security

Puntland State officials visit newly liberated Dhaadaar to assess security and morale A senior Puntland State delegation traveled to the newly secured town of Dhaadaar on Monday to meet frontline commanders and gauge the security picture after recent operations. The visit aimed to lift troop morale and align the next steps on stabilization, humanitarian access and the return of services for residents. The delegation was led by Interior Minister Abdi Farah Juxa and included State Minister of the Presidency Abdifatah Abdinur…

MOGADISHU — Somalia moves to fortify capital after high-profile al Shabaab attack MOGADISHU, Oct 23, 2025 — Somali authorities have dispatched newly trained security units to the main approaches into Mogadishu in a renewed effort to tighten control of the capital after a brazen assault on a national intelligence compound earlier this month. Residents and independent witnesses described convoys of troops in armoured personnel carriers and pickup trucks mounting checkpoints on highways leading into the city late Wednesday,…

Somali forces arrest suspect said to be planting landmines in border town Beled Hawo, Somalia — Security forces in Somalia’s Gedo region say they have detained a man accused of attempting to lay two landmines along a busy route in the border district of Beled Hawo, averting what officials believe could have been a deadly attack on civilians and military convoys. The late-night arrest on Tuesday, confirmed by the Somali National Army’s media unit, came during a targeted operation as patrols swept through the district’s main…

International stabilisation force for Gaza is being sketched — but will it work? Plans are under way to assemble an international stabilisation force for Gaza — a concept pushed hard in President Donald Trump’s 20-point proposal for the battered Palestinian territory. U.S. advisers say Washington will back the effort and provide as many as 200 troops in an oversight and coordination role, with roughly two dozen already staged in the region to help assemble partners. On paper, it looks like a pragmatic answer to a collapsing…

Uganda and Somalia tighten security ties after joint gains against al‑Shabaab A Kampala meeting with eyes on intelligence, training, and the front lines Kampala—Somalia and Uganda have moved to deepen their security partnership after a fresh battlefield gain in southern Somalia, with both governments framing the moment as a chance to accelerate counterterrorism coordination in the Horn of Africa. On Tuesday in Kampala, Somalia’s Minister of Internal Security, Gen. Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail Fartaag, met Uganda’s Minister of…

Security lapse exposed as Al‑Shabaab storms NISA detention centre near Mogadishu’s seat of power MOGADISHU — Grainy, extended video footage verified by Somali security agencies has revealed how Al‑Shabaab militants slipped into the capital and mounted a daring raid on Godka Jilacow, a detention facility run by the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), underscoring fresh questions about gaps in urban security and the growing sophistication of the Islamist group. The footage, circulated by state media and checked…

In Mogadishu, a conversation about heat, water and peace MOGADISHU — Under the late-morning sun that bakes the coastal capital, diplomats, government ministers, peacebuilders and community activists gathered in a hotel ballroom that has seen its share of history. The occasion was modest by international standards — a one-day “Climate Talk” convened by the German Embassy — but the setting and the stakes were unmistakable: in Somalia, where climate shocks and political fragility intersect, even a discussion can be an act of…

Somalia welcomes Egypt’s security backing as new AU stabilization mission looms MOGADISHU — Somalia on Sunday publicly thanked Egypt for a message of solidarity that included promises of military equipment, training and an expected troop contribution to a forthcoming African Union stabilization mission as Mogadishu seeks to reassert control over territory long contested by insurgents. The gesture, framed by Somalia’s Foreign Ministry as evidence of “historic and deep-rooted ties,” arrives as African Union planners prepare…

Somalia’s president heads to UN with security gains and a moral case on Gaza Mogadishu’s message to New York MOGADISHU — As world leaders converge on the United Nations General Assembly this week, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud departs for New York carrying two intertwined narratives: a plea for continued international backing for Somalia’s fragile state-building and a sharp moral rebuke over the war in Gaza that echoes across the Global South. For Mogadishu, the UNGA trip is part diplomacy, part scoreboard.…

New airstrip in Buur Hakaba offers hope — and a test of resilience — in Somalia’s restless south BUUR HAKABA, Somalia — In the sun-baked plains between Baidoa and the coast, a strip of compacted earth has suddenly become more than a patch of ground. On a warm Sunday morning this week, local leaders and residents cut a ribbon on Buur Hakaba’s first-phase airport — a modest airfield that community members and the Southwest state government say will be a lifeline for trade, education and elections in a part of Somalia long…