East Africa

Opinion: Ethiopia’s impunity test — why Abdi Iley’s return to public life imperils reconciliation In Ethiopia’s Somali Region and far beyond it, reconciliation is not a slogan but a test measured in the dignity afforded to victims. The reemergence of Abdi Mohamed Omar — widely known as Abdi Iley, the former Somali Region president — after a March 2024 pardon has turned that test into a crisis. Rights groups have long documented grave abuses by the region’s Liyu Police during his tenure, including torture, extrajudicial…

Saturday March 7, 2026 Arusha — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud arrived in Arusha on Saturday to attend the 25th Annual Summit of the East African Community, a high-level gathering focused on advancing economic integration, security cooperation and political coordination across the region. The visit signals Somalia’s deepening engagement with the regional bloc as it seeks to consolidate post-conflict gains and broaden economic and diplomatic ties. The summit brings together heads of state and senior officials from EAC…

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty discussed Somalia and broader Horn of Africa security in a phone call Thursday, with Cairo reiterating its firm opposition to any recognition of North Western State of Somalia and signaling plans to deploy troops to Somalia as part of a reconfigured African Union mission, according to statements from both governments. Both sides said the conversation focused on preserving stability in the Horn at a moment of rising regional volatility. Abdelatty…

East Africa’s new drought surge pushes millions toward hunger as water prices soar and livestock die Friday March 6, 2026 MOGADISHU — A failed rainy season has deepened drought across Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, thrusting nearly 26 million people into extreme hunger, accelerating livestock deaths and sending water prices soaring, Oxfam warned in a report released this week. The crisis arrives less than three years after the Horn of Africa’s longest and most severe drought on record, when five consecutive rainy seasons…

New York — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday appointed U.S. diplomat James Swan as his new Special Representative for the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known as MONUSCO, placing an experienced Africa hand at the helm of one of the U.N.’s most challenging peace operations. Swan succeeds Bintou Keita of Guinea, whom Guterres thanked for her leadership and service during a difficult period for the mission. The appointment lands at a pivotal moment for MONUSCO,…

The Zimbabwean government’s decision to allocate US$25 million to a new football tournament has ignited a debate about priorities and transparency, underscoring tensions between high-profile state-sponsored projects and urgent public-sector needs. President Emmerson Mnangagwa launched the Munhumutapa ZIFA Cup in Harare, a five-year competition that will include men's, women's, developmental and futsal categories. Organisers say the men's champions will receive US$1 million and a berth in the CAF Confederation Cup, details…

Thursday, March 5, 2026 KAMPALA, Uganda — President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on Thursday launched Tamini General Insurance, billed as Uganda’s first Islamic insurance firm, at Millennium Park–Lugogo in Kampala during an iftar dinner hosted by Senior Presidential Advisor for Political Affairs Hajjat Hadijah Namyalo. Tamini General Insurance, part of Salaam Group, will offer Sharia-compliant insurance services built on mutual risk-sharing and oversight. Company executives said the model is designed to broaden financial inclusion…

Suspected drone strike kills at least four children in southern Djibouti Thursday March 5, 2026 DJIBOUTI — At least four children were killed in a suspected drone strike in southern Djibouti, authorities and a local human rights group said Tuesday. The explosion occurred in the Dikhil region of Afar, according to Public Prosecutor Hassan Mohamed Hassan. In a statement, Hassan said a team has been dispatched to investigate the circumstances surrounding the blast and determine its cause. The Djiboutian League for Human Rights…

Iran–Israel war redraws the Horn of Africa’s security map The joint United States–Israeli strikes on Iran last week, which killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of senior security officials, have vaulted the Middle East into a wider war with immediate spillover risks for the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa. Iran has hit Israel and several Arab states that host U.S. military facilities — the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Jordan — while Hezbollah’s barrage from Lebanon…

South Africa’s government on Monday urged citizens stranded in the Middle East to “take immediate advantage” of the resumption of limited commercial flights out of the region, while Kenya Airways announced special repatriation services between Nairobi and Dubai to help passengers displaced by days of attacks. The moves follow a period of disruptions that left many travelers unable to leave and prompted several African governments to coordinate emergency measures. South African officials appealed to nationals in affected…