Somalia Says it Welcomes Egypt's Offer to Deploy Peacekeepers There

A Somali police officers stands guard during a march against the Ethiopia-Somaliland port deal along KM4 street in Mogadishu, Somalia, Jan. 11, 2024. (Reuters)
A Somali police officers stands guard during a march against the Ethiopia-Somaliland port deal along KM4 street in Mogadishu, Somalia, Jan. 11, 2024. (Reuters)
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Somalia Says it Welcomes Egypt's Offer to Deploy Peacekeepers There

A Somali police officers stands guard during a march against the Ethiopia-Somaliland port deal along KM4 street in Mogadishu, Somalia, Jan. 11, 2024. (Reuters)
A Somali police officers stands guard during a march against the Ethiopia-Somaliland port deal along KM4 street in Mogadishu, Somalia, Jan. 11, 2024. (Reuters)

Somalia says Egypt has offered to deploy peacekeeping troops to the Horn of Africa nation in a security partnership that is emerging as the mandate of a long-time group of African Union peacekeepers winds down.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi on Thursday attended a summit in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, where he and the leaders of Somalia and Eritrea pledged strong cooperation in regional security, The Associated Press said.
Somali authorities said in a statement at the end of the summit that they welcomed Egypt's offer to deploy troops in Somalia as part of a stabilization force when the present African Union force disbands in December.
The statement said the leaders welcomed the African Union Peace and Security Council’s decision to launch the African Union Mission to Support Stabilization in Somalia, or AUSSOM, under whose mandate the Egyptians or others would be deployed.
A separate statement following the summit signed by representatives of Somalia, Egypt and Eritrea asserted Somalia’s sovereign right to determine the composition, tasks and deployment timeline for the AUSSOM troops.
Somalia’s federal government has been supported by an African Union peacekeeping mission since 2007 in fighting the extremist group al-Shabab, which has ties with al-Qaida and is responsible for deadly attacks in the country.
The summit in Asmara followed a period of tensions in the region stemming from disputes pitting Ethiopia against others.
The first dispute — between Ethiopia and Egypt — is over Ethiopia’s construction of a $4 billion dam on the Blue Nile, a key tributary of the Nile River. Egypt fears it will have a devastating effect on water and irrigation supplies downstream in Egypt unless Ethiopia takes its needs into account. Ethiopia plans to use the dam to generate badly needed electricity.
The second dispute — between Ethiopia and Somalia — is over Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland.
Somalia has sought to block landlocked Ethiopia’s ongoing efforts to gain access to the Red Sea via a contentious agreement with Somaliland to lease a stretch of land along its coastline, where Ethiopia would establish a marine force base. In return, Ethiopia would recognize Somaliland as an independent country, according to Somaliland authorities.
Somaliland seceded from Somalia more than 30 years ago but is not recognized by the African Union or the United Nations as an independent state. Somalia still considers Somaliland part of its territory.



3 Young Children Killed in Israeli Strike in Northern Gaza, Palestinian Medics Say

Palestinians inspect the damage following Israeli shelling at a camp housing internally displaced people in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, 13 November 2024. (EPA)
Palestinians inspect the damage following Israeli shelling at a camp housing internally displaced people in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, 13 November 2024. (EPA)
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3 Young Children Killed in Israeli Strike in Northern Gaza, Palestinian Medics Say

Palestinians inspect the damage following Israeli shelling at a camp housing internally displaced people in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, 13 November 2024. (EPA)
Palestinians inspect the damage following Israeli shelling at a camp housing internally displaced people in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, 13 November 2024. (EPA)

Palestinian medics say an Israeli strike on a home in northern Gaza killed three siblings aged 6 and under.

They were among at least six people killed in Israeli strikes on Tuesday in the war-ravaged territory, where Israel has been at war with Hamas for more than 13 months.

The Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency service says the three children were killed in a strike on a home near a clinic in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp, where Israel has been waging an offensive for over a month.

In the central city of Deir al-Balah, a strike hit a tent in the western side of the city, killing at least two people, including a 15-year-old boy, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said.

Another strike on a tent in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp killed a man, the hospital said. An Associated Press journalist counted the three bodies at the hospital.

Israel says it only targets fighters and tries to avoid harming civilians. It accuses Hamas fighters of hiding among civilians in homes and shelters.

The military rarely comments on individual strikes, which often kill women and children.

The war began when Hamas-led gunmen stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking another 250 people hostage. Around 100 captives are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 43,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. They do not distinguish between combatants and civilians in their count but say women and children make up more than half of those killed.