Impact of New US Sanctions on Sudan

 Source: The Sudan Tribune published on 27 May 2025 an article titled “New U.S. Sanctions Spark Economic Fears in War-torn Sudan.”

New US sanctions on Sudan that include restrictions on US exports and Sudan’s access to US government credit lines plunged Sudan’s parallel foreign currency markets into chaos and may have a long-term impact on remittances. 

A Conversation With Mai Hassan and Ahmed Kodouda

Sudan’s Intractable War

A Conversation With Mai Hassan and Ahmed Kodouda

Published on May 29, 2025Play

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The war in Sudan gets only a fraction of the attention that conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza and to potential conflicts elsewhere get. But after two years of fighting, it has created the biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded. And as the two sides in the conflict, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, vie for control of the country and its resources, there is little hope of a conclusion any time soon. As the war goes on, and a growing number of outside powers look for advantage in the carnage, the consequences are likely to get even worse, argue Mai Hassan and Ahmed Kodouda in a recent Foreign Affairs essay—not just for Sudan, but for the rest of its region as well.

Both Hassan, an Associate Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Kodouda, a humanitarian policy expert who was based in Sudan until March 2023, have spent years watching what is happening in Sudan. They joined senior editor Eve Fairbanks to discuss the roots of what has become an intractable conflict, and whether a path out of it is possible.

Source: “Sudan Is Unraveling,” by Mai Hassan and Ahmed Kodouda

The Foreign Affairs Interview is produced by Julia Fleming-Dresser, Molly McAnany, Ben Metzner, and Caroline Wilcox, with audio support from Todd Yeager and original music by Robin Hilton

President Mohamud announces National Consultation Forum amid rising political tensions

Source: Hiiraan Online, Sunday June 1, 2025

Mogadishu (HOL) — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has formally announced the launch of the National Consultation Forum, a high-level gathering of political and civil society leaders set to open in Mogadishu on June 15, 2025, as part of a broader effort to forge national consensus on key state-building priorities.

According to a statement from the President’s Office on Sunday, the forum follows weeks of private consultations with former national leaders, federal member state presidents, political parties, and civil society organizations. It is designed to provide a platform for an inclusive national dialogue on Somalia’s most pressing governance and security challenges.

The President outlined five priority areas for the forum, national security and the fight against terrorism, democratization and electoral processes, completion of the constitution, national unity, and reconciliation.

“We must engage in genuine consultations grounded in the collective interest of the Somali people,” President Hassan Sheikh said, calling for active participation from all stakeholders. Preparatory meetings will continue in the coming weeks to ensure wide representation and coordination.

A special committee, led by Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Hassan Macalin Mahmoud, has been appointed to oversee the technical preparations for the forum.

The announcement comes just hours after the Somali Salvation Forum, a coalition of key opposition groups chaired by former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, accused the President of undermining unity and the state-building process. The opposition bloc expressed concern over the expired mandates of some federal member states and warned against what it sees as attempts by the President to centralize power and engineer electoral outcomes.

Regarding the electoral process, the opposition has rejected a return to the 2022 model, instead advocating for one-person, one-vote elections based on the 2012 provisional constitution and laws passed by the 9th and 10th parliaments, including the Direct Election Law.

AFRICOM oo ugu baaqday Soomaaliya inay la wareegto masuuliyadda amnigooda

Source: Sabti, May 31, 2025 (HOL) – Taliyaha Taliska ciidanka Mareykanka ee Afrika (AFRICOM), Jen. Michael Langley, ayaa ku booriyay dalalka Afrika oo ay Soomaali kamid tahay inay la wareegaan doorka sugidda amnigooda, xilli Mareykanku uu dhimayo deeqaha uu horay u bixin jiray si loo xasiliyo gobolka.

“Waxyaabo aan horey u qaban jirnay, waxaa dhici karta inaan hadda ka dib qaban doonin,” ayuu yiri Langley Khamiistii, isagoo la hadlayay warfidiyeenka banaanka shirkii Taliyeyaasha Ciidamada Difaaca Afrika ee Nairobi.

“Waxaan idinka codsaneynaa inaad tallaabo qaaddaan oo aad mas’uuliyadda nala wadaagtaan.”

