Somalia: Protest Against North Western State of Somalia's May 18 Celebrations Erupts in Borama BORAMA, Somalia — What began as anger over events tied to North Western State of Somalia’s May 18 celebrations quickly turned violent in Borama on Sunday, as demonstrators confronted police after youths set tires ablaze in several parts of the town, according to witnesses and officials. Local reports said police responded by firing live ammunition to break up the crowd. No casualties were reported immediately. North Western State…

Monday May 18, 2026 Borama (AX) — Police in Borama opened fire Sunday to break up young demonstrators who burned tires in parts of the city during a protest against North Western State of Somalia’s May 18 independence celebrations, according to residents and officials. No casualties were immediately reported. The unrest unfolded in Borama, the capital of Awdal region, one of several places where tensions have been building ahead of North Western State of Somalia’s annual May 18 commemoration. The day marks North Western…

Monday May 18, 2026 Garowe (AX) — Puntland State security forces detained suspected pirates on Sunday in a sweep across Somalia’s Bari region, stepping up pressure on groups accused of trying to revive maritime crime along the coast. According to Puntland State security officials, the suspects are thought to have ties to pirate networks linked to attacks, kidnappings and attempted hijackings of commercial ships in Somali waters and along nearby Red Sea shipping lanes. The operations form part of a wider effort to block…

By Dr. Ali Said FaqiSunday May 17, 2026 Somalia is edging into a precarious political chapter, one that may prove among the most volatile in recent years. The constitutional amendments passed in March 2026 have ignited a fierce dispute over legitimacy, governance, and the country’s political future. That tension sharpened after the presidential term expired on May 15, 2026, and the parliamentary mandate ended on April 14, 2026, leaving the nation in a sensitive constitutional and political void. To many in the public and on…

MOGADISHU, May 16 - Somalia’s economy is expanding at only about 3%, a marked slowdown highlighted in a recent World Bank report cited by Al Jazeera and raising alarm among officials and ordinary Somalis alike. Economists say the downturn is closely tied to escalating political uncertainty in the Horn of Africa country, where tensions among leading political actors have deepened into a damaging stalemate. That prolonged impasse has shaken investor confidence and delayed key international development initiatives, according to…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Puntland State President Siciid Cabdullahi Deni on Friday delivered a blistering rebuke of what he called the “term-ended Somali president” Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, accusing him of pushing Somalia “in the wrong direction” and endangering the country’s federal system and unity. Addressing reporters in Mogadishu, Deni said he had been waiting for May 15, 2026, and argued that the country’s political standoff had now reached a stage where urgent action was needed to avert institutional breakdown and the…

MOGADISHU, May 16 - Somalia’s political crisis deepened on Saturday as term-ended President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met Turkey’s ambassador just hours after talks collapsed over the question of his expired mandate, a move viewed by some as an effort to show he still commands international support. The meeting at the Villa Somalia presidential palace with Ambassador Alper Aktaş followed a failed attempt by opposition leaders and regional states to reach common ground at the UN-protected Halane compound on Mohamud’s tenure,…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s relations with some of its neighbors are fraying, with several regional governments now scaling back their diplomatic engagement and increasingly viewing the federal authorities in Mogadishu as an administration whose mandate has lapsed and whose political legitimacy remains in dispute, according to regional officials and diplomatic sources. The tension is unfolding against a backdrop of mounting political deadlock in Somalia, where delayed elections and a failure by the federal government and…

OPINION: The end of the Predatory State of Somalia (2022–2026) Somalia is approaching a political reckoning, and the debate over how power has been exercised under President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has sharpened as the mandate nears its end. To understand the criticism now surrounding the government, it helps to start with the idea of a “predatory state.” In political terms, that describes a system in which rulers use…

Somalia’s President, Opposition Leaders Head for Crucial Talks in Mogadishu’s Halane Compound MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s political deadlock is set to move behind the walls of Mogadishu’s fortified Halane compound, where President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and opposition leaders are expected to meet in high-level talks aimed at easing a widening dispute over delayed elections and constitutional revisions. The discussions, anticipated in the coming days, will bring together officials from the federal government and members of…