Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia.

Today's three stories you should know.

Aug 02, 2022

Afghanistan

The killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri by a US drone has been widely reported. But what do people in the Afghan capital Kabul, where the strike took place, think? Al Jazeera today carried a report from the neighborhood in which Zawahiri was living. Some were surprised and others didn’t seem bothered, having more pressing concerns such as the economy to worry about. “How would I know who he is? I don’t even know what he looks like,” a street cart merchant in the area said.

Yemen

For eight years, there has been no good news out of Yemen as it grappled with one of the world’s bloodiest and most under-reported wars. But in recent months there have been encouraging signs. The UN today said that the warring sides have agreed to extend a truce that has largely held since April. The ceasefire is the first for six years in a conflict that many see as a proxy war between regional foes Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Somalia

Eyebrow-raising development in Somalia. A former deputy leader of the al-Shabab armed group, who once had a $5 million U.S. bounty on his head, has been appointed religious affairs minister in the country’s new administration. Some believe the move is an attempt by the government to persuade Shabab fighters to come in from the cold. The armed group, which controls large parts of rural Somalia, has been battling the government for more than a decade in an attempt to take over and impose its own interpretation of Islamic law. Some Somalis said today’s appointment was disrespectful to those who have had family members killed in al-Shabab attacks.