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Sources tell MEE minister’s efforts to deepen military, energy and aerospace cooperation with Ankara unsettled Washington. Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud dismissed his defence minister, Abuldkadir Mohamed Nur, on Sunday following lobbying efforts by the US military, sources told Middle East Eye. Nur has been reassigned as the minister of ports amid indications that US military support for Somalia’s fight against al-Shabab - an armed group designated as a terrorist organisation by Washington - has slowed. Two sources familiar with the situation told MEE that Nur’s efforts to deepen Somalia’s military, energy and aerospace cooperation with Turkey unsettled Washington, which maintains closer ties with the United Arab Emirates in the Horn of Africa. Under Nur’s leadership, Somalia and Turkey signed a comprehensive naval, trade and defence agreement in February last year. While the full details of the deal remain undisclosed, sources indicate that it grants Turkey the responsibility of safeguarding Somali waters, establishing a Somali navy and assisting in the exploration of energy resources, as a response to Ethiopia’s naval deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland. Read article…

In 2022, Somaliland offered the US military access to a strategic seaport and airfield in exchange for steps toward sovereignty. With Arab nations rejecting Trump's 'Middle East Riviera' plan, the United States and Israel are now eyeing the Horn of Africa as a potential destination for Palestinians forcibly uprooted from Gaza. One place tops their list: Somaliland. On 14 March, an Associated Press report cited unnamed American and Israeli officials confirming quiet discussions with both Somalia and Somaliland—two bitter rivals whose divisions Washington could exploit to advance its plan. For decades, Somaliland, a relatively stable corner in violent Somalia, has been lobbying in vain for international recognition as an independent state. In 2022, it offered the US military access to a strategic seaport and airfield in exchange for steps toward sovereignty. Now, as Washington—long committed to Somalia's territorial integrity—considers an unprecedented deal, Somaliland's leadership may see an opportunity to finally gain US recognition. Read article...

Shabeellaha Dhexe, Maarso 11, 2025 - Cidanka Xoogga Dalka Soomaaliyeed (CDS) oo kashanaya saaxiibada caalamka ayaa fuliyay howlgal dugeyn ah oo si gaar ah loo gorsheeyay, kaas oo lagu beegsaday xubno sare oo ka tirsan Khawaarijta. Duqeynta ayaa ka dhacday deegaanka Damasha, Shabeelow e gobolka Shabeellaha Dhexe, halkaas oo lagu dilay horjoogihii u qaabilsanaa kooda dhanka gaadiidka dagaalka. Howlgalka ayaa lagu khaarijiyay Mansoor Tima-Weeyne, oo ahaa maskadii ka dambeysay isku-diyarinta iyo adeegsiga gawaarida dagaalka, Mansoor ayaa dhowaan ka yimid degaanka Buulo Fulay, waxaana waday gaadiid la dayactiray oo kooda ay u adeegsan jirtay weerarrada argagixisada. Intii uu socday howlgalka, waxaa sidoo kale la dilay in ka badan 50 xubnood oo ka tisan Khawaarijta, kuwaas o ku sugnaa goobta al dugeeyay. Waxaa al burburiyay saddex gaari o dagaal, kuwaas 0o ay kooxda uadeegsan jirtay weerarradeeda: Gaadiidka ayaa ka koobnaa laba gaari Cabdi Bile ah, o ay saarnaayeen goryaha waaweyn e Suuga iyo Dhashikaha iyo gaari kale o ay kooxa uadeegsanjirtay dhibaateeynta shacabka Soomaaliyeed. Howlgalka ayaa si xeel dheer loo gorsheeyay, iyadoo bartilmaameedka uu ahaa xubnaha sare ee Khawaarijta. Taliska CDS wuxuu caddeeyay ni duqeyntani ay dhabar-jab weyn ku tahay awoodda dagaal e kooxda, ayna qayb ka tahay dadaallada lagu wiiqayo argagixisada. DHAMMAAD. Tel: 252-618866627 Email:snaradio@xds.gov.so      

The dawn-to-dusk fast lasts anywhere from 13 to 16 hours, depending on where in the world you are. The Muslim holy month of Ramadan has begun worldwide. For the next 29 or 30 days, Muslims observing the fast will refrain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk, a period lasting from 12 to 16 hours, depending on their location. Muslims believe Ramadan is the month when the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad more than 1,400 years ago. The fast entails abstinence from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual relations during daylight hours to achieve greater “taqwa”, or consciousness of God. Why does Ramadan start on different dates every year? Ramadan begins 10 to 12 days earlier each year. This is because the Islamic calendar is based on the lunar Hijri calendar with months that are 29 or 30 days long. Because the lunar year is shorter than the solar year by 11 days, Ramadan will be observed twice in the year 2030 – first beginning on January 5 and then starting on December 26. Read article….  

