Somali Religion News

Secret talks have began between Somalia's interim government and a group of Islamist hardliners, with independent sources saying Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys is now part of the ongoing process, Radio Garowe reports.

Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, Somalia's new president, was the co-leader of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) with Sheikh Aweys when the group rose to power in south-central Somalia in mid-2006.

Al-Shabaab Islamist insurgents have taken control of Baidoa, the seat of the transitional parliament, witnesses said on Monday.

The seizure comes after the Ethiopian troops vacated the town early on Monday.

Somalia: The UNDP has pulled out its staff from Baidoa town, the HQ of Bay Region on reasons related to security Bay regional administration has commented on the matter.

Somalia: Three referees, two from Somalia and one from Burundi have been sent home from the East and Central Africa Club Championships after failing their physical tests. Confirming this in Dar es Salaam yesterday,

Nairobi (Kenya): Médecins Sans Frontières Switzerland (MSF-Swiss) has withdrawn from Fiiq, Somali region, saying repeated administrative hurdles and intimidation had prevented it from providing medical care to vulnerable populations.

Somalia: Despite 17 years of war and anarchy that caused death and injury of thousands of people and the mass displacement of hundreds of thousands of others inside and outside the war-torn horn of African country, Somalia has been a "haven" for hundreds of foreign refugees from other African countries, particularly the Tanzanian island of Pemba, for the past eight years.

Nairobi: The Kenyan government has called on the international community to stabilize neighboring Somalia which it said is the source of illicit weapons threatening the stability of the entire region.