عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Somalia Liberates More Villages from Al-Shabaab Militants

The army, with the help of peacekeeping missions and local forces, are fighting Al-Shabaab militants, who control larger swathes of Somali territory. (SONNA)
The army, with the help of peacekeeping missions and local forces, are fighting Al-Shabaab militants, who control larger swathes of Somali territory. (SONNA)
TT
TT

Somalia Liberates More Villages from Al-Shabaab Militants

The army, with the help of peacekeeping missions and local forces, are fighting Al-Shabaab militants, who control larger swathes of Somali territory. (SONNA)
The army, with the help of peacekeeping missions and local forces, are fighting Al-Shabaab militants, who control larger swathes of Somali territory. (SONNA)

Somalia on Sunday celebrated the victory of its army in liberating villages from the al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab terrorist group.

Galmudug regional state Vice President Ali Dahir congratulated the people for regaining control over several areas in the Mudug region.

Somalia has been plagued by years of insecurity with the main threats coming from the Al-Shabaab group.

The army, with the help of peacekeeping missions and local forces, are fighting Al-Shabaab militants, who control larger swathes of Somali territory.

Dahir said the armed forces have achieved “successive victories” in their war to “liberate the country from terrorism.”

The country’s official news agency, SONNA, said the army and the local forces captured Sargo and Qodqod areas in the Mudug region, killing 30 Al-Shabaab terrorists as part of their ongoing operation to liberate Somalia from the group.

The armed forces and the local forces have taken full control of Sargo and Qodqod in Mudug, it said.

A government statement lauded “the heroic role of local forces who stood alongside the national army to eliminate terrorism,” adding that it is determined to punish the terrorist conspirators who dare to harm the Somali people.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Aid Group: More than 10,000 Migrants Died this Year Trying to Reach Spain by Sea

FILE - Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)
FILE - Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)
TT
TT

Aid Group: More than 10,000 Migrants Died this Year Trying to Reach Spain by Sea

FILE - Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)
FILE - Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena, File)

More than 10,000 migrants died while trying to reach Spain by sea this year, a report released by a Spanish migration rights group said on Thursday.
On average, that means 30 migrants died every day this year attempting to reach the country by boat, Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) said. Overall deaths rose 58% compared to last year, the report added, according to The Associated Press.
Tens of thousands of migrants left West Africa in 2024 for the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago close to the African coast that has increasingly been used as a stepping stone to continental Europe.
Caminando Fronteras said most of the 10,457 deaths recorded up until Dec. 15. took place along that crossing, the so-called Atlantic route — considered one of the world's most dangerous.
The organization compiles its figures from families of migrants and official statistics of those rescued. It included 1,538 children and 421 women among the dead. April and May were the deadliest months, the report said.
Caminando Fronteras also noted a “sharp increase” in 2024 in boats leaving from Mauritania, which it said became the main departure point on the route to the Canary Islands.
In February, Spain pledged 210 million euros (around $218 million) in aid to Mauritania to help it crack down on human smugglers and prevent boats from taking off.
Spain’s interior ministry says more than 57, 700 migrants reached Spain by boat until Dec. 15 this year, a roughly 12% increase from the same period last year. The vast majority of them came through the Atlantic route.