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

Sunday March 22, 2026 A Qatari military helicopter went down in Qatar’s territorial waters, killing all seven people on board — among them three Turkish nationals — according to authorities in Doha and Ankara. In statements issued Sunday, the Qatari and Turkish defence ministries said the aircraft suffered a technical malfunction before crashing. Qatar’s Defence Ministry said the failure occurred during a “routine duty”. Four of the dead were Qatar Armed Forces personnel, one served with the Qatar-Turkey joint forces and…

For Kyiv, Tehran has become a belligerent power. Over the past four years of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Iran has supplied Moscow with thousands of Shahed kamikaze drones — weapons responsible for killing hundreds of Ukrainian civilians and wounding thousands more. At first glance, a US war with Iran — a partner of Russia — and resultant regime change in Tehran might be expected to strain US-Russian ties and indirectly help Ukraine’s cause. Yet that rupture has not occurred, even after Russian President Vladimir Putin…

Sunday March 22, 2026 United States President Donald Trump boards Air Force One as he travels to his Mar-a-Lago resort on March 20, 2026 With airport lines swelling and thousands of screeners still working without pay, United States President Donald Trump is escalating pressure on Congress — and now says he is prepared to send federal immigration agents into the nation’s terminals to “do Security like no one has ever seen”. “I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday, and have already told them to, ‘GET READY,'” Trump wrote…

At least 64 people, including 13 children, lost their lives in a devastating assault on a hospital in Sudan, according to the World Health Organization on Saturday. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed the attack on Friday targeted el-Daein Teaching Hospital, the capital of East Darfur. He called for an end to the nearly three-year conflict plaguing Sudan, asserting that "enough blood has been spilled." The assault claimed the lives of at least 64 individuals, among them 13 children, two female…

Sunday March 22, 2026 Dhusamareb (AX) — With Somalia’s federal leadership and the Southwest State locked in an increasingly sharp political standoff, Galmudug Vice President Ali Dahir Iid on Thursday stepped forward with an offer to broker talks, pressing both Mogadishu and Baidoa to return to dialogue before the dispute deepens. Iid said Galmudug stands ready to help “lay the groundwork” for renewed discussions between the Federal Government of Somalia and the Southwest State administration, arguing that a prolonged…

An outbreak of meningitis in Kent has seen its confirmed case count fall as a mass vaccination and antibiotic campaign for young people entered a fourth day. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said confirmed infections have been revised down from 23 to 20 following additional laboratory testing announced this morning. Suspected cases currently under investigation also decreased, dropping from 11 to nine, bringing the combined total to 29 — down from 34 reported yesterday. Nineteen of the 20 confirmed infections have been…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — South West State Assembly Speaker Dr. Ali Said Fiqi on Sunday delivered a sharp rebuke over what he called the misuse of Egyptian military assistance, alleging that arms meant to protect the country are instead being turned against its own people. Dr. Fiqi said the consignment of small arms, provided by Egypt, was intended to strengthen Somalia’s national security and confront “the real enemies of the country.” He stressed the aid was never designed for deployment against Somali civilians or to…

Sunday March 22, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — A sharp new escalation in Somalia’s federal-regional tensions unfolded in Baidoa on Saturday, when Southwest State President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen accused the federal government of what he called a “blatant invasion” of territories under his administration. Speaking to newly trained Southwest troops, Laftagareen said the central government is moving special forces into Southwest regions and using aircraft to transport militias and additional troops, a claim he framed as a…

Three weeks into the conflict, the human and material toll is already stark and sweeping. More than 2,000 people dead, 10,000 injured. More than 4 million people displaced in the region, a million of them in Lebanon. Oil prices above $100 a barrel. 45 million people at risk of acute hunger as food, fuel and shipping costs rise. 56 cultural heritage sites damaged or destroyed in Iran. Several more at risk in Lebanon. One of the clearest indicators of how this war is unfolding is the pace and scale of the bombardment. The…

Sunday March 22, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — A group of Somali federal lawmakers say they were blocked from boarding outbound flights at Aden Adde International Airport during the current parliamentary recess, an episode that has reignited questions about political tensions in the capital and the freedom of movement of elected officials. Most of the MPs affected were elected from Southwest State. They told reporters they were stopped as they prepared to travel abroad for routine trips during the legislative break. The lawmakers…