Somalia

Somalia’s planned leap to one-person, one-vote exposes fragile balance between hope and division MOGADISHU — Somalia’s long-simmering experiment with electoral reform has entered a decisive — and potentially divisive — phase. The National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (NIEBC) has announced that Banadir, the region that contains the capital Mogadishu, will pilot what would be the country’s first direct, universal-suffrage poll on November 30. The move comes despite vocal resistance from several federal…

Somalia’s Youth Are Tired of Waiting — and They’re Redefining Power In Mogadishu’s bustling Bakara Market, where new smartphones and secondhand books share the same tarp, you meet a generation raised online but boxed in offline. They scroll through global ideas and opportunities on cracked screens, yet face a political landscape at home that feels both fixed and far away. This is the quiet paradox of Somalia today: a young, connected society living under an older, disconnected politics. More than any single headline, the…

MOGADISHU — Somalia moves to fortify capital after high-profile al Shabaab attack MOGADISHU, Oct 23, 2025 — Somali authorities have dispatched newly trained security units to the main approaches into Mogadishu in a renewed effort to tighten control of the capital after a brazen assault on a national intelligence compound earlier this month. Residents and independent witnesses described convoys of troops in armoured personnel carriers and pickup trucks mounting checkpoints on highways leading into the city late Wednesday,…

Somali forces say they killed seven al‑Shabaab fighters in coordinated raid in Hiiraan MOGADISHU — Somali security forces, aided by international partners, killed seven al‑Shabaab militants in a multi‑phase operation on Monday in Kuukaayle, a locality in the Mahas District of Hiiraan region, officials said, underscoring the continued, often murky partnership between Somali units and foreign military planners in the fight against the insurgency. Three‑stage operation Somali authorities said the mission was launched after…

Turkey’s Residency Freeze Meets Somali Realities: What a Quiet Diplomatic Meeting Reveals In Ankara this week, a low-key meeting between Somali Ambassador Fathudiin Ali Mohamed Ospite and Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya put a human face on a policy that has reshaped daily life for foreigners across Turkey: the suspension of most new residency permits. The conversation was practical—how to help Somali citizens renew and obtain legal stay when the rules have tightened—but the implications are wider. As countries from…

Somali businesses step in to turn displacement into livelihoods MOGADISHU — On a sun-baked morning in a sprawling camp on the outskirts of Mogadishu, the signs of lives interrupted are unmistakable: corrugated iron shelters clustered along dusty tracks, makeshift stalls selling tea and charcoal, children weaving between tents. For many inside, the question is no longer just where to sleep tonight but how to rebuild a future when formal jobs are scarce and public services thin. Into that breach this week stepped an alliance…

Somalia Mourns a Stalwart of the Bench: Abdullahi Dahir Bare, 1940–2024 In a city that has seen far too many funerals, Mogadishu paused on Wednesday night to honor a man who spent a lifetime in service to the law. The Office of the Attorney General confirmed the passing of Abdullahi Dahir Bare, a former attorney general and one of the country’s earliest judges. He was 84. In a statement, current Attorney General Sulayman Mohamed extended condolences to Bare’s family and to a public that knew him as a steady presence…

Champions League roundup: Barcelona crush Olympiakos after controversy; Man City too smooth for Villarreal; Arsenal blitzes Atletico On a night when Europe’s heavyweights reminded the continent why they are feared, Barcelona ran up a 6-1 scoreline against Olympiakos that hid a complicated, combustible middle act. Manchester City did what Manchester City does—two clinical strikes, then a long spell of control over Villarreal. And in London, Arsenal pressed the accelerator and didn’t let up, burying Atletico Madrid under four…

Somalia’s fragile federal compact faces a test as Mogadishu convenes regional leaders on 2026 elections MOGADISHU — President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud will host a carefully staged meeting in Mogadishu this week with leaders from three federal member states, a gathering that officials say is aimed at salvaging a badly strained process for the 2026 national elections. Expected to attend are Abdiasis Hassan Mohamed (Laftagareen) of South West, Ahmed Abdi Kariye (Qoorqoor) of Galmudug, and Ali Gudlawe Hussein of HirShabelle. But…

Analysis: In Ceerigaabo, a Local Truce Holds National Promise for North Western State of Somalia and Puntland State At first light in Ceerigaabo, the mountain air smells faintly of resin from the frankincense groves that have fed trade routes for centuries. Today, the conversation in this highland town in the Sanaag region is less about caravans and more about coexistence. Elders, clerics and businesspeople are trying to turn a fragile respite from clan tension into something sturdier—an agreement that could unlock security…