Al Jazeera United States President Donald Trump’s administration has begun laying off staff at Voice of America (VOA) after signing an executive order placing nearly all employees at the government-funded media network on leave. VOA employees working on a contractual basis on Sunday received an email informing them that they were being terminated effective March 31. In...
Mogadishu (WDN) – Al-Shabaab militants have made significant territorial gains near Mogadishu, seizing control of the Water Wells area (Ceeelasha Biyaha) on the outskirts of the capital. The incursion, which took place last night, marks a troubling escalation in the group’s operations as they tighten their grip on areas between Mogadishu and Afgoye. Eyewitnesses told...
KHARTOUM, Sudan/ISTANBUL – Sudan announced Thursday that it is banning all imports from Kenya due to its hosting of meetings of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allies. The decree was issued by Sudan’s Minister of Trade and Supplies Omar Ahmed Mohamed Ali, the official Sudanese News Agency (SUNA) reported. According to the...
(Reuters) – Somalia and its breakaway region of Somaliland have not received any proposal from the United States or Israel to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, their foreign ministers said on Friday, with Mogadishu saying it categorically rejected any such move. The Associated Press quoted U.S. and Israeli officials as saying their governments had contacted officials...
Mogadishu (WDN) – There are numerous allegations and counter-allegations between Federal MPs, former officials from Somalia’s Federal Member States and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s administration. These allegations center on accusations of political interference, security failures, and the alleged destabilization of regional administrations. Former HirShabelle Parliament Speaker Sheikh Osman Barre has accused the Somali government of...
Mogadishu (WDN) – A group of opposition MPs has urged President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to resign, citing governance failures, corruption, and the worsening national crisis. “Hassan Sheikh has centralized power, failed the country, and fostered corruption and nepotism. He must step down,” their statement declared. MP Abdirizak, speaking for the group, warned of impending actions...
Al Jazeera Mogadishu, Somalia – Mukhtar Abdiwhab Ahmed sits in a plastic chair outside his house in Mogadishu. Nearby, children play, soldiers congregate, and rickshaws speed by under the scorching sun. “If I knew I would end up here [in Somalia] I would have never gotten these tattoos,” the 39-year-old tells Al Jazeera, saying he has...
NAIROBI (Reuters) – Longtime foes Ethiopia and Eritrea could be headed towards war, officials in a restive Ethiopian region at the centre of the tensions have warned, risking another humanitarian disaster in the Horn of Africa. Direct clashes between two of Africa’s largest armies would signal the death blow for a historic rapprochement for which...
ADDIS ABABA (Xinhua) — Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth is projected to rebound, reaching 3.8 percent in 2025 and 4.1 percent in 2026, a report by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has revealed. The report was released Wednesday in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, during the 57th session of the...
By Mohamed Gabobe; Freelance Journalist based in Mogadishu, Somalia.The New Humanitarian “Cases of extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, and excessive use of force have fostered deep-seated resentment among much of the Somali population.” A new African Union peace enforcement mission, known by its acronym AUSSOM, was launched at the beginning of the year to support a...