leadership

Friday February 20, 2026 MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s new army chief met senior African Union leadership in Mogadishu to tighten battlefield coordination and accelerate the country’s Security Transition Plan as Somali forces prepare a renewed push against al-Shabab following Ramadan. Brigadier General Ibrahim Mohamed Mohamud, commander of the Somali National Army (SNA), hosted a closed-door session at army headquarters with Ambassador El Hadji Ibrahima Diene, the Special Representative of the African Union and head of the…

Gordon Brown said the crisis engulfing Keir Starmer over Peter Mandelson was “serious” and that the Labour leader had been “too slow to do the right things,” even as he backed Starmer as “a man of integrity” who had been “betrayed” by his former Cabinet ally. The intervention from the former prime minister came as the Metropolitan Police confirmed its misconduct-in-public-office investigation into Mandelson will “take some time,” after officers searched properties in London and Wiltshire. Mandelson has not been arrested. “I…

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…

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AX) — Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency, working with international security partners, carried out an airstrike on a high-level meeting of al-Shabab commanders in the Middle Juba region on Wednesday, targeting a safe house in the Bu’aale district, security officials said. Authorities described the mission as intelligence-led and designed to fracture the al-Qaida-linked group’s senior leadership. The compound, identified as a venue for strategic consultations among senior figures, was…

Editorial | Somalia-UAE Rupture Demands Restraint, Responsibility, and Regional Solidarity Somalia’s decision to sever ties with the United Arab Emirates lands at a perilous moment for a nation still recovering from more than three and a half decades of conflict, displacement, and institutional fragility. Millions of Somalis depend—directly and indirectly—on regional economic and humanitarian links for their livelihoods and survival. That is the central fact that must guide every actor’s next move. This diplomatic…

Is North Western State of Somalia’s Recognition the Issue, or Has Somali Leadership Already Failed? North Western State of Somalia’s recognition debate has become a convenient flashpoint for Somali politics, but the harder truth is internal: For more than three decades, successive leaders in Mogadishu have failed to prioritize a consent-based national settlement. North Western State of Somalia declared separation in 1991. Thirty-four years on, the central questions are less about external recognition and more about whether…

Opinion/Analysis | North Western State of Somalia recognition is a mirror held up to Somalia’s leadership For nearly 34 years—since North Western State of Somalia declared the restoration of its sovereignty in 1991—the question of recognition has shadowed Somali politics. Yet framing the crisis as a binary fight over North Western State of Somalia’s status misses the deeper failure: successive federal leaders have not built a consent-based, trust-driven union that people across the country would choose to join. Recognition…

KISMAYO, Somalia — Jubbaland’s interior minister warned Wednesday that Somalia is slipping into a national crisis under what he called poor federal leadership, escalating tensions ahead of a political conference in the port city of Kismayo that organizers say is designed to redirect the country’s trajectory. Interior Minister Mohamed Hussein Oogle said expectations placed in President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s administration have not materialized and that the course charted by federal authorities no longer reflects realities…

OP-ED: Trump’s Appraisal, Somalia’s Test: Leadership, Reform, and Global Perception Somalia once again finds itself judged by a sound bite. Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent remarks — widely criticized as dismissive — have stirred fresh debate not just about global perceptions of Somalia, but about the country’s own leadership and the substance of international engagement. That debate matters. Language shapes policy, donor priorities and public attention. But rhetoric is not destiny. Somalia’s future will be…

Somalia says intelligence raid strikes al-Shabab leadership in Jilib; separate operation reported to kill 13 near Afgooye MOGADISHU — Somalia’s intelligence service said Thursday its forces carried out an overnight operation in Middle Juba targeting senior al-Shabab commanders inside the militant group’s longtime stronghold of Jilib. The National Intelligence and Security Agency, known as NISA, said the mission zeroed in on leadership elements within al-Shabab but did not disclose casualties or the extent of damage.…