Trump extends U.S. national emergency on Somalia for one year

Monday April 13, 2026

Mogadishu (AX) — President Donald Trump has prolonged the U.S. national emergency over Somalia for another year, renewing a policy first put in place in 2010 to confront terrorism, piracy and the chronic instability that has long unsettled the Horn of Africa nation.

In a notice dated April 8, 2026, the White House said the emergency, which was due to lapse on April 12, will now stay in force through April 12, 2027. The extension preserves U.S. sanctions and other legal tools intended to curb threats tied to armed groups, illicit financing and breaches of international embargoes involving Somalia.

The national emergency was first declared by President Barack Obama on April 12, 2010, under Executive Order 13536 and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. At the time, the administration pointed to Somalia’s worsening security climate, piracy along its coastline and violations of a United Nations arms embargo as unusual and extraordinary threats to U.S. national security and foreign policy.

Further action followed in 2012 with Executive Order 13620. That measure aimed at cutting off revenue for al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab, especially through the illegal charcoal trade, while also targeting the diversion of Somali public assets and violence directed at civilians.

The emergency framework continues to support sanctions enforced by the Treasury Department, including asset freezes and travel bans on people and entities associated with terrorism, arms trafficking, piracy and conduct seen as undermining Somalia’s peace, security and stability.

Although Somalia has made gains in rebuilding state institutions and strengthening its security forces with international backing, Washington still regards al-Shabab, regional volatility and illicit financial networks as enduring threats that require continued legal and financial pressure.