Levent Kenez/Stockholm– The full text of a wide-ranging hydrocarbons agreement between Turkey and Somalia has been made public following its submission to the Turkish Parliament for ratification on April 22. The release of the document has offered the first detailed insight into the scope, terms and strategic intentions behind Ankara’s deepening energy and defense partnership...
By: Ali Haji Warsame During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic between mid-January and March 2020, the Australian government implemented increasingly restrictive travel bans that led to the country closing its borders to all non-residents, adopting mandatory hotel quarantines for fourteen days and a travel ban on Australians travelling overseas. The Commonwealth of Australia is a...
By Abdelkarim A. Haji Hassan Since its adoption in 2000, Somalia’s 4.5 power-sharing model was designed as a temporary mechanism to ensure broad-based representation in the aftermath of state collapse. However, what was intended as a transitional arrangement has matured into a permanent system of governance, where clan loyalty routinely supersedes rule of law, meritocracy...
By Abdullahi A. Nor Somalia’s federal government appears to have opened a new front—not against Al-Shabaab militants, but against dissenting voices and independent assessments of the country’s spiraling security crisis. In the span of just 24 hours, two respected figures—African Union Special Representative Sivuyile Thandikhaya and former Prime Minister and presidential candidate Abdi Farah Shirdoon...
By Mohamoud Gaildon Talk is circulating of a US tilt toward the recognition of Somaliland──a secessionist entity in northern Somalia──as a separate state. From the upper levels of the Trump administration, nothing public in this regard has emerged; but the signs are unmistakable that a pro-Somaliland drive is underway. Such, if it were to materialize,...
WASHINGTON (WDN)–Somaliland is ramping up its international campaign for recognition, with a major diplomatic offensive underway in the United States. Foreign Minister Abdirahman Dahir Adan, currently in Washington, confirmed that his visit is laying the groundwork for an official trip by Somaliland President Abdirahman Irro scheduled for May. Speaking to reporters, Minister Abdirahman Dahir said...
By Abdiqani Haji Abdi As Somalia prepares to enter one of the most critical political summits in its modern history, the country’s democratic foundations appear to be under siege. In a shocking turn of events over the past three years, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has led a sweeping campaign that has dismantled key state institutions,...
Mogadishu (WDN)-The anticipated visit of Prime Minister Hamse to Las Anod, the capital of the SSC-Khatumo Interim Administration, has been warmly welcomed by the local population and regional leadership. However, certain members of the Somaliland Parliament and political figures have issued provocative statements in response, raising concerns about heightened tensions and the potential undermining peace...
By Faisal A. Roble While this op-ed piece does not comprehensively appraise Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s rule in the last seven years, it does provide a cursory look at the missteps and dashed hopes that worsened the country’s structural problems. Seven years ago, millions of Ethiopians, including the influential Diaspora community, welcomed Abiy Ahmed’s arrival...
By Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, Member of Federal Parliament and the Leader of Wadajir Party Somalia stands at a critical juncture in its battle against Al-Shabaab as the militant group escalates its offensive against the Somali National Army (SNA) and local community forces. Despite earlier successes in pushing back the insurgents, recent months have witnessed a...