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West-Africa
West Africa news, politics, security, and regional developments from Axadle, with a focus on the stories shaping governments, economies, and public life.
Drought displaces 62,000 in Somalia, IOM warns of worsening crisis
Saturday April 25, 2026
Severe drought has driven at least 62,000 people from their homes in five districts across Somalia since the beginning of 2026, as the country faces mounting climate pressures, the International Organization for Migration said on Friday.
The United Nations migration agency said its data shows drought is now responsible for three out of every four new displacements, marking a 22 percent increase from a year earlier and underscoring the worsening toll of climate shocks.
Manuel Marques Pereira, IOM’s…
Mali Experiences Large-Scale Coordinated Armed Attacks
Violence erupted early Saturday on the outskirts of Bamako, as well as in various regions throughout Mali, when the Malian army engaged in fierce clashes to counter large-scale, coordinated assaults from armed groups, multiple media sources have reported.
A coalition of jihadist and separatist factions launched a significant offensive across the nation, targeting key military installations and urban areas, extending from the northern regions all the way to the capital. This marked one of the most notable escalations in…
Former intelligence chief criticizes Somali president over security and governance
Saturday April 25, 2026
Mogadishu (AX) — Abdullahi Mohamed Ali Sanbalooshe, Somalia’s former intelligence chief, has delivered a pointed rebuke of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, accusing his administration of failing to make headway on the country’s worsening security and political problems.
Speaking in an interview on Thursday, Sanbalooshe said hopes that the president would remedy earlier governance failures had not materialized.
“Nothing has been corrected. There is no progress in the country as a whole,” he…
Somalia launches national effort to build cybersecurity framework
Saturday April 25, 2026
Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s push to shore up its digital defenses moved a step forward on Saturday when the National Communications Authority (NCA) brought together a wide range of stakeholders to discuss a proposed Cybersecurity Risk Management and Compliance Framework.
The national consultation drew representatives from government institutions, the private sector, education, civil society, and the technical community, all tasked with helping shape a framework designed to strengthen the country’s…
Ifrah F Ahmed’s debut cookbook celebrates Somali cuisine, history and people
Sundus AbdiSaturday April 25, 2026
Ifrah F Ahmed turned to Somali community members around the world to research her book, Soomaaliya: Food, Memory and Migration. Photograph: Khadija Farah
On a video call from Brooklyn, with a book tour stretching between cities, Ifrah F Ahmed sips ginger-root tea. The aroma pulls her back to a childhood kitchen where her mother would often bake fragrant cardamom cake.
“That’s a core childhood memory for me,” she said.
For Ahmed, food has never been only about eating. It carries memory,…
National Communications Authority holds consultation on cybersecurity risk management and compliance framework
Saturday April 25, 2026
Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s push to tighten its digital defenses took a step forward as the National Communications Authority (NCA) brought together government agencies, private-sector representatives, educators, civil society actors, and technical specialists for a national consultation on a Cybersecurity Risk Management and Compliance Framework.
The gathering was designed to collect feedback and deepen coordination around a framework intended to bolster the country’s cybersecurity posture, protect…
Somali Prime Minister launches Doolow Resilience Project for displaced communities
Saturday April 25, 2026
Mogadishu (AX) — Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre on Friday unveiled a new initiative in Doolow designed to bolster urban resilience for internally displaced people and the communities that have taken them in, as Somalia grapples with the twin pressures of displacement and economic hardship.
Addressing the launch ceremony in Mogadishu, Barre said the project seeks to strengthen livelihoods and lay the groundwork for longer-term stability in areas strained by conflict and repeated drought.
The project,…
Turkey’s close Somalia ties raise questions in the Horn of Africa
By Abdi Ismail SamatarSaturday April 25, 2026
Turkey has cast Somalia as a gateway to the Horn of Africa and, potentially, far beyond. But that ambition can only take root if Somalia first regains political stability. Trying to rebuild the Somali Defence Force without a clear national political framework is like setting out on a long trip with no map.
In 2011, the West bluntly blamed al-Shabaab for Somalia’s famine. Yet the deeper cause was American policy under the Obama Administration, which blocked food deliveries to…
Pirates hijack oil tanker with 17 crew off Somali coast
Saturday April 25, 2026
An oil tanker was left under guard after being freed, a stark reminder of how quickly piracy can again unsettle the waters off Somalia. Somali pirates have hijacked four ships in the past month.Credit...Abdiqani Hassan/Reuters
Mogadishu (AX) — Somali pirates seized an oil tanker carrying 18,500 barrels of fuel and 17 crew members off Somalia’s northeastern coast, officials said Friday.
The ship, identified as Honour 25, was taken late Wednesday by at least six armed men roughly 30 nautical miles…
Somalia’s eAqoonsi app shows progress and gaps in digital infrastructure push
Hassan IstiilaFriday April 24, 2026
On a dusty roadside in Elasha Biyaha, some 15 kilometers from Mogadishu, Sharmarke Aden sits in his bajaj, thumbs moving over a Samsung phone as he tries again and again to pull up his digital national ID.
The app, eAqoonsi, sits at the center of Somalia’s drive to take public services online. In the best-case scenario, it should spare Aden the expense and lost time of traveling to a registration center and standing in long lines, all while sacrificing a day’s earnings. Instead, patchy…