MOGADISHU, Somalia, May 16 — The United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia on Friday pressed Somalia’s federal government and opposition leaders to keep talking and settle on an inclusive electoral model after negotiations in Mogadishu ended without agreement on the main points of contention. The mission said it welcomed the restart of discussions held from May 13 to 15 and recognized the role of international partners in backing the process, but said it was disappointed the meetings failed to produce a…

Saturday May 16, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — The United Nations mission in Somalia has welcomed the return of talks among Somali political leaders, while warning that the latest round of negotiations failed to settle the core disputes surrounding the country’s political transition. The United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia UNTMIS said Saturday that discussions held from May 13 to 15 marked an important step forward and commended the international partners who backed the effort. “It is regrettable, however,…

MOGADISHU, May 16 - Somalia’s political crisis deepened on Saturday as term-ended President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met Turkey’s ambassador just hours after talks collapsed over the question of his expired mandate, a move viewed by some as an effort to show he still commands international support. The meeting at the Villa Somalia presidential palace with Ambassador Alper Aktaş followed a failed attempt by opposition leaders and regional states to reach common ground at the UN-protected Halane compound on Mohamud’s tenure,…

By  JACK DENTON and OMAR FARUKSaturday May 16, 2026 Abdi Ahmed Farah has watched nearly all of his hundreds of goats die, a loss that would have seemed unimaginable in the Somali countryside where he has spent his life. For three straight years, rain has failed to arrive with any regularity in this corner of Somalia, and the 70-year-old says he has never known conditions this harsh. He is already in debt after buying water. The reservoir beside his tent is almost dry. His family now survives on one meal a day — rice mixed…

Saturday May 16, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia is edging back toward famine as drought, soaring food and fuel costs and severe cuts to humanitarian funding leave more than 6 million people facing acute hunger, Oxfam has warned. Fresh data from the U.N.-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification shows that nearly one in three Somalis is now living with crisis-level hunger or worse, or IPC Phase 3 and above. Within that group, nearly 1.9 million people are already in emergency food insecurity, just one step short of…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s relations with some of its neighbors are fraying, with several regional governments now scaling back their diplomatic engagement and increasingly viewing the federal authorities in Mogadishu as an administration whose mandate has lapsed and whose political legitimacy remains in dispute, according to regional officials and diplomatic sources. The tension is unfolding against a backdrop of mounting political deadlock in Somalia, where delayed elections and a failure by the federal government and…

By: Abdirahman Jeylani Mohamed Saturday May 16, 2026 Somalia has reached a fraught political milestone. On 15 May 2026, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s constitutional mandate formally expired, landing the country in one of its most precarious moments in recent memory. The date carries heavy symbolism. It coincides with Somali Youth Day, a commemoration of the generation behind the Somali Youth League (SYL), which once imagined a united, democratic and sovereign Somali republic built on civic nationalism rather than…

Saturday May 16, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s intelligence service says an airstrike in the Hiiraan region wounded at least three senior al-Shabab figures and destroyed vehicles and facilities used by the militant group. The National Intelligence and Security Agency said Friday that the operation, conducted with international partners, targeted the Buq Aqable area, where al-Shabab was reportedly gathering new recruits. NISA identified the wounded commanders as Ali Hussein, described as a militia leader behind attacks in…

Collapse of Halane Talks Deepens Somalia’s Election Standoff Three days of high-stakes political talks in Mogadishu have ended in failure, sending Somalia deeper into uncertainty as a bitter dispute over elections and the legitimacy of the federal leadership intensifies. The negotiations brought together the opposition coalition known as the Future Forum, represented by former Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Puntland State President Said Abdullahi Deni. Representing the government were outgoing Somali President…

Friday May 15, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somali government forces said Friday they killed at least 50 al-Shabab fighters and armed militia members in a coordinated operation on the outskirts of Baidoa, in one of the latest clashes to hit the volatile Southwest region. The Ministry of Defense said the action came after an early Thursday ambush on government troops patrolling the area, an assault that left senior Somali military commanders dead. Government forces later mounted a counteroperation, killing dozens of fighters and…