Axadle - Breaking news and analysis from Somalia, the Horn of Africa, and across Africa.

Senegal Dismantles Paedophile Network Linking France In a significant crackdown on organized crime, Senegalese authorities have arrested 14 individuals in connection with a criminal network operating between Senegal and France. This group, composed primarily of Senegalese nationals, is accused of engaging in serious offences involving the exploitation of minors. According to police reports, the alleged crimes committed by this network include "organised paedophilia, pimping, rape of minors under 15, sodomy, and…

Ethiopia hosts secret camp to train Sudan’s RSF fighters, with alleged UAE backing, sources say Ethiopia is operating a clandestine training camp for thousands of fighters destined for Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, according to an investigation drawing on satellite imagery, internal Ethiopian security documents and accounts from officials and diplomats reviewed by Reuters. The development would mark the first direct evidence of Ethiopian involvement in Sudan’s war and risks deepening a regional conflict already fed by…

Somalia and Djibouti sign MoU to deepen higher education and research ties Tuesday, February 10, 2026 MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia and Djibouti on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding to expand cooperation in higher education and research, committing to academic exchanges, joint degree programs and stronger protections for intellectual property as the neighbors seek to invest in their young populations. The agreement, signed in Mogadishu by Somalia’s Minister of Education, Culture and Higher Education, Farah Sheikh…

TRIPOLI — A rubber boat carrying 55 migrants from several African countries overturned off the coast of Libya after taking on water about six hours after leaving al-Zawiya, the U.N. migration agency said, in one of the deadliest incidents this year on the Libya‑Europe route. Only two women from Nigeria survived and received emergency medical care from the International Organization for Migration, the agency said. Survivors told IOM officials the overcrowded dinghy departed late at night and capsized north of Zuwara. One…

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will chair a cabinet meeting after weathering fresh calls from within Labour to resign, as his top ministers moved quickly to close ranks and project stability at the heart of government. The routine session follows a day of turbulence set off when Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar urged Starmer to step down over the fallout from the Peter Mandelson controversy. Sarwar is the most senior Labour figure to demand the prime minister’s resignation, warning the “distraction” from Downing…

MOGADISHU — Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre met Monday with a senior German delegation for talks on Somalia’s deepening humanitarian crisis, security cooperation and political reforms, as drought-driven displacement and hunger surge across the country. The delegation, led by Germany’s Minister of State for Economic Cooperation and Development, Niels Annen, and including Ambassador Sebastian Groth, discussed emergency assistance, stabilization and development priorities, according to Somali officials. The talks also…

Analysis: EU audit warning exposes risks at the heart of planned CAP overhaul The European Court of Auditors has fired an early warning shot over the European Commission’s plan to fold agricultural policy into a wider, performance-driven budget in the next Multiannual Financial Framework, saying the redesign could delay farm payments, heighten uncertainty and weaken the “common” in the Common Agricultural Policy. The critique goes to the core of how the EU intends to fund farming, rural development and cohesion from 2028 to…

CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in Cairo on Sunday, pledging deeper security cooperation and renewed economic ties while underscoring Egypt’s support for Somalia’s sovereignty amid regional frictions in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea. Mohamud, on a two-day official visit, received full honors at the Ittihadiya Presidential Palace before the leaders held a closed-door session followed by expanded talks with their delegations, the Egyptian presidency said. In a…

King Charles voices ‘profound concern’ as police assess claims Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor shared UK trade files with Jeffrey Epstein London — King Charles has signaled “profound concern” over allegations about his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s conduct and said he would “stand ready to support” police if approached, Buckingham Palace said Monday, as Thames Valley Police confirmed it is assessing claims the former prince shared confidential trade reports with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The palace said the…

Opinion: Somalia Is Central to Red Sea Security — and the Arab World Can’t Afford to Overlook It Global markets don’t advertise their weak points; they reveal them when the world’s shipping arteries tighten, energy prices jump and supply chains falter. Few chokepoints matter more right now than the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. And within that corridor, one actor remains consistently underestimated: Somalia. Somalia has long been reduced to a shorthand for fragility. That frame obscures a transition hiding in plain sight.…