Eye on Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The Somali National Army has announced victory over Al-Shabaab militants in the unstable Lower Shabelle region, a top official said Monday after a series of operations targeting the Al-Qaeda-linked group that has been wreaking havoc on East Africa for the past 14 years. Since January, the SNA, African Union Mission troops and the US Africa Command have carried out sophisticated operations against militants across Somalia, and the result certainly seems convincing, according to reports from the Somali…

Toxins in water produced by cyanobacteria killed more than 300 elephants in Botswana this year, officials said Monday, announcing the outcome of an investigation into the deaths that had confused and alerted conservationists. Cyanobacteria are microscopic organisms that are common in water and are sometimes found in soil. Not everyone produces toxins, but scientists say that toxins occur more often as climate change drives global temperatures. Cyril Taolo, deputy director of the Department of Wildlife and National…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia's hopes for timely elections suffered a setback on Monday after international partners said the newly signed agreement was not in line with the goals of Africa's direct elections. The agreement was printed in Mogadishu on September 17 in Mogadishu after four days of talks, allowing the federal government and member states to end a possible pre-election crisis that had engulfed the country's internal policies. President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, five regional leaders, signed the agreement…

Former Malidefence minister and retired Colonel Bah Ndaw was appointed interim president on Monday, while the leader of the junta who seized power last month was appointed vice president, state television announced. Mali's ruling junta has come under heavy pressure from leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to bring power back to civilians after the August 18 coup that toppled President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. It was unclear whether the arrangement would satisfy ECOWAS, which last week…

NAIROBI, Kenya - The United States wants Kenya to support Israel's political and commercial interests or forget about a FTA with the world's largest economy. These are a set of conditions set out in the ongoing FTA negotiations between Nairobi and Washington. The United States has stated in its objectives from The East African that the agreement with Kenya, in terms of commercial partnerships, should counteract actions that anticipate or discourage business between the United States and Israel. Washington argues…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - UN Chief Envoy to Somalia James Swan held a closed-door meeting on Sunday with Security Chief General Abdi Hassan on the agenda of the long-awaited election, which would begin in November 2020. Secretary-General Hassan is police commissioner and is tasked with providing homeland security in the Horn of Africa, which has struggled with insecurity for decades due to growing al-Shabaab attacks and conflicts between clans that have tracked efforts to restore normalcy in the country. Sources familiar…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Newly nominated Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble met with federal lawmakers on Sunday, just three days after President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo unveiled him pending approval from the lower house, which has a constitutional mandate to cultivate him before taking office. Although it is not clear what he told MPs, Roble was pictured with dozens of those who will formally approve his appointment in the coming weeks. The name will be presented to the House in the coming weeks by the relevant…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Former Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire held a closed door meeting on Sunday with Senate Spokesman Abdi Hashi in Mogadishu, just days after stakeholders signed an agreement to see the country go to the polls after days of internal war. Several sources told Axadlethat the two leaders discussed the transition period witnessed by Somalia and the journey towards the expected new government, which is expected to be constituted by 2021, when the country elects a new president through a…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The United Nations has promised to work closely with Somalia, a country that has fought conflicts between the clans and the Al-Shabaab threat, just as the global agency is celebrating its 75th anniversary and when Somalia is eager to hold credible elections that unite all stakeholders. For the past 60 years, Somalia has been a member of the United Nations and remains one of the largest recipients of disaster management and many disasters that have badly affected the nation. Somalia plunged into…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo was partly responsible for the failure of the election of a one-man vote in Somalia, a top position has sensationally claimed and argued that his administration failed to exploit and reform the electoral system. In a gibberish against Farmajo, Wadajir party leader Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame insisted the country was plundering the possibility of electing leaders in the vote as in many countries, adding that Villa Somalia "failed the people at the most…