Saturday May 9, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s opposition-backed Somali Future Council said Saturday that it will move ahead with Sunday’s demonstrations over forced evictions and demolitions in Mogadishu, brushing aside government demands that the protest be confined to one official venue. The council said the rallies would remain peaceful and would unfold across districts in the Banadir region. It accused the federal government of pushing residents out of homes and businesses without proper legal procedure, compensation,…

Mounting political strain in Mogadishu is spilling into the newsroom, with Somali journalists facing arrests, intimidation and abuse in a series of incidents that the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) says point to a dangerous clampdown on independent reporting. The cases, all involving officers of the Somali Police Force, have affected journalists from six media outlets: Kalsan TV, Goobjoog Media Group, Shabelle Media Network, Somali Stream, Somali Cable TV and Kaab TV. NUSOJ says the pattern is especially…

Saturday May 9, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — A fresh wave of arrests and harassment targeting journalists in Mogadishu has drawn sharp condemnation from the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), which says police and intelligence officers detained multiple media workers over the past week as political temperatures climbed in the capital. In a statement issued Saturday, NUSOJ said reporters and camera operators from Kalsan TV, Goobjoog Media Group, Shabelle Media Network, Somali Stream, Somali Cable TV and Kaab TV were…

MOGADISHU – Former Somali president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has moved to northern Mogadishu, with reports saying the relocation is intended to keep him closer to his family amid rising political tensions in the capital. Sources familiar with the move said Sheikh Sharif moved his residence to be among his clan, seen as a precaution to avoid any possible restrictions, including fears of being placed under house arrest, as the political situation in Mogadishu remains tense. The former president is also among opposition…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s already fraught political climate sharpened further this week as an opposition alliance urged mass street protests in Mogadishu, even as President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud prepared to convene a national dialogue conference on May 10. Former Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, along with other figures in the opposition-backed Council for Somalia’s Future, said they would take part in demonstrations scheduled for next Sunday. They called on residents uprooted by recent evictions to join the…

Wednesday May 6, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somali opposition leaders are preparing a mass rally in Mogadishu on May 10, calling on residents to take to the streets in protest against what they say is the forced displacement of people from the capital and to demand that families be allowed to return to their homes. Former President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, speaking in Mogadishu on Wednesday, said the suffering of residents — especially those uprooted from their neighborhoods — must not be dismissed. “The people of Mogadishu…

Somali opposition leaders meet in Mogadishu to discuss alternative electoral model MOGADISHU — Somali opposition leaders have convened in Mogadishu to weigh a proposed indirect voting system, a move that would steer the country away from both the 2022 electoral arrangement and the “one person, one vote” model championed by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. People familiar with the talks said the opposition is working to shape a compromise electoral formula that could later be put before international mediators involved in…

Saturday May 2, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s labour movement marked International Labour Day in Mogadishu on Saturday with a gathering of more than 1,000 people, turning the occasion into a public display of worker solidarity and shared purpose. The commemoration was hosted by the Federation of Somali Trade Unions, with backing from the International Labour Organization, and formed part of the National Conference on Employment-Intensive Investment and Decent Work. Senior government officials, labour representatives, and…

Writer Charles KingSaturday May 2, 2026 Charles King, the UK ambassador to the Federal Republic of Somalia, takes readers inside the routines and risks that define one of the world’s most challenging diplomatic assignments. In most capitals, the day begins with an alarm clock. In Mogadishu, my mornings lately have often started instead with the thunder of an F-16 fighter jet overhead. From there, it is a two-minute walk from my armoured pod to the chancery — a brief crossing under Somalia’s fierce sun that is a world away…

Saturday May 2, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has rejected Mayor Hassan Mohamed Hussein Muungaab’s move to dismiss district commissioners in parts of the capital, saying the decision has no legal basis. In a statement, the commission said the Banadir Region’s local councils were duly elected in the December 25, 2025 polls and formally took office on April 2, 2026, after being sworn in. The electoral body said the Federal Constitution and the National Electoral Law…