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

Wednesday April 8, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — A fresh political row has broken out over seat HOP204 in Somalia’s House of the People after incumbent lawmaker Isaaq Ali Subag said the post was put to vote while he was still serving in office and had never stepped down. The indirect election, held Tuesday in Baidoa, produced Minister of Ports and Maritime Transport Abdulqadir Mohamed Nur Jama as the winner with 96 votes from delegates. But the result has quickly raised questions about whether the seat was properly declared vacant…

A pair of deadly attacks in southern Lebanon that killed three UN peacekeepers last month were most likely caused by Israeli tank fire in one case and a Hezbollah improvised explosive device in another, according to preliminary findings from a United Nations investigation shared last night. "We have requested with the relevant parties that the cases be investigated and prosecuted by national authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice and ensure criminal accountability for crimes against peacekeepers," Stephane…

Wednesday April 8, 2026 IDP mother and her children find shelter in IDP camp/File Photo A fresh wave of fighting in southern Somalia’s Bay region has driven thousands of families — including people already uprooted before — into parched rural communities where food, safe water and shelter are in painfully short supply. Gudey Abdullahi Malin, a mother of eight, told Radio Ergo that she fled her home in Baidoa with her children after violence broke out in her area in late March. She is now living in Buula Gedisoy village,…

President Paul Kagame issued a stark warning against genocide denial and the rewriting of history, insisting that the record of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi is incontrovertible and not open to erasure. He dismissed narratives portraying the killings as a spontaneous eruption. Kagame noted that the historical record has been firmly established by international tribunals and Rwanda’s Gacaca court process, which generated millions of case files nationwide. He also underscored that clear warnings were available before…

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s move to appoint seven new deputy ministers has drawn swift criticism from political analysts and opposition figures, who argue the decision will meaningfully inflate government spending. They describe the plan as poorly conceived, saying it places fresh strain on the national budget. Each of the seven deputies will earn N$65 000 a month — N$780 000 a year — adding nearly N$1.7 million annually to the wage bill for public office bearers. Critics also questioned whether the appointees can…

With barely an hour to spare before President Donald Trump's deadline to unleash a devastating assault on Iran, Washington and Tehran agreed overnight to a two-week ceasefire, prompting a wave of global relief tempered by deep uncertainty. Iran has also agreed to temporarily reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global shipments of oil, gas and fertiliser, easing immediate fears for an already battered world economy. Even so, international leaders warned the breakthrough remained fragile. UN chief Antonio Guterres…

Arturo Chang Wednesday April 8, 2026 Najib Warsame says Somali asylum claimants often spend months unable to work as they wait for their immigration claims to be processed. (Submitted by Najib Warsame) A hard-line immigration push in the United States is sending more Somalis to Manitoba in search of asylum, according to a Winnipeg refugee advocate who says anxiety in the community has risen sharply. Najib Warsame said many of the people he has recently assisted came to the province after feeling targeted by U.S. President…

Wednesday April 8, 2026 Garowe (AX) — Puntland State President Said Abdullahi Deni on Tuesday sharply criticized Somalia’s federal government, accusing it of pursuing a course that would erode the country’s federal model and concentrate power in Mogadishu. Addressing residents in Qardho district, Deni pointed to comments attributed to Sheikh Ali Wajiis, an adviser to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, saying they amounted to a push for the federal government to take direct control of regional states — a move he described as…

A Russian FPV drone slammed into a bus in central Nikopol, killing three people and injuring 12 others in one of the deadliest strikes reported in the frontline city in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region. "Three people were killed and another 12 injured. The enemy attacked a city bus with an FPV drone right in downtown Nikopol. It was pulling up to the stop - there were people both on board and at the stop," the head of the region's military administration, Oleksandr Ganzha, wrote on social media. Elsewhere, Russian shelling…

Wednesday April 8, 2026 Addis Ababa (AX) — Somalia has secured a place on the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) for the first time since the body was created in 2003, a diplomatic breakthrough that signals the country’s rising profile on the continent. Somalia’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union, Abdullahi Warfaa, hoisted the Somali flag at the council’s headquarters on Tuesday, marking the start of Somalia’s responsibilities during the 2026–2028 term. Government officials described the moment as a…