Browsing Tag

Somalias

Puntland State Troops Arrest Turkish Citizen in Somalia’s Bari Anti-ISIS Raid

Puntland State forces detain Turkish national in anti-ISIS sweep in Bari BOSASO, Somalia — Puntland State security forces said Wednesday they captured a Turkish national during a counterterrorism operation in the rugged Baalade valley of the Bari region, part of a sustained campaign to flush Islamic State-linked militants from the Cal‑Miskaad mountains. Authorities identified the detainee as Feyzul Hashim Suleyman. He is the second Turkish citizen to be seized by Puntland State forces in recent weeks; another Turkish…

Puntland State’s Lessons: Leadership, Democratization and Alliances in Somalia’s Changing Politics

Puntland State’s quiet experiment: What a restive Somali state can teach a nation At daybreak in Bosaso, the trucks rumbling down from the Cal Miskaad mountains carry fish, frankincense and the unvarnished news of the day. In this corner of northeastern Somalia, where the mountains meet the sea, Puntland State has spent years testing an idea that feels almost radical in a country long defined by outside interventions: that security, politics and dialogue work best when they are owned, designed and led by communities…

Why Somalia’s Senate Is Undermining Federal Unity and Governance

Somalia’s Senate: How the Upper House Lost Its Grip on Federalism MOGADISHU — Somalia’s experiment with federalism, long touted as a path out of decades of central rule and clan rivalry, now faces a painful test. The country’s Upper House — the Senate — was created to be the bulwark of regional interests and a mediator between Mogadishu and the federal member states. Instead, critics say, it has been reduced to a largely ceremonial body as the executive consolidates power and regional grievances harden into open…

What prompted Somalia’s president Hassan Sheikh to meet Ethiopia’s PM Abiy Ahmed

Why Hassan Sheikh’s Addis visit matters: a recalibration in the Horn At a glance When Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud arrived in Addis Ababa this week for talks with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the official line was familiar: friendly neighbours discussing “bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest.” Behind the diplomatic language, however, lay a fraught effort by Mogadishu to reshape the political map of southern Somalia — and to pull a wary Ethiopia into the middle of a struggle that has implications for…

Somalia’s Jubaland Lodges UN Complaint Alleging Federal Government Interference

Jubaland’s UN complaint lays bare a widening rift in Somalia’s fragile federal experiment KISMAYO — The latest escalation between Mogadishu and the semi-autonomous Jubaland state, culminating in a formal complaint lodged at the United Nations Office in Somalia, is not just another local spat. It is a symptom of a deeper, unresolved contest over power, identity and the shape of Somali federalism — and it raises uncomfortable questions about how fragile post-conflict states manage the tug between central authority and…

Somalia’s Parliament greenlights creation of national human rights commission

Somalia’s Parliament Approves Long-Awaited Human Rights Commission, Signaling a New Chapter for Accountability Mogadishu — Somalia’s Federal Parliament on Saturday approved the country’s first independent Human Rights Commission, a long-promised institution meant to investigate abuses, advise government, and help align the nation’s laws with international standards after decades of conflict and fragile governance. The vote, taken in a packed session chaired by the Speaker, passed overwhelmingly: 142 lawmakers voted in…

Somalia’s Turning Point: Creating Lasting Solutions Beyond Emergency Aid

Somalia at a Crossroads: moving beyond emergency fixes to durable statecraft Somalia has achieved one of the landmark technical milestones of post‑conflict recovery—completion of HIPC debt relief in December 2023 and continued engagement with the IMF under an Extended Credit Facility—but the country’s deeper fractures are widening rather than closing. IMF staff forecasts for 2025 now point to growth near 3 percent, down from about 4 percent in 2024, and officials warn the economy is vulnerable to political paralysis,…

Kenya Mediates to Calm Rift Between Somalia’s Federal Government and Jubaland

Mohamud’s Visit to Kismayo: A Fragile Gesture Toward Reconciliation KISMAYO, Somalia — When Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud travels to Kismayo this weekend for talks with Jubaland’s leader Ahmed “Madobe” Mohamed, he will be stepping into a political landscape that has been scarred by years of public acrimony, private deals and military showdowns. The trip — brokered quietly by Nairobi and welcomed, cautiously, by regional capitals — is less a triumph than a test of whether local rivals can move from brinkmanship to…

Report: Al‑Shabaab nets $200 million annually, financing Somalia’s insurgency

Al‑Shabaab’s War Chest: How a Militant Tax System Fuels a Comeback in Somalia A militant economy hiding in plain sight The hardest thing to see in Somalia’s long war is often the most obvious: the receipts. A new assessment by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point says al‑Shabaab, al‑Qaida’s Somali affiliate, is now the network’s financial powerhouse—pulling in an estimated $100 million to $200 million a year. That money isn’t just paying for bullets. It’s rebuilding a parallel state. The report, The Global State…

Somalia’s defense minister slams Nairobi meeting with two regional leaders, opposition

Somali Politics Spill Into Nairobi Again — And Mogadishu Pushes Back It is a familiar scene in East African diplomacy: Somali politicians gathering in a Nairobi hotel to hash out the country’s future far from Mogadishu’s checkpoints and political heat. This week, that well-worn script met a forceful rebuttal from Somalia’s defense minister, who said enough is enough. In a sharply worded post, Defense Minister Ahmed Macallin Fiqi condemned a Nairobi meeting of opposition figures and regional leaders — among them Puntland…

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More