Somalia

By Stefan J. Bos and Joseph DeCaro, BosNewsLife Correspondents MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (BosNewsLife)–- Hungry minority Christians in Somalia faced another struggle Sunday, September 18, after suspected Islamic militants beheaded a Christian convert and foreign aid workers were banned from reaching a dying population.

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Triumphs amid trials marked BosNewsLife's November 4-November 10 newsweek with a Pakistani evangelist managing to distribute Bibles in areas hit by reported Islamic violence, the Middle East's largest Christian community embracing a new leader, while in Africa Christians died in attacks.

By BosNewsLife Africa Service MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (BosNewsLife)-- Minority Christians in Somalia face new challenges after suspected Islamic militants managed to enter the capital Mogadishu where they murdered a young woman for openly professing her faith in Jesus Christ, BosNewsLife learned. Sufia was at home with her parents when armed men, who were believed to belong to the al-Shabab group, burst into her home, Christians said.

By BosNewsLife Africa Service MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (BosNewsLife)-- Christians in Somalia faced more difficulties Sunday, January 31, as a militant Islamist group associated with al-Qaida attacked areas controlled by government troops and peacekeepers leaving at least 19 dead and scores injured.

By BosNewsLife Africa Service MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (BosNewsLife)-- Muslim militants have beheaded two young boys in Somalia because their Christian father refused to hand over information about a church leader, a Christian news agency reported Wednesday, July 1.

By BosNewsLife Africa Service MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (BosNewsLife)-- Christians in Somalia faced a tense day Tuesday, July 21, after Al Shabaab Islamist rebels shot and killed Mohammed Sheikh Abdiraman because he converted from Islam to Christianity, witnesses said.

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (BosNewsLife)-- Somali gunmen who kidnapped two Italian nuns during a raid on a Kenyan border town have taken them across the border deeper into Somalia, government officials said Tuesday, November 11.The abducted nuns' missionary group, the Movimento Contemplativo Missionario Padre de Foucauld, named them as Caterina Giraudo, 67, and Maria Teresa Olivero, 60. Witnesses said the armed men seized the women from their homes Monday, November 10, in the town of El Wak. They claimed kidnappers stole at least two vehicles.Italy's Foreign Ministry said Italian envoys in Kenya and the Vatican representative were working with local authorities to secure the nuns' freedom.RESCUE EFFORTS Somali officials said they were working around the clock to find the nuns. "We've been searching for the nuns and the bandits since last night and there's no trace of them," Hussein Sheikh Hassan, administrator of El Wak district in Somalia, told Reuters news agency. He added that the kidnappers were apparently heading towards Garbahaarey, about 175 km (110 miles) northeast of El Wak town."We are finding it very difficult to trail them. We ask Kenya's government to cooperate and help us coordinate the search ... We'll welcome any Kenyan delegation, whether security or elders, so as to rescue the nuns and recover the cars," Hassan was quoted as saying. MORE DANGER The kidnapping underscored the danger faced my Christian missionaries. Somali bandits have carried out an increasing number of kidnappings, often targeting foreigners or Somalis working with international organizations.In the latest show of force by the hardline Islamist al Shabaab group, its fighters seized two southern towns, Bulamarer and Qoryoley in the Lower Shabelle region, on Tuesday, November 11, news reports said.Battles between the Islamists and local militia also killed six people in El Dheer, in Galgadud region, and al Shabaab gunmen in trucks mounted with heavy weapons were also said to be heading towards Merka town, local officials said. Last week, gunmen stormed an airstrip in central Somalia, abducting four European aid workers and their two pilots.END

Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife at BosNewsLife News Center BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Ukraine says a cargo ship laden with weapons, which was held by pirates off the coast of Somalia since September, has been freed, BosNewsLife monitored Friday, February 6.