Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia on Monday received its first shipment of 300,000 doses of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine, intended for frontline workers and those most at risk for Covid-19, the government said in a statement. The conflict-torn nation has seen coronavirus cases rise 77 percent over the past month to 9,190, while deaths have more than doubled to a total of 367. "The arrival of the Covid-19 vaccines comes at a critical time as Somalia is now experiencing a new wave of the epidemic," Health Minister Fawziya…

Maritime case continues at ICJ despite Kenya's withdrawal HAGUE - The hearing of the maritime border case between Kenya and Somalia will continue as planned, it has emerged despite last-minute withdrawal of Kenya, which is struggling to retain the oil-rich territory that Somalia accuses her of having seized. In a timetable published last week, the International Court of Justice will…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The pre-election negotiations scheduled for Halane Base Camp may not yield much after all, Axadle has learned from recent developments that it would see a number of stakeholders miss out on what could now delay reconciliation in the country. Several sources suggested Axadle about the new complexity, which would seriously damage the reconciliation negotiations, contrary to the expectation of the international community, which has fought extremely hard to rectify the situation. President Mohamed…

Kenya and Somalia are before the International Court of Justice in The Hague on Monday and for ten days. The effort is the demarcation of their maritime border, while important natural resources are at sea. For Somalia, its maritime border with Kenya follows the course of the land border and sinks into the sea to the southeast. For Kenya, on the contrary, its border with Somalia follows a horizontal latitude from west to east. However, in the triangle between the two routes there is 100,000 km² of maritime territory and…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - One of Somalia's leading candidates, Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, has accused the outgoing government of creating enmity and mistrust in the country in the midst of elections. "The extroverted regime, however, created conditions for hostility and suspicion, which in turn has deepened distrust and risked the entire state and peacebuilding project," Warsame said in a Twitter post Sunday. The former Minister of Planning stressed the importance of holding peaceful and inclusive elections in the…

The UAE sends envoy to North Western of Somaliaamid strained ties with Mogadishu HARGEISA, Somalia - The northern breakaway region of North Western of Somaliareceived an envoy from the United Arab Emirates on Saturday in a move that could further jeopardize the relationship between Abu Dhabi and Mogadishu over several issues concerning Hargeisa's recognition. President Muse Bihi…

Talks between FMS leaders and opposition underway in Mogadishu MOGADISHU, Somalia - The Council of Presidential Candidates, chaired by former Presidents Hassan Sheikh and Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, will hold a meeting with Northeastern State and Jubaland leaders in Mogadishu on Sunday morning. Negotiations come amid stalemate over the country's election process, which led to the delay in…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somali-based al-Shabaab militants targeted a senior military official in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, on Saturday night in the latest wave of violence against officials and members of the military, who are essential in security operations. Reports show that it took place around Afisyooni, where Somali leaders were to convene a meeting on the crisis ahead of elections this week. This is the second attack in the area, an indication that the militants are eager to paralyze talks. According to…

NAIROBI - Ethiopia on Saturday dismissed U.S. allegations that there has been ethnic cleansing in Tigray, pushing back against recent criticism of its military operation in its northern region by the new government in Washington. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that he wanted to see Eritrean forces and those from the Amhara region replaced in Tigray by security forces that respect human rights and do not "commit acts of ethnic cleansing". "(The accusation) is a completely unfounded and false…

UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council on Friday called on the Somali government to hold elections "without delay" in a resolution underlining the urgent threat to the country's security from al-Shabab and armed opposition groups. The resolution, adopted unanimously, authorized the African Union to maintain its nearly 20,000-strong force in Somalia until the end of the year with a mandate to reduce the threat posed by extremist groups to enable "a stable, federal, sovereign and united Somalia. ” The UN's most…