Somalia

A Somali defense official threatens to take over Mogadishu Airport MOGADISHU, Somalia - A senior Somali defense official has threatened to take over Aden Abdulle International Airport, commonly known as Mogadishu Airport, and has rejected the decision of the House of Commons to extend President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo's reign. The lower house quickly extended Farmajo's mandate amid…

US guys warn against Somalia as Farmajo signs time-out solution MOGADISHU, Somalia - The United States has formally rejected a decision by the Somali Chamber of Commerce to extend the term of office of the current government, saying it is "disappointed" by the move, which could "undermine" peace and stability in the country. On Monday, April 12, MPs voted to extend the Farmajo term,…

The moment of Somalia's truth has arrived. Farmaajo has crossed the Rubicon and declared all war against the Provisional Constitution, the principles of federalism and the exercise of democracy. He has enlisted Somalia in an axis of autocracy that now stretches across the Horn of Africa from the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea. And before the injury he inflicts becomes irreparable, he must be stopped. Sanctions are the last chance for the international community to prevent Somalia from falling back into civil war. There…

NAIROBI, Kenya - The United States will review an inquiry into the Manda Bay Al-Shabaab Raid, aimed at Camp Simba, a US naval base in Kenya, and one of the most advanced and equipped in East, Central and South Africa, in just one year after the unprecedented attack. Gen Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has ordered a high-level review of a preliminary military investigation into a January 2020 attack on a Kenyan Islamic extremist base that left three Americans dead, the Pentagon said Monday as reported by the New…

The United States congratulates Djibouti's longtime strongman on re-election WASHINGTON, USA - The United States has praised Ismail Omar Guelleh for his re-election as president of Djibouti, a small Horn of Africa nation whose election ended last week, amid ongoing political instability in the region. Guelleh, who has been at the helm since 1999, scored a handsome majority after…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The Somali National Army (SNA) said on Monday that its elite forces (Danab) killed 25 al-Shabab militants and wounded several others during an operation at Gambole about 48 km to Jowhar city, the administrative capital of Hirshabelle state. Hassan Mohamed Osman, acting commander of Danab, said the troops would intensify stinging operations in the area to flush out the extremists blamed for insecurity in the region. Osman told SNA Radio that the forces carried out the operation after receiving…

WASHINGTON, USA - The United States of America can, after all, reject the decision of the lower house of Somalia to extend the term of the current government, whose term expired on February 8 this year, leading to a state of political uncertainty and unprecedented stalemate. On Monday, the lower house under President Abdirahman Mursal voted in favor of extending the term, with 149 MPs supporting the proposal. This comes after the political leadership did not agree on the agenda of the Afisiyooni Center conference.…

In Somalia, the lower house of parliament voted on Monday, April 12, to extend the term of the outgoing president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as "Farmajo" by two years. This vote is intended to block the political crisis that the country entered into on February 8, when the president's term had expired and the presidential election could not be held. Since then, negotiations with the opposition, which no longer recognized its legitimacy, had yielded nothing. In the middle of the afternoon, with a show of hands,…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - For the next two years, Somalis will have to work with President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, whose term of office expired on February 8, 2021, but has since managed to persuade MPs to give him two more years. According to the interim constitution, a head of state in Somalia must serve four years before seeking re-election using the condition decided by the election committee or the management forum. Farmajo was first elected in 2017, followed by Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. In a choreographed…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Even with the deepening political crisis in Somalia, United States envoy to Somalia Donald Yamamoto met the leaders of Jubaland and Northeastern State on Sunday as he tried to remove the current dead end that threatens both the country's security and stability. After President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has been ousted, the country is struggling against time to get new leaders in place, but the political class has failed to agree on certain important issues, leading to the current stalemate. Last…