Somalia

The likelihood of Somalia holding one-person-one-vote polls now appears less certain as five regional state presidents have endorsed an indirect election as long as it is held on time.

Since gaining independence on July 1, 1960, Somalia has faced civil war, clan conflict, secessions, and al-Shabab. The road to self-sufficiency for Africa's most culturally-homogeneous country is full of hurdles.

Somalia’s planned General Election for October this year is not feasible, and the earliest it can be held is March 2021, the Independent Electoral Commission has said. This will be the first general election in 50 years in Somalia.

One person was killed, and two others were injured after a suicide bomber blew himself up near the Turkey-Somalia military training academy in Mogadishu on Tuesday, witnesses and officials say. … The al-Shabab militant group claimed responsibility for the attack.

The coronavirus pandemic could pose a huge challenge to Somalia. To manage the crisis, the federal government should reach out to and coordinate with political rivals. It should avoid a unilateral postponement of elections due in November, which could trigger a violent backlash.

AFRICOM's first-ever public civilian casualties report offers a glimpse into the command's notoriously opaque review process.

The United Nations Security Council extended until 30 June 2020 the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).

African Union peacekeepers in Somalia have liberated the first major town since the beginning of the year. The African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) announced that they captured Jannale — a stronghold of al-Shabaab — on March 17, 2020.

Somali troops clashed with forces from the country’s semi-autonomous Jubaland region this week in a flare-up of violence that displaced thousands and is raising tensions with neighbouring countries.