Langley wuxuu sheegay in kooxaha xagjirka ah sida Al-Shabaab ay isku dayayaan inay ka faa’iideystaan farqiga ka dhashay deeqaha la joojiyay, isagoo sheegay in Alshabaab ay dhisayaan maamulo hoosaadyo meelaha ka baxsan gacanta dowladda Soomaaliya.

Wuxuu sheegay in Mareykanku sii wadi doono taageerada sirdoonka iyo dhoolatuska ciidan ee la wadaago, balse taageerada guud ay noqon doonto mid ku saleysan danaha wadajirka ah iyo hoggaan maxalli ah oo ka jawaabi kara caqabadaha gudaha.

Dhanka kale, Shiinaha ayaa kordhinaya saameyntiisa qaaradda, wuxuuna sare u qaaday taageerada uu siiyo dalalka Afrika, oo ay ku jiraan tababarrada ciidamada iyo maalgelin ballaaran oo dhanka amniga ah.

Exclusive: Somaliland president says recognition of state ‘on the horizon’ following Trump talks

Source: Mark Townsend in Hargeisa
Saturday May 31, 2025

The breakaway territory’s independence has never been internationally recognised. Insiders say recent US overtures are encouraging – but the consequences could be inflammatory in the tinderbox region


Somaliland’s new president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, believes the territory is is likely to win acceptance of its right to self-determination. Photograph: Luis Tato/AFP/Getty Images

The new president of Somaliland says his state, which broke away from Somalia in 1991, is on the brink of securing international recognition – a development that would inflame tensions in the already tumultuous Horn of Africa.

In an interview in the presidential palace in the capital, Hargeisa, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi tells the Guardian it is “likely” that Somaliland will finally win acceptance of its right to self-determination, which has eluded the territory since it declared independence from Somalia 34 years ago.

“Recognition is on the horizon,” says the 69-year-old.

Such a move would infuriate Somalia, which would view it as an attack on its sovereignty, unsettle regional powers in the strategic peninsula and fan broader concern that it sets a precedent for secessionist movements across the African continent.

Despite its relative stability and regular democratic elections, Somaliland, a territory of about five million people, has yet to be recognised as independent by a single nation.

“It’s a matter of time. Not if, but when and who will lead the recognition of Somaliland,” says Abdullahi.

That goal, say Somaliland sources, has never been closer amid signs that the US president, Donald Trump, could be the first leader to recognise the self-declared republic in return for building a military base near the port of Berbera, a strategic location on the Gulf of Aden.

“We are a partner in security … a partner in counter-terrorism … a partner in safe marine routes for world trade” President Abdullahi.

A monument to independence in the state’s capital city, Hargeisa. Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991. Photograph: Eduardo Soteras/AFP/Getty Images

Abdullahi revealed that US military officials, including the Horn of Africa’s most senior officer, have recently visited Hargeisa. Another Washington delegation is expected to “evaluate the asset [Berbera]”.

A key US military base, Camp Lemonnier, is located in neighbouring Djibouti but concern is growing over Chinese influence there as Beijing continues to strengthen its ties with Africa.

Project 2025, the alleged blueprint for the second Trump presidency, proposes the recognition of Somaliland as a “hedge against the US’s deteriorating position in Djibouti”.

In April, US aircraft carriers off the coast of Somaliland played a part in US bombing raids on Yemen, responding to Houthi rebels’ disruption of Red Sea shipping lanes.

The US has yet to announce any formal arrangement with Somaliland, but Abdullahi said they were embedded in attempts to safeguard global maritime trade.

“We are a partner in security. We are a partner in counter-terrorism. We are a partner in safe marine routes for world trade,” says Abdullahi, who was sworn in as president five months ago. In that time, he says, the US ambassador to Somalia has visited him three times.

The Trump administration is split over its approach to Somalia, which still considers Somaliland part of its territory.

Recent gains by al- Shabaab Islamist militants have raised questions in the Trump administration over the worth of US counter-terrorism operations in Somalia. The withdrawal of US personnel and the closure of the US embassy in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, has been mooted..

Sources indicate that elements of the Trump team want to drop the US’s longstanding “one Somalia” policy. Ditching support for Somalia’s weak central government would pave the way to officially recognise Somaliland.

“The US and maybe other international partners will [soon] have to recalculate their policies regarding Somalia,” says Abdullahi.

The former defence secretary, Gavin Williamson, a prominent advocate for recognition of the ex-British protectorate, believes a recalculation is very much under way.

