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U.N. experts warn al-Shabab remains top threat in Somalia and Kenya as Security Council extends AU mission to 2026 Al-Shabab remains the greatest immediate threat to peace and stability in Somalia and the wider region, especially Kenya, U.N. experts said in a report released Wednesday, warning that the group’s operational capacity and influence remain largely undiminished. Despite ongoing operations by Somali and international forces, the al-Qaida-linked group continues to execute complex, asymmetric attacks across Somalia,…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Residents of Somalia’s capital voted Thursday in municipal elections billed as a key step toward restoring direct democracy nationwide for the first time in more than half a century. The Mogadishu vote, held in a city of roughly 3 million where security has improved despite persistent attacks by al-Qaida-aligned al-Shabab, is widely seen as a test run for national-level direct elections. Somalia last held direct polls in 1969, months before military ruler Mohamed Siad Barre seized power in a coup. With…

Mogadishu launches first one-person, one-vote municipal polls in more than 50 years Thursday December 25, 2025 MOGADISHU — Voting began Thursday morning across all 16 districts of Mogadishu in the Banadir Regional Local Council elections, marking the capital’s first one-person, one-vote balloting in more than half a century. Thousands of residents formed early lines at neighborhood polling stations, underscoring the historic nature of the vote in Somalia’s largest city. Election officials said turnout was steady as polls…

Over 100 journalists trained in Somalia on election coverage, safety and disinformation Mogadishu — More than 100 Somali journalists have completed specialized training on professional election coverage, journalist safety and countering disinformation, in a program led by the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) and the National Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission of Somalia (NIEBC). The two-day training, held Dec. 16-17, 2025, brought together 102 reporters, editors and media practitioners from both private…

MOGADISHU — Somalia’s main opposition coalition, the Somali Salvation Forum, on Thursday condemned the Banadir Regional Council elections scheduled in Mogadishu, calling the process neither free nor fair and accusing the government of staging a one-party vote. Speaking at a press conference in the capital, former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire said the planned Banadir elections lack constitutional grounding and fail basic democratic standards. He argued that what began as a competitive process had narrowed to a lopsided…

MOGADISHU — Somalia’s National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), working with the National Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission of Somalia (NIEBC), has trained 102 journalists in professional election coverage, safety and countering disinformation ahead of the Banadir Regional Council elections set to start Thursday in Mogadishu. The two-day program brought together reporters, editors and media practitioners from 27 accredited outlets across the capital, spanning private and state-owned media. Organizers said the…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s federal government on Wednesday intensified security across Mogadishu ahead of a disputed Banadir local council election set for Thursday, June 25, deploying police and other forces along major roads and at key sites to safeguard the vote, officials said. Uniformed personnel were stationed on routes linking government facilities and around designated polling locations. Authorities said the measures are designed to protect the public and ensure the election proceeds without disruption in the…

Somali opposition denounces Banadir council vote as one-party exercise Somali Salvation Forum says Thursday’s Mogadishu election lacks constitutional basis, warns of unrest MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s main opposition coalition, the Somali Salvation Forum, has condemned the Banadir Regional Council elections scheduled for Thursday in Mogadishu, calling the process neither free nor fair and accusing the government of engineering a one-sided contest. At a press conference in Mogadishu, former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire…

Garissa taxi driver’s death sparks dispute between leaders and police; IPOA, DCI probe as postmortem looms GARISSA, Kenya — A confrontation is brewing in Garissa after the death of 25-year-old taxi driver Sheikh Ahmed Omar, with local leaders and family members alleging he was shot at close range by officers at a Modika roadblock, while police say he died in a crash as he fled a stop along the Nunow–Modogashe road. Omar died early Wednesday, four days after the incident on Dec. 20, according to leaders who gathered at the…

Kenyan man gets life for al-Shabaab plot to crash hijacked airliner into Atlanta’s tallest building A federal judge on Monday sentenced Cholo Abdi Abdullah, 34, to two consecutive life terms plus a lifetime of supervised release for plotting a 9/11-style attack on Atlanta’s 55-story Bank of America Plaza on behalf of the Somalia-based terrorist group al-Shabaab. A Manhattan jury found Abdullah guilty in 2024 on six counts tied to the thwarted plot, which prosecutors said was designed to mirror the tactics of the Sept. 11,…