TRIPOLI, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- President of the Libyan Presidency Council Mohamed Menfi emphasized the importance of Libya-Somalia cooperation during a press conference on Monday following talks with visiting Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The two countries signed several cooperation memoranda covering investment, training, and education, according to Menfi. "We affirm our support for Somalia as well as Somalia's important role during this period and our cooperation in international forums and organizations," Menfi said. He highlighted coordination opportunities through shared memberships in the Arab League, the African Union, and the United Nations, noting Somalia's current position as a non-permanent UN Security Council member representing Africa alongside Algeria and Sierra Leone. Menfi expressed hope for Somalia's support regarding Libya's territorial integrity, stability, and future parliamentary and presidential elections. Mohamud underscored the historic relations between the two nations, pledging Somalia's support for Libya. Earlier on Monday, Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah met with Mohamud to discuss bilateral ties and regional issues. The two sides signed agreements including visa exemptions for diplomatic passport holders and a political consultation pact between their foreign ministries. Additional agreements covered urban development partnerships between Tripoli and Mogadishu, with plans to establish a joint high-level committee to review previous deals and discuss Libyan investments in Somalia, according to a Libyan government statement on Facebook. ■ President of the Libyan Presidency Council Mohamed Menfi (R) shakes hands with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud during a press conference in Tripoli, Libya, on Feb. 24, 2025. President of the Libyan Presidency Council Mohamed Menfi emphasized the importance of Libya-Somalia cooperation during the press conference on Monday following talks with visiting Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. (Photo by Hamza Turkia/Xinhua) Source: Xinhua

The Cutlass Express maritime exercises began on February 10, 2025, and included participants from Comoros, Djibouti, France, Georgia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Madagascar, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania, Tunisia, Morocco, and the United States Representatives of the Tanzanian and US armies have called for increased joint training following the conclusion of the Cutlass Express maritime exercises. The closing ceremony took place at Lugalo Golf Club in Dar es Salaam on February 21, 2025. The Cutlass Express maritime exercises began on February 10, 2025, and included participants from Comoros, Djibouti, France, Georgia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Madagascar, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania, Tunisia, Morocco, and the United States. The exercises featured classroom training and the exchange of tactics, techniques, and procedures on maritime safety and security. They also tested communication capabilities between maritime operations centers across participating nations. “We really see you [Tanzania] as an anchor of security and stability in East Africa. And there’s no shortage of challenges in East Africa,” said Lieutenant General John Brennan, the Deputy Commander of U.S. Africa Command. “You have piracy, counterterrorism issues, illicit fishing. But it takes a network to defeat a network. And Cutlass Express is a key node in that network. With all the maritime operations centers functioning all the time, the exercise is a great vehicle to test that. But we need to push it to the limit and do it more often,” he emphasized. The Chief of Operations and Training of the Tanzania People’s Defence Force, Major General Ibrahim Mhona, also emphasized the importance of the exercises in fostering coordination between different countries, particularly in addressing common security threats such as piracy and terrorism. “Tanzania is ready to continue hosting these exercises because, as the host and since the exercise takes place in Tanzania, we have a large number of officers and soldiers participating. Therefore, we are the biggest beneficiaries in terms of training,” Mhona said. The training exercises were conducted alongside the land-based drills of Justified Accord 2025, which took place in both Tanzania and Kenya. Source: thechanzo

