Somalia

Friday April 17, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — After days of commercial strain in Somalia’s capital, authorities in Mogadishu moved on Thursday to enforce an order compelling traders to accept the Somali shilling. Banadir Regional Governor Hassan Mohamed Hussein Muungaab issued the directive in response to mounting complaints that refusal to take the national currency had disrupted everyday business and public transport across the city. Under the order, any trader who declines the Somali shilling will be regarded as violating the…

Friday April 17, 2026 A hard look at how political engineering, donor influence, and institutional frailty are shaping the future of the Somali state By Dr. Ali Said Faqi Two decades on, federalism in Somalia remains less a finished settlement than a work in progress — one whose contradictions now appear to threaten the stability it was meant to protect. Somalia officially embraced federalism in 2004 as a political arrangement designed to help rebuild a country shattered by collapse and civil war. It was widely viewed as a…

Friday April 17, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) - The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has issued a sharp rebuke of Israel’s decision to name a diplomatic representative to North Western State of Somalia, the self-declared region in northwestern Somalia. In a statement shared Thursday on social media platform X, the OIC said the move amounted to a breach of Somalia’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, while referring to Israel as the “occupying power.” The organization reaffirmed its full support for the Federal…

Friday April 17, 2026 Istanbul (AX) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met Thursday in Istanbul, underscoring a relationship that has steadily widened beyond diplomacy into energy, trade and security. The talks took place at the Dolmabahce Presidential Office, according to Türkiye’s Communications Directorate. Erdogan said Ankara would keep moving to deepen ties with Somalia across a range of areas, with trade and energy at the forefront. He pointed to the start of operations…

AXADLE, Somalia — Puntland State has said Somalia has slipped into a constitutional vacuum, warning that the country’s political atmosphere is growing more fragile and urging immediate talks to avert deeper instability. In a statement issued Thursday, Puntland State’s cabinet said that under Article 60 of Somalia’s provisional constitution, the mandate of the Federal Parliament expired on April 14, 2026. It also said the term of the president of the Federal Government of Somalia will come to an end on May 15, 2026, in line…

Friday April 17, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia and India have signaled a renewed push to deepen their ties after a meeting in Mogadishu between Somalia’s foreign minister and India’s newly appointed ambassador. Somalia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Abdisalam Ali, received the copy of credentials of Dr. Adarsh Swaika, India’s ambassador to Somalia, who is resident in Nairobi, at a ceremony on Wednesday at the ministry’s headquarters in Mogadishu. According to a statement from the ministry, the…

Friday April 17, 2026 Garowe (AX) — Puntland State’s Cabinet has called on President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to work toward a broad political settlement on Somalia’s elections, warning that a prolonged standoff could deepen the country’s instability. The appeal came after a Cabinet session chaired by Puntland State President Said Abdullahi Deni, during which ministers examined the national political climate following the official expiration of the federal parliament’s four-year mandate on April 14, 2026. “The Council calls on…

Southwest State, one of Somalia’s federal regions, is facing a period of political disruption that is testing local governance and federal-state relations. Recent changes in leadership and security control in and around Baidoa have raised practical questions about how services, budgets, and authority are managed when formal political mandates are contested or interrupted. This explainer looks at what has changed in Southwest’s leadership, the governance problems it highlights, and the key facts shaping the current period.…

AXADLE, Somalia — Puntland State’s ministerial council on Thursday pressed Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to use the last month of his tenure to forge a broad political settlement, warning that uncertainty is deepening as key federal mandates run out. The appeal came after a cabinet session led by Puntland State President Said Abdullahi Deni, where officials examined the country’s political situation. The debate has sharpened since the federal parliament’s mandate officially expired on April 14, 2026. "The Council…

Thursday April 16, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia on Thursday sharply criticized Israel’s appointment of an ambassador to North Western State of Somalia, saying the decision infringes on Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. In a statement, Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Israel’s move to name an ambassador to the self-declared breakaway region in northern Somalia amounted to “a direct breach of Somalia’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity,” and ran counter to international law, including the…