Williamson, speaking to the Guardian earlier this month, said US officials had assured him that recognition for Somaliland would happen.

“I was talking to a few people this week and the thing I was getting from them is that it [recognition] is getting there. They’ve already started shifting away from the one Somalia policy.”

Williamson, like Abdullahi, believes recognition will happen by 2028 at the latest. He adds: “Before President Trump’s term ends, the US will have recognised Somaliland. My hope is that within a year we will have the first country within the United Nations to have recognised Somaliland.”

Bashe Omar, former representative of Somaliland to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), says US officials he met recently in Abu Dhabi were “frustrated” at the one-Somalia policy.

“What we are hearing, behind the scenes, is encouraging us. The US is moving in the right direction.”

Also waiting in the wings is the UAE, one of Trump’s closer allies, which has invested more than $442m to modernise Berbera’s port and a highway linking it to Ethiopia, a landlocked country that desperately wants maritime access.

Ethiopia’s desire for access to the sea remains a key geopolitical theme of the region, prompting a bitter diplomatic dispute last year after the signing of a deal with Somaliland to build a port.

The deal was reportedly made on the condition that Addis Ababa would recognise Somaliland.

The development enraged Somalia, prompting fears of a wider regional conflict with Egypt backing Somalia largely over its anger with Ethiopia for building a dam on the Nile.

Officially, the US state department continues to assert that it “recognises the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Somalia. A statement added that it was “not in discussions” with Somaliland to recognise it as a state.

Another factor remains, however farfetched it might seem, that could yet prove significant: the proposed resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza to the African breakaway state.

“Palestinians have been moving here for a long time, since 2004, 2005. Somaliland welcomes all refugees
Aidrous Osman Hussain,” Somaliland refugee department.

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, recently suggested that operations in Gaza would not end until the forced displacement of all its Palestinians had taken place.

Trump has talked of the US relocating Gaza’s population to allow the strip to be remodelled into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

Aidrous Osman Hussain, deputy director of Somaliland’s refugee department, says Palestinians have considered Somaliland a destination since the second intifada.

“Palestinians have been moving here for a long time, since 2004, 2005. Somaliland welcomes all refugees.”

Currently there are 12 Palestinian families, but officials say they are happy for the numbers to grow.

“The people of Somaliland, the community of Hargeisa, wants to help refugees,” says Hussain.

Almost 23,000 refugees of different nationalities have moved to Somaliland with 2,875 arriving last year. More than 300 Sudanese families have arrived there since its brutal civil war began and Somaliland’s population of Syrians, who left during the civil war, numbers about 2,000 people.

One Syrian family, who fled fierce fighting Damascus in 2023, describes Hargeisa as perfect for Muslims; Syrian restaurants, supermarkets and dentists are dotted throughout the capital.

As he verified his family’s paperwork at the refugee processing facility in the Sha’ab area of Hargeisa, Hassan says: “Somalilanders are Muslim; here it is safe for us and our family.”

Hassan, who did not want to share his surname, adds: “The most important thing that mattered to me was security. Here, it’s a very open community and we integrate well.”

Yet to help further, Somaliland needs international recognition to access more help from the wider community.

Hussain adds: “If Somaliland gets recognition, we can help share the burden; we can help more people.

Abdullahi, flanked by nodding advisers, says the US is yet to officially float the prospect of resettling people from Gaza.

“We are a hospitable people. They, the Palestinians, are our brothers. If they decide to come on their own, we don’t mind.

“But there is no discussion on that issue with the Palestinians or with any other country.”

Talo soo jeedin  ku wajahan dawladda Somalia and  axsaaBta mucaaradka Somalia

Madaxda dawladda Somalia iyo hogaamiyaasha mucaaradka waa iney ka fogaadaan tilaabo kasta

oo wax u dhimi karta dawladnimada dalka and shacabka Somaliyeed, kana fogaadaan faragalin dibadeed.

Shacabka Somaliyeed waa iney  ka hortagaan tilaabo kasta oo dalkooda lagu burburinayo. Caalamka Somalia taageera  indhaha ayey ku hayaan marxaladda hadda dalku marayo iyo tilaabooynka siyaasiyiinta Somalia qaadayaan!!!

Abdillahi Jama, www.sirclund.se

UN Security Council must renew the arms embargo on South Sudan

Free access to weapons would only heighten the ongoing violence in the country.

