Sunday May 24, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s Ministry of Interior said on Saturday that Banadir district commissioner elections will be held after the Eid al-Adha holiday, with newly chosen local council members set to vote for district leaders and their deputies. Interior, Federal Affairs and Reconciliation Minister Ali Yusuf Ali Hosh unveiled the plan in Mogadishu during a training session for newly elected local council members. He described the vote as part of a broader effort to complete a democratic and accountable…

By Ray Campos, Nick LentzSunday May 24, 2026 Huzaifa Ahmed, Imam of Lakeville Masjid, speaks after Friday’s disturbance. ISAIAH MN Police say a man is in custody after a disturbance Friday outside a mosque in Lakeville, Minnesota, where officers found two knives in his pockets during the arrest. Authorities were called to Lakeville Masjid at 8670 210th St. W. shortly before noon after a person at the scene reported that the man, whose age has not been released, was behaving erratically and asking unusual questions, police…

Sunday May 24, 2026 Lakeville, Minn (AX) — A Minnesota civil rights group is applauding the arrest of a man accused of wandering outside a Lakeville mosque with a knife and pretending to be a federal official, an episode it described as alarming and one that underscores persistent concerns about safety at houses of worship. The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said Saturday that officers moved quickly after the man allegedly showed up near the mosque, acted strangely and claimed he was involved…

Mogadishu, Somalia – In a push to professionalise Somalia’s police and bolster national stability, Minister of Internal Security Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail today inaugurated a 10-day instructor training for the Somali Police Force in Mogadishu, a programme designed to raise institutional capacity across the security sector. Funded by the Government of Japan, the 10-day training is being conducted by the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) Police at the General Kaahiye Police Training Academy as…

Saturday May 23, 2026 Maths teacher Hassan Mohamed Ibrahim lost his job in one of eight IDP schools in Baidoa closed by funding cuts/Abdullahi Mohamed/Ergo More than 120 teachers in Baidoa’s displacement camps have been left without work after aid cuts shut down eight schools, pushing hundreds of families deeper into hardship in one of Somalia’s busiest hubs for the displaced. The schools, located in the Bookay area north of Baidoa, had been educating about 1,500 children from internally displaced families. With the…

Saturday May 23, 2026 A tanker in the Gulf of Aden came under a suspicious approach on May 22, prompting its armed security team to fire warning shots in a bid to turn away a small boat — the latest in a string of incidents tied to active Somali pirate groups. The reported encounter was passed to UK Maritime Trade Operations by the tanker’s company security officer. The vessel was underway when it was approached about 98 nautical miles from Socotra, the Yemeni-controlled island off the Horn of Africa. A small craft carrying…

ANKARA, May 23, 2026 - Turkey expects to wrap up offshore oil drilling in Somali waters within six to nine months, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, if weather and atmospheric conditions hold steady. Erdogan said the operation carries "historical significance," calling it Turkey’s first deep-sea drilling effort beyond its own borders. "We hope to bring long-awaited good news to the brotherly people of Somalia, who have long struggled with internal instability and famine," Erdogan said at an official event in…

Saturday May 23, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — In a meeting that underscored mounting attention to rights protections in Somalia, Somali Police Force chief Brig. Gen. Asad Osman Abdullahi held talks with leaders of the Independent National Human Rights Commission on cooperation in safeguarding human rights, improving accountability and strengthening oversight of detention facilities. The commission was represented by Chairperson Dr. Maryam Qaasim, Deputy Chairperson Mohamed Harun, Director General Mustafa Ahmed and other…

Saturday May 23, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somali government forces killed six al-Shabab militants on Friday in a planned operation in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region, the Ministry of Defense said. According to the ministry, the Somali National Army, working alongside international partners, launched the operation in the Ugunji area after intelligence indicated that al-Shabab fighters were massing there in preparation for an attack. The ministry said six militants were killed and that weapons and other military equipment used…

Turkey to Dispatch Delegation to Somalia Amid Election Row: Sources MOGADISHU, Somalia, May 23 — Türkiye is set to send a senior delegation to Mogadishu after the Eid holidays in an effort to help chart a path through Somalia’s widening electoral dispute between federal leaders, according to sources familiar with the matter. The move comes as Turkish officials step up diplomatic outreach, with tensions rising over the country’s electoral framework and proposed constitutional changes, the sources said. People with knowledge…