DISPATCHES Vol 66 No 5 | ETHIOPIASOMALIA Abiy and Hassan Sheikh turn down the rancour 3rd March 2025 The face-to-face meeting in the Somali capital follows mediation in Turkey in December When Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was greeted on the tarmac at Mogadishu airport by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on 27 February, hopes were raised of a normalisation... READ FOR FREE
Vol 66 No 2 | SOMALIAAFRICA IN 2025 Unity preserved but security lost 23rd January 2025 The damage caused by Ethiopia’s MoU has receded but political prospects are poor and morale in the national security forces is at rock bottom If there are prospects for an upturn in 2025, it’s only because security, morale and international coherence could hardly have been worse in 2024. Ethiopia fractured the international...
DISPATCHES Vol 66 No 1 | SOMALIA Row over troop numbers jeopardises AU mission 7th January 2025 The peacekeeping operation faces uncertainty after Burundi refuses to participate because of personnel allocation cuts The fate of the new African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) is in doubt after Burundi announced that it would refuse to participate because its... READ FOR FREE
DISPATCHES Vol 66 No 1 | ETHIOPIASOMALIA Abiy and Hassan Sheikh step back from the brink 17th December 2024 The Ankara agreement sets the stage for talks on commercial sea access while reaffirming respect for sovereignty with major implications for Somaliland Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud looks like the big winner from the so-called Ankara agreement struck with Ethiopia last week, which could effectively nix the memorandum of understanding... READ FOR FREE
Vol 65 No 24 | SOMALIASOMALILAND Hargeisa faces new pressures 28th November 2024 After Irro’s victory, the government must respond to demands on corruption and jobs as it tries to hold the territory together The decisive victory for Abdirahman Mahamed Abdullahi Irro with 64% in the 13 November presidential elections should be seen as the culmination of two years of politicking during...
DISPATCHES Vol 65 No 23 | ETHIOPIASOMALIA Defence Minister insists Ethiopia not be part of new AU mission 12th November 2024 The regional dispute is escalating as Mogadishu says Ethiopian troops are not welcome and have been excluded from the peacekeeping operation Somalia’s Defence Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur has insisted that Ethiopia will not participate in a new African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission which is set to begin in January... READ FOR FREE
Vol 65 No 19 | EGYPTETHIOPIASOMALIA Middle powers line up behind Addis and Mogadishu 19th September 2024 Egypt and Somalia have signed a military pact to scupper Ethiopia’s trade-off with Somaliland for a port in the Gulf of Aden Nothing better illustrates the radical shift in regional relations than the defence agreement signed by Egypt and the Federal Government of Somalia on 14 August, two days after... READ FOR FREE
Vol 65 No 17 | SOMALIA Al Shabaab adaptability causes alarm 22nd August 2024 On 2 August at 9.50pm at Lido Beach, Al Shabaab launched its deadliest attack in Mogadishu since two car-bombs claimed 121 lives and hundreds of casualties in the...
Vol 65 No 16 | ETHIOPIASOMALIA Djibouti joins fight against the Abiy-Bihi pact 19th July 2024 Fearing big losses if Addis Ababa’s port access deal with Somaliland goes ahead, President Guelleh wants to scupper it Battle drums are sounding, but the casus belli is still being determined. Nobody yet knows whether the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and...
Vol 65 No 16 | ETHIOPIASOMALIA Shots and plots 1st August 2024 On 15 July, local militias on the outskirts of Abudwaq, in Galmudug, stopped a convoy of two trucks loaded with infantry weapons coming from Ethiopia and led by...