Asha Abdi Omar, a mother of eight children, has lost many of the goats she depends on for a living to drought and is now struggling with water shortage in a village in southern Somalia’s Bakool region. She moved to Harhoday village in Rabdhure district desperate to find water, but was disappointed. “There is nothing...
First French troops have left Niger – report
France has begun withdrawing its troops from Niger on the orders of the junta, the AFP news agency reports. “The first troops have left,” the spokesperson for the French chief of staff is quoted as saying. Earlier, Niger’s army said the departure would begin on Tuesday under escort from Nigerien forces. Tensions between the two...
Youth-led campaign in Somalia tackles plastic pollution on beaches, boosts marine ecosystems
Somali youth have launched a campaign against the littering of plastic waste on the beaches of the capital, Mogadishu, infusing vitality into marine ecosystems that support livelihoods. This initiative for environmental protection began at Mogadishu’s Liido beach in the Abdiaziz district two years ago. It started with only six volunteers, but the campaign has now...
Electric power company in Gaza ‘running out of fuel’: Government
The government media office in Gaza has issued a statement warning that the company supplying electricity in the Palestinian territory could shut down “within hours” because “it is running out of fuel”. The Palestinian territory that is home to over two million people has already been experiencing widespread power interruption for several nights due to...
UN Human Rights Council faces critical decision on accountability in Sudan and Russia
Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy, and Campaigns, Erika Guevara-Rosas, stressed the importance of upcoming votes at the 54th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in addressing human rights issues in Sudan and Russia. As the session nears its conclusion, member states will decide whether to establish a human rights...
Somali community mourns deaths of mother, four children in Vantaa fire
The Somali community in Vantaa is grieving the deaths of a mother and her four children following the outbreak of a fire in an apartment in the early hours of Sunday morning. Said Mohammed, a spokesperson for the East Vantaa Somali Cultural Association, told Finnish news agency STT that there is currently very limited information...
20 al-Shabab militants killed in central Somalia
Elite forces of the Somali National Army, backed by international partners, killed 20 al-Shabab militants in an overnight operation in the southern Mudug region, in central Somalia, officials said Monday. The Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism said the operation targeted al-Shabab militants at their hideout in Shabellow forest. “The joint forces’ aim was to...
Fault line cuts Somaliland’s quest for nationhood
On the day Somaliland forces were defeated in Las Anod, shop owner Abdinasir Farah said: “Today, we are free people.” It’s a sentiment shared by others who live in or are from the city and its surroundings. Somaliland had been in control of the city – legally part of Somalia – for 16 years, which...
Kenya court puts a hold on police deployment to Haiti
A Kenyan high court has blocked the government’s plans to deploy police officers to Haiti or any other country pending the hearing of a petition. The judge cited issues raised in the application as being of national importance and public interest. One of the petitioners, former presidential candidate Ekuru Aukot said the proposed deployment was...
Journalist Bulbul out on bail and hospitalized due to declining health
MOGADISHU, Somalia 9 October, 2023 – The Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) expresses grave concern regarding the persistent harassment and intimidation directed at our Secretary of Information and Human Rights, Mohamed Ibrahim Bulbul, who was urgently hospitalized on Saturday afternoon due to a deterioration in his health while in incommunicado and unlawful detention. On Saturday afternoon 7...