Sunday May 10, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — Somalia’s Southwest State opened a new chapter in its political history on Sunday as voters went to the polls for direct elections to choose members of the regional House of Representatives and district councils, a significant break from the country’s entrenched indirect voting system. The ballot was being conducted in 13 districts across Bay, Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions. The National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission said 376,212 voters had registered to take part,…

MOGADISHU, Somalia – A fresh power struggle has broken out between Somalia’s federal authorities and the Galmudug administration after both sides issued competing orders over who should lead the region’s police force. The confrontation escalated on Thursday when the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) announced that it had removed the sitting Galmudug Police Commander, Khaliif Abdulle Maalin, better known as "Ilkacase." The federal authorities then named Colonel Mohamed Dahir Abdulle, a senior officer who previously served…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s widening political crisis came under intense scrutiny on Thursday, when international partners gathered at a heavily secured Western embassy inside the Halane compound to assess what comes next for the country’s embattled federal government. According to diplomatic sources, much of the conversation centered on how the international community should deal with Somali authorities after May 15. One of the most disputed issues was whether the World Bank’s Operational Policy 7.30 (OP 7.30) could be…

Tuesday May 5, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — In a move that could reshape access to mobile technology in Somalia, Hormuud Telecom on Tuesday unveiled a new partnership with Get-Phone to introduce the country’s first structured smartphone financing plan. The program is designed to reach millions of low-income Somalis who have long been priced out of internet-enabled handsets, tackling what company officials described as the “affordability gap” that remains the biggest obstacle to digital inclusion. That challenge persists even…

Somalia: Hormuud Telecom, Get-Phone Launch Somalia’s Largest Smartphone Financing Program to Bridge Digital Divide MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s biggest telecom operator has teamed up with Get-Phone in a bid to put smartphones within reach of millions who have so far been priced out of the country’s digital economy. Hormuud Telecom said Tuesday that the partnership will introduce Somalia’s first formal smartphone financing program, a move designed to narrow the affordability gap that still keeps many low-income Somalis…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Abdiasis Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen, the former South West state leader, broke weeks of silence on Monday with a forceful declaration: he still regards himself as the legitimate president of the regional administration and intends to return later this month. Laftagareen said he would head back to the Southwest area 13 days after the current term of Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud ends, insisting that he plans to resume his duties despite the political standoff surrounding his ouster. “If May 15…

NAIROBI/GENEVA – Somalia’s most vulnerable children are being squeezed from every side: drought, deep aid cuts and now the fallout from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which has sent transport costs and fuel prices soaring and threatened the flow of lifesaving nutrition supplies. For families already living on the edge, the disruption is more than an economic headache. Aid workers say shortages of therapeutic food are forcing clinics to turn away children with severe acute malnutrition and to ration the stock that remains.…

By Ammu Kannampilly and Olivia Le PoidevinWednesday April 29, 2026 An internally displaced Somali woman feeds her malnourished child at the Daynile hospital, Mogadishu, Somalia April 20, 2026. REUTERS/Feisal Omar Purchase Licensing Rights In Somalia, where children are already caught between a worsening hunger crisis and deep cuts in foreign aid, the latest shock from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is hitting the most vulnerable first. For malnourished boys and girls, the fallout is not just higher fuel prices. It is the…

Wednesday April 29, 2026 Garowe (AX) — A deadly blast in the Calmiskaad mountains of Somalia’s Bari region killed at least four people on Wednesday, among them two telecommunications workers and two soldiers. Security sources said ISIS militants struck a vehicle belonging to Golis Telecom as it moved through the area. A fifth victim, a soldier with the Puntland State Dervish forces, was badly wounded and is said to be in critical condition. The attack took place while the company was working to restore communications…

Wednesday April 29, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — China has said it will provide equipment to help strengthen Somalia’s correctional facilities, following high-level talks in Mogadishu aimed at boosting prison security and improving services. The pledge came after Somali Correctional Service Commander Mohamed Sheikh Hassan Hamud met with Chinese Ambassador to Somalia Wang Yu on Tuesday. Their discussions centered on expanding bilateral cooperation, with a particular focus on modernizing Somalia’s prison system and building the…