Axadle - Leading News from Somalia and the Horn of Africa

France is shifting its strategic focus within Africa, as President Emmanuel Macron prepares to forge new connections at an upcoming summit in Nairobi. This gathering marks France’s first significant engagement in an English-speaking African country. With his tenure nearing its conclusion, Macron aims to cultivate what an Elysee Palace aide describes as a “renewed partnership” with the African continent. The two-day event next week will convene leaders, business magnates, and multilateral development bank executives,…

Mounting political strain in Mogadishu is spilling into the newsroom, with Somali journalists facing arrests, intimidation and abuse in a series of incidents that the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) says point to a dangerous clampdown on independent reporting. The cases, all involving officers of the Somali Police Force, have affected journalists from six media outlets: Kalsan TV, Goobjoog Media Group, Shabelle Media Network, Somali Stream, Somali Cable TV and Kaab TV. NUSOJ says the pattern is especially…

By Khadar AfrahSaturday May 9, 2026 In Mogadishu’s Warlaliska neighbourhood on the evening of 6 May 2026, gunfire from federal government forces cut down civilians in a clash that had nothing to do with Al-Shabaab. The violence erupted during the government’s own land clearance drive — a wave of forced removals from public and private property that has swept across the capital in recent weeks. Among the dead was three-year-old Musamil Yusuf Osman. Casualties were reported on both sides. Former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed…

African nations, including Kenya, Malawi, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe, have advised their citizens residing in South Africa to exercise caution and remain indoors due to a series of attacks targeting foreign nationals. In response to the escalating situation, Ghana has called for intervention from the African Union. South Africa is experiencing significant unrest as protests against illegal immigration have erupted, leading to violence directed at migrants from other sub-Saharan countries in Africa's leading economy.…

MOGADISHU – Security forces were stationed around the home of former Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire on Saturday as tensions deepened in the capital ahead of an opposition-led protest scheduled for Friday in Mogadishu. According to sources, the presence of troops near Khaire’s residence, close to Mogadishu airport, was intended to block efforts to organize support for the demonstration. Opposition figures say the rally is meant to denounce forced evictions and the demolition of homes in the city. The political…

Saturday May 9, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — A fresh wave of arrests and harassment targeting journalists in Mogadishu has drawn sharp condemnation from the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), which says police and intelligence officers detained multiple media workers over the past week as political temperatures climbed in the capital. In a statement issued Saturday, NUSOJ said reporters and camera operators from Kalsan TV, Goobjoog Media Group, Shabelle Media Network, Somali Stream, Somali Cable TV and Kaab TV were…

MOGADISHU – Former Somali president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has moved to northern Mogadishu, with reports saying the relocation is intended to keep him closer to his family amid rising political tensions in the capital. Sources familiar with the move said Sheikh Sharif moved his residence to be among his clan, seen as a precaution to avoid any possible restrictions, including fears of being placed under house arrest, as the political situation in Mogadishu remains tense. The former president is also among opposition…

By  DARLENE SUPERVILLESaturday May 9, 2026 President Donald Trump said Friday that Russia and Ukraine had accepted his call for a three-day ceasefire and a prisoner swap, casting the limited pause as a possible first step toward ending a war that has dragged on for years. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Yuri Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, both said the arrangement had been agreed to. “I asked and, President Putin agreed. President Zelenskyy agreed -- both readily,” Trump…

by STEPHEN ASTARIKOSaturday May 9, 2026 Garissa County Assembly Speaker Abdi Idle speaking to journalists in his office. /STEPHEN ASTARIKO Garissa County Assembly Speaker Abdi Idle has issued a stark warning to MCAs who repeatedly skip sittings, saying prolonged absenteeism could cost them their seats under the assembly’s standing orders. Addressing reporters in his office, Idle said the pattern of missing House business was hampering the assembly’s work and slowing down the passage of key motions and bills intended to serve…

Under the shadow of possible Ukrainian strikes, Russia staged its most stripped-down Victory Day parade in years, a stark departure from the grand military spectacles that once defined 9 May as Moscow still struggles to secure the triumph it promised in the deadliest war in Europe since World War II. The parade on Red Square marks Russia’s most important national holiday, commemorating the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany and honoring the 27 million Soviet citizens who died in the war, including many from Ukraine. Long…