Somalia, Iran, Palestine.

Today's three stories you should know.

Nov 14, 2022

Somalia

The US today announced a $10 million reward for information on three key leaders of the Somali armed group al-Shabab. Shabab - or The Youth - has been battling to topple the Somali government for more than a decade and has stepped up attacks in recent months. The US said it was offering $10 million each for information leading to the identification of the group’s leader Ahmed Diriye, his deputy Mahad Karate and Jehad Mostafa, an American who it said was leader of the group’s foreign fighters.

Iran

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has carried out a rocket and drone attack on the headquarters of Iranian Kurdish dissident groups in neighboring Iraq. Tehran has targeted Iranian Kurds in Iraq’s Kurdistan region since the death of Mahsa Amini, who was Kurdish, sparked massive anti-government protests. Iran is accusing the groups of taking advantage of Amini’s death to foment unrest inside Iran. The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), an exiled Iranian Kurdish opposition party, told the Reuters news agency that two of its fighters were killed in attacks on four of its offices. Hospital officials said at least 10 people were also wounded.

Palestine

The UN’s Palestine refugee agency says it urgently needs $50-80m to keep its services running to the end of the year. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) provides support to more than five million Palestinian refugees across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the occupied West Bank and Gaza. “Our assessment over the last few months is that in places like Lebanon, like Syria, like Gaza, we have poverty rates up to 80 percent, to 90 percent, which means that the entire community relies on the lifeline UNRWA can provide to them,” the agency’s Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said. He added that the war in Ukraine had impacted UNRWA’s fundraising as nations spent huge sums supporting Kiev’s war effort.