MOGADISHU, Somalia — Abdullahi Shimbir, the governor of Somalia’s Gedo region, has cautioned against any election process carried out without legal grounding and wider consultation, saying local authorities have been left out of current voting plans. After talks in Mogadishu with federal government officials, Shimbir said the discussions centered on introducing a "one-person, one-vote" system. He said, however, that the political dispute between the Federal Government of Somalia and Jubbaland President Ahmed Madobe continues…

Sunday May 10, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s federal government on Sunday stood firm behind its decision to confine planned opposition rallies in Mogadishu to a single location, arguing that scattered protests across the capital could threaten civilians, choke essential services and ignite street-level confrontations. In a statement, the Ministry of Information said the administration recognized citizens’ constitutional rights to peaceful assembly, expression and political participation. It added, however, that those…

Teachers have thrown their weight behind civil servants’ demands for higher wages, giving the government 14 days to act or risk major disruptions to the upcoming school term. Their warning follows April salary adjustments that public sector workers have rejected as inadequate. "The current salary structure does not reflect the cost of living, which is largely indexed in USD. Our members' conclusion is clear: there was no meaningful increment in real terms," said Tapedza Zhou, Secretary General of the Educators Union of…

DJIBOUTI – Somalia’s latest political showdown drew a warning from the Horn of Africa’s regional bloc on Sunday, as IGAD urged "restraint" and "inclusive dialogue" amid escalating tensions between Mogadishu and the semi-autonomous SouthWest State. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the eight-member regional grouping based in Djibouti, said it was "closely monitoring developments" in the state as a widening dispute raises the risk of armed confrontation. "IGAD expresses concern over rising tensions and calls on…

Beginning tomorrow, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will be reassigned to U.S. airports in a bid to ease mounting delays at security checkpoints, officials said, a rapid response to a budget impasse linked to President Donald Trump's mass deportation policy. Mr Trump announced the unusual deployment in a social media post early today, setting federal officials scrambling to finalize an implementation plan on short notice. Tom Homan, the president's senior border aide, told CNN that ICE personnel would be moved…

Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026 MOGADISHU, Somalia — The presidents of Puntland State and Jubbaland are expected to arrive in Mogadishu within hours to join a national consultative conference on Somalia’s electoral process and constitutional reforms, signaling a tentative easing of tensions between the federal government and regional states. Officials said advance teams from the Puntland State and Jubbaland presidencies — largely composed of security personnel — landed Tuesday afternoon at Aden Adde International Airport and are…

Monday, February 9, 2026 MOGADISHU — Somalia’s parliamentary leadership suspended six more lawmakers from the House of the People on Monday, accusing them of disrupting proceedings during a contentious joint sitting as a high-stakes fight over proposed constitutional amendments widens and deepens political rifts in Mogadishu. The decision, issued by Acting Speaker and Second Deputy Speaker Abdullahi Omar Abshirow, cites violations of the House’s Rules of Procedure under Articles 14, 16 and 28. The leadership said the…

Standoff threatens Somalia’s election talks as UN calls for urgent dialogue MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s latest push to unlock political talks on elections hit a new snag Sunday after a security dispute grounded delegations from Puntland State and Jubaland, prompting the United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNTMIS) to urge swift, good-faith dialogue to keep negotiations on track. In a statement posted on social media, UNTMIS said preparatory teams from the two regional states were unable to reach…

Somalia’s latest political confrontation is more than a quarrel over election dates. It is a stress test of the country’s post-debt-relief political order—and, by extension, of the international state-building model that has underwritten Mogadishu’s progress for more than a decade. At the center is the National Consultation Conference, an opposition-aligned gathering that closed this week in Kismayo with a stark indictment of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s government. Its communiqué accuses the presidency of…

Jubaland Leader Warns Somali President Against Power Grab Amid 2026 Election Dispute KISMAYO, Somalia — Jubaland state President Ahmed Madobe on Thursday warned Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud against consolidating power, accusing the federal leader of advancing policies he once opposed and underscoring growing rifts ahead of Somalia’s 2026 elections. Speaking at the Somali Future Council conference in Kismayo, Madobe cast the gathering as a forum to confront political tensions and said Somalia’s governance must rest…