Somalia

Somalia’s federal experiment under strain as Las Anod conflict exposes deeper tensions MOGADISHU — The row over the emergence of a new regional administration in Las Anod — branded SSC-Khaatumo by its leaders — has become the latest flashpoint in a long-running struggle over how Somalia is governed. At the centre of the controversy is President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, accused by critics of steadily eroding the federal compact that was supposed to anchor the country’s fragile post-transition order. The immediate complaint is…

U.S. halts support for Somalia’s elite Danab commandos, raising alarm as AU forces prepare to leave MOGADISHU, Somalia — The United States has suspended its support for Somalia’s elite Danab special forces, reliable sources told Axadle on Monday, a move that could reshape the fragile security balance as African Union troops prepare to withdraw next year. The decision, described to journalists by sources who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject, follows growing U.S. concerns about “accountability…

Somalia’s plea in Addis Ababa: climate justice is not charity, it’s survival At a summit meant to elevate Africa’s voice on climate, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud delivered a blunt reminder: the continent is being asked to decarbonize while still paying the price for emissions it did not cause. His appeal — for scaled-up finance, clearer delivery mechanisms and a rapid transition from pledges to payouts — was not a diplomatic flourish. It was a survival plan for a country that has endured back-to-back climate…

Analysis: North Western State of Somalia, Gaza, and a perilous recognition bargain In Hargeisa, where tea stalls hum with late-night talk and the red-green-white flag flutters from shopfronts, the idea sounds both dizzying and dangerous: that international recognition for North Western State of Somalia might be tethered to a plan, reported in Israeli media, to forcibly move Palestinians from Gaza to this corner of the Horn of Africa. It is a proposition loaded with history—and the kind of fragile politics that can ignite a…

How a U.S. child‑nutrition fraud stretched from Minnesota to Nairobi — and what it reveals about pandemic-era crimes The U.S. Department of Justice’s recent indictment of two Kenyan brothers accused of laundering millions tied to a multimillion‑dollar scheme to steal federal child‑nutrition money reads like a study in how local corruption can quickly become transnational. At stake were dollars intended to feed children in American schools; according to prosecutors, some of that money ended up in apartments near Nairobi…

Why Ethiopia’s rebuke of the Arab League matters beyond a diplomatic spat When Ethiopia’s ambassador to Somalia, Suleiman Dedefo, posted a withering critique of the Arab League this week — asking whether the bloc had become “an instrument executing Egypt’s anti-Ethiopia policy” — he did more than punt a regional insult into cyberspace. The message tapped into a deeper, increasingly fraught debate over water, sovereignty and how international institutions choose sides when resources and livelihoods collide. The immediate…

New airstrip in Buur Hakaba offers hope — and a test of resilience — in Somalia’s restless south BUUR HAKABA, Somalia — In the sun-baked plains between Baidoa and the coast, a strip of compacted earth has suddenly become more than a patch of ground. On a warm Sunday morning this week, local leaders and residents cut a ribbon on Buur Hakaba’s first-phase airport — a modest airfield that community members and the Southwest state government say will be a lifeline for trade, education and elections in a part of Somalia long…

Ebola Returns: A New Outbreak in the Heart of Congo As the world grapples with various health crises, a familiar shadow reemerges in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with a new outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD). Officials confirmed on September 4, 2025, that the country’s 16th outbreak is now underway in Kasai Province, sending ripples of concern through communities that have battled this virus before. A Troubling Diagnosis The index case is a 34-year-old pregnant woman who was admitted to a local hospital last…

Djibouti, Djibouti  — A decade after China’s big-ticket infrastructure spree swept across Africa, the shine is fading. Railways, highways, and ports still stand as symbols of ambition. But the debts behind them are now coming due. From Djibouti to Nairobi and Addis Ababa, governments are rethinking their dependence on Chinese loans. And Beijing, once the continent’s biggest builder, is rethinking its own playbook. For years, China was Africa’s largest bilateral lender, pumping more than $170 billion into projects…

Somalia’s president brings a climate plea to Addis Ababa as Africa seeks a united front ADDIS ABABA — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud arrived in Ethiopia’s capital on Sunday as leaders from across Africa convened for the second Africa Climate Summit, a gathering that has shifted in recent years from platitudes to a sharpened insistence: poor nations deserve more money, and faster, to cope with climate shocks. Mohamud was greeted at Bole International Airport by senior Ethiopian officials and joined other high-level…