A month into its new guise as the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) senior commanders met their counterparts from the Somali National Army (SNA) to strategise joint counter offensive operations against al-Shabaab. AUSSOM is the third identity of the African Union (AU) mission in the easternmost African continental country where over 18 million Somalis are resident. The presence of the continental body goes back to 2007 when its first mission – AMISOM (AU Mission to Somalia) – was deployed. This morphed into ATMIS (AU Transition Mission in Somalia) in April 2022 before becoming a support and stabilisation operation at the beginning of this year. Acting AUSSOM Force Commander Major General Marius Ngendabanka met senior Somali security officials, led by Chief of Defence Forces, General Odowa Yusuf Rage, at Force Headquarters, for, what a statement said was “in-depth discussions on enhancing co-ordination and advancing joint operations”. The 6 February meeting was one of a series since AUSSOM became operational all aimed to building on ATMIS achievements. The military commanders, according to the statement, met against the backdrop of the Somali government announcing a relaunch of military operations against al-Shabaab. The operations are in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2767 of 2024 which mandates AUSSOM forces to support the Somali government “in degrading al-Shabaab and other affiliated armed groups as part of the stabilisation process”. The transition from ATMIS to AUSSOM has significantly impacted the ground situation in Somalia, reflecting both continuity and new challenges. AUSSOM, which became operational on January 1, 2025, is designed to follow a more realistic and extended timeline of five years, compared to ATMIS’s three-year mandate. This shift allows AUSSOM to focus on bolstering the Somali Security Forces (SSF) and enhancing their operational capabilities while maintaining an explicit mandate to protect civilians from immediate threats of violence. The new mission adopts a backup and urban-based operational approach with a reduced force strength of approximately 11,146 troops, which is less than its predecessors. The transition occurs against a backdrop of escalating tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia, complicating the security landscape. AUSSOM’s operational effectiveness is contingent on addressing these geopolitical dynamics while ensuring that it does not inherit the financial and logistical challenges faced by ATMIS, which struggled with significant funding shortfalls. Despite the new mission’s objectives, there are concerns that AUSSOM may merely be ATMIS by another name, as it inherits unresolved issues from its predecessor. The lack of progress in building the SSF’s capacity remains a critical concern, as does the ongoing threat posed by al-Shabaab. Recent reports indicate a resurgence of al-Shabaab attacks, highlighting the persistent instability in the region. Political cohesion within Somalia continues to be a significant hurdle for AUSSOM’s success. The Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) faces ongoing tensions with Federal Member States, which complicates efforts to unify security operations against al-Shabaab. Without political consensus and cooperation among various factions, achieving the mission’s benchmarks will be difficult. While AUSSOM aims to build upon ATMIS’s achievements and address its shortcomings, the transition has not alleviated existing challenges. The effectiveness of AUSSOM will depend on its ability to navigate complex political landscapes, secure adequate funding, and enhance the capabilities of Somali forces to combat al-Shabaab effectively. The situation remains fluid, with both opportunities for improvement and risks of further instability ahead. Source: defenceweb

WASHINGTON — The main target in a series of U.S. airstrikes against the Islamic State terror group in Somalia earlier this month is dead, according to the most recent assessment by military officials. U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) announced late Tuesday that Islamic State attack planner Ahmed Maeleninine was killed along with 13 other high-ranking operatives in the Feb. 1 operation, run in coordination with the Somali government. In a statement, AFRICOM described Maeleninine as a "recruiter, financier, and external operations leader responsible for the deployment of jihadists into the United States and across Europe." Officials did not provide additional information on Maeleninine's exploits. Assessing the success of the U.S. strikes was delayed due to the location of the targets and the terrain — a series of cave complexes in the Cal Miskaad area of Somalia's Golis Mountains. At the time, a Somalia commander told VOA the U.S. strikes had targeted at least 10 locations. Residents in Qandala, a small town in the Bari region of Puntland not far from the site, told VOA that they could see plumes of smoke and flames, and that they heard at least seven explosions. Islamic State, also known as IS or Daesh, has increasingly played a key role in the terror group's operations in Africa and beyond. Since 2022, Somalia has been home to al-Karrar, one of nine regional Islamic State offices established to help sustain the terror group's capabilities. As a result, IS-Somalia has become a key cog in the IS financial network, funneling money to affiliates in Afghanistan and elsewhere in Africa. IS-Somalia has simultaneously become more influential under the leadership of Abdulkadir Mumin, a former militant with al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab, who is thought to now head IS's directorate of provinces, overseeing the terror group's affiliates in Africa. Some U.S. officials worry Mumin has risen even higher, perhaps acting as Islamic State's top emir. Others disagree, but there is consensus that Mumin is nonetheless a pivotal figure. The U.S. previously targeted Mumin in May 2024. Recent intelligence assessments have further warned IS-Somalia has more than doubled in size over the past year and may now have as many as 1,600 fighters, bolstered by an influx of fighters from Ethiopia, Morocco, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania and Yemen. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier on Tuesday warned that Washington would not hesitate to take action against IS in Somalia and beyond. "Where we see those growing, plotting or planning with increased capabilities, we will strike," he said during a visit to AFRICOM headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. He also said the U.S. is open to keeping in place about 500 special operation forces currently stationed in Somalia. "I want to listen to the commanders on the ground, first and foremost," Hegseth said. "The president, he's charged me with, give me your best advice but also keep your ear to the ground of what's most effective." U.S. President Donald Trump, toward the end of his first term in office in January 2021, withdrew U.S. forces from Somalia. Former President Joe Biden reversed the decision in May 2022, sending about 500 U.S. special operation forces to help Somali forces counter IS and al-Shabab. Source: VOA Harun Maruf, Mohamed Olad contributed to this report.

