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

Turkey’s Residency Freeze Meets Somali Realities: What a Quiet Diplomatic Meeting Reveals In Ankara this week, a low-key meeting between Somali Ambassador Fathudiin Ali Mohamed Ospite and Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya put a human face on a policy that has reshaped daily life for foreigners across Turkey: the suspension of most new residency permits. The conversation was practical—how to help Somali citizens renew and obtain legal stay when the rules have tightened—but the implications are wider. As countries from…

Hope and Frustration: Youth Perspectives in Côte d'Ivoire's Presidential Elections As Côte d'Ivoire prepares to head to the polls on October 25 for a pivotal presidential election, a palpable wave of anticipation mingles with frustration among its most vital demographic: its youth. With around 75% of the country’s 38 million citizens under the age of 35, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Many of these young people find themselves grappling with limited job opportunities and a sense of disillusionment stemming from the current…

Raid on Northern Mozambican Mine Leaves Police Missing, Operations Halted An attack on a mining site in Mozambique’s volatile Cabo Delgado province has forced miners to flee, left equipment ablaze and an unspecified number of police officers missing, authorities and local sources said Friday. The assault — blamed on Islamist militants — interrupted operations at the site and prompted fear among communities already traumatised by years of violence. What happened Raiders struck the extraction site in the north of the…

Putin’s nuclear drills, a postponed summit and the widening war of attrition For two leaders who flirted with the idea of a quick, high-stakes meeting, the choreography of power this week looked less like summit diplomacy than a careful mutual stand-off. Moscow staged a large-scale training exercise that it said included intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of striking the United States, and Washington announced a pause in plans for a second Vladimir Putin–Donald Trump summit as diplomacy over Ukraine staggered back…

Somali businesses step in to turn displacement into livelihoods MOGADISHU — On a sun-baked morning in a sprawling camp on the outskirts of Mogadishu, the signs of lives interrupted are unmistakable: corrugated iron shelters clustered along dusty tracks, makeshift stalls selling tea and charcoal, children weaving between tents. For many inside, the question is no longer just where to sleep tonight but how to rebuild a future when formal jobs are scarce and public services thin. Into that breach this week stepped an alliance…

Somalia Mourns a Stalwart of the Bench: Abdullahi Dahir Bare, 1940–2024 In a city that has seen far too many funerals, Mogadishu paused on Wednesday night to honor a man who spent a lifetime in service to the law. The Office of the Attorney General confirmed the passing of Abdullahi Dahir Bare, a former attorney general and one of the country’s earliest judges. He was 84. In a statement, current Attorney General Sulayman Mohamed extended condolences to Bare’s family and to a public that knew him as a steady presence…

Champions League roundup: Barcelona crush Olympiakos after controversy; Man City too smooth for Villarreal; Arsenal blitzes Atletico On a night when Europe’s heavyweights reminded the continent why they are feared, Barcelona ran up a 6-1 scoreline against Olympiakos that hid a complicated, combustible middle act. Manchester City did what Manchester City does—two clinical strikes, then a long spell of control over Villarreal. And in London, Arsenal pressed the accelerator and didn’t let up, burying Atletico Madrid under four…

North Korea fires ballistic missile days before APEC leaders meet in South Korea North Korea launched at least one ballistic missile on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, in a stark reminder that Pyongyang’s weapons programme remains central to regional security even as world leaders prepare to gather in South Korea for an APEC summit next week. What happened South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff described the projectile as an “unidentified” missile that flew eastward, saying it was North Korea’s first such launch…

Somalia’s fragile federal compact faces a test as Mogadishu convenes regional leaders on 2026 elections MOGADISHU — President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud will host a carefully staged meeting in Mogadishu this week with leaders from three federal member states, a gathering that officials say is aimed at salvaging a badly strained process for the 2026 national elections. Expected to attend are Abdiasis Hassan Mohamed (Laftagareen) of South West, Ahmed Abdi Kariye (Qoorqoor) of Galmudug, and Ali Gudlawe Hussein of HirShabelle. But…

Analysis: In Ceerigaabo, a Local Truce Holds National Promise for North Western State of Somalia and Puntland State At first light in Ceerigaabo, the mountain air smells faintly of resin from the frankincense groves that have fed trade routes for centuries. Today, the conversation in this highland town in the Sanaag region is less about caravans and more about coexistence. Elders, clerics and businesspeople are trying to turn a fragile respite from clan tension into something sturdier—an agreement that could unlock security…