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

Libya's army chief, General Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, was killed when the Falcon 50 jet he and four others were traveling in crashed in central Turkey, Turkish authorities and Libyan officials said. The aircraft was en route from Ankara to Tripoli when contact was lost about 42 minutes after takeoff. Officials said the jet had requested an emergency landing before it went down; searchers later found wreckage southwest of Ankara near the village of Kesikkavak. An investigation into the cause of the crash has been…

Irish troops to spend Christmas on peacekeeping duty in south Lebanon as UNIFIL observes fragile Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire More than 300 Irish soldiers will spend Christmas Day on peacekeeping duties at Camp Shamrock in south Lebanon, serving with the UNIFIL mission to observe the fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah in the region. The deployment means hundreds of service members will mark the holiday away from home. Their work will continue through the day, focused on maintaining stability and…

A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow on Wednesday, a high-profile blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegations held separate talks with U.S. envoys in Miami on a possible path to ending the war. Russia’s Investigative Committee said Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head of the General Staff’s training department, died when an explosive device planted under his parked car detonated in a residential district. The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had been briefed. Kyiv has not…

Tragic Plane Crash Claims Lives of Libyan Military Leaders The Libyan military and nation are mourning the loss of key figures after a plane crash near Ankara, Turkey, claimed the lives of Army Chief of Staff Mohammed al-Haddad and four senior military officers. Mohammed al-Haddad, chief of general staff, was among the victims. The crash involved a Falcon 50 jet traveling from Ankara to Tripoli. Libya's leadership expresses deep condolences for the families and the armed forces. A Nation in Mourning Libya's…

Two men were convicted of planning an Islamic State-inspired mass shooting against Jews in the Manchester area, a plot police say could have become Britain’s deadliest terrorist attack if not for an undercover operation that exposed it. A jury at Preston Crown Court found Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, guilty of preparing acts of terrorism between December 2023 and May 2024. Prosecutors said the pair intended to attack a mass gathering and then move on to north Manchester to kill more Jewish people, though no…

Editorial | The recall of the U.S. ambassador to Somalia must trigger tougher, accountable engagement Washington’s recall of its ambassador to Somalia comes at a fraught juncture in Mogadishu—a familiar endgame in which the federal mandate under President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud nears expiration while no shared political or electoral framework is in place. That convergence is not coincidence; it is the pattern that has defined Somalia’s transition for years. The moment demands U.S. political leadership that matches the scale…

U.S. surveillance flights over Nigeria have ramped up since late November, signaling a sharp uptick in security cooperation as Washington presses Abuja to curb mounting violence, including attacks on Christian communities. Flight-tracking data and current and former U.S. officials confirm contractor-operated missions flying near daily from Accra, Ghana, across Nigerian airspace and back. It was not immediately clear what specific intelligence the aircraft are collecting. A current U.S. official confirmed the flights but…

New Epstein document dump sharpens scrutiny on Trump’s past ties, adds detail but few conclusions A fresh tranche of U.S. government records tied to Jeffrey Epstein offers new specifics on former President Donald Trump’s proximity to the financier in the 1990s and early 2000s, while underscoring how much remains unverified or sharply disputed. The materials, uneven and heavily redacted, do not alter the public record on Trump’s conduct. Trump has long denied any wrongdoing, and the Justice Department has labeled some of the…

Kenya has repatriated 119 citizens who were trapped in online fraud syndicates in Myanmar, with nearly 200 more still awaiting evacuation across Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia, the State Department for Diaspora Affairs said Monday. In a statement, the department said 198 Kenyans remain in the pipeline for repatriation. That group includes 66 in Thailand’s immigration detention center, 129 in shelters in Myanmar, and three in a Caritas Catholic safe house in Cambodia, where Kenya’s Embassy has established contact. The…

America’s forever wars didn’t end. They receded from view — and risk roaring back. While Washington fixates on China, Iran and Russia, U.S. troops are still fighting, striking and being targeted from the Middle East to the Horn of Africa and the Caribbean corridor. The missions are smaller and quieter than the wars that defined the post‑9/11 era. They are also open‑ended, conducted under authorizations Congress passed more than two decades ago — long after most Americans stopped paying attention. The footprint shrank, not…