Somalia

The number of people in Somalia facing acute food insecurity has nearly doubled to 6.5 million since last year as hunger levels rise due to worsening drought, conflict and soaring food prices. … The worrying development comes after the October to December Deyr season rains failed and crop production fell. Those most impacted are poor farmers, pastoralists, and internally displaced people. 

Somaliland is prepared to grant the United States access to its mineral resources and military bases, a senior minister says, as the breakaway Somali region pursues international recognition. “We are willing to give exclusive [access to our minerals] to the United States. Also, we are open to offer military bases to the United States,” Khadar Hussein Abdi, minister of the presidency, told the AFP news agency in an interview on Saturday.

Somalia has signed a “military cooperation” agreement with Saudi Arabia, weeks after inking a similar deal with Qatar, as Mogadishu seeks regional support against Israel’s recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland.

Heavily armed Al-Shabaab militants attacked a strategic island in southern Somalia on Wednesday, clashing with state paramilitary forces stationed in the semi-autonomous Jubaland region, officials and the Islamist group said.

[…] AUSSOM is set to receive only around half of its required funding for 2025, adding to substantial arrears from previous years, while UNSOS will operate without a quarter of its budget. There is no funding pledged for AUSSOM for 2026 and little indication that this financial situation will improve over the next few years.

Somalia has severed all agreements with the United Arab Emirates, annulling deals spanning key port operations, security cooperation and defence, citing “harmful actions” that undermine the country’s unity and sovereignty. … A government source close to the decision told Al Jazeera there was anger in Mogadishu at the UAE consolidating influence in Somalia’s breakaway and autonomous regions.

The US has suspended all assistance to the government of Somalia, alleging that officials destroyed a UN World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse and seized "donor-funded food aid". 

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar arrived in Somaliland for the first high-level diplomatic visit since it became the first country in the world to recognise the breakaway region’s independence, triggering condemnation and concerns that Palestinians may be forcibly expelled by Israel there. 

Somalia is at a defining moment. Decades of investment in state-building is threatened by a fragmented political landscape, underfunding of the African Union’s military shield, and a humanitarian system running on fumes.

The United Nations Security Council is expected to renew the mandate of the African Union Support Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) before it expires at the end of December, officials said Monday. In addition to the mandate renewal, the Council will review updates to sanctions under resolution 2713 against Al-Shabaab, including maritime restrictions, which are set to expire on 13 December.