Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Al-Shabaab has released a video showing a Ukrainian helicopter pilot contracted by the United Nations pleading for his freedom, in one of the group’s most prominent hostage appeals involving a foreign national in recent years. In the footage distributed by al-Shabaab’s Kataib media arm, the pilot identifies himself as Oleynik Aleksandr and says he was captured after an emergency landing in central Somalia in January 2024, in territory controlled by the militant group. Addressing the camera directly, he…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s Ministry of Education says it is close to completing a long-promised plan to recruit 10,000 teachers nationwide, a push officials say will strengthen the curriculum, expand access to schooling in underserved areas and widen training for both new and current educators. Education Minister Farah Sheikh Abdulqadir announced the update Sunday, framing the initiative as the backbone of wider reforms to raise quality and bring consistency to the country’s fragmented school system. “We are finalizing…

Climate finance training for Somali banks signals shift toward private-sector climate action in Mogadishu MOGADISHU — Somalia’s banking sector took its first coordinated step into climate finance on Sunday, as the National Climate Fund (NCF) and the Somali Bankers Association (SBA) convened the country’s inaugural training on how lenders can access, structure, and deploy climate capital. Held in Mogadishu, the workshop introduced senior banking professionals to the global climate finance architecture — the funds, rules and…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s push to unlock climate finance moved a step forward Sunday as the National Climate Fund (NCF), in partnership with the Somali Bankers Association (SBA), held the country’s first climate finance training for Somali banks in Mogadishu. The session introduced bank executives and risk, credit, and product teams to the global climate finance architecture — how major international climate funds operate and where opportunities exist for Somalia’s private sector. It also served as a peer forum for…

AfDB approves $76.37 million in additional financing to boost Somalia’s road corridors, cross-border trade Sunday December 14, 2025 The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has approved $76.37 million in additional financing for Somalia’s Road Infrastructure Program, strengthening a key segment of the Horn of Africa corridor linking Somalia with Ethiopia and Djibouti and aimed at accelerating regional trade and integration. In a statement issued Thursday, the bank said the program is designed to “stimulate cross-border…

MOGADISHU — The U.N. Security Council has unanimously renewed sanctions targeting Somalia’s al-Qaida-linked Al-Shabaab, extending maritime interdictions and expert monitoring while resisting Somali pressure for faster loosening of arms controls. All 15 members on Friday adopted Resolution 2806, keeping in place an arms embargo, asset freezes and travel bans focused on the insurgent group that has fought the Somali government for more than 16 years. The measure extends authorization for naval inspections to enforce the…

Saturday, December 13, 2025 MOGADISHU — Somalia’s Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre dismissed two cabinet ministers and named their replacements on Saturday in a targeted reshuffle intended to speed up government operations and reinforce delivery of services, according to a decree issued by his office. Ambassador Jamaal Mohamed Hassan was appointed Minister of Commerce and Industry, replacing lawmaker Mahamud Geesood. Senator Ayuub Ismail Yusuf was named Minister of Public Works and Reconstruction, taking over from Dr. Elmi…

Turkey starts building Somalia spaceport, a strategic equatorial launch site drawing global scrutiny Turkey has begun constructing a satellite and rocket launch site on Somalia’s Indian Ocean coast, a bold step that Ankara says will accelerate its space ambitions and that outside observers say is already drawing intense attention from rival powers. The spaceport — publicly backed by Baykar chairman Selçuk Bayraktar — is being developed under Turkish state authority on a roughly 30-by-30-kilometer coastal tract. Turkish…

OP-ED: Trump’s Appraisal, Somalia’s Test: Leadership, Reform, and Global Perception Somalia once again finds itself judged by a sound bite. Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent remarks — widely criticized as dismissive — have stirred fresh debate not just about global perceptions of Somalia, but about the country’s own leadership and the substance of international engagement. That debate matters. Language shapes policy, donor priorities and public attention. But rhetoric is not destiny. Somalia’s future will be…

DHOBLEY, Somalia — Kenya’s deputy army commander, Maj. Gen. Mohamed Hassan, wrapped up a two-day operational visit to Kenya Defence Forces troops deployed in Somalia under the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia, delivering a message of discipline, vigilance and troop welfare as the mission supports Somalia’s security transition against al-Shabab. Hassan inspected positions at the Dhobley Main Operating Base and forward locations in Afmadhow, Beles Qoqani, Tabda and Hoosingo on Dec. 9 and 10. He…