Somalia

Somalia and Rwanda Sign a Cooperation Pact. Here’s Why It Matters Beyond Kigali On a brisk Monday in Kigali, Somalia’s foreign minister, Abdisalam Abdi Ali, and Rwanda’s top diplomat, Olivier Jean Patrick Nduhungirehe, put ink to paper on a General Cooperation Agreement that is modest on its face and ambitious in its implications. The accord promises collaboration in diplomacy, trade, investment, and capacity building—terms that can read like bureaucratic shorthand. But stitched into the fabric of this deal is a larger…

Djibouti Clears Way for President Guelleh to Run Again — What It Means for a Tiny but Pivotal State Djibouti’s parliament has removed a constitutional age limit that would have barred the 77‑year‑old president, Ismail Omar Guelleh, from seeking another term, clearing the path for him to run in the April 2026 election. The decision, short and decisive in the capital, underscores a growing pattern across parts of Africa in which long‑serving leaders reshape rules to extend their time in office — with consequences that ripple…

Yemen and Somalia Look to the Gulf of Aden for a Reset — Trade, Flights, and a Security Hedge On a warm Sunday in Aden, inside a government building that has seen more than its share of chapter changes, Yemen’s Transport Minister Dr. Abdisalam Hamid sat down with Somalia’s ambassador, Abdulhakim Mohamed, to talk about rebuilding old routes across a troubled sea. The meeting didn’t produce the flashy, sweeping pledges that crowd the diplomatic calendar. Yet in a region where small steps often foreshadow bigger shifts, their…

Somalia and Ethiopia test a fragile thaw on the shores of Lake Tana At a security forum in northern Ethiopia this weekend, officials from Somalia and Ethiopia stepped into a quiet side room and did something deceptively simple: they talked. In an era when silence can harden into policy, the meeting on the sidelines of the Tana High-Level Forum in Bahir Dar—Ethiopia’s lakeside city ringed by papyrus boats and monastic islands—signaled a cautious shift from confrontation to engagement in the Horn of Africa. The delegations,…

Puntland State’s “victory” over ISIS-Somalia is tentative — and raises hard questions about what comes next BOSASO, Somalia — After nearly a year of focused operations in the Cal‑Miskaat highlands and the rugged valleys of Bari, Puntland State’s regional president declared this week that Islamic State–Somalia had been broken as a fighting force. Said Abdullahi Deni told members of the regional parliament that the campaign, launched in December 2024 with support from the United States and regional partners, had “destroyed…

North Western State of Somalia, Somalia and the politics of the skies: Why a digital visa is touching a raw nerve Airspace rarely makes front-page news until it does. In the Horn of Africa, where borders are contested and history weighs heavy, the latest salvo isn’t happening on the ground but in the air—and online. North Western State of Somalia’s Minister of the Presidency, Khadar Hussein Abdi, has accused Somalia’s federal government of waging a “war” over air travel and airspace, claiming the aim is to pressure North…

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,…

Analysis: In Ceerigaabo, a Local Truce Holds National Promise for North Western State of Somalia and Puntland State At first light in Ceerigaabo, the mountain air smells faintly of resin from the frankincense groves that have fed trade routes for centuries. Today, the conversation in this highland town in the Sanaag region is less about caravans and more about coexistence. Elders, clerics and businesspeople are trying to turn a fragile respite from clan tension into something sturdier—an agreement that could unlock security…

Whoever Leads Them, ISIS in Somalia Keeps Fighting — and Its Leader’s Fate Remains a Mystery BOSASO, Somalia — After months of airstrikes, ground offensives and rumours, the fate of the man who once laid the foundation for ISIS in Somalia remains unresolved. Abdulkadir Mumin, the group’s widely recognised founder, has not been seen in public for months. His absence has left local communities, Puntland State authorities and international monitors speculating — and a violent campaign in the Al‑Miskaad mountains grinding on.…

Interpol-led arrest spotlights Somalia’s struggle with sexual violence, jurisdiction and fragile justice MOGADISHU — The arrest and transfer to Mogadishu of a former hospital director accused of rape has set off questions across Somalia about who prosecutes crimes in a country where authority is often divided and justice fragile. Authorities say Interpol, working with Rwandan officials, helped locate and arrest Jama Abdi Mohamud, the one-time director of a hospital in Qardho, who has been accused of sexual assault and of…