Somalia

Senior Puntland State commander killed by explosion during anti-ISIS operation BOSASO, Somalia — A senior commander in Puntland State’s counter‑terrorism forces was killed Monday when an explosive device detonated during a sweep of rugged mountains where Islamic State fighters have been hiding, regional officials said. General Ahmed Ali Qarjab, widely known by the nom de guerre “Qalyare,” was serving as commander of Puntland State’s 2nd Battalion when the blast struck in Dhasaan, in the Al‑Miskaad mountain range. Puntland…

U.S. military chiefs visit North Western State of Somalia as Congress advances bill to deepen engagement HARGEISA, North Western State of Somalia — Senior U.S. military officials overseeing East Africa operations met Monday with North Western State of Somalia’s new president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi Irro, in a rare high-level visit to Hargeisa that dovetailed with fresh momentum in Washington to widen America’s ties with the self-governing territory. The talks — which both sides described as focused on security…

Somalia Welcomes Egypt’s Security Pledge — and Steps Onto a Narrow Diplomatic Tightrope Mogadishu’s new embrace from Cairo comes as the Nile dispute looms and Ethiopia watches closely Somalia’s leaders have a way of smiling through storms. In Mogadishu this week, officials welcomed Egypt’s renewed pledge to back the country’s security and state-building — a gesture with history behind it and geopolitics baked into it. On paper, it is straightforward: Cairo says it will support the new African Union Support and…

Somalia welcomes Egypt’s security backing as new AU stabilization mission looms MOGADISHU — Somalia on Sunday publicly thanked Egypt for a message of solidarity that included promises of military equipment, training and an expected troop contribution to a forthcoming African Union stabilization mission as Mogadishu seeks to reassert control over territory long contested by insurgents. The gesture, framed by Somalia’s Foreign Ministry as evidence of “historic and deep-rooted ties,” arrives as African Union planners prepare…

Somali forces press offensive in central region, claim dozens of al-Shabaab fighters killed MOGADISHU — Somali National Army units, backed by international partners, said they killed a number of al-Shabaab militants over the weekend in a pitched battle in central Somalia’s Galgaduud region as government forces step up efforts to wrest control of towns and villages from the insurgents. Fighting in Nooleye In a statement, the Somali defence ministry said the operation in and around Nooleye village lasted several hours and…

Analysis: Egypt’s Troop Move to Somalia — A New Chapter in African Security and Influence The announcement that Egypt will send troops to Somalia under the African Union’s stabilization mission marks a notable juncture in an evolving map of regional power. At first glance it is a pragmatic step — extra boots to help a fragile state push back al-Shabab — but read more closely it is also a diplomatic and strategic signal from Cairo about where it wants to sit in the Horn of Africa and beyond. On the ground: what we know…

Somalia’s defence minister breaks silence to defend Ilhan Omar — and signals a new kind of transnational politics When Somalia’s Defence Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi took to Facebook this weekend to defend U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, it read less like a routine diplomatic note and more like an embrace. “If our daughter is being targeted for her identity, I will stand firmly with her,” Fiqi wrote, adding that as defence minister “I am making it clear that I stand with Ilhan.” The statement came after former U.S. President…

Somalia’s Deputy Foreign Minister meets Sen. Ted Cruz as North Western State of Somalia recognition debate intensifies On a quiet Saturday in Washington, a meeting that might have passed as routine diplomacy was anything but. Somalia’s deputy foreign minister, Ali Omar Ali—widely known by his nickname, Balcad—sat down with Sen. Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa and has emerged as one of the most vocal advocates in Washington for recognizing North Western State of…

Somalia’s Parliament Opening Postponed as Electoral Battle Deepens MOGADISHU — What began as a procedural delay has rippled into a broader political crisis in Somalia, revealing the frictions inside a fragile federal system trying to move from clan-based power sharing to direct elections. Lawmakers were told at the last minute that the Federal Parliament would not open as scheduled on Saturday — a pause President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s office has tied to changes in his travel plans — and the leadership said the 7th session…

Ugandan troops kill senior Al-Shabaab commander in Lower Shabelle MOGADISHU — Ugandan forces serving with the African Union mission in Somalia say they have killed a senior Al-Shabaab operative in an ambush in the volatile Lower Shabelle region, a development that comes as Somalia struggles with shrinking international support and a partial drawdown of peacekeepers. The operation UPDF (Uganda People’s Defence Forces) units operating under the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) reported…