The expression Black Hawk Down, the title of a Hollywood film, has become shorthand for a 1993 US military disaster in Somalia. Eighteen American soldiers lost their lives in the fighting that began on 3 October, but so did hundreds of Somalis. As Netflix launches a documentary about those events, the BBC has spoken to some Somalis still scarred by what happened. Despite being surrounded by the debris of an ongoing civil war, Mogadishu's residents in the early 1990s embraced the moments of serenity. The warm Sunday sunshine and cooling ocean breeze made for the perfect opportunity for Binti Ali Wardhere, 24 at the time, to visit relatives with her mother.’ "That day was calm," she remembers. But like everyone else in the city she was unaware that the Americans were getting ready to attack warlord Mohamed Farah Aideed – and what happened would change her life forever. The US had deployed soldiers to Somalia in 1992. They were there to support a UN mission that offered humanitarian assistance to alleviate a famine – in part caused by the collapse of the central government. But after Aideed was blamed for being behind the killing of 24 UN peacekeepers in June 1993, he became a focus of military action. This included a US raid in July in which at least 70 Somalis died, marking a turning-point in the way the Americans were viewed. It also led to the deployment of elite US Rangers. On 3 October, the US got intelligence that Aideed would be at a meeting with his top officials at a hotel. The Americans launched an airborne operation that was supposed to take 90 minutes – in the end it lasted 17 hours. Read article...

A letter to Donald J. Trump from Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, a Saudi prince and former government official who served as the head of Saudi Arabia's General Intelligence Presidency from 1979 to 2001. He is a grandson of Saudi's founder King Abdulaziz and son of King Faisal. He is the chairman of the King Faisal Foundation's Center for Research and Islamic Studies. The letter: Dear President Trump, The Palestinian people are not illegal immigrants to be deported to other lands. The lands are their lands and the houses that Israel destroyed are their homes, and they will rebuild them as they have done after previous Israeli onslaughts on them. Most of the people of Gaza are refugees, driven out of their homes in what is now Israel and the West Bank by the previous Israeli genocidal assault on them in the 1948 and 1967 wars. If they are to be moved from Gaza, they should be allowed to return to their homes and to their orange and olive groves in Haifa, Jaffa and other towns and villages from which they fled or were forcibly driven out by the Israelis. Mr President, many of the tens of thousands of immigrants who came to Palestine from Europe and other places after the Second World War stole Palestinian homes and land, terrorised the inhabitants and engaged in a campaign of ethnic cleansing. Alas, America and the UK, the victors of the war, stood by and even facilitated the murderous evictions of the Palestinians from their homes and lands. America and the UK did not want to receive the victims of Adolf Hitler’s Holocaust, so they were content with sending them to Palestine. In the book Eight Days at Yalta, the author Diana Preston refers to a conversation between then US president Franklin Roosevelt and his Russian counterpart Joseph Stalin. Preston writes: “Conversation turned to the subject of Jewish homelands. Roosevelt said he was a Zionist… When Stalin asked Roosevelt what present he planned to make [Saudi king] Ibn Saud, he replied his only concession might be to give him six million Jews…” Fortunately, when Mr Roosevelt did meet Ibn Saud, the king disabused him of that offer and suggested that the Jews should be offered the best lands in Germany as compensation for the Holocaust. Alas, Harry Truman, Roosevelt’s successor, wholeheartedly supported Jewish immigration to Palestine and eventually became instrumental in the creation of Israel. The violence and bloodshed we witness today are the result of that action and the previous British complicity with Zionist ambitions from 1917 until then. Mr President, your declared intent to bring peace to Palestine is much lauded in our part of the world. I respectfully suggest that the way to do that is to give the Palestinians their inalienable right to self-determination and a state with its capital in East Jerusalem, as envisaged in UN General Assembly Resolutions 181 and 194 and Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, and the Arab Peace Initiative. All the Arab and Islamic countries, as well as the Palestinian Authority, accept the terms of the Arab Peace Initiative to end hostilities and establish relations with Israel. One hundred and forty-nine countries recognise the Palestinian state. Please make your country the 150th. No peace in the Middle East will be realised without addressing this noble issue justly and fairly. Be remembered as the peacemaker. Prince Turki Al Faisal