Axadle - Leading News from Somalia and the Horn of Africa

Thursday April 30, 2026 Garacad (AX) — Fighting broke out in the Garacad area of Mudug region on Thursday morning after Puntland State security forces engaged suspected pirates, leaving several people feared dead and others wounded. Local residents said the confrontation began when Puntland State forces moved against armed men believed to be connected to recent piracy incidents along the coast. Among those injured is the commander of the Jariiban district police station, Abdullahi Abdi Elmi “Guray Dusaaye” (Booyaax),…

Oil prices pulled back after a dramatic surge to a four-year peak above $126 a barrel today, as traders weighed the risk that the US-Iran war could intensify into a longer conflict and choke Middle East supplies in a way that would threaten global economic growth. The rally gathered pace earlier after Axios, citing unidentified sources, reported overnight that US President Donald Trump was due to be briefed today on plans for a series of military strikes on Iran, an effort aimed at pressuring Tehran back into talks over its…

NAIROBI/GENEVA – Somalia’s most vulnerable children are being squeezed from every side: drought, deep aid cuts and now the fallout from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which has sent transport costs and fuel prices soaring and threatened the flow of lifesaving nutrition supplies. For families already living on the edge, the disruption is more than an economic headache. Aid workers say shortages of therapeutic food are forcing clinics to turn away children with severe acute malnutrition and to ration the stock that remains.…

Thursday April 30, 2026 What began as a routine day in Golders Green quickly turned into a major counterterrorism response after social media images circulated showing a suspect apparently carrying a knife through the north London neighbourhood. London (AX) — Two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green, north London, in an incident police are treating as a terrorist attack. The men, identified as 34-year-old Shilome Rand and 76-year-old Moshe Ben Baila, who was known locally as Moshe Shine, were targeted on Wednesday in…

As King Charles continued his visit to the United States, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani injected a charged colonial-era dispute into the conversation, saying the British monarch should return the Koh-i-Noor Diamond to India. "If I were to speak to the king separately from that, I would probably encourage him to return the Koh-i-Noor Diamond," Mr Mamdani, who is Indian American, said when asked at a press conference just hours before a ceremony honoring victims of the September 11 attacks. Mr Mamdani and the king later…

Alex RossThursday April 30, 2026 Screen grab from body worn camera of police officers confronting and arresting a 45-year-old man who remains in custody, they have said, following two people being stabbed in Golders Green (Metropolitan Police/PA)Metropolitan Police A victim of the suspected terror attack in Golders Green has condemned the government for “not doing its job” after recalling the moment he was stabbed in the chest. Shilome Rand, 34, was wounded alongside 76-year-old Moshe Ben Baila, known locally as Moshe Shine,…

In a significant development, the Federal High Court in Abuja has permitted a prosecution witness to testify under protective conditions during the trial of a retired army general and five co-defendants accused of orchestrating a failed coup against President Bola Tinubu. Justice Joyce Abdulmalik issued the ruling following requests from the prosecution, which highlighted the necessity of such measures for security reasons as the proceedings unfold. The federal government has brought forth 13 charges, including treason,…

Thursday April 30, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Uganda has sent a fresh batch of soldiers to Somalia, with the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF) announcing the deployment of a new contingent under the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia, or AUSSOM, as regional efforts to shore up security continue. Battle Group XLVII (BG 47) was officially dispatched on Tuesday after completing pre-deployment training at the International Peace Support Operations Training Centre in Singo, Nakaseke District. Speaking at…

With oil markets on edge and diplomacy stalled, US President Donald Trump has been weighing how to cushion the fallout from a potential months-long US blockade of Iran's ports, according to a White House official, while pressing Tehran to “get smart soon” and agree to a deal. The discussion with US oil executives yesterday came after several days of impasse in efforts to end the conflict, which has prompted the United States to squeeze Iran’s oil exports through a naval blockade in an attempt to force Tehran to reopen the…

by BRIAN ORUTAThursday April 30, 2026 Former Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has urged Somalis to rally around national unity and reinforce democratic institutions as the country heads toward a new electoral cycle, saying political calm must outweigh personal or factional ambition. Speaking in a recent interview with journalist Suleyman Hashi, Farmajo presented Somalia’s political path as a measure of how well its institutions can withstand pressure, rather than as a showdown between rival political camps. He…