Somalia, Syria-Turkey, Malawi.

Today's three stories you should know.

Jan 13, 2023

Somalia

Hundreds of people in the Somali capital Mogadishu have attended a government-organized protest against the al-Shabab armed group as the military piles pressure on the militants. Since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud came to power and promised “total war” against the group, Shabab has been pushed out of several rural areas it used to control. It has responded, though, with a series of major hit-and-run attacks and massive suicide bombings. Mohamud attended the rally and used it to call on the public to help the security forces capture Shabab members. “They are in your houses, they are your neighbours, in cars that pass you by. I want us to commit today to flushing them out. They are like bedbugs under our clothes,” he told the crowd.

Syria-Turkey

Interesting moves afoot between Syria and Turkey. Russia is pushing hard to mend relations between Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey has for more than a decade been the main backer of political and armed resistance to Assad and has even sent its own troops into northern Syria. The possibility of reconciliation has spooked the Syrian opposition, many of who live in Turkey-controlled parts of Syria. Russia, Assad’s key backer, has already hosted a meeting of the Syrian and Turkish defence ministers and is believed to be targeting foreign ministers next, followed by the possibility of an Assad and Erdogan summit.

Malawi

A horrific 750 people have now died in Malawi’s worst cholera outbreak for two decades, according to the government. The situation in Malawi comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that the world is experiencing an unprecedented wave of cholera epidemics. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 31 countries have reported cholera outbreaks since December and that it was unusual to have so many simultaneous outbreaks. WHO has said in the past that climate change is an aggravating factor for cholera because warmer temperatures and more frequent rains make it easier for the bacteria that cause the infection to multiply and spread.