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

A deadly strike on a UN peacekeeping base in southern Lebanon has left one peacekeeper dead and two others injured, underscoring the mounting danger surrounding the mission as violence intensifies across the border region. "A UNIFIL peacekeeper died early this morning from critical injuries sustained when mortar shells struck his position," the force said in a statement, adding that an investigation is now under way. Serbia's defence ministry said the peacekeeper was Serbian and stated that he died from injuries suffered in…

Amid rising political tensions, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has unveiled a new 30-member cabinet, a move that underscores the complexities within his party, Pastef. This reshuffle comes after Pastef initially threatened to withdraw from the process over disputes regarding the cabinet's composition. Led by former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, Pastef announced its intent not to engage with the government formation due to differing views on the lineup. Despite this stance, five members from the party made it onto the final…

Thursday June 4, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — More than 10 hours of intense fighting between Somali government forces and armed groups aligned with the opposition shook Mogadishu on Wednesday, cutting off roads, disrupting airport traffic and sending residents in parts of the capital scrambling for safety. The violence began at Dabka junction, where government forces and security guards linked to former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire each blamed the other for triggering the confrontation. Police said masked gunmen opened fire on…

Somalia: Fiqi accuses former PM, ex-president of 'coup attempt' amid Mogadishu clashes MOGADISHU, June 4, 2026 – Somalia’s government on Thursday accused a former prime minister and an ex-president of staging an armed bid to overthrow the state, after intense fighting broke out in the capital between government forces and militias aligned with the opposition. The crisis deepened after hours of heavy gunfire and…

A federal high court has handed down the death penalty to four men implicated in the harrowing 2022 assault on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, where forty-one worshippers lost their lives and over a hundred sustained injuries during a Pentecost service. This devastating attack has drawn widespread condemnation across the nation. In a ruling delivered in Abuja, Judge Emeka Nwite emphasized that the prosecution established its case with compelling evidence, including testimonies from survivors who could…

Thursday June 4, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Heavy gunfire that erupted in Mogadishu on Thursday drew sharp concern from the United States and the United Kingdom, both of which urged Somalia’s political leaders to step back from confrontation and settle their disputes through dialogue. In a warning that underscored the stakes for the country’s fragile security, the U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu said the violence could have far-reaching consequences for Somalia’s stability. “The violence unfolding in Mogadishu is reckless,” the…

The Ebola outbreak tearing through central Africa was already well advanced by the time health officials identified it, the head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday, even as he stressed that efforts to contain the virus are beginning to gain ground. Declared on 15 May in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the outbreak has so far been confirmed in 359 people, among them 61 who have died. Health officials caution, however, that the true toll may be considerably higher, with signs the virus had been…

After a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the country’s Ebola outbreak is beginning to turn a corner, even as major hurdles persist in testing, surveillance, vaccine development and winning community trust. What he witnessed on the ground, he added, left him hopeful. Tedros reported a decline in cases. He said 344 infections have been confirmed in the DR Congo, including 60 deaths. At the same time, suspected cases have fallen sharply—from…

Gunfire in Mogadishu has done what weeks of warnings could not: it has laid bare the hard political truth that Somalia’s election disputes cannot be settled by force alone. For months, federal member states, opposition figures and other influential political actors had urged caution as efforts moved ahead around an electoral model that never won nationwide consensus. Their message was consistent. In Somalia’s still-fragile political order, negotiation and agreement matter more than the reach of state institutions acting on…

Thursday June 4, 2026 Ismail Jama Ali by the shack where he and his family now live after diabetes forced him out of work and their rented home/Sabah Mohamed/Ergo A sudden collapse changed Ismail Jama Ali’s life in an instant — and with it, the future of the family of 12 he had been trying to hold together. Since being diagnosed with diabetes in February, he has been unable to work, leaving his household in Gabiley scrambling for food, rent and school fees. The illness was first uncovered after he fainted in shock following…