Features

Somali paramilitary forces end Elite Hotel siege with at least 20 killed

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) At least 20 people were killed and more than 30 were injured after gunmen and a huge car bomb targeted with an upscale popular hotel in Mogadishu's Liido beach area on Sunday.

Somalia's leaders must hold crucial meeting on election, Int'l Partners tell Somali leaders

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Somalia's international partners have called for the reconvening of the Federal Government and Federal Member States leaders in Dhusamareb on 15 August, as scheduled, with all FMS and FGS leaders attending, according to a statement issued on Friday.

Somalia to re-open schools next week ending months of restrictions

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) The Federal Education Ministry of Somalia has green-lighted the resumption of schools in the country next week following almost three months of suspension over COVID-19 preventive measures.

Deka Dirie: From accidental environmentalist to driven activist

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) As a busy mother bringing up four children between the ages of 10 and 20, Deka Mohamud Dirie would seemingly not have too much time to engage in environmental activism. Some people even told her that a woman would be incapable of doing both.

Somalia responds swiftly to measles outbreak in Jubaland State

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) - The health system of any country needs a surveillance system that can collect information on and detect alerts of epidemic-prone diseases.

At least nine killed as jail break turns gun-battle in Mogadishu prison

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) - At least four inmates and five soldiers have been confirmed dead as several others sustained injuries following a violent prison-break in Mogadishu central prison on Monday, police and government officials said.

Somalia's Senate faults Lower House over unilateral passage of PFM Act

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) The Lower House heavily amended the Public Finance Management Act stripping the Upper House of any role in the national budget process and accountability of public officials and went ahead to submit to President Mohamed Farmaajo for assent contrary to parliamentary drafting…

CAJ Calls on African Governments to End Attacks on Journalists in the Covid-19 Pandemic Period

NAIROBI (HORN OBSERVER) The Congress of African Journalists (CAJ) held a maiden conference on "Covid-19 Impacts on Journalists and the Media: Building up To Face Challenges of Covid-19 and Aftermath" on 29 and 30 July 2020.

Africa Oil Week's Conference to host Somalia licensing round

LONDON (HORN OBSERVER) - Africa Oil Week is pleased to announce that it will host a "Somalia Licensing Round: Derisking Above Ground Factors" session at its online conference, AOW Virtual.

A caretaker government cannot appoint or change constitutional bodies, says Somalia's Bar Association SG

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) OnThursday the caretaker cabinet of ministers of Somalia's Federal Government made a series of strange appointments including amending the country's constitutional body of Judicial Service Commission, by inserting five new members into the commission.

Despite admitting deaths of Somali civilians, AFRICOM yet to compensate families, says Amnesty International

NAIROBI (HORN OBSERVER) - The U.S. Africa Command, on Tuesday issued a quarterly civilian casualty assessment report that assessed that the U.S military killed Somali civilians during their 13 years of air strike in Somalia.

UN in Somalia warns against attempt to unilaterally impose electoral modalities that lack legitimacy

Mogadishu (HORN OBSERVER) – Somalia's international partners expressed their concern and their strong hope that recent political developments, including in the Federal Parliament, will not undermine efforts to reach political consensus on timely elections, disrupt Somalia's reform agenda,…

Killer at large as family of Somali camera journalist killed by a police officer lingers for justice

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) On the afternoon of July 26, 2018 Abdirizak Qasim Iman, a 19-years-old Somali video and photojournalist with the privately owned SBS TV, was returning from a normal assignment at the SIMAD University in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, after covering the graduation event there,…

UK support to communities in Lower Shabelle to mitigate effects of flooding

Devastating floods caused by heavy rains have affected about 37,000 people in Somalia resulting in a humanitarian crisis.

Amnesty: Somalia must place a moratorium on forced evictions in IDP settlements

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Incessant fighting, recurrent droughts and floods, and the worst locust invasion in more than 25 years are forcing more people to flee their homes in Somalia, leading to severe overcrowding and an intensifying risk of COVID-19 among internally displaced people (IDP), Amnesty…

Somalia's judiciary is politicized and is not independent — former AG

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Somalia lacks an independent judiciary and makes the judges to be subject of the improper influence of the other government branches, according to the former Attorney General, Ahmed Ali Dahir.

Banadir Regional Authorities force local TV to fire a journalist who reported IDP eviction

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) A local TV reporter in Mogadishu has been fired from his job after reporting evictions of dozens of families in Mogadishu's Kaaraan district last week, the journalist and colleagues said.

Sool and Sanaag elders send an open letter to Djibouti president over Somalia-Somaliland talks

GAROWE (HORN OBSERVER) About 12 Somali traditional elders from the disputed regions of Sool and Sanaag have issued an open letter to the Djibouti president, Ismaïl Omar Guelleh over the renewed talks between Somalia and Somaliland.

Ex-Somalia spy chief calls regional states to be vigilant of Farmajo's term extension plan

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Former Director of the Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), Abdullahi Mohamed Ali Sanbaloshe has called for the leaders of the Federal Member States to stick to their decision on the importance of holding a timely election in Somalia.

Somali govt to investigate Beledweyne flight crash

MOGADISHU (SOMALIUPDATE NEWS) - The Somali Federal Government has dispatched a fact-finding mission to Beledweyne to investigate the cause of the plane crash at Ugas Khalif Airport in Beledweyne on Tuesday.