• Source: Tigere ChagutahAmnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa

Published On 27 May 202527 May 2025

In 2015, as a civil war was raging in South Sudan, the United Nations Security Council imposed the first set of sanctions on the country, including asset freezes and travel bans on various senior officials. Three years later, after a ceasefire agreement was repeatedly violated, the UNSC mustered the votes to impose a full arms embargo. Fragile peace eventually settled in, but the embargo was kept in place and was extended every year.

The review of the embargo is now coming up on May 29 and there is a push from African members of the UNSC – Sierra Leone, Somalia and Algeria – to lift it. On March 18, the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) publicly called for this measure to end.

Somalia risks losing AfDB reform funds as implementation stalls

Source: Hiiraan Online, Tuesday May 27, 2025



Mogadishu Port, in the capital of Somalia. Photo: Shutterstock.

Mogadishu (HOL) — Somalia is at risk of forfeiting millions in unspent reform funds unless it accelerates a lagging governance overhaul backed by the African Development Bank.

Eighteen months into the $13 million Institutional Support for Economic Governance Project (ISEGP), the country has used just 15.2 percent of the funds, leaving federal finance officials racing to triple their monthly disbursement rate before the project’s deadline in December 2026.

The AfDB’s May 2025 report paints a mixed picture: tax revenues rose to 2.8% of GDP in 2023, and Somalia’s public-sector accountability score on the Ibrahim Index climbed to 20.1%, passing its 2026 benchmark. But analysts caution those gains stem from temporary boosts—like tariff adjustments and GDP rebasing—not structural reforms.However, most project outputs are still in the early stages. Only one of 16 outputs—a Medium-Term Revenue Strategy launched in 2024—is complete. The report confirms that the strategy informed Somalia’s 2025 revenue forecasts and was developed through consultations with the federal government and key stakeholders.

Puntland standoff slows implementation

A key infrastructure component of the ISEGP—modernizing inland revenue offices across Somalia’s Federal Member States—has encountered political roadblocks. According to the AfDB’s May 2025 report, preliminary designs for these tax offices have been approved by all Federal Member States (FMSs) except Puntland, which has withheld endorsement of the central blueprint.

The delay is attributed to what the report calls “political misunderstandings” between the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and Puntland. The federal finance ministry is currently engaging with Puntland officials to address the economic implications of the delays and propose a way forward, with a resolution deadline set for December 31, 2025.

If unresolved, it could jeopardize broader program goals, especially those tied to equitable infrastructure distribution and national revenue unification.

The standoff is particularly consequential: the port city of Bosaso, under Puntland’s jurisdiction, accounts for a substantial amount of federal customs revenue. Without Puntland’s participation, key project assumptions related to domestic revenue mobilization could fall apart, particularly those embedded in the 2025 revenue forecasts guided by the new Medium-Term Revenue Strategy.

Until the designs are approved, detailed blueprints and bills of quantities (BOQs) for the Puntland office cannot move forward. The consulting firm hired for this component, Ecotech Ltd., began work in August 2024 and completed preliminary consultations with the other FMSs; however, progress in Puntland remains frozen.

Inflation and systemic risks

The project faces a secondary risk from rising global construction-material prices, largely due to trade friction between the United States and China. “Much of the construction materials used in Somalia are sourced from China,” the report warns, urging the federal implementation unit to fast-track procurement before prices climb further.

The report confirms that Somalia has fully operationalized the Commonwealth Meridian debt management platform, including ICT upgrades and staff training. However, debt statistics bulletins—16 promised by project end—are flagged as “not on track,” and integration with Somalia’s national Financial Management Information System (FMIS) system remains incomplete.

On gender, the project sets a target of 20% female participation across all training modules, including debt, procurement, and public investment. Yet the most recent monitoring update confirms that women’s participation remains at or near zero across all training indicators.

The AfDB still classifies ISEGP as a “non-potentially problematic project,” citing ongoing procurement progress and expected acceleration in 2025. Yet with over UA 8.48 million (approx. $11 million) still undisbursed, donors must decide whether to extend timelines or risk a final-year spending surge that could compromise oversight and delivery.

The ISEGP forms part of a push under Somalia’s NDP-9 and Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative to rebuild fiscal institutions and secure full debt relief. With political consensus, public trust, and external financing all on the line, the coming year may determine whether the country’s most ambitious reform project can meet its goals—or end up as another footnote in Somalia’s long aid history.

