Somalia

By BosNewsLife Africa Service MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (BosNewsLife)-- Islamic militants In Somalia have shot and killed a woman who led an underground Christian movement as part of a crackdown on Christians in the war-torn nation, Christians said Thursday October 1.

(ADDS LATEST ATTACK ON CHURCH IN KENYA, MORE DETAILS) By Joseph DeCaro, BosNewsLife International Correspondent NAIROBI, KENYA (BosNewsLife)– Somalia's militant Islamist group al-Shabab uses converts from religious Christianity to Islam to carry out attacks against churches in neighboring Kenya as part of what they call a "holy war", or Jihad, officials said in comments monitored by BosNewsLife Sunday, November 4.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife HARGEISA, SOMALILAND (BosNewsLife)-- A married Christian couple detained for evangelizing in Muslim-majority Somaliland have neem released, well-informed...

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)-- Somalia's minority Christians faced new challenges Thursday, January 6, after their most comprehensive Christian library was reportedly destroyed by Muslim militants who also threatened to continue killing Christians.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife BUDAPEST/COPENHAGEN (BosNewsLife)-- A Somali man with alleged links to terrorist groups al-Shabab and al-Qaida has been charged with an attempt to kill a Danish cartoonist whose depiction of the Prophet Muhammed sparked outrage in the Muslim world.

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

By BosNewsLife Africa Service MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (BosNewsLife)-- Christians in Somalia were confronted with more violence Sunday, October 23, amid reports that a suspected Islamic militant blew himself up while earlier the militant al-Shabab group beheaded a 17-year-old Christian near the capital Mogadishu.  

By BosNewsLife Africa Service MOGADISHU, SOMALIA (BosNewsLife)-- Islamic fighters of the militant al-Shabab group have beheaded a devoted Christian for "leaving Islam", witnesses and other sources said late Saturday, November 17.