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

Thursday June 4, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Former Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on Wednesday accused President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of turning the national army into a political tool, as fierce fighting continued to rage in parts of Mogadishu. At a news conference in the capital, Sharif said government troops had been deployed in large numbers around his home and surrounding neighborhoods ahead of opposition plans to stage protests on Thursday. He said peaceful protest is a constitutional right and cannot legally be…

Wednesday June 3, 2026 Bosaso (AX) — Puntland State security forces have detained a foreign ISIS fighter in the Calmiskaad mountains of the Bari region, officials said Wednesday, in a development they say reflects mounting pressure on the militant group. Gen. Mahmoud Jama Faadhigo, spokesman for Operation Calmiskaad, said the man was arrested in the Af-cas area after reportedly breaking away from an ISIS base in Shakaala. Faadhigo said the fighter, identified as a Yemeni national, told security personnel that he had spent…

The European Union has cleared the way for Ukraine and Moldova to advance to the next phase of their membership bids, after diplomats said Hungary had signalled it was lifting its long-running veto on Kyiv's progress. "This marks a significant milestone in their European integration path, and sends a strong message of EU unity and determination," Cyprus, which holds the rotating presidency, said in a social media post. The bloc formally opened accession talks with Ukraine in June 2024, launching a complex process that…

Wednesday June 3, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Gunfire erupted Wednesday afternoon at Dabka junction in Mogadishu, where government forces exchanged fire with the security detail of former Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, just hours before opposition groups were set to stage demonstrations in the capital. Videos and photos circulating on social media showed what appeared to be intense shooting in the area. The number of casualties was not immediately known, and the federal government had not released an official account of…

Wednesday June 3, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Tensions in Somalia’s capital sharpened on Wednesday after a short but violent exchange of fire near Dabka junction, with police and former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire each accusing the other side as opposition demonstrations loomed just hours away. In a video posted to the Somali Police Force’s Facebook page, spokesman Abdifatah Adan Hassan said masked armed men targeted a police checkpoint where security personnel were deployed. He said the assailants were carrying heavy…

Wim Wenders, the celebrated German filmmaker, says he is pulling his 1975 film Wrong Move from circulation after actress Nastassja Kinski renewed criticism of a scene in which she appeared topless at age 13. In a statement posted on his foundation’s website, Wenders apologised to Kinski and said the Wim Wenders Foundation, which owns the film, is removing it from all current distribution channels. "As the only person responsible at the time for Wrong Move who is still here, I recognise that Nastassja Kinski should have been…

By Abdishakur Ali MireWednesday June 3, 2026 Somalia is again slipping into political uncertainty, this time driven by the continued failure to settle on a national electoral framework. Every four years, the country appears to relive the same cycle: political tension rises, institutions reach the end of their mandate, and disputes sharpen in the absence of a credible agreement on how elections should be conducted. At the heart of the crisis is the lack of a nationally endorsed electoral model capable of ending repeated…

Anger over the killing of a Southampton teenager spilled into violence as protesters hurled missiles at police near the spot where an 18-year-old student was handcuffed while fatally wounded after a stabbing. Henry Nowak was attacked on 3 December 2025 by 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa, who told police at the time that he had been the target of a racist attack. Body-worn camera footage from the night captures Mr Nowak repeatedly telling officers: "I've been stabbed". Hundreds of protesters gathered outside Southampton Central…

Wednesday June 3, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Tensions erupted into gunfire in central Mogadishu on Wednesday, as Somali police and former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire exchanged accusations over a brief clash near Dabka junction just hours before opposition rallies were due to begin in the capital. Police spokesman Abdifatah Adan Hassan said in a video posted on the Somali Police Force’s Facebook page that masked armed men stormed a police checkpoint where security personnel were deployed. He said the assailants were carrying…

Finnish prosecutors have charged a man with the sexual abuse of 361 children through social media, in a case the National Prosecution Authority described on Wednesday. According to the authority, the alleged offences took place between 2019 and 2022 and involved victims between the ages of nine and 15. Finnish police said in December that they were investigating the same case and suspected a 27-year-old man of 364 sexual offences against children. But the Prosecution Authority said today that prosecutors had chosen not to…