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

Two children were killed after a mine planted by the Russian Wagner group near the Libyan capital exploded on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Unity Government. The blast took place in the Ain Zera region, a civilian area where mercenaries had planted improvised explosives before leaving, according to the government's press center for the Burkan al-Ghadab (Vulcano of Rage). The children, identified as Maad and Zaida Aburas, died in the blast, officials said. There are still about 7,000…

Libya's interim prime minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah announced plans for elections this summer, rejecting the eastern parliament's bid to oust him. Dbeibah, who heads the Government of National Unity (GNU) in the western part of the country, reiterated his promise to resign only after a national vote, defying the Eastern-based parliament's appointment of former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha to replace him as prime minister. Dbeibah also said that GNU will hold a parliamentary election followed by a…

The UN Special Adviser to Libya, Stephanie Williams, reiterated her call on Libyans to focus on the electoral process and maintain peace amid rising concerns for the country's future on Sunday. Last week, during a meeting with Libyan senior politicians, she highlighted the need for free and fair elections in Libya "in the shortest possible time". "I stressed the need for the various Libyan political forces to strive for the broadest possible consensus, through an inclusive and transparent process,"…

At least 16 folks had been killed and 20 others injured when a feminine suicide bomber blew herself up at a restaurant in Beledwayne, the regional capital of Hiiraan province, police informed the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) on Saturday. The feminine bomber entered the restaurant, which is often visited by residents and authorities troopers, at lunchtime. "We have collected the bodies of 12 dead people, including the bomber himself," mentioned senior regional police officer Hassan Dhi'isow. he…

Ethiopia will begin producing energy from its controversial mega-dam on the Blue Nile from Sunday, authorities officers advised Agence France-Presse (AFP). The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which might be the most important hydropower mission in Africa, has been at the middle of a regional dispute since Ethiopia broke floor in 2011. "Tomorrow will be the first energy generation of the dam," an Ethiopian authorities official mentioned on Saturday. A second official confirmed the knowledge.…

MOGADISHU (AXADLE) Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) has completed the fourth round of a series of trainings to improve the safety and security of Somali journalists and media freedom with support from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) in Baidoa, South West Somalia. The training program, which ran from July 2021 to February 2022, has benefited more than 90 local journalists in five regions of Somalia: Banadir, Hirshabelle, Puntland, Galmudug and South West State. Almost 40% of the…

NAIROBI (AXADLE) Germany is providing € 20 million in aid through the United Nations to alleviate the suffering of the ongoing severe drought in parts of Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia. Following a historic drought, the UN estimates that around 13 million people are at risk of starvation. In Somalia, 1.4 million people are estimated to be displaced due to the current drought, and 7.7 million, half of the population, are in need of humanitarian assistance. There has been almost no rainfall in…

As France prepares to withdraw its forces from Mali, the way may be open for talks between the Malian government and al-Qaeda-linked militants, a process that could bring the West African nation closer to peace. Mali, a landlocked nation of 21 million people, has fought to curb a brutal uprising that erupted in 2012, before spreading to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. Thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed and 2 million people displaced by the Sahel-wide conflict, in which Mali is…

MOGADISHU (AXADLE) Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) and Somali Media Association (SOMA) deplore the brutal attack by the Turkish-trained Haramcad police force against journalists covering militant attacks in Mogadishu on Wednesday, February 16, 2022. Around 9am on Wednesday, a group of local journalists went to report car bombing and gunfire at several police stations and security checkpoints in Somalia's capital Mogadishu the night before. According to the journalists and the photos from the…

The growing inequality between vaccines around the world has affected the poorer countries the most, especially the African countries. In an attempt to bridge the gap, Germany's BioNTech, the developers of the first mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 together with Pfizer, announced plans to send mobile vaccine production units to Africa. "The question was, can we make the process compact enough to fit in a container," BioNTech CEO and co-founder Uğur Şahin told Agence France-Presse (AFP) when the company…