Judge accuses Trump administration of creating chaos for migrants held in Djibouti

Source: CNN, By Katelyn Polantz, Priscilla Alvarez and Lauren Chadwick, CNN
Wednesday May 28, 2025

This aerial photo shows Djibouti, East Africa, in December 2024. Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

A federal judge, in his latest finding that immigrant detainees the US intended to send to South Sudan aren’t being given due process, told the Trump administration he believes it is manufacturing chaos and trying to evade court orders.

The latest written order from Judge Brian Murphy of the District Court in Massachusetts comes after the Trump administration asked the judge to revisit an earlier ruling he made that would have allowed the detainees more proceedings to object to their deportation.

Fewer than 10 migrants are being held in US custody at a military base in Djibouti, according to the Trump administration. The judge on Monday said he wouldn’t reconsider or delay an earlier ruling, which he noted Justice Department lawyers had helped him shape, on giving the detainees some due process proceedings while they are held there.

“It turns out that having immigration proceedings on another continent is harder and more logistically cumbersome than Defendants anticipated. However, the Court never said that Defendants had to convert their foreign military base into an immigration facility; it only left that as an option, again, at Defendants’ request,” Murphy wrote in a 17-page order issued Monday night. “From this course of conduct, it is hard to come to any conclusion other than that Defendants invite lack of clarity as a means of evasion.”

Murphy, who was nominated by former President Joe Biden, is considering potentially holding administration officials in contempt of court for violation of his orders, in one of the latest major clashes between a judge and the Trump administration over immigration and due process.

“The previous administration brought chaos to America in the form of a four-year border crisis that the Trump administration is still trying to clean up,” Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the matter as he seeks to make it easier for his administration to deport people to South Sudan and other countries that are not their homeland.

Lawyers for the migrants first filed the case in late March, alleging that the Trump administration was removing migrants from the US to third countries without providing them the opportunity to show they were at “risk of persecution or torture” there. The court said the government cannot send a noncitizen “to a country where they are likely to be tortured” under the United Nations Convention Against Torture.

The court battle prompted Murphy’s emergency intervention this month, when some detainees were told they were being sent to South Sudan, a country on the cusp of another civil war. Fewer than 17 hours later, they were put on a plane and flown out of the US.

The detainees had essentially no opportunity to reach their lawyers or families, nor did they have “meaningful opportunity … to present fear-based claims,” the judge found on Monday.

Murphy acknowledged the migrants had criminal histories but said “that does not change due process.”

He added in the order on Monday that he has refrained from issuing orders that would micromanage the executive branch’s agencies.

Last week, Murphy had ordered the Trump administration “to maintain custody and control of class members currently being removed to South Sudan or to any other third country, to ensure the practical feasibility of return if the Court finds that such removals were unlawful.”

This story has been updated with additional developments.

Somali opposition conference opens in Mogadishu with focus on elections, security, and leadership

Source: Hiiraan Online, Wednesday May 28, 2025

Mogadishu (HOL) — A major political conference bringing together key Somali opposition figures opened in Mogadishu on Wednesday, focusing on the country’s political future, security landscape, and electoral process.

The high-profile gathering is seen as a critical moment in Somalia’s evolving power dynamics.

Former President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed is chairing the meeting, which has drawn a powerful bloc of former leaders, including former Prime Ministers Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, Hassan Ali Kheyre, Abdi Farah Shirdoon, and Mohamed Hussein Rooble, former Speakers of Parliament Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden and Mohamed Mursal, as well as current lawmakers, former ministers, and other influential political figures.

In his opening remarks, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed emphasized the importance of Somalia’s path toward a One-person, One-vote election system. “It is a good idea, but it must be implemented with broad consensus and constitutional respect,” he stated.

Former Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Rooble echoed the sentiment, stressing that the conference aims to promote public safety and course correction for the federal government.

“The Somali people have always backed the One Person, One Vote system, but the transfer of responsibility must be done properly and fairly,” he added.

The opposition conference is expected to release a joint communiqué addressing key issues of political legitimacy, security concerns, and election readiness. Participants also plan to elect a formal opposition leadership structure to consolidate their political influence moving forward.

The Federal Government, while not officially represented at the meeting, has recently issued warnings ahead of the event, urging political figures not to mobilize armed security teams in the capital.

