Somalia

BAIDOA, Somalia — Southwest State is approaching a decisive political moment, with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s talks in Baidoa placing the region squarely between the prospects of peace and the threat of deeper conflict. The president met with traditional elders as tensions mounted over the future of the regional leadership. According to reports, Southwest State President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed, widely known as Lafta-Gareen, has been pushed to the margins amid political maneuvers involving the federal government.…

Sunday April 5, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met Sunday with traditional elders in Baidoa, stepping into the center of a delicate push to calm tensions and reinforce governance in Southwest State after recent political unrest. According to Villa Somalia, the talks centered on community reconciliation, support for Somalia’s democratization drive, the worsening drought and wider state-building efforts. The meeting comes days after federal authorities assumed control of Baidoa and installed an…

By Hon. Ali M OmarSunday April 5, 2026 The Federal Government says it will not accept lessons in democracy from critics it accuses of trying to weaken Somalia’s hard-won political progress. A wave of commentary on Somalia, both online and in other forums, has offered what the government sees as a selective and misleading picture of the country’s politics. The debate over South West State, it argues, has similarly obscured the deeper question: whether Somalia’s federal arrangement can be protected and strengthened. That,…

Sunday April 5, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — Somali National Army commander on Friday rewarded soldiers who took part in the operation that reopened the key Mogadishu–Baidoa road, calling the campaign a serious setback for al-Shabab and a breakthrough for the movement of civilians. Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Mohamed Mahmoud praised the troops for helping secure the corridor, which militants affiliated with al-Qaida have intermittently blocked since 2009. “I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart,” the commander said. “As far as I am…

Sunday April 5, 2026 FILE PHOTO: Somalia has been making gains against the al Shabab terrorist group. / AA Somali intelligence forces, working alongside international troops, killed at least nine Al Shabab terrorists in a शनिवार operation in the southern Lower Shabelle region, among them specialists linked to bomb-making, authorities said. The raid also destroyed six heavy engines used by the militant group to produce explosives, the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) said in a statement. NISA identified two of…

Esra TekinSunday April 5, 2026 President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States had carried out the rescue of a military officer, identified as a colonel, in what he described as "one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in US history." In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the officer had been stranded behind enemy lines in Iran’s mountainous region and was being chased by hostile forces before he was brought out safely in a major military mission involving dozens of aircraft. Noting that the officer…

Somalia’s federal parliament has been at the center of major political decisions in 2026, as lawmakers debated constitutional rules, the timetable for elections, and the government’s spending priorities. The actions taken in parliamentary sessions—sometimes orderly, sometimes marked by unrest—shape how political power is set to change later in the year. With Somalia still working under a provisional constitutional framework and facing ongoing security and governance challenges, parliamentary votes in Mogadishu carry…

Saturday April 4, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somali security forces struck at the heart of al-Shabab’s bomb-making machinery on Saturday, killing nine militants in coordinated operations in the Lower Shabelle region, according to the National Intelligence and Security Agency. NISA said in a statement that the raids were carried out with the support of international partners and were aimed at dismantling sites used to produce improvised explosive devices, the signature weapon of the al-Qaida-linked group. The first phase of the…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somali intelligence officials said Saturday that a series of coordinated raids in the Lower Shabelle region, carried out with support from international partners, left nine Al-Shabaab militants dead and destroyed equipment allegedly used to manufacture explosives. In a statement, the National Intelligence and Security Agency, or NISA, said the first strike hit the Kuunyo Barrow area, where forces targeted what it called a major militant site. During the raid, six large generators believed to be used in…

Saturday April 4, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s federal takeover of Baidoa and the swift naming of an interim administration in Southwest State have ignited a bitter constitutional showdown, with supporters of the move pointing to newly amended provisions and critics insisting the action breaches both federal and regional law. Federal government forces, working alongside fighters aligned with Southwest opposition groups, seized Baidoa after intense clashes with regional troops. Southwest President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed…