Puntland

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somali police arrested a senior advisor to the president of Puntland State during a late-night raid at an airport-area hotel in the capital, prompting allegations of intimidation and physical assault against federal lawmakers and sharpening political tensions across the country. Authorities identified the detainee as Ahmed Abdi Mahamud Hurre. Witnesses and local reports said Hurre was meeting several members of the Somali Federal Parliament at the Airport Hotel in Mogadishu when police moved in and took…

AXADLE, Somalia — Puntland State on Monday formally rejected unilateral attempts by Somalia’s federal government to amend the country’s provisional constitution, warning that the push risks fracturing national unity and destabilizing the federal system. After a high-level consultative meeting in Garowe, Puntland State President Said Abdullahi Deni and federal lawmakers from the region issued a joint statement condemning the reform process led by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The regional leadership called the proposed…

Puntland State accuses Somali president of fueling tensions over election plan AXADLE, Somalia — Puntland State on Tuesday accused Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of stoking political tensions after the federal government rejected a proposed timetable for local council elections as “illegal,” escalating a long-running rift over power-sharing and control of the electoral process. In a sharply worded statement, Puntland State’s interior ministry said the schedule issued by Somalia’s federal electoral and boundaries…

Mogadishu, Somalia — Former President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed “Farmaajo” met Saturday with Puntland State President Said Abdullahi Deni and Jubbaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islam “Madoobe” in Mogadishu, urging urgent dialogue to resolve escalating disputes over elections and constitutional reform that he warned could tip the country into a constitutional vacuum. The talks centered on Somalia’s political trajectory and the need for an inclusive settlement amid mounting friction over proposed constitutional amendments and…

Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026 MOGADISHU, Somalia — The presidents of Puntland State and Jubbaland are expected to arrive in Mogadishu within hours to join a national consultative conference on Somalia’s electoral process and constitutional reforms, signaling a tentative easing of tensions between the federal government and regional states. Officials said advance teams from the Puntland State and Jubbaland presidencies — largely composed of security personnel — landed Tuesday afternoon at Aden Adde International Airport and are…

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…

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…

Somalia pledges inclusive dialogue as Jubaland, Puntland State allege flight blocks ahead of election talks MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s federal government on Tuesday reaffirmed its commitment to preserving national unity and advancing an inclusive political dialogue, even as tensions rise with the Jubaland and Puntland State regional administrations over security arrangements before planned election talks. In a statement, the government said it remains fully committed to an open, broad and constructive consultative…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Puntland State authorities on Tuesday executed a woman convicted of murdering a 14-year-old girl after the victim’s family chose retributive justice under Islamic law, a rare application of the death penalty against a woman in the semi-autonomous region. Officials said the execution was carried out in Galkacyo, a divided city in central Somalia, after courts found Hodan Mohamud guilty of killing Sabirin Saylaan Abdille, a minor who had been working as a domestic helper. Judges ruled that Sabirin died as…

Puntland State executes woman for torture-murder of 14-year-old domestic worker in Galkayo GALKAYO, Somalia — Authorities in Somalia’s Puntland State state on Tuesday executed Hodan Mohamud by firing squad after a court convicted her of the prolonged torture and murder of 14-year-old domestic worker Sabirin Saylaan Abdille. The court enforced Qisas — retributive justice under Islamic law — at the request of the victim’s family, who rejected offers of Diyo, or blood compensation. Prosecutors said Abdille, a minor from a poor…