The opposition gathering is widely viewed as a demonstration of unity and defiance, highlighting growing frustration with unilateral political decisions and perceived exclusion from the electoral process. The coming days are likely to reveal how the federal government responds — and how the opposition intends to shape the political narrative in the lead-up to the next elections.

Somaliland President begins working visit to Kenya

Source: Hiiraan Online, Monday May 26, 2025

Nairobi (HOL) – Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi Irro departed for Nairobi on Monday for a multi-day working visit to strengthen ties with Kenya and engage international stakeholders.

The President is accompanied by a high-level delegation, including the Minister of the Presidency, Minister of Planning, Minister of Communications and Technology, Director of the National Intelligence Service, and the Chief of Staff, according to a statement released by the Somaliland Presidency.

During the visit, President Irro is expected to hold talks with Kenyan President William Ruto and other top government officials to discuss matters of mutual interest, particularly related to trade, security, and diplomatic cooperation.

“The President of the Republic of Somaliland and his delegation, during their stay in Nairobi, will hold meetings with the government of Kenya led by President William Ruto, discussing key issues of particular importance to the Republic of Somaliland,” the official statement read.

The visit also includes engagements with international organizations and several foreign embassies based in Nairobi, reflecting Somaliland’s efforts to expand its diplomatic footprint.

A key highlight of the trip will be the inauguration of a new, modern building for the Somaliland Representative Office in Kenya — a significant milestone in its diplomatic outreach.

President Irro has consistently emphasized the importance of regional and international relations, particularly with Kenya, Ethiopia, the UAE, and Djibouti. Since assuming office, he has already made official visits to the UAE and Djibouti, continuing his administration’s active foreign engagement.

US military shifts messaging in Africa, telling allies to prepare to stand on own

Source: BySAM METZ Associated Press and MONIKA PRONCZUK Associated Press
Monday May 26, 2025

TAN TAN, Morocco — The U.S. military is backing off its usual talk of good governance and countering insurgencies’ underlying causes, instead leaning into a message that its fragile allies in Africa must be ready to stand more on their own.

At African Lion, its largest joint training exercise on the continent, that shift was clear: “We need to be able to get our partners to the level of independent operations,” Gen. Michael Langley said in an interview with The Associated Press.

“There needs to be some burden sharing,” Langley, the U.S. military’s top official in Africa, said on Friday, the final day of the exercise.

For four weeks, troops from more than 40 countries rehearsed how to confront threats by air, land, and sea. They flew drones, simulated close-quarters combat and launched satellite-guided rockets in the desert.

Maneuvers mirrored previous editions of African Lion, now in its 21st year. But mostly gone now is language that emphasizes ideas the U.S. once argued set it apart from Russia and China.

Messaging about the interwoven work of defense, diplomacy and development once formed the core of Washington’s security pitch. In their place now are calls for helping allies build capacity to manage their own security, which Langley said was a priority for President Donald Trump’s Defense Department.

“We have our set priorities now — protecting the homeland. And we’re also looking for other countries to contribute to some of these global instability areas,” he said, referencing U.S. support for Sudan.

The shift comes as the U.S. military makes moves to “build a leaner, more lethal force,” including potentially cutting military leadership positions in places like Africa, where America’s rivals continue to deepen their influence.

China has launched its own expansive training program for African militaries. Russian mercenaries are recalibrating and cementing their role as security partner of choice throughout North, West and Central Africa.

In an interview a year ago, Langley emphasized what U.S. military officials have long called a “whole of government approach” to countering insurgency. Even amid setbacks, he defended the U.S. approach and said force alone couldn’t stabilize weak states and protect U.S. interests against the risk of violence spilling out.

“I’ve always professed that AFRICOM is not just a military organization,” Langley said last year. He called good governance an “enduring solution to a number of layered threats — whether it be desertification, whether it be crop failure from changing environments, or whether it be from violent extremist organizations.”

The “whole of government approach” no longer occupies the same place at the center of U.S. messaging, though Langley said holistic efforts have worked in places like Ivory Coast, where development coupled with defense had reduced attacks by jihadi groups near its volatile northern border.

But such successes aren’t a pattern.

“I’ve seen progression and I’ve seen regression,” said Langley, who is scheduled to exit his post later this year.

The U.S. military’s new posture comes even though many African armies remain ill-equipped and insurgent groups expand.

