Information said in a statement on the social media platform X, adding that no civilians had been killed in the strike.
A further airstrike was conducted by the government and AFRICOM on an unidentified and unflagged ship and smaller support vessels that were transporting weapons for Al-Shabab within Somali waters, the ministry said.
The vessels were destroyed their occupants were killed, it added.
In a separate incident on Thursday near the southwestern city of Baidoa, the national army killed at least 35 Al-Shabab fighters as they tried to attack a military base there, the ministry said.
Al Shabab briefly captured villages within 50 km (30 miles) of Mogadishu last month, raising fears among residents of the capital that the city could be targeted.
Somali forces have recaptured the villages briefly seized last month, but Al-Shabab has continued to advance in the countryside, leading the government to deploy police and prison guards to support the military, soldiers have told Reuters.
The outcome of the heavy fighting that broke out on Wednesday in Adan Yabal was not immediately clear, with government forces and Al-Shabab giving conflicting accounts of who was in control of the town.
Al Shabab said its forces had overrun 10 military installations during the fighting.
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US-Somali airstrikes kill Al-Shabab militants, hit weapons ship, government says
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US-Somali airstrikes kill Al-Shabab militants, hit weapons ship, government says
- Somali government, US Africa Command carry out airstrikes
- Somali troops kill Al-Shabab fighters attempting to attack base
Greece seeks to toughen punishment for migrant smuggling
ATHENS: Greece’s migration ministry on Saturday said it had submitted a new bill to parliament aimed at toughening penalties for migrant trafficking, including life sentences.
Greece was the main entry point into Europe for Syrian refugees at the height of Europe’s migration crisis in 2015.
There are several legal proceedings underway against aid workers and migrants accused of being people smugglers.
“Penalties for the illegal trafficking of migrants will be toughened at all levels,” the ministry said in a statement.
Sentences of up to life imprisonment are envisaged for smugglers, and migrants convicted of offenses may be directly expelled, it said.
Assistance provided to irregular migrants by migrants with regular status will also be criminalized, according to the proposals.
Migration Minister Thanos Plevris is a former member of a far-right party.
Penalties against NGO members prosecuted for migrant trafficking are also to be beefed up with prison sentences, the ministry said, adding that parliament will examine the bill next week.
In a joint statement, 56 NGOs, including the Greek branches of Doctors of the World and Doctors Without Borders, called for the immediate withdrawal of several articles that reclassify certain offenses as crimes, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and fines of tens of thousands of euros when a member of an organization is prosecuted.
They also decry the exorbitant power granted to the ministry, which can decide to remove an organization from the registry and end its work solely on the basis of charges brought against one of its members, without a conviction.
On January 15, 24 aid workers, including Sarah Mardini, a Syrian who, together with her Olympic swimmer sister inspired the 2022 film “The Swimmers,” were acquitted by a court on the island of Lesbos.
Charged with “forming a criminal organization” and “illegally facilitating the entry into Greece of foreign nationals from third countries,” they had faced up to 20 years in prison.
With this new law, the migration ministry aims to promote legal migration by easing hiring procedures for workers from third countries, creating a new visa for employees of high-tech companies, and issuing residence permits to students from third-world countries for the duration of their studies.
For asylum seekers and refugees, vocational training programs in sectors facing labor shortages, such as construction, agriculture, and tourism, are being introduced to support their entry into the job market.
Greece was the main entry point into Europe for Syrian refugees at the height of Europe’s migration crisis in 2015.
There are several legal proceedings underway against aid workers and migrants accused of being people smugglers.
“Penalties for the illegal trafficking of migrants will be toughened at all levels,” the ministry said in a statement.
Sentences of up to life imprisonment are envisaged for smugglers, and migrants convicted of offenses may be directly expelled, it said.
Assistance provided to irregular migrants by migrants with regular status will also be criminalized, according to the proposals.
Migration Minister Thanos Plevris is a former member of a far-right party.
Penalties against NGO members prosecuted for migrant trafficking are also to be beefed up with prison sentences, the ministry said, adding that parliament will examine the bill next week.
In a joint statement, 56 NGOs, including the Greek branches of Doctors of the World and Doctors Without Borders, called for the immediate withdrawal of several articles that reclassify certain offenses as crimes, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and fines of tens of thousands of euros when a member of an organization is prosecuted.
They also decry the exorbitant power granted to the ministry, which can decide to remove an organization from the registry and end its work solely on the basis of charges brought against one of its members, without a conviction.
On January 15, 24 aid workers, including Sarah Mardini, a Syrian who, together with her Olympic swimmer sister inspired the 2022 film “The Swimmers,” were acquitted by a court on the island of Lesbos.
Charged with “forming a criminal organization” and “illegally facilitating the entry into Greece of foreign nationals from third countries,” they had faced up to 20 years in prison.
With this new law, the migration ministry aims to promote legal migration by easing hiring procedures for workers from third countries, creating a new visa for employees of high-tech companies, and issuing residence permits to students from third-world countries for the duration of their studies.
For asylum seekers and refugees, vocational training programs in sectors facing labor shortages, such as construction, agriculture, and tourism, are being introduced to support their entry into the job market.
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