West Africa

Girls’ basketball game in Mogadishu doubles as rally against gender-based violence MOGADISHU, Somalia — A girls’ basketball match in Mogadishu’s Shibis district became a platform for visibility and protection on Thursday as the Somalia Sisterhood initiative used sport to spotlight the fight against gender-based violence during the global 16 Days of Activism campaign. Two teams, Somalia Sisterhood and Super Sign, faced off in an energetic game attended by officials from the Benadir Regional Administration, the Somali Police…

Coup Attempt in Benin Foiled as Leader Flees A dramatic coup attempt in Benin collapsed over the weekend, leading to the escape of its orchestrator, Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri. Officials have confirmed that Tigri fled the country following the intervention of Nigerian military forces that came to support President Patrice Talon’s government during the crisis. On Sunday, a group of soldiers identifying themselves as the "Military Committee for Refoundation" (CMR) took to state television to announce a government…

Thursday December 11, 2025 MOGADISHU (AX) — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has signed into law the establishment of the Independent National Human Rights Commission, capping a legislative process completed by both houses of the Federal Parliament and the Council of Ministers. The presidential assent came Tuesday and coincided with the country’s observance of International Human Rights Day. Mohamud said the commission’s creation reflects Somalia’s commitment to protecting the rights and dignity of its citizens. He…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — The National Union of Somali Journalists concluded its participation in the global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence with a slate of trainings, safeguarding measures and a human rights colloquium that union leaders say will strengthen protections for women journalists and raise ethical reporting standards across Somalia. Backed by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, the Nov. 25–Dec. 10 campaign combined practical newsroom interventions with public awareness efforts aimed at confronting…

AFCON 2025: Africa's Premier Football Tournament Set to Kick Off in Morocco The stage is set for the commencement of Africa's biggest football event, the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2025). With 24 teams competing for the continent's most prestigious sporting title, Morocco prepares to host this celebrated tournament for the second time, running from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026. Since its inception in 1957, AFCON has evolved into a crucial measure of the performance of African teams on the…

Thursday, December 11, 2025 MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has launched an emergency diphtheria vaccination drive in the Banadir region as an expanding outbreak kills at least 50 people in recent weeks and infects more than 1,000 children, officials said. The five-day campaign begins Monday, Dec. 15, and will deploy teams to neighborhoods, health centers and schools in Mogadishu and surrounding districts. The ministry urged parents to ensure children are vaccinated, calling diphtheria “a…

Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025 GAROWE, Somalia — A Puntland State-appointed committee investigating the death of traditional elder Omar Abdillahi Abdi concluded that he was the sole casualty of a U.S. airstrike near Ceel Buh on Sept. 13, contradicting U.S. Africa Command’s assertion that the operation did not harm civilians. The committee’s report, compiled from Puntland State security agencies and witness testimonies, said Omar — widely known as Chief Omar — left Ceel Buh in the Sanaag region on Sept. 13 bound for Badhan district…

Puntland State inquiry says U.S. airstrike killed respected elder, not militant GAROWE, Somalia — A Puntland State investigative committee has concluded that a U.S. airstrike killed traditional elder Omar Abdillahi Abdi as he traveled to clan peace talks in the Sanaag region, finding no evidence he had ties to criminal or militant activity. The committee’s report, based on Puntland State security agency records and witness testimony, details the final hours of the elder known locally as Omar. It says he left the town of Ceel…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s government has rejected allegations that weapons entering the country are being routed onward to armed actors in the region, insisting there is no evidence that Somali territory is used to funnel arms to Yemen’s Houthi movement. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ali Mohamed Omar, known as Ali Balcad, told Al Jazeera Net in an interview published Wednesday that Mogadishu is intensifying efforts to disrupt illicit arms flows across the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea corridor and to prevent…

Resurgence of Female Genital Mutilation in Liberia Raises Alarm Liberia is witnessing a troubling resurgence of female genital mutilation (FGM). Recent footage has unveiled that 502 girls and young women were initiated during a combined Sande ceremony across Lofa, Maryland, and Sinoe counties. This alarming trend affects half of Liberia's rural women aged 15 to 49, according to data from UN Women. Health advocates are raising urgent concerns that this latest mass initiation indicates a deteriorating situation amidst…