Eye on Africa

BEKKERSDAL, South Africa — A manhunt is under way after a mass shooting at a tavern in Bekkersdal, near Johannesburg, left nine people dead and 10 others wounded, police said Monday. Authorities said about 12 unidentified gunmen arrived in two vehicles and opened fire indiscriminately on patrons. Seven men and two women were killed at the scene, police said, while some victims were shot as they tried to flee. Another person was reported killed nearby after dropping off a passenger. Police described the attackers as…

Thousands march along Lake Street to protest DHS ‘Operation Metro Surge’ in Minneapolis Arrests top 400 as enforcement enters third week; organizers say fear is emptying stores and streets MINNEAPOLIS — In bitter cold Saturday morning, thousands of people marched more than a mile down the Lake Street corridor to protest stepped-up immigration enforcement by the Department of Homeland Security as its Operation Metro Surge moves into a third week. The event — organized by COPAL, Unidos and local union groups — drew families,…

The Release of Kidnapped Nigerian Schoolchildren Nigerian authorities have announced the release of 130 schoolchildren abducted from a Catholic boarding school in Niger state. This follows the earlier release of 100 students from the same incident. The children were kidnapped from St Mary's co-educational boarding school in Papiri. Niger state has faced recent abductions reminiscent of the infamous 2014 Chibok kidnapping. The government is dealing with multiple security concerns, including armed gangs and…

Somalia’s latest political confrontation is more than a quarrel over election dates. It is a stress test of the country’s post-debt-relief political order—and, by extension, of the international state-building model that has underwritten Mogadishu’s progress for more than a decade. At the center is the National Consultation Conference, an opposition-aligned gathering that closed this week in Kismayo with a stark indictment of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s government. Its communiqué accuses the presidency of…

In 2026, Somalia’s technology startup ecosystem stands as one of the most compelling examples of innovation emerging from adversity. Once defined in global narratives by conflict and institutional fragility, Somalia is increasingly being recognized for a new story—one driven by young entrepreneurs, digital infrastructure, and technology-led solutions to local and regional challenges.

JIGJIGA, Ethiopia — The Somali Region has inaugurated the Mesob One-Stop Service center in Jigjiga, consolidating key government services under one roof in a bid to modernize public administration and cut red tape across Ethiopia’s eastern region. Chief Administrator Mustafe M. Omer led Sunday’s opening alongside Aklilu Tadese, state minister for Cabinet and Sector Oversight in the Prime Minister’s Office. The launch positions the Somali Region among the country’s early adopters of unified service delivery, a cornerstone of…

KISMAYO, Somalia — A senior Puntland State official urged President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to embrace the outcomes of the Somali Future Council conference that concluded in Kismayo on Saturday, as the newly formed opposition alliance set a Jan. 20, 2026, deadline for inclusive talks on Somalia’s elections. Abdifatah Mohamed Abdinur, the state minister for the Puntland State presidency, called on the president to place national interests above personal considerations and warned against actions that could deepen political…

KISMAYO, Somalia — A coalition of Somali opposition leaders on Saturday gave President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud one month to convene an inclusive national dialogue on elections, warning they will move to organize an alternative process if he fails to act by Jan. 20, 2026. In a communiqué issued after a three-day meeting in Kismayo from Dec. 18–20, the Somali Future Council (SFC) said an urgent, consensus-based agreement is needed to avert a “constitutional vacuum, security crisis and the threat of terrorism.” The newly formed…

Somali president meets Ethiopia’s Abiy in Addis Ababa to bolster security, trade ties ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud arrived in Ethiopia on Friday for a one-day working visit and held talks with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed focused on strengthening bilateral relations and regional security, according to the Somali Presidency. In a statement, Mogadishu said the leaders discussed deepening cooperation across four priority areas: security coordination, political engagement, trade, and wider regional…

Somalia’s politics is trapped in a loop. A generation of leaders has cycled through the same tactics, the same alliances and the same evasions, leaving the public unconvinced that there is any meaningful difference between those in office and those seeking it. That exhaustion is no longer just a mood; it is a structural risk to the state. When voters see no program, no transparency and no red lines on sovereignty, trust collapses. And when trust collapses, predatory actors — foreign and domestic — move in. Across the last…