Somalias

Somalia’s e-visa data breach has spiraled from a technical failure into a national test of digital governance, exposing at least 35,000 applicant records and prompting warnings from the United Kingdom and the United States. Launched Sept. 1, 2025, as a flagship Digital Public Good meant to secure borders and modernize services, the platform instead revealed how fragile the country’s digital public infrastructure remains without guardrails, oversight and trust. At stake is more than cybersecurity. The incident has triggered…

Israel’s North Western State of Somalia recognition jolts Somalia’s diplomacy — and tests Africa’s bedrock rule on borders When Israel formally recognized North Western State of Somalia in late December 2025, the move sent a shock wave through Mogadishu and across African diplomatic circles. For Somalia, the decision was more than a breach of protocol: it was a direct challenge to the principle that has underpinned Africa’s post‑colonial stability — that borders cannot be redrawn without the consent of the sovereign state…

Somalia’s Parliament Passes Medicine Bill to Tackle Counterfeit Drugs; Lawmakers Weigh Tobacco Control Pact MOGADISHU — Somalia’s lower house of parliament on Saturday approved the Medicine Bill, a landmark piece of health legislation aimed at tightening oversight of pharmaceuticals after years of weak regulation and widespread concerns over counterfeit and substandard drugs. The House of the People passed the bill during the 25th meeting of its seventh session, with 141 lawmakers voting in favor, one abstention and no…

MOGADISHU — Somali National Army Danab special forces, working with international partners, killed at least 20 al-Shabab fighters — including senior leaders — in a planned overnight operation in Somalia’s Bay region, the federal government said Saturday. The raid struck late Friday in the Buula Fuleey area, where the militants were assembling, according to a government statement. Officials said the target was a key gathering point for the group’s commanders in the region and described the strike as a significant blow to…

Elon Musk urges arrest of Somalia’s UN ambassador over alleged Medicaid fraud NEW YORK — SpaceX founder and X owner Elon Musk called for the arrest of Somalia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Abukar Dahir Osman, after social media allegations linked the diplomat to past U.S. Medicaid fraud, according to reports from APA News and Axadle. Musk posted “Arrest him” on X, formerly known as Twitter, in response to claims that Osman once owned a healthcare firm financed by U.S. taxpayers that was found guilty of…

OPINION | Israel’s move to recognize North Western State of Somalia did not create Somalia’s political crisis, but it revealed the country’s fault lines with unusual clarity. Instead of a unified response to an external challenge touching sovereignty and territorial integrity, the reaction laid bare fractures inside the federal system—most visibly in the silence of key federal member states and the central government’s tendency to turn unity into a political weapon. That silence has been most pronounced in Puntland State and…

AXADLE, Somalia — Puntland State on Tuesday issued its first public response to Israel’s recognition of North Western State of Somalia as an independent state, rejecting any move that further fragments Somalia and reaffirming its commitment to a unified federal system. Puntland State Minister of Information Mahamud Aydid Dirir said the northeastern federal member state stands by the principles on which it was founded and will continue to support the development of an effective Somali federal government. He framed Israel’s…

OP-ED: Why the Somali Diaspora Should Keep Faith in Somalia’s Future Across continents, the Somali diaspora carries a lingering question: Is now the time to lean in or bow out? The answer, grounded in what is happening on the ground, is clear. This is a moment to keep faith in Somalia’s future—and to help shape it. The obstacles are formidable and measurable. Overall unemployment hovers around 20 percent, while youth unemployment exceeds 30 percent. Nearly 70 percent of Somalis live below the international poverty line.…

Two moments, six decades apart, tell a single story about Somalia’s unbending idea of itself. In 1964, a young Somali soldier bled to keep the national flag from touching the ground. On Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, a diplomat stood at the United Nations Security Council to insist that no one can redraw Somalia’s map. Both acts — one on a battlefield near Togwajaale, the other in the world’s most formal chamber of diplomacy — were rooted in the same doctrine: sovereignty as a lived creed, not a slogan. Hero Mohamed Abdulle Xalane…

UK rejects North Western State of Somalia recognition, reaffirms Somalia’s unity after Israel move LONDON — The United Kingdom on Wednesday reaffirmed its support for Somalia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and unity, following Israel’s decision to recognize North Western State of Somalia as an independent state. In a statement issued Tuesday, the British government made clear it does not recognize North Western State of Somalia’s independence and said any change to the region’s status must come…