Somali Soldier Arrested After Video Shows Abuse of Woman at Hamarweyne Market

MOGADISHU — Somali police in the Hamarweyne district arrested a Somali National Army soldier on Saturday after a video widely shared on social media appeared to show him abusing a woman vendor at the busy Hamarweyne market, authorities said. The suspect was identified by police as Abdifatah Mohamed Ibrahim, a member of the Somali National Army. He is in custody and will be transferred to court, the Banadir Regional Police Command said in a statement. “The suspect is in police custody and will be referred to the…

Luanda AU–EU Summit: Somalia’s Perspective and a New Africa–Europe Deal

LUANDA, Angola — The AU–EU summit in Luanda on Nov. 24–25 marked 25 years of a formal partnership, and it delivered the familiar choreography: a joint declaration, carefully worded communiqués, promises to deepen cooperation on trade, climate, migration and security. For Somalia — confronting a stubborn insurgency, maritime insecurity and a pressing need for jobs — the measure of success is not rhetoric but whether Africa and Europe can strike a new, more equal bargain that translates summit language into action. The…

Ilhan Omar should rethink her intensifying feud with Donald Trump

Opinion | Ilhan Omar Must Reassess Her Escalating War of Words with Donald Trump The clash between Rep. Ilhan Omar and President Donald Trump has entered a phase where the volume of rhetoric risks drowning out the lives at stake. With the White House reviving a hard-line immigration agenda and ending protections that stabilized Somali-American families for decades, the cost of political grandstanding is no longer theoretical. It is immediate, personal and potentially irreversible for tens of thousands in Minnesota and…

Somalia Joins Global Satellite Group to Boost Maritime Safety and Security

MOGADISHU — Somalia has acceded to the Convention on the International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO), a step the federal government says will upgrade the country’s maritime safety, search-and-rescue capacity and technological integration across its busy coastline. Ports and Marine Transport Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nor deposited Somalia’s instrument of accession during a meeting with International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez on the sidelines of the IMO Assembly’s 34th regular…

Court Upholds Kenyan Farmers’ Right to Share Indigenous Seeds

Kenya’s High Court on Thursday struck down parts of a decade-old seed law, clearing the way for small-scale farmers to save and share local seed varieties without fear of prosecution — a decision celebrated as a major victory for “food sovereignty” advocates and rural communities. In a ruling delivered in Machakos, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of Nairobi, the court found provisions of the 2012 Seed and Plant Varieties Act unconstitutional. Those provisions had criminalized saving uncertified seeds and then…

Energy, the Critical Gap Stalling Somalia’s Economic Growth

Somalia’s growth is hitting an avoidable ceiling: the price and reliability of electricity. The country’s telecom sector—quietly swapping diesel generators for sunlight—offers a clear, local blueprint for how to lower costs, cut emissions and power a modern economy. If energy is the missing link, renewables are the bridge.

NISA detains suspected al‑Shabaab militants over alleged attack plots in Mogadishu, other regions

MOGADISHU — Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) has arrested 11 people accused of plotting terrorist attacks and conducting espionage against the government and civilians, the agency said Thursday, describing a covert cell disrupted in Mogadishu and across parts of Lower and Middle Shabelle. In a statement, NISA said the suspects were allegedly in the advanced stages of planning violence and gathering intelligence to enable attacks. The arrests followed what the agency called a sophisticated,…

Banadir Police Chief Orders Crackdown as Mogadishu Phone Robberies Surge

MOGADISHU — The commander of the Banadir Regional Police Force, Mahdi Omar Mumin, on Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting to tighten security across Mogadishu as residents report a surge in mobile phone robberies and attacks by armed bandits, authorities said. Senior police officers briefed Mumin on recent security incidents reported in multiple districts and outlined both ongoing and planned operations aimed at curbing robberies — with an emphasis on mobile phone thefts carried out by armed groups. The session assessed…

Somali Court Sentences Woman to Six Years for Al-Shabaab Funding

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A Somali court has sentenced a woman to six years in prison for financing the militant group Al-Shabaab, part of a broader government push to sever the insurgents’ money networks. In a separate overnight raid, security forces said they killed a senior Al-Shabaab commander in the central Galgaduud region. Key developments: Maryan Mohamed Nur was sentenced to six years after the court found she had direct links to Al-Shabaab and helped move funds to the group, prosecutors said. Investigators…

U.S. and Puntland State Raid ISIS Stronghold in Somalia; Top Militants Killed, Captured

BOSASO, Somalia — U.S. special operations forces, working with Puntland State’s Counter-Terrorism Forces, mounted a helicopter-borne raid on an Islamic State enclave in the Cal-Miskaad mountains on Tuesday, killing senior leaders and capturing fighters, according to U.S. Africa Command and Puntland State officials. The joint operation struck targets in Baallade Valley, with troops assaulting the HabarBajuuke cave complex after an exchange of fire with militants from IS-Somalia, officials said. U.S. Africa Command said the…

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