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Sunday April 5, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — Somali National Army commander on Friday rewarded soldiers who took part in the operation that reopened the key Mogadishu–Baidoa road, calling the campaign a serious setback for al-Shabab and a breakthrough for the movement of civilians. Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Mohamed Mahmoud praised the troops for helping secure the corridor, which militants affiliated with al-Qaida have intermittently blocked since 2009. “I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart,” the commander said. “As far as I am…

Friday April 3, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia on Thursday crossed a long-awaited threshold toward universal suffrage, with 390 newly elected members of the Banadir Regional Council sworn in at the Banadir Regional Court in Mogadishu. The ceremony marked the capital’s first one-person, one-vote local election in more than half a century. The council members were chosen in December 2025 from Mogadishu’s 16 districts and represent 20 political parties, reflecting a notable break from Somalia’s traditional clan-based political…

Thursday April 2, 2026A quiet morning at a Kampala preschool turned tragic on Thursday after a stabbing attack left four toddlers dead at Ggaba Early Childhood Development Program School in Uganda’s capital, police said. Ugandan authorities said a suspect, identified as Okello Christopher Onyu, was arrested after allegedly entering the school and killing four children. Rachael Kawala, the spokesperson for Kampala Metropolitan Police, told reporters at the scene that the suspect had come to the school two days earlier to seek…

Wednesday April 1, 2026 A migrant boat capsized off Turkey’s western Mugla province on Wednesday, killing at least 18 people as coastguard teams raced to find survivors, authorities said. According to a coastguard statement, the inflatable vessel, fitted with an outboard motor, was spotted at 0300 GMT near Mugla’s Bodrum district. The boat attempted to run despite repeated orders to halt, the coastguard said. The vessel later began taking on water amid rough weather and sea conditions in the area before sinking, the…

Wednesday April 1, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — Air traffic to Somalia’s Southwest State resumed on Tuesday, ending a suspension that had lasted nearly two weeks, just one day after federal forces took complete control of Baidoa, the region’s administrative hub. The return of commercial flights offers a tentative sign of calm after days of heavy fighting that forced Southwest State President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen to step down and set off a fresh political transition in the region. Somalia’s Speaker of the House of the…

Wednesday April 1, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia has written a fresh chapter in its football history, edging Mauritius 4-2 on penalties on Tuesday to move into the next round of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) PAMOJA 2027 qualifiers after a tense, scoreless second leg. The match at the Côte d’Or National Sports Complex finished 0-0 in regulation time, just as the first leg in Mozambique had ended without a goal. After 180 minutes of play produced no breakthrough, the contest came down to a shootout,…

Tuesday March 31, 2026 MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia's prime minister has rejected calls for indirect voting in South West State after federal forces secured Baidoa, arguing that the transition should move toward national reform rather than return to the older indirect election model. The dispute over Baidoa is also being read as a test of Somalia's federal arrangement, with critics warning that unilateral intervention could reshape the balance between Mogadishu and the regions. “Baidoa is under the control of the…

Monday March 30, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — Southwest State President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen stepped down Monday, just hours after federal government troops and armed groups aligned with regional opposition leaders entered Baidoa following fierce fighting that killed at least two people and injured 25 others. “Effective today, March 30, 2026, I, Mr. Abdicasiis Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen, resign as President of the Southwest State,” Laftagareen said in a post on his official Facebook page, offering no explanation for…

Thursday March 26, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — A sudden shake-up at the top of Somalia’s prison service has taken a new turn, with former Somali Custodial Corps Commander General Mahad Abdirahman Aden reportedly placed under house arrest without a court order just days after being removed from his post, according to sources familiar with the matter. Those sources said General Mahad’s personal security detail has been pulled and that his movements are now being watched. Federal authorities have not released any public statement to…

Friday March 20, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — Southwest State security forces said they detained several armed men on the outskirts of Baidoa on Thursday after intense clashes with fighters aligned with the regional opposition. Officials said in a statement that the detainees belong to opposition groups they allege are linked to the Federal Government of Somalia. Mogadishu has not commented on the accusation. One of the captured men told local media he is from Buurhakaba district and dropped his weapon when the shooting began. He…