Somalia – 16 Jan 2015

Al-Shabaab Commander Surrenders in Luq
Al-Shabaab commander Sheikh Osman Sheikh Mohamed on Wednesday (January 14th) surrendered to Somali security forces in Luq, Gedo region, Somalia’s Halgan reported.
Luq police chief Siyad Abdikadir Mohamed said the man in question was the commander of al-Shabaab fighters in Bay region’s Dinsor district and had surrendered with his AK-47.
The police chief welcomed Mohamed’s surrender and called on other fighters to defect.
Dozens of al-Shabaab members, including former al-Shabaab intelligence chief Zakariya Ismail Ahmed Hersi, have surrendered to the Somali government, which previously offered amnesty to fighters who lay down their arms and defect to the government.
AllAfrica.com

MP Wants Security On Somalia Rim
THE government should beef up security on the Kenya-Somali border to deter any attempts by al Shabaab militias to invade Kenya, Lamu East MP Sharriff Athman has said.
He supported the extension of the curfew in some parts of Lamu, saying the government is keen on ensuring the region becomes safer.
Speaking to the Star on Wednesday in Mombasa town, Athman said the government should not relent in the fight against insecurity in Lamu.
“We support the curfew because it is part of the government process to ensure Lamu becomes safe again,” he said.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery on January 2 extended the dusk-to-dawn curfew by one month to January 25.
The curfew that was imposed five months ago was only lifted from the Lamu Island.
Nkaissery said the ban will only be applied to the mainland, which was worst hit during the Mpeketoni raid in which more than 90 people were killed.
Athman said: “We are glad the curfew has brought peace in Lamu. We need more security because we are on the border point to Somali.”
The Star

Blast hits troop convoy in Somalia’s Kismayu
A remote-controlled bomb hit a vehicle in a troop convoy in the southern Somali port city of Kismayu, killing at least three soldiers, police and residents said on Sunday.
Militant group al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, which hit the convoy as it drove through Gulwade village in Kismayu late on Saturday.
“The bomb was targeted at our convoy. Three soldiers were killed,” said Ismail Hussein, a police officer in the city.
Al Shabaab has been weakened considerably by African Union troops and the Somali army, losing swathes of territory in the south of the country, but it has been carrying hit-and-run style attacks to show it has not been vanquished.
Reuters