Somalia

DOHA, Qatar — Qatar’s emir spoke by phone with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss de-escalation and regional security as tensions between Washington and Tehran sharpen, the royal court said Wednesday. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Trump reviewed “the current situation in the region and international efforts aimed at de-escalation and strengthening regional security and peace,” according to a statement from the emir’s office. The two leaders also discussed “supporting diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving crises…

MOGADISHU — Somalia’s National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission on Wednesday set April 2026 for state-level local council elections, a timetable that places the vote about a month before President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s current term ends and intensifies pressure on leaders to settle the country’s electoral rules. Elections slated for April 2026, weeks before President Mohamud’s term expires Voter registration to resume in Baidoa, Jowhar and Dhusamareb; 12 new districts added, bringing total to 35 Talks…

Erdogan replaces justice, interior ministers in surprise Cabinet reshuffle ANKARA, Turkey — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan carried out a surprise mini Cabinet reshuffle Wednesday, replacing Turkey’s justice and interior ministers as the country debates constitutional reforms and pursues a peace initiative with the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, aimed at ending a decades-long conflict. The Official Gazette announced the changes late Wednesday, elevating two figures from the judiciary and provincial administration…

All 55 survive after Somali passenger plane overruns runway, crash-lands on Mogadishu shoreline MOGADISHU, Somalia — An airliner carrying 55 people crash-landed on the shoreline beside Mogadishu’s international airport after overrunning the runway Tuesday, with all passengers and crew surviving, authorities and the carrier said. Starsky Aviation said a technical issue emerged shortly after the Fokker 50 turboprop departed Mogadishu for Puntland State. The crew requested an immediate return, but the aircraft failed to stop…

Hargeisa (AX) — The chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has voiced sharp concern over reports that a United Arab Emirates–linked training center has been established in Ethiopia for Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, with potential supply routes running through North Western State of Somalia’s Port of Berbera. In a post on X on Tuesday, Sen. Jim Risch described the RSF as “genocidal RSF thugs” and warned that alleged training and transit activity tied to the UAE would be “escalatory and further reason to…

Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026 MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s elite Danab Special Forces, operating with Jubaland state security units, killed 14 al-Shabab fighters in a planned raid Tuesday in rural areas around Jamaame town in the country’s southern Lower Juba region, security officials said. One additional militant was wounded and several others fled as troops advanced during the coordinated operation, according to the officials. The joint force targeted suspected al-Shabab positions on the outskirts of Jamaame, a farming…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A Somali passenger plane made an emergency crash-landing on the shoreline beside Mogadishu’s international airport on Tuesday morning after a technical fault, with all 55 people on board surviving, according to airline Starsky Aviation and the country’s aviation regulator. Starsky Aviation said the pilot’s “swift and calm decision-making” helped save the 50 passengers and five crew after the aircraft, a Fokker 50, reported a problem shortly after takeoff from Aden Adde International Airport and requested…

ANKARA — Somalia on Tuesday denounced Israel’s decision to recognize the breakaway North Western State of Somalia region, calling it a clear breach of international law and a fresh example of Tel Aviv’s disregard for global norms, according to the country’s justice minister. Somali Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Hassan Moallim Mohamud, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the “Türkiye-Africa Strategic Dialogue” program organized by the National Intelligence Academy (MİA) in Ankara, said Mogadishu would…

Somalia on Tuesday condemned Israel’s decision to recognize North Western State of Somalia as an independent state, calling it a violation of international law and vowing to defend the country’s territorial integrity as diplomatic fallout widened across the Horn of Africa. Speaking in Ankara on the sidelines of the Türkiye-Africa Strategic Dialogue organized by Türkiye’s National Intelligence Academy (MİA), Somali Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Hassan Moallim Mohamud said the move underscored what he…

All survive Starsky Airline crash at Mogadishu’s Aden Adde Airport after takeoff MOGADISHU, Somalia — A passenger aircraft operated by Starsky Airline crashed Tuesday at Mogadishu’s Aden Adde International Airport shortly after takeoff, but all passengers and crew survived, Somali aviation officials said. The Somali Civil Aviation Authority said everyone on board was safely evacuated with no fatalities reported. The plane was en route to Galkayo when it experienced a technical malfunction immediately after departure, forcing…