security

UNITED NATIONS — Somalia is set to assume the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council in January 2026, a move widely seen as a significant diplomatic milestone that underscores the country’s growing role in global decision-making. For the monthlong term, Somalia will steer the council’s work: setting agendas, presiding over high-stakes sessions, and guiding debates on international peace and security. The role places Mogadishu at the center of the world’s most powerful diplomatic forum, where the daily…

UNITED NATIONS — Somalia is set to assume the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council at the start of January 2026, a milestone seen by diplomats as a sign of the country’s growing voice in global security debates and multilateral diplomacy. The monthlong presidency will place Somalia at the center of the council’s work. The presiding member sets the program of work, chairs meetings, steers discussions and can convene high-level debates on urgent threats to international peace and security. While the role…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s federal government on Wednesday intensified security across Mogadishu ahead of a disputed Banadir local council election set for Thursday, June 25, deploying police and other forces along major roads and at key sites to safeguard the vote, officials said. Uniformed personnel were stationed on routes linking government facilities and around designated polling locations. Authorities said the measures are designed to protect the public and ensure the election proceeds without disruption in the…

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Security Council unanimously renewed the mandate of the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) for another year, extending operations through December 31, 2026, in a vote on Tuesday that underscored broad international backing for Somalia’s security transition. The UK-drafted resolution passed 15-0 and also set an end date for the United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNTMIS), with all UNTMIS operations to conclude by October 31, 2026.…

New York — The United Nations Security Council unanimously renewed the mandate of the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia, extending AUSSOM through Dec. 31, 2026, in a resolution adopted Tuesday that also set a timetable to wind down a separate U.N. mission. The resolution, tabled by the United Kingdom, passed 15-0 and keeps in place international backing for Somalia’s security transition amid persistent attacks by the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab insurgency. It also decided to terminate the United…

Trump names Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry special envoy to Greenland, draws rebuke from Denmark and Greenland; suspends offshore wind leases; unveils new “Trump-class” battleships U.S. President Donald Trump reasserted that the United States “has to have” Greenland for national security and named Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry on Sunday as his special envoy to the Arctic island, triggering swift criticism from Danish and Greenlandic leaders. The moves came alongside a separate push to expand U.S. naval power with a new class of…

African Union council assesses Somalia security mission and funding challenges ADDIS ABABA — The African Union’s Peace and Security Council (PSC) convened a special session Thursday to review the evolving situation in Somalia and assess the operations of the African Union Mission for Support and Stabilization in Somalia (AUSSOM), with a sharp focus on the mission’s funding pressures and next steps. Officials briefed the PSC on recent political developments in Somalia, the financial strain facing AUSSOM and potential…

Somalia, Egypt deepen ties in Cairo talks, eye embassy move to Mogadishu and stronger security coordination CAIRO — Somalia and Egypt pledged to advance a broader strategic partnership after their foreign ministers met Saturday on the sidelines of the Second Ministerial Conference of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum, focusing on economic cooperation, security coordination and regional stability. Somali Foreign Affairs Minister Abdisalam Abdi Ali and Egyptian Foreign Minister Dr. Badr Abdel Atty discussed plans to…

CAIRO — Egypt will step up efforts to safeguard Red Sea maritime routes and back a new African Union mission in Somalia, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Friday, framing the Horn of Africa’s stability as inseparable from regional and global security. Addressing African ministers and delegates gathered in Cairo for the second ministerial forum of the Russia–Africa Partnership, al-Sisi called the Red Sea corridor “strategically vital” and said Egypt is working with partners to keep the waterway secure. The shipping lane…

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Friday in Addis Ababa for a one-day working visit, with both leaders discussing ways to deepen bilateral relations and regional cooperation centered on trade, security and regional stability in the Horn of Africa. Abiy described the talks on his official Facebook page as “productive discussions, continuing the bilateral engagements we have been working on over the past year,” signaling continuity in the two neighbors’…