Egypt’s Sisi Speaks Out Against Ethiopia-Somaliland Deal
Egypt “will not allow anyone to threaten Somalia,” President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said during a news conference with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud; his remarks refer to a recent deal between Ethiopia and the breakaway state Somaliland granting Ethiopia port access in exchange for formally recognizing Somaliland’s sovereignty (Reuters)
Al-Shabaab Captures Passengers of Downed UN Helicopter in Somalia
After a UN helicopter made an emergency landing yesterday in an area of central Somalia controlled by the Islamist insurgent group Al-Shabaab, members of the group captured several of the helicopter’s passengers and killed one of them, unnamed Somali officials told the New York Times; a UN spokesperson confirmed the capture but did not comment further, saying response efforts were underway (NYT)
Egypt Pledges Support for Somalia Over Red Sea Port Access Deal
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi expressed support for Somalia after Ethiopia signed a deal with Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland that grants it port access to the Red Sea (BBC)
Somalia Schedules Emergency Cabinet Meeting After Ethiopia-Somaliland Port Deal
Mogadishu considers yesterday’s deal giving Ethiopia Red Sea port access via the breakaway region of Somaliland to be a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty; the deal came days after Somalia’s central government agreed to resume talks with Somaliland, which seeks full statehood, after years of stalled dialogue (AFP)
Somalia Reaches Deal on $4.5 Billion in Debt Relief to Rejoin Global Financial System
The relief, which includes debt forgiveness from bilateral creditors and multilateral banks such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), took nearly a decade to negotiate; it will reduce Somalia’s debt as a portion of its gross domestic product (GDP) from 65 percent to about 6 percent (FT)
Scientists Say Climate Change Intensified the Rains Battering Eastern Africa
An international team of climate scientists concluded that human-caused climate change made rainstorms up to times as intense, affecting millions of people in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and elsewhere (AP)
UN Security Council Lifts Arms Embargo on Somalia
Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud welcomed the decision, which will allow Somalia to purchase weapons needed for the fight against al-Shabaab (AP)
UN Security Council to Vote on Lifting Arms Embargo on Somalia
Arms embargoes were first imposed on the country some thirty years ago during its civil war; for years, Somalia’s government has asked for the embargo to be removed in order to better combat Al-Shabaab insurgents (Reuters)
Death Toll from Flooding in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia Rises to 130
Somalia has experienced the worst of what aid agencies say is once-in-a-century flooding that has displaced more than half a million people (AP)
Floods Kill At Least Thirty-One People Across Somalia
Torrential rainfall is responsible for the flooding, which has also affected neighboring Kenya; the UN warned of worse floods to come and emphasized the importance of maintaining early warning and early action systems in the area to save lives (AP)
Devastating Flooding in Somalia Forces 300,000 to Flee Homes
The flooding was the most intense to hit the country in decades, killing twenty-nine people and forcing more than three hundred thousand to flee their homes, Somalia’s disaster management agency said; Somalia’s soil had already been damaged by an unprecedented drought, the area’s worst in forty years (Reuters)
Somalia Reaches Preliminary Deal for $100 Million in IMF Funding
The agreement would establish a thirty-six-month credit program and help Somalia formulate policies that would allow it to receive debt relief (Reuters)
Car Bombing at Military Facility Kills Six in Somali Capital
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack, which destroyed the base and several surrounding homes (AP)
AU Hands Over Another Base to Somalia Despite Technical Pause in Withdrawal
Though the African Union-led mission accepted Somalia’s request to temporarily pause the troop withdrawal amid logistical challenges, it handed over yet another forward operating base to the Somali army (Garowe)
AU Envoy: Somali Military Needs International Support
The head of the African Union Mission in Somalia said the county’s “young force” needs training and the lifting of the arms embargo so it can buy weapons and ammunition to fight al-Shabaab (VOA)
Kenya Says Last Troops Will Depart Somalia by End of 2024
The troops operate under the auspices of the African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), and the mission confirmed it will depart in 2024 despite Somalia’s request for a pause in the drawdown (Africa News)
Somalia Claims Killing Hundreds of Al-Shabaab Militants Amid Setbacks
Despite a spate of al-Shabaab attacks, Somalia state media said that the government’s offensive has killed 1,650 militants and wounded 550 more in central Hirshabelle and Galmudug states, including many al-Shabaab leaders (VOA)
East African Countries Urge Delay of Troop Withdrawal from Somalia
The contributor countries to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) have asked the UN Security Council for a ninety-day pause on the withdrawal of three thousand troops to allow more time to transition bases to Somali control (VOA)
Car Bomb Kills Six in Central Somalia Market
It was the third attack in the country today and follows a car bombing on Saturday that killed eighteen people; no group immediately claimed responsibility for any of today’s attacks (AP)
U.S. Defense Secretary: Somalia Has Made Impressive Gains Against Al-Shabaab
While on a visit to the region, Lloyd Austin remarked that he thought Somalia had made more progress in the last year than in the previous five (VOA)
Local Militias Begin Mobilization Against Al-Shabaab
Weeks after pulling back from the frontlines, local forces key to the success of the government’s campaign are preparing to re-engage in the fight (Garowe)
Meanwhile, two senior al-Shabaab militants surrendered, and the government reportedly killed scores of militants and retook territory in western Hiiraan, central Somalia (Garowe;Garowe)
Somaliland Rejects Unification Talks with Somalia
The statement contradicts an earlier statement by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni that he would act as a “unification mediator” between Somalia and Somaliland (Al Jazeera)
Dozens Dead, Wounded in Central Somalia Truck Bombing
The attack targeted a security checkpoint in a residential area of Beledweyne in Hirshabelle state, where government forces have made progress against al-Shabaab militants (Al Jazeera)
European Union Temporarily Freezes Funding for World Food Program
The decision was made after a UN probe found widespread theft and misuse of aid, two EU officials told Reuters (Reuters)
Al-Shabaab Ambushes Ethiopian, Somali Military Convoys in Somalia
Al-Shabaab militants attacked two convoys carrying Ethiopian and Somali soldiers in Somalia’s southwestern region of Bakool; Somali officials claimed fifty fighters were killed, while Al-Shabaab claimed the deaths of 1,667 Ethiopian soldiers (VOA)