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Puntland State’s mountain push: can Somalia’s northeastern state finish what others have tried? For more than a year Puntland State’s security forces have been hunting a tiny but stubborn ISIS affiliate in the jagged Cal‑Miskaad range of northeastern Somalia. The regional president, Said Abdullahi Deni, speaks of “real progress” and a determination to drive the extremists from the cliffs and wadis where they have long taken refuge. But as the fighting inches forward, the campaign illuminates familiar dilemmas: brutal…

Clashes reported in Boocame as newly formed Northeastern administration accuses Puntland State of assault Fighting flared Friday in Boocame, a dusty district about 70 kilometers east of Garowe, after authorities from a newly formed Northeastern regional administration accused Puntland State forces of launching an assault, underscoring how quickly political fault lines in northern Somalia can turn into gunfire. In a statement released late in the day, the Northeastern administration said the skirmish left people injured and…

Egypt and Eritrea Tighten Ties as Sudan’s Conflict Reshapes the Horn CAIRO — In a meeting that underscored shifting alliances across the Horn of Africa, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi this week publicly reaffirmed Cairo’s backing for Eritrea’s sovereignty and signaled a renewed push for deeper economic and strategic cooperation with Asmara. The talks, held in Cairo and attended by both countries’ foreign ministers, were framed by the Egyptian presidential office as an effort to bolster investment links and…

Somalia’s Big Bet: From Stamps and Seals to Salaries On Mogadishu’s seafront, where dawn breaks over an ocean that could feed a nation, a young graduate walks past a locked ice room and a kiosk selling imported fish sticks. It’s a small, painful theatre of missed opportunities in a country with 3,300 kilometers of coastline and a generation hungry for work. The thesis now gaining traction in the capital is deceptively simple: if Somalia aligns rules, power, visas, and trust with the cadence of global trade, paperwork can…

Egypt and Eritrea Tighten Ties as Sudan’s Conflict Reshapes the Horn CAIRO — In a meeting that underscored shifting alliances across the Horn of Africa, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi this week publicly reaffirmed Cairo’s backing for Eritrea’s sovereignty and signaled a renewed push for deeper economic and strategic cooperation with Asmara. The talks, held in Cairo and attended by both countries’ foreign ministers, were framed by the Egyptian presidential office as an effort to bolster investment links and…

Somalia’s Federal Government Pays Troops in Puntland State, Deepening a High-Stakes Rift Mogadishu — Somalia’s federal government has moved to directly pay more than 2,500 soldiers stationed across Puntland State in a blunt show of authority that underlines a widening power struggle with the semi-autonomous region, officials and financial records indicate. Over the past 48 hours, soldiers in Garowe, Bosaso and Galkayo received $200 each via electronic transfers, according to local officials and transaction details reviewed…

Egypt and Eritrea Tighten Ties as Sudan’s Conflict Reshapes the Horn CAIRO — In a meeting that underscored shifting alliances across the Horn of Africa, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi this week publicly reaffirmed Cairo’s backing for Eritrea’s sovereignty and signaled a renewed push for deeper economic and strategic cooperation with Asmara. The talks, held in Cairo and attended by both countries’ foreign ministers, were framed by the Egyptian presidential office as an effort to bolster investment links and…

Djibouti’s Guelleh Calls for Somali Unity — While Quietly Extending His Own Rule Analysis At a commemorative ceremony steeped in the memory of the 2000 Arta Conference — the meeting that helped coax Somalia from state collapse toward a fragile transitional government — Djibouti’s President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh delivered a familiar message with a fresh edge. “Somalis, only you can rebuild your country,” he said, encouraging neighbors to rely on themselves rather than on foreign patrons. It was the kind of exhortation that…

Somalia’s Arta Anniversary: A Quiet Milestone Amid Deepening Political Strains When President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud touched down in Djibouti this week to mark the 25th anniversary of the Arta Peace Conference, the trip looked at first like a ceremonial reprise of a turning point in Somali history. Villa Somalia described the visit as a working engagement “at the invitation of H.E. President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh,” noting bilateral talks and participation in the commemoration of the 2000 conference that helped birth Somalia’s…

Somalia and Turkey Mark Republic Day — And a Partnership Forged in Crisis Mogadishu’s salute to a trusted ally Under the bright Mogadishu sun, a small crowd filtered into the Turkish Embassy’s courtyard on Wednesday, where Turkish and Somali flags hung side by side and a brass band played the familiar crescendos of national anthems. It was a moment at once ceremonial and deeply personal: Somalia joined Turkey in marking the 102nd anniversary of the Republic, with Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre calling the day “a shared…