Somalia

In Nuneaton, a Viral Claim Meets the Reality of a Town Finding Its Footing Nuneaton, the Warwickshire market town better known as the birthplace of novelist George Eliot, has been dragged into a national argument over crime and belonging after one man’s anguished appeal went viral: “The country is not safe. But my country, now, I’m safe. I want to go back.” The speaker, 50-year-old former asylum seeker Yusuf Ali Hamud, told Sky News he has been urging the Home Office to send him back to Somalia. His assertion that Nuneaton…

Out in the Open: Somalia’s Displaced Families Wait for Help That Isn’t Coming At first light on the outskirts of Afgoye, the land looks deceptively generous—open sky, a stretch of scrubland, a hint of green beyond the road. Then you notice the mats laid directly on the earth, the improvised shelters of sticks and cloth, and children cupping their hands for sips of water measured out like medicine. This is where hundreds of families displaced by fighting in southern Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region have gathered, waiting for…

Putin and Sassou-Nguesso: Forging Ties in the Heart of Beijing BEIJING, Sept 4 – As the echoes of a grand military parade celebrating the 80th anniversary of World War II reverberated through Beijing, two leaders positioned on opposite sides of the globe met amidst a backdrop of shifting geopolitical currents. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Denis Sassou-Nguesso, President of the Republic of Congo, convened to redefine an enduring partnership that rests on historical ties and mutual interests. “Our work with Congo is…

In central Minnesota, a Somali-American doctor builds a clinic that speaks the community’s language On a winter Saturday in St. Cloud, the parking lot outside a modest strip mall is doing brisk business. Children in puffy coats hop between parents’ hands. A woman steps out of a halal butcher shop with a paper sack of lamb bones for soup. A door just down the row swings open, and a man in a pale-blue medical coat ushers in a family. Inside Hayat Clinic, the hum is steady and familiar: a child’s cough, a greeting in Somali, a…

Somalia's Puntland State Forces Stand Strong in the Fight Against ISIS BOSASO, Somalia - As the desolate sands of the Cal-Miskaad mountains stretch across northeastern Somalia, a determined wave of Puntland State forces is rewriting the confrontational narrative that has marred this region for years. Following the activation of Operation Hillaac, these brave soldiers have engaged ISIS militants in a series of decisive clashes, culminating in a sustained offensive that has intensified in recent weeks. Strategic Gains in a…

Somalia says senior al-Shabaab figures killed in Hiiraan raid Mogadishu — Somalia’s intelligence service says it has killed several senior al-Shabaab figures in a planned operation in the country’s center, striking what officials described as a militant stronghold in the Hiiraan region. The operation, carried out by the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) with support from international partners, took place in the Shaw area, long considered a rear base and staging ground for the al-Qaeda-linked group. What…

A Somali Voice Honored in London In a city that has become a second home to so many communities, a voice born along the Indian Ocean was celebrated this week in Bloomsbury. SOAS University of London has conferred an honorary doctorate on Somali novelist Nuruddin Farah, saluting a body of work that, for nearly half a century, has mapped the slippery terrain of exile, identity, and power. For a nation often described as “a country of poets,” the recognition lands like a steadying hand on the shoulder: an affirmation that words…

Somali president hosts senior U.S. commander in Mogadishu as both sides tighten counterterrorism cooperation Somalia and the United States moved to deepen their security partnership on Wednesday as President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met in Mogadishu with Gen. Dagvin R.M. Anderson and U.S. Ambassador Richard H. Riley for talks centered on counterterrorism and stabilization. Somali officials described Anderson as the new chief of U.S. Africa Command and said the discussions focused on accelerating joint efforts against…

New Envoys in Mogadishu Signal a Deeper European Bet on Somalia’s Future On a sunlit morning at Villa Somalia, the ritual of diplomacy unfolded with a quiet confidence. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud received the credentials of the European Union’s new ambassador, Francesca Di Mauro, and the Netherlands’ envoy, Henk Jan Bakker. It’s the sort of ceremony that can seem routine—flags aligned, hands clasped, a few words about friendship and cooperation. But in Mogadishu, where diplomacy has often moved in fits and…

Kenyan Border Towns on Edge as Somali Fighters Cross into Mandera After Jubaland Clashes What we know NAIROBI—A tense calm has settled over Kenya’s northeastern frontier after armed Somali regional fighters reportedly crossed into Mandera County, fleeing clashes with Somalia’s federal forces in the neighboring state of Jubaland. Residents say schools are shut, shops are shuttered, and families are on the move, unsure if the gunfire drifting across the scrubland will stay on one side of the border—or spill deeper into Kenya.…