NEW YORK — A reported North Western State of Somalia bid to establish an embassy in occupied Jerusalem has drawn sharp condemnation from foreign ministers across the Muslim world, who said the move would defy international law and violate U.N. resolutions. In a joint statement released Sunday, the ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Türkiye, Pakistan, Indonesia, Djibouti, Somalia, Palestine, Oman, Sudan, Yemen, Lebanon, and Mauritania called the reported plan “illegal and unacceptable.” They reiterated that…

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia - The Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Wednesday sharply condemned reports that the self-declared “North Western State of Somalia” region intends to open an embassy in al-Quds, a move that would further signal growing ties between the Israeli regime and the breakaway territory in the Horn of Africa. In a press statement, the OIC General Secretariat said it was deeply alarmed by media reports about plans by “North Western State of Somalia” to establish a so-called “embassy” in occupied Jerusalem. It…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A reported plan by North Western State of Somalia to open a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem has drawn sharp condemnation from the Arab League, after Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit spoke by phone about the region’s increasingly tense geopolitical climate, officials said. The conversation focused on stability in the Horn of Africa and what both sides described as the need for a coordinated response to the move by the breakaway region. Both leaders…

Thursday May 21, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s federal government on Wednesday denounced North Western State of Somalia’s plan to establish an embassy in Jerusalem, describing the move as invalid under law and as a deliberate affront to the Arab and Islamic worlds. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the proposed mission carried no legal weight because Mogadishu considers North Western State of Somalia part of Somalia’s sovereign territory. “The Federal Republic of Somalia reaffirms its unwavering…

by STEPHEN ASTARIKOSaturday May 16, 2026 The Chairperson of the Lands, Housing, Physical Planning and Urban Development Committee, Khadija Idris /STEPHEN ASTARIKO Garissa County Assembly has been plunged into a fresh political and legal dispute after allegations surfaced that the Integrated Development and Expansion Plan (IDEP) for Garissa Municipality was approved irregularly and without following the law. At the center of the row is Khadija Idris, chairperson of the Lands, Housing, Physical Planning and Urban Development…

Saturday May 16, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s federal government on Friday said it will press ahead with one-person, one-vote elections, insisting the country has entered a new democratic chapter after three days of talks with opposition leaders collapsed without a deal. The Ministry of Information said the government was carrying out its constitutional obligation to organize free and fair elections that give citizens the right to vote and stand for office. The announcement followed negotiations in Mogadishu between the…

Sunday May 3, 2026 Nairobi (AX) — Former South West State President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen has declared that he still holds the legitimate mandate to lead the administration, saying he expects to return to the region after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s term ends on May 15, 2026. In an interview in Nairobi this week — his first public comments since March 30 — Laftagareen spoke at length about the political standoff in South West State and the circumstances surrounding his departure from Baidoa. Laftagareen…

Sunday May 3, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s opposition leaders say the country is drifting into dangerous political territory, warning that an approaching electoral transition could trigger a constitutional showdown. At a press conference in Mogadishu on Saturday, the politicians said they had spent recent days consulting widely with traditional elders, scholars, women, young people, media figures, and civil society activists about the country’s political climate and the road to elections. “We agreed to safeguard the…

Amid the wreckage of Gaza, Palestinians are turning the debris of war into the groundwork for recovery, crushing shattered concrete and twisted metal to repave streets destroyed during Israel's ⁠two-year assault in what they hope will be the first visible step toward restoring their battered cities. The effort, led by the United Nations Development Programme, comes as momentum fades behind US President Donald Trump's Gaza plan, which was intended to build on an October Israel-Hamas ceasefire by ramping up aid and launching a…

Thursday March 26, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Tensions flared at Mogadishu’s Bakaara Market on Wednesday as hundreds of traders poured into the streets, accusing Somalia’s federal government of preparing to sell part of the market’s land to wealthy businessmen they say have close ties to those in power. The demonstrators blocked major roads leading into the sprawling market, denouncing what they described as an impending eviction that could wipe out their livelihoods. Many traders said the plan amounts to transferring public…