Somali

Flight carrying Puntland State lawmakers ordered back to Mogadishu; Puntland State suspends Daallo Airlines MOGADISHU, Somalia — More than 30 members of Somalia’s federal parliament from Puntland State were forced to return to the capital on Monday after their flight to Garowe was ordered back, intensifying a political standoff ahead of a planned consultative meeting in the regional capital. The lawmakers were en route to a meeting convened by Puntland State President Said Abdullahi Deni on Somalia’s political situation.…

KISMAYO, Somalia — Jubaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islam Madobe has invited federal lawmakers from his state to a consultative meeting in Kismayo as political tensions mount over Somalia’s electoral process ahead of the 2026 vote. In a letter dated March 1, 2026, Madobe’s office called on members of both houses of the federal Parliament who represent Jubaland constituencies to convene for discussions on the national political situation and preparations for the coming elections. The outreach comes amid intensifying…

Sunday, March 1, 2026 LONDON — At 18, Suleiman Dida has already cleared one of aviation’s most daunting thresholds: a first solo flight. In doing so, he has also earned recognition as the United Kingdom’s youngest Somali pilot — a landmark that speaks to both personal drive and a community stepping into professions where it has long been underrepresented. Born Dec. 2, 2007, in northwest London to parents from Mogadishu, Dida grew up in a household that straddled two worlds: the cadence of London life and the ambitions of a…

Flight path: At 18, Suleiman Dida charts a course as the U.K.’s youngest Somali pilot Sunday, March 1, 2026 London (AX) — At just 18, Suleiman Dida has reached a milestone that many aspiring aviators spend years pursuing: a solo flight and recognition as the United Kingdom’s youngest Somali pilot. For a community still underrepresented in cockpits, his ascent is a marker of possibility — and of how early discipline and accessible training routes can change who gets to fly. Dida was born Dec. 2, 2007, in northwest London to…

MOGADISHU — Somalia’s opposition-aligned Somali Future Council said it will convene a high-level meeting on April 10 to consider “measures to save Somalia’s statehood,” escalating a confrontation with the federal government after talks between the two sides collapsed last week. In a statement issued following a conference in Mogadishu attended by members of the Federal Parliament, political figures and representatives from civil society, the Council alleged the government’s push to amend the Provisional Constitution violates…

Mogadishu — Somalia’s Immigration and Citizenship Agency said Wednesday it foiled an attempt to smuggle a Somali minor out of the country to Libya after officers flagged irregular travel plans and uncovered a bid to fraudulently obtain travel documents. The agency said the girl, taken from Las Anod, was intercepted at an early stage of the journey after a verification process identified adults traveling with her as suspected members of a human smuggling network. Authorities said the effort to secure false documentation was…

‘Yemen’s Mogadishu’: In Aden’s al-Basateen, Somali refugees face dwindling aid and a future on hold At first light on the fringes of Aden, the paved roads of Yemen’s interim capital give way to narrow ribbons of sand. Here, in al-Basateen, men gather at the mouths of alleyways, watching for a pickup truck or a wave from a foreman—any sign of a day’s work. The district is known by many names, including “Yemen’s Mogadishu,” a nod to the Somali families who began arriving in the 1990s when war pushed them across the Gulf of…

Analysis: Somalia’s 2026/2027 elections put eight political traditions to the test Somalia is approaching a defining electoral cycle in 2026/2027, when votes for several federal member states and the federal government will converge to shape the country’s political trajectory. Beyond the usual personalities and shifting alliances, the contests will surface a deeper struggle among eight identifiable political traditions. Understanding those traditions—and how they align or collide across two core axes of Somali politics—is…

Trump’s State of the Union sparks clash with Ilhan Omar over Somali community remarks WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address erupted into a sharp confrontation Tuesday night after he accused members of Minnesota’s Somali American community of large-scale fraud, prompting Rep. Ilhan Omar to interrupt the speech from the House floor and denounce his claims as lies. Trump, speaking before a joint session of Congress, singled out Minnesota as “the most stunning example” of what he called systemic…

MOGADISHU — Hunger is surging across Somalia as four consecutive failed rainy seasons collide with steep reductions in humanitarian funding, pushing millions toward acute food insecurity, according to a new analysis by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). The report estimates 4.8 million people faced Crisis-level or worse acute food insecurity in January, with that figure projected to jump to 6.5 million between February and March — nearly double the number recorded a year ago. Aid groups say the trend…