Sunatimes (Mogadishu) Before I go into the week, allow me to focus on the day, which was a dark one for Somalia Report. I’ll let my first ever retraction, posted earlier today, speak for itself:

It is with great disappointment that I inform you of a grave inaccuracy in our recent reporting.

On March 23, Somalia Report published an interview by Shukria Abdi purportedly with Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali of the Somali Transitional Federal Government, entitled "PM Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Speaks." It has since been revealed that Ms. Abdi had never contacted Prime Minister Ali, and her interview was entirely fabricated.

Ms. Abdi was a recent contributor to Somalia Report, having written two other articles, "Shabaab: An Equal Opportunity Employer?" (published 03/22/2012) and "KDF Airstrikes Hit Village South of Bardara" (published 03/24/2012). Though these two stories have not been proven to be inaccurate, we cannot in good conscience allow them to remain on the website, and they have since been removed. I assure you that we plan to conduct a thorough investigation into their veracity.

As Somalia Report managing editor, I take full responsibility for this error, and I would like to express my sincere personal apologies to Prime Minister Ali, to members of the Transitional Federal Government, and to you, our readers.

We regret the error, and will strive with utmost diligence to ensure that such incidents do not occur going forward.

Piracy

The big news, this week, is of course the release of Judith Tebbutt, the British woman whose kidnap in September 2011 launched a thousand ships (or five aging Kenyan F-5 fighters, as it were). Tebbutt, who is reported to be in good health, was released for an estimated ransom of $800,000 to $1 million.

And I’m only telling you that because the whole world already knows it… to read our deep and dark piracy secrets, you’ll have to subscribe to our Weekly Piracy Report, by contacting Venetia Archer at [email protected]. Three months–12 reports plus a steady 24/7 flow of coverage–can be yours for$299if you take advantage of this inaugural price.

Chatting With Robow

Today,Somalia Reportpublished a rare–and remarkably frank–interview with the always-upbeat al-Shabaab nationalist faction leader Sheikh Mukhtar Robow. Speaking to our reporter, Robow laid out his pre-conditions for sitting down at the negotiating table, the "arrest" of Omar Hammami (Abu Mansoor al-Amriki), the CIA, and...his love life (sort of).

Al-Shabaab Blues

Al-Shabaab continued to lose military ground last week, as the Ethiopian and TFG forces captured Hudur, the capital of Bakool region on Thursday. After a brief skirmish on the outskirts, the minimal al-Shabaab forces remaining inside the city fled, surrendering Hudur without a fight.

The al-Shabaab stronghold of Ceel-Buur in Galgudud was similarly abandoned today as Ethiopian and Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa (ASWJ) troops advanced on the city, allowing the allied forces to waltz in unopposed.

I cannot remember the last time al-Shabaab engaged Ethiopian forces in anything but the briefest of skirmishes. They take their chances with the Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF), but it’s a credit to the Ethiopian army that al-Shabaab militants tend to forget their guns and remember their feet soon after the fight is joined. Instead, they wage war against the Ethiopians through the less direct route of suicide bombs and IEDs, the cost of which is usually born by the Somali civilians unlucky enough to be in range of Ethiopian assault rifles when the attacks occur.

On Sunday, al-Shabaab continued to rain down mortars on Mogadishu’s presidential palace, Villa Somalia. The resumption of mortar attacks within the capital represents a slight shift in tactics for the Shabaab, as since their withdrawal in August of last year the Islamist group has relied more on IEDs, suicide bombings, and hit-and-run attacks to make their point.

Somali Journalist Attacked

Another Somali journalist was attacked last week by Somalia’s #1 criminal, the Unknown Gunman, becoming the fourth local reporter this year to be so assaulted…and the only one to survive. The victim, Muhaiyadin Hassan Husni, was rescued from his two pistol-wielding assailants by the fortuitous arrival of a militia belonging to a Mogadishu district commissioner.

Husni is employed at Shabelle Radio, which has witnessed more than its share of assassinations. In January, Shabelle Radio director Hassan Osman “Fantastic,” was gunned down while returning to his home, becoming the sixth Shabelle employee (and the third director) to meet such a fate since 2007.

The Great Yellow North

A Somali giant, Puntland founder and former TFG president Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, died in a Dubai hospital on Friday at the age of 77. Yusuf, a highly polarizing figure in Somali politics over the last two decades, had been suffering from liver failure.

Though autocratic, obstinate, and ineffective as a TFG president, Yusuf’s strong military leadership and singular role in the creation of the semi-autonomous state of Puntland has secured his lasting legacy, as your humble editor argues in his obituary. Yusuf was laid to rest in Galkayo, his birthplace, on Sunday.

…and that was this past week, in Somalia.

Best wishes, and may all your travels be pirate-free.

Jay Bahadur

Managing Editor, Somalia Report