but I can confirm the president and his delegation are well and reached their final destination
Merka to have meetings with local community," said Somali army official Mohamed Qorey, speaking by telephone from
Merka.
Here is a passage from Bill's recent book, House on Fire: 'In early October 1977, a couple with two small children, both with smallpox, approached the hospital in
Merka, Somalia.
The general was ambushed near the strategic town of
Merka.--BBC, October 29
In Kismayo, Baidoa, and
Merka, al-Shabaab obligated all boys 15 years of age and older to fight or face death; in November, al-Shabaab executed two children in Hurwaa District of Banadir region.
There is even a further tantalizing etymology to be glimpsed in the Eldarin base merek (struck out and replaced with mberEk), which gave the Quenya word,
merka, meaning "wild"--as in the Wilderland east of the Great River.
This time he was ready to thrust his unclean hand in mine and introduce himself, 'Main
Merka (America) hona.' No name, only the fact that he lived in US of A.
Last month two men accused of spying were stoned to death in
Merka.
According to Western security sources, six non-Somali militants -- including Nabhan -- boarded a vehicle on Monday morning in the coastal town of
Merka, escorted by another car carrying three Shabaab fighters.
It also called upon the UN Security Council to impose a blockade on sea ports particularly Kismayo and
Merka to prevent the further in-flow of arms and foreign fighters, in this regard the Council urged the UNSC to reach out to the international naval forces present in the region to enforce the blockade.
Earlier in the week the group seized the nearby town of
Merka, which has a strategically important airstrip.Even in Mogadishu, which remains nominally under government control, al- Shabaab fighters carry out public punishments, conduct training exercises and present themselves as an alternative government.
On Wednesday, the Islamists seized
Merka, a strategic port 90 kilometers southwest of Mogadishu used by the UN World Food Program for food aid deliveries, giving Al-Shabaab its closest foothold yet to Mogadishu.