West Africa

MOGADISHU — Former Somali Minister of Religious Affairs and Endowments Omar Ali Rooble accused federal security forces of raiding and demolishing parts of his family home in Mogadishu late Monday, alleging the operation was a politically motivated land grab tied to senior government figures, including President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. In a statement released Tuesday, Rooble said troops accompanied by demolition equipment arrived in a convoy of military vehicles and moved to seize a property he maintains legally belongs to his…

Somalia is sliding deeper into a health and nutrition emergency as failed rainy seasons, soaring water prices and sharp humanitarian funding cuts fuel a surge in malnutrition and preventable disease, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned Tuesday. MSF teams report rising numbers of children arriving at overcrowded displacement camps and health facilities in critical condition with severe acute malnutrition or illnesses such as measles, diphtheria and acute watery diarrhoea — conditions that vaccination and clean water can…

MOGADISHU — Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has welcomed an appellate ruling that clears the way for the country’s elected representatives to take their seats in the East African Legislative Assembly, ending months of legal uncertainty over Somalia’s participation in the regional body. In a statement issued Tuesday, the ministry congratulated the nine lawmakers chosen by Somalia’s Federal Parliament to represent the country in EALA, calling the court’s decision a key step toward…

‘We sell what we collect’: In Kismayo, displaced women turn acacia seeds into a lifeline KISMAYO, Somalia — Before sunrise on the outskirts of this southern port city, groups of women shoulder sacks and long sticks and set out from the internal displacement camps. They walk together into the scrub outside Kismayo, toward stands of acacia trees where, with a shake and a thud, their day’s earnings fall to the ground. Their harvest — tiny, brown acacia seeds, locally known as abqo — has become a fragile but vital income stream.…

Somalia’s 20‑Year Reset: From the Dervish Torch to a 2026 Inflection Point Somalia’s modern story reads like a sequence of 20-year resets. From the Dervish movement at the turn of the 20th century to the dawn of independence, from the rise and fall of military rule to civil war and fragile federal reconstruction, pivotal shifts seem to arrive roughly once a generation. As 2026 opens, the country stands at another hinge moment, shaped by constitutional change, a grinding war against Al-Shabaab, and a storm of geopolitics…

North Western State of Somalia police arrest suspects in Salal double killing; manhunt underway Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026 HARGEISA, North Western State of Somalia — North Western State of Somalia police have arrested several suspects in the killing of two men in the Salal region and launched a manhunt for others believed to be involved, authorities said Tuesday. The victims, identified as Yusuf Abdillaahi Hussein and Mustafa Jama Farah, were shot dead on Jan. 18 in the Indho-Biraale area of Salal. Police said preliminary…

HARGEISA, North Western State of Somalia — Police in North Western State of Somalia have arrested several suspects in connection with the killing of two men in the Salal region and launched a manhunt for others believed to be involved, authorities said Tuesday. The victims, identified as Yusuf Abdillaahi Hussein and Mustafa Jama Farah, were shot and killed Jan. 18 in the Indho-Biraale area of Salal, according to the North Western State of Somalia Police Force. Preliminary reports indicate that armed men opened fire on the…

LAS ANOD, Somalia — Senior traditional elders from the Darood community on Tuesday endorsed the Somali federal government’s decision to cancel security and port agreements with the United Arab Emirates, accusing Abu Dhabi of undermining the country’s unity, sovereignty and national independence. The position, announced after a large gathering of clan leaders in Las Anod, came as the elders convened to witness the inauguration of Abdulqadir Ahmed Aw-Ali, known as Firdhiye, as president of Somalia’s Northeastern Regional…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s federal government has invited the Somali Future Council, a leading opposition alliance, to a multi-day national conference in Mogadishu beginning Feb. 1, aiming to speed up talks on the country’s political direction with a particular focus on the electoral roadmap. The invitation, issued late Monday by the Office of Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre, signals a tentative step toward dialogue amid rising tensions over electoral rules and the broader governance framework. The move follows President…

Tuesday January 20, 2026 DOHA, Qatar — Somalia and Qatar on Monday signed a defense cooperation agreement aimed at deepening military ties and expanding security collaboration, days after Mogadishu formally ended its security and ports partnerships with the United Arab Emirates. Officials from both governments said the pact focuses on military training, exchange of expertise, development of defense capabilities and broader security cooperation. They said the agreement is intended to strengthen Somalia’s armed forces and…