North Africa

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…

Somalia Brings the Prophet’s Birthday Back Into the Sun Streets of Mogadishu turn green and white Before dawn on Thursday, Mogadishu’s sea breeze carried a different kind of chorus. It rose from mosques and courtyards, from balconies draped with fabric the color of limes and spring leaves. By midmorning, the capital’s streets swelled with thousands of worshippers—many young and dressed in white—waving bright green flags and singing devotional poetry in the rolling cadence of Somali Arabic. Loudspeakers crackled with…

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…

In Exile but Unbowed: Somalia and Guinea Chase Pride and Direction in Kampala A match far from home On a breezy Friday evening in Kampala, Uganda’s Mandela National Stadium will stand in for Mogadishu. Somalia “hosts” Guinea there in a World Cup qualifier that won’t change the group’s balance of power, but still holds weight in ways a scoreboard can’t always measure. It is a low-stakes fixture, perhaps, but one heavy with pride, patience and the hope of forward motion for two teams searching for a foothold. Somalia’s…

Egypt’s Somalia Gamble: Peacekeeping, Power Plays, and a Dam That Won’t Go Away On paper, Egypt’s plan to send troops to Somalia is a textbook peacekeeping deployment under an African Union mandate. In practice, it lands squarely on the fault lines of one of Africa’s thorniest rivalries: Cairo versus Addis Ababa, with the Horn of Africa as the stage and the Nile as the subtext. Egypt says its soldiers are going to Somalia to help fight al-Shabaab and stabilize a country clawing its way out of decades of war. Ethiopia hears…

Israel Tightens Siege of Gaza City as Dozens Killed and Famine Deepens; Ceasefire Push Stalls Gaza City woke up to another day of smoke and sirens on Tuesday, with Israeli warplanes pounding densely packed neighborhoods while troops tightened a siege on the enclave’s largest urban center. Local authorities said more than 50 people were killed in Gaza City alone, among at least 105 Palestinians reported dead across the Strip in the past 24 hours. Aid workers said many of the dead were cut down not in combat zones but while…

Arab League cancels 75 percent of Somalia’s arrears, a boost for Mogadishu’s hard-won comeback The Arab League has agreed to cancel 75 percent of Somalia’s unpaid membership dues, a rare step that trims nearly four decades of arrears and signals renewed political backing for a country still rebuilding from conflict and climate shocks. The decision was taken in Cairo during the League’s 164th session of permanent representatives, Somali officials said Tuesday. Somalia’s Ambassador to Egypt and Permanent Representative to…

Analysis: A New Chapter in Las Anod Tests Somalia’s Fragile Federalism In the dust-brown city of Las Anod, the center of a long-contested patch of northern Somalia, a political ceremony is poised to send a message that carries well beyond the city’s edge. Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre are expected to attend the swearing-in of Abdikadir Ahmed Aw-Cali—widely known as Firdhiye—as president of the newly formed Northeastern Somali administration. The move signals not only the…

Kenya and Uganda Move to Tear Down Trade Barriers. Can the Northern Corridor Finally Breathe? At dawn on the Malaba border, the hiss of air brakes is as constant as birdsong. Truck drivers brew tea on camp stoves beside long queues of lorries, waiting for stamps, scans, and weighbridge ticks that can eat full days of their lives. On Saturday in Mbale, Uganda, ministers from Kenya and Uganda said they want to change that—fast. In a joint communique, Kenya’s Investments, Trade and Industry Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui and…

Somalia’s New “Northeastern” State Emerges From the Fault Lines In a sun-baked Las Anod still bearing the scars of last year’s street battles, the Somali federal government says it has finished a job many thought impossible: bringing the disputed regions of Sool, Sanaag and Cayn into the federal fold as a new “Northeastern” state. It is an administrative milestone—and a political gambit—that reshapes Somalia’s internal map and tests the limits of its federal project. What Changed Today Mogadishu’s Interior Ministry…