East Africa

Arrest of Puntland State Football Figure Deepens Rift in Somali Soccer Puntland State’s already fraught football politics spilled into public view on Saturday when security forces detained Mohamed Ali Isse, widely known as Ciiro, at Garowe’s airport as he prepared to board a flight out of the city. Authorities have not announced charges or publicly explained the arrest. Local outlets and football insiders say it may be tied to a leadership struggle inside the Puntland State Football Association, or to alleged political links…

Egypt prepares to join new African Union mission in Somalia after six-day assessment What happened In Mogadishu, on a humid Friday where the sea breeze barely cuts the dust, the African Union’s top envoy in Somalia closed the door on a week of quiet but significant diplomacy. Ambassador El Hadji Ibrahima Diene, the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission and head of the AU Support Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), met an Egyptian military team at the end of its six-day visit — a final check…

Ethiopia’s Red Sea Gambit: Ambition, Anxiety and a Region on Edge For Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the Red Sea is no longer a distant horizon. In a televised interview on September 1, he cast the country’s lack of coastline—lost when Eritrea gained independence three decades ago—not as a historical fact but as a fixable error. “The mistake made 30 years ago will be corrected,” he said, adding that remaining “a prisoner of the land” had become an existential challenge for a nation of more than 120 million. The…

Guinea brush past Somalia in Kampala to keep 2026 World Cup push alive Guinea kept their World Cup dream humming on Friday with a professional 3–0 win over Somalia at Mandela National Stadium in Kampala, a tidy night’s work that moved the Syli National to 10 points and kept them within touching distance of Group G’s frontrunners as Africa’s qualifiers tilt into their decisive stretch. Serhou Guirassy struck early, an own goal midway through the second half doubled the cushion, and a stoppage-time tap-in from Ousmane Camara…

Rekindling Hopes for Peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo In a world where peace often feels just a shade more elusive than conflict, the commitment by key players in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to uphold a U.S.-brokered peace agreement offers a flicker of hope. This agreement, emerged from months of tireless U.S.-led mediation, aims to end decades of turmoil that have plagued the nation, a country rich in resources yet burdened by strife. But as the complexities mount, promises made may soon find themselves…

Rising Tensions: The Battle Over the Nile In the heart of East Africa, the waves of a centuries-old conflict ripple through the waters of the Nile, igniting fears of instability and regional tension. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), touted as a beacon of progress for Ethiopia, has become a battleground for Egypt and Sudan, who insist on keeping discussions limited to the three nations directly flanking this vital resource. Their recent assertions highlight the deep-seated anxieties surrounding the dam's operation…

AFRICOM says U.S. troops take indirect fire near Kismayo, Somalia; no casualties reported What we know U.S. forces in southern Somalia came under indirect fire near the port city of Kismayo on Friday, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said, reporting no injuries or damage. “U.S. and African partner forces took indirect fire near Kismayo, Somalia today. No U.S. injuries or casualties reported. No reports of damage to the base or Coalition property at this time,” the command said in a brief statement posted on its official X…

New AFRICOM chief in Mogadishu pledges deeper U.S. support against al-Shabaab and ISIS Mogadishu—On a humid Wednesday on the Indian Ocean, as traffic in the capital thinned for afternoon prayers, the new commander of U.S. Africa Command slipped into Villa Somalia for a first meeting with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. General Dagvin R. M. Anderson, newly in charge of America’s military footprint on the continent, promised that Washington will sustain—and sharpen—its support for Somali forces battling al-Shabaab and a…

Disqualified candidate arrested after fatal election clashes shake Somalia’s northeast LAS ANOD, Somalia — Security forces in Somalia’s northeast have arrested a wealthy businessman who was disqualified from a regional presidential race, accusing him of mobilizing armed supporters who battled police during an August 29 vote at a hotel in Las Anod. The violence left several people dead, according to local elders, and delayed burials as families spar over where and how to lay their loved ones to rest. What happened Police…

Somalia inches up the Global Peace Index — but the peace dividend remains out of reach In Mogadishu, markets open before sunrise, as vendors arrange tomatoes beneath corrugated roofs and scan their phones for security alerts with the same routine as checking prices. That small, practiced caution has defined Somali life for a generation. This week, a global metric offered a sliver of encouragement: Somalia has improved slightly on the 2025 Global Peace Index, edging to 151st out of 163 with a score of 2.983 — its first dip…