border

Kenya to reopen Somalia border in April after 15-year closure, Ruto says MANDERA, Kenya — Kenya will reopen its border with Somalia in April, President William Ruto said Thursday, pledging tight security as his government moves to revive formal cross-border trade after years of closures tied to al-Shabab attacks. Speaking at the NYOTA Capital Disbursement event in Mandera, Ruto said he will personally officiate the reopening of the Mandera Border Post, which has been shut since 2011. “We cannot trade with closed borders. For…

Ethiopia demands immediate withdrawal of Eritrean troops as border tensions spike ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia has formally ordered Eritrea to “immediately withdraw its troops” from Ethiopian territory, issuing a sharp diplomatic rebuke that underscores the most perilous turn in relations between the Horn of Africa neighbors since their 2018 peace deal. In a letter dated Feb. 7, 2026, addressed to Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh, Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos accused Asmara of “outright aggression,” detailing…

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya has reopened its land border with Somalia for the trade in miraa, or khat, ending a 15-year suspension in a move officials cast as a landmark step for regional commerce and rural livelihoods. The decision, cleared by Kenya’s National Security Council, immediately restores road access for miraa exports through Mandera, Liboi and Kiunga — key crossing points that had been closed to overland shipments. Traders say the reopening will cut costs, expand market reach and curb the influence of cartels that…

KISMAYO, Somalia — An improvised explosive device killed two Kenyan police reservists and wounded two others Thursday near a border patrol position in Mandera County, close to the frontier with Somalia, Kenyan police said. The blast struck at Kulun Border Point Four along the Bulla Hawa–Mandera crossing, about 100 meters inside Kenyan territory in Mandera East Sub-County, according to a police report. The officers, attached to the National Police Reserve, were on routine patrol when the device detonated in a remote section…

Two people were shot and wounded by a U.S. immigration agent during a vehicle stop in Portland, Oregon, authorities said, intensifying tensions already high after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis a day earlier. Portland Police Chief Bob Day urged restraint as investigators worked to establish what happened. “We understand the heightened emotion and tension many are feeling in the wake of the shooting in Minneapolis, but I am asking the community to remain calm as we work to…

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Tuesday announced a U.S.-brokered security coordination framework between Israel and Syria after talks in Paris, unveiling a rare trilateral mechanism aimed at de-escalating border tensions and preventing miscalculation along one of the Middle East’s most volatile frontiers. At the heart of the arrangement is a “special communications cell,” described by all sides as a joint fusion mechanism for intelligence sharing and military de-confliction. The channel — which will operate under…

KIUNGA, Kenya — On a sliver of Kenya’s northern coast, just 15 kilometers from the Somalia border and within sight of the turquoise shallows of the Kiunga Marine National Reserve, a different kind of refugee story has been unfolding for more than three decades. It’s a story without tents or barbed wire, without aid convoys or registration queues. In Kiunga, families opened their doors to Somali neighbors fleeing conflict and drought — and kept them open. A new media release by the Office of the Director Public Service…

Cambodia accuses Thailand of bombing Poipet as ASEAN, China press for ceasefire Cambodia accused Thailand’s military of bombing the border city of Poipet, a major crossing and casino hub, as international pressure mounted on both governments to halt renewed clashes along their frontier. Thai forces “dropped two bombs in the area of Poipet Municipality, Banteay Meanchey Province” at around 11 a.m. local time, Cambodia’s defense ministry said in a statement. Thailand has not confirmed any strike on Poipet. The fighting, which…

Cambodia shuts border crossings with Thailand as Bangkok denies Trump claim of ceasefire Cambodia has closed all official crossings with Thailand amid days of cross-border clashes, hours after Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul contradicted former U.S. President Donald Trump’s assertion that the two countries had agreed to halt fighting. The Interior Ministry in Phnom Penh said it would “suspend all entry and exit movements at all Cambodia-Thailand border crossings” effective immediately, following new fatalities along…

BANGKOK — Thailand launched air strikes along its disputed border with Cambodia after both countries accused the other of breaching a cease-fire agreement brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, the Thai military said, marking the sharpest escalation in months along one of Southeast Asia’s most volatile frontiers. The Thai military said at least one Thai soldier was killed and four were wounded in fresh clashes around two areas of Ubon Ratchathani province after its troops came under Cambodian fire. “The Thai side has now…