Somalia

Analysis: China’s fishing push in Somalia risks fueling a marine and security crisis MOGADISHU — Accusations that Chinese distant-water fleets are mounting widespread illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing off Somalia’s coast have collided with Beijing’s expanding commercial and strategic footprint in the Horn of Africa, sharpening tensions over resources, sovereignty and security. The collision of fisheries depletion and geopolitical maneuvering is testing a fragile maritime governance system along one of the world’s…

Somalia confirms delay in $30 million Turkish budget support as budget vote looms MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s government has confirmed a delay in receiving $30 million in annual budget support from Turkey, a setback arriving as lawmakers are yet to approve a federal spending plan valued at more than $1 billion. Finance Minister Bihi Iman Egeh told local media on Wednesday that Ankara’s transfer — a recurring injection into Somalia’s treasury in recent years — has not arrived on its usual schedule. “Turkey has been…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Former Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo will not attend a political summit set to open Thursday in Kismayo, opposition figures and lawmakers said, underscoring a fluid opposition landscape ahead of Somalia’s 2026 elections. Abdirashid Xidig, a member of the House of the People and an official with the Somali Salvation Forum, said Farmaajo supports the summit’s objectives but is not part of its organizing structure. “Farmaajo is welcome to participate, but he is not part of the organizing…

Trump orders blockade of ‘sanctioned oil tankers’ bound for Venezuela, escalating standoff with Maduro WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered what he called a “total and complete blockade” of all “sanctioned oil tankers” going into and out of Venezuela, a sweeping move that intensifies U.S. pressure on Nicolás Maduro and raises fresh legal and military questions about enforcement in the Caribbean. The announcement, delivered in a late-night social media post, came days after U.S. forces seized an oil tanker…

ANKARA, Turkey — Somalia finalized a wide-ranging cooperation pact with Turkish industrial group OYAK on Tuesday, launching a program to expand and modernize the Horn of Africa nation’s fisheries while strengthening maritime security and creating jobs along its coast. Somalia’s Minister of Fisheries and Blue Economy Ahmed Hassan Adan signed the Cooperation and Marine Production Development Partnership at a ceremony in Ankara, calling it a step-change for the country’s blue economy. The agreement, he said, will channel direct…

TRIPOLI, Libya — Libyan authorities have deported a group of Somali migrants detained in the capital, the country’s Anti-Illegal Migration Agency said Monday, underscoring an intensified campaign against irregular migration that has swept up foreign nationals across the North African state. In a statement, the agency said the migrants were held at a detention center in eastern Tripoli and removed from the country after court orders and verification of travel documents. Officials said the deportations were carried out in…

Ankara, Turkey — Somalia signed a sweeping cooperation agreement with Turkish industrial group OYAK on Tuesday, launching a multi-year push to modernize the country’s fisheries and blue economy while tightening maritime security and creating jobs along its coastline. The pact, finalized by Somali Minister of Fisheries and Blue Economy Ahmed Hassan Adan in Ankara, formally establishes the Cooperation and Marine Production Development Partnership. The initiative is structured to protect Somalia’s marine environment and unlock…

BAIDOA, Somalia — South West State President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen met Tuesday with a Turkish military delegation led by Brig. Gen. Sebahattin, commander of Turkey’s Turksom Military Training Academy, to deepen security cooperation and expand training for Somali forces operating in the region, officials said. The talks at the presidential palace in Baidoa centered on accelerating military training programs, improving operational capacity and sharpening coordination between Somali units and Turkish trainers.…

Somalia hosts EASF defense chiefs in Mogadishu, underscoring rising regional security role MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia on Tuesday hosted the 35th regular session of the Committee of Defence and Security Chiefs of the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF), a high-level gathering that officials said reflects the country’s expanding role in regional security cooperation. The meeting in Mogadishu, opened by State Minister for Defense Omar Ali Abdi, marked the second time this year that Somalia has convened a major EASF forum.…

FILE - Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki hold up a symbolic key during a joint ceremony marking the restoration of diplomatic relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea in Asmara, Eritrea. The 2018 peace initiative formally ended two decades of hostility following a border war and paved the way for the reopening of embassies, flights and cross-border ties. MOGADISHU — Eritrea has withdrawn from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development for the second time, accusing the Horn of Africa…