Latest Somalia government News

Migrants who survived Madagascar boat tragedy arrive back in Somalia

Dec. 07, 2024 17:00 PM EST

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Nearly 50 survivors of a migrant boat tragedy last month that left 25 people dead in the Indian Ocean off Madagascar arrived back in Somalia on Saturday and were received by government officials. The survivors aged 17 to 50 wore outfits made of fabric with...

A Chinese vessel has been hijacked off the Somali coast, officials say

Dec. 06, 2024 09:08 AM EST

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A Chinese-owned fishing vessel with 18 crew members aboard was hijacked last week off the northeastern coast of Somalia, local authorities said Friday. An official in Xaafuun district in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland, where the vessel is being...

Madagascar officials say the death toll is now 25 after boats carrying Somali migrants capsized

Nov. 25, 2024 09:56 AM EST

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) — The death toll rose Monday to 25 after two motorboats carrying migrants from Somalia capsized in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar, authorities said Monday. The migrants had been at sea for nearly a month hoping to reach the French island territory of...

Somalia says 24 people have died after 2 boats capsized in the Indian Ocean

Nov. 24, 2024 11:52 AM EST

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Twenty-four people died after two boats capsized off the Madagascar coast in the Indian Ocean, Somalia's government said Sunday. Somalia’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi said 46 people were rescued. “We are working tirelessly to...

Somaliland opposition leader defeats incumbent to win presidential election

Nov. 19, 2024 10:16 AM EST

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The opposition leader in Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland was declared winner on Tuesday in last week’s election that gave a boost for the region's push for international recognition. Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 amid a...

7 killed in suicide bomber attack at a cafe in Somalia's capital

Oct. 18, 2024 00:22 AM EDT

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Seven people died and six others were injured after a suicide bomber detonated an unidentified device at a café outside a police training school in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, police said Thursday. Police say the victims included officers and...

Lawsuit in US targets former Salvadoran colonel in 1982 killings of Dutch journalists

Oct. 11, 2024 18:16 PM EDT

CENTREVILLE, Va. (AP) — The brother of a Dutch journalist slain in 1982 covering El Salvador's civil war has filed a lawsuit against a former Salvadoran military officer who has lived for decades in the northern Virginia suburbs and is accused of orchestrating the killing. The...

Somalia says it welcomes Egypt's offer to deploy peacekeepers there

Oct. 11, 2024 03:34 AM EDT

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia says Egypt has offered to deploy peacekeeping troops to the Horn of Africa nation in a security partnership that is emerging as the mandate of a long-time group of African Union peacekeepers winds down. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi on...

Thousands gather in Ethiopia's capital to celebrate a religious festival. Many are thinking of peace

Sep. 26, 2024 23:25 PM EDT

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Thousands of Ethiopians gathered in the capital Thursday to celebrate an annual religious festival distinguished by the lighting of bonfires according to the beliefs of the local Orthodox Christian faithful. National celebrations of the festival, known...