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Somali federal, Puntland State officials share stage in Galdogob as new clan chief is inaugurated Sunday, February 8, 2026 GALDOGOB, Somalia — Senior officials from Somalia’s federal government and the Puntland State administration appeared together in public for the first time in years on Sunday during the inauguration of a traditional clan leader in Galdogob district, signaling a tentative easing of tensions while underscoring the political weight of customary authority. Puntland State President Said Abdullahi Deni sat…

Somali community inaugurates house honoring former President Farmaajo in Merca as presidency disputes claim over fundraising halt Community elders and residents on Saturday inaugurated a house built in honor of former Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo in the Ceeljaalle area of Merca town, Lower Shabelle region, a project organizers said was funded entirely by donations from Somalis at home and abroad. The house was constructed under the “Thank You President” campaign, a nationwide fundraising initiative that its…

MUSCAT, Oman — Iran and the United States are set to open high-stakes talks in Oman on Friday aimed at defusing a renewed nuclear standoff, but a deep dispute over the agenda — especially Iran’s missile program — is already clouding prospects for progress and raising fears of a wider Middle East conflict. While both sides have signaled readiness to return to diplomacy, Washington wants any understanding to address far more than uranium enrichment. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the talks should encompass Iran’s…

BELEDWEYNE, Somalia — Police have arrested the final two suspects in a gang rape case that ignited public fury across Somalia after a video linked to the assault circulated widely on social media, authorities said Friday. In a statement, Beledweyne police identified the men as Abdishakur Hassan Ibrahim and Mohamed Awale Omar. They were the last at large in the case, which previously saw three other suspects detained, police said. The arrests bring all identified suspects into custody as the investigation proceeds. The case…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency said Thursday its forces killed a senior al-Shabab operative who ran the militant group’s financial extortion network in the Banadir region, which includes the capital, Mogadishu. The operative, identified as Ahmed Dhubad Xidig, also known as “Sheikh Aadan Dheere,” was killed in a targeted raid by NISA’s elite Gaashaan special forces in the Daniga Baaloow area of Lower Shabelle on Jan. 27, the agency said in a statement. According to NISA, the operation…

BRUSSELS — Somali-born human rights advocate Hassan Shire met Wednesday with Dr. Khadija Ossoble Ali, Somalia’s ambassador to the Benelux Union and the European Union, to discuss strengthening cooperation on human rights, peacebuilding and civil society engagement in Somalia, participants said. The meeting in Brussels focused on how Somali civil society organizations can work more closely with Somalia’s diplomatic missions abroad to advance justice, accountability and sustainable peace. Both sides underscored their…

US defends increased Somalia airstrikes as ‘critical support’ backing ISIS pressure in Puntland State Thursday, February 5, 2026 The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) has defended a rise in airstrikes in Somalia, calling them “critical support” that has helped Somali partner forces weaken ISIS-linked militants and hold strategic ground in the country’s northeast. In a digital press briefing, AFRICOM Commander General Dagvin Anderson said the operations are coordinated with Somali forces and designed to deliver…

BAIDOA, Somalia — At least 10 people were wounded after two days of heavy fighting between Southwest state security forces and armed militia groups rocked Baidoa, shuttering businesses, snarling transport and cutting communications in parts of the city, residents and local officials said. The clashes erupted Wednesday and continued into Thursday, beginning as a land dispute before spiraling into broader unrest with political undertones, according to witnesses. Residents reported the use of heavy weapons in several…

In the harsh light of midday in Hariro, a settlement carved into the rock and dust of Somalia’s Bari region, Mahado Cilmi Matan tightens the cloth walls of a shelter stitched from branches and tin. The hut barely holds her and her 11 children. Shade is thin, cold seeps in at night, and the wind picks at the seams. A year after war began in the Almiskad mountains above them, the family is still displaced and living without income, pushed to the edge by conflict and a relentless drought. “There is no food available,” Mahado…

GALKAYO, Somalia — Authorities in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland State region on Tuesday executed a woman convicted of murdering a 14-year-old domestic worker, a rare use of the death penalty against a woman that has reignited nationwide debate over child protection and household labor. Hodan Mohamud Diiriye, 34, was shot by firing squad in the central city of Galkayo after a court found she beat to death teenager Saabirin Saylaan late last year. Officials said the sentence was carried out under qisas, an Islamic legal…