security

Somalia, Yemen hold high-level defense talks in Cairo to bolster Red Sea, Gulf of Aden security Mogadishu (AX) — Somali Minister of Defence Ahmed Moallim Fiqi met his Yemeni counterpart, Lieutenant General Mohsen Mohammed Ahmed Al-Daari, in Cairo on Thursday for high-level talks aimed at strengthening defense cooperation and tightening maritime security across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, one of the world’s most vital shipping corridors. The talks, attended by the Commander of the Somali National Armed Forces, Major General…

MOGADISHU — Somalia has acceded to the Convention on the International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO), a step the federal government says will upgrade the country’s maritime safety, search-and-rescue capacity and technological integration across its busy coastline. Ports and Marine Transport Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nor deposited Somalia’s instrument of accession during a meeting with International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez on the sidelines of the IMO Assembly’s 34th regular…

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia’s top military commander said the country’s defense partnership with the United States will remain strong as both nations move to deepen cooperation on counterterrorism and regional stability — including support for Ethiopia’s push for peaceful access to the Red Sea. Field Marshal Berhanu Jula met Friday in Addis Ababa with a U.S. delegation led by Gen. Dagvin R. M. Anderson of U.S. Africa Command. Both sides discussed ways to bolster security in the Horn of Africa, where Ethiopia has…

BOSASO, Somalia — At least five Islamic State militants were killed in U.S.-supported airstrikes in northern Somalia’s Puntland State region, local military officials said, as counterterrorism operations intensify in the Cal-Miskaad mountains and move into what authorities describe as their final phase. The strikes hit targets Saturday in the Barakalah area of Baallade Valley, a rugged corridor in the Cal-Miskaad range where Puntland State security forces have been battling ISIS cells for months. The fatalities were…

UN Security Council backs U.S.-led Gaza peace plan The United Nations Security Council voted 13-0, with Russia and China abstaining, to endorse a U.S.-authored Gaza peace plan that creates a transitional authority for the territory and calls for an international stabilisation presence. The resolution marks a rare Council alignment behind a U.S. blueprint after intensive diplomacy and textual changes that reference a "credible path" to Palestinian statehood. The vote authorises a Board of Peace and an International…

Security warning from Puntland State authorities Puntland State has urged travelers using foreign passports to avoid Somalia’s federal E‑VISA platform, citing significant security weaknesses that could expose personal data. The warning, delivered from Garowe by Puntland State’s Minister of Information, Mahmoud Caydiid Dirir, alleges flaws that could allow sensitive traveler information to be accessed and misused. Dirir said the E‑VISA system contains vulnerabilities that put user data at risk. He framed the platform…

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…