“We see Africa as the epicenter for both al-Qaida and Islamic State,” a senior U.S. defense official said earlier this month, noting both groups had growing regional affiliates and the Islamic State group had shifted command and control to Africa. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the issue publicly.

Africa has rarely ranked high on the Pentagon’s list of priorities, but the U.S. has still spent hundreds of millions of dollars on security assistance and has roughly 6,500 Africa Command personnel on the continent. In some regions, the U.S. faces direct competition from Russia and China. In others, regional affiliates of al-Qaida and the IS still require direct military action, Langley said.

The messaging shift from “whole of government” to more burden-sharing comes as fears grow that rising violence could spread beyond hotspots where insurgents have expanded influence and found vacuums in which they can consolidate power.

Parts of of both East and West Africa have emerged as epicenters of violence. In 2024, more than half of the world’s terrorism victims were killed across West Africa’s Sahel, a vast desert territory ruled by military juntas, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace. The group, which compiles yearly terrorism statistics, also found Somalia accounted for 6% of all terrorism-related deaths, making it the deadliest for terrorism in Africa outside the Sahel.

Since Trump took office, the U.S. military has escalated airstrikes in Somalia, targeting IS and al-Shabab operatives. But despite air support, Somalia’s army remains far from being able to maintain security on the ground, Langley acknowledged.

“The Somali National Army is trying to find their way,” Langley said, adding that they had regained some footing after years of setbacks. “There are some things they still need on the battlefield to be very effective.”

Similarly in West Africa, the notion that states could soon have the capacity to counter such threats is a distant prospect, said Beverly Ochieng, an analyst at Control Risks, a security consulting firm. Even before Western influence began to wane in the Sahel, needed military support was limited, threats remained active, and local militaries were left without the tools to confront them.

Western powers with a presence in the Sahel have gradually scaled back their engagement, either by choice or after being pushed out by increasingly hostile governments.

“Many of them do not have very strong air forces and are not able to monitor the movement of militants, especially in areas where roads are very difficult to traverse, the infrastructure is extremely poor,” Ochieng, who specializes in the Sahel and Great Power competition in Africa, said.

Revealed: The true cost of climate crisis for world’s poorest countries

Source: Independent, Alicja Hagopian, Data correspondent
Monday May 26, 2025

A Somali family wades through flood waters as they flee after overnight rains destroyed their home, in Wadajir district of Mogadishu, Somalia, earlier this month (Reuters)

Extreme weather fuelled by the climate crisis has cost some of the world’s poorest countries $156bn (£116bn) across the past two decades, The Independent can reveal.

Intense drought, flooding, cyclones and more have impacted 364 million people and caused more than 42,000 deaths since 2000 – 17,000 of which can be directly attributed to climate change. The nations hardest hit are Somalia, Haiti and Uganda.

Researchers at ODI Global, an international think tank, also found the climate crisis had contributed to billions of dollars worth of agricultural losses, with farmers across Somalia and Ethiopia forced to abandon their livelihoods amid growing food scarcity, saying the stark findings should serve as a “wake-up call for global policymakers”.

“If the UK suffered tens of billions of pounds worth of damage caused by other countries’ actions, our government and the public would rightfully be shouting from the rooftops about the injustice,” Mike Childs, head of policy at Friends of the Earth, told The Independent.

“Yet this is the reality for many countries on the front lines of climate breakdown that have contributed virtually nothing to global emissions.”

With Donald Trump slashing US aid spending and the UK planning on cutting billions of pounds in funding, The Independent reports on the devastating impact on countries most affected by the climate crisis, due to losing support for food and disaster prevention.

“It’s deeply unjust that those who have done the least to contribute to the climate crisis are paying most dearly for it – the UK has a central role to play in righting that injustice,” Carla Denyer, co-leader of the Green Party, said. “While governments like ours delay, countries like Somalia and Ethiopia, and small island nations – some of the world’s poorest countries – are paying the price.”

“The government’s recent cuts to the foreign aid budget are particularly disturbing in this context, with so many across the world relying on essential humanitarian aid as a result of extreme weather caused by the climate crisis,” added Ms Denyer.

‘Every year we see more devastation’

The study of 53 low-income countries includes 36 small-island developing states in the Caribbean, Pacific and the Atlantic, and 17 countries in the Sahel and the Greater Horn of Africa.

Since the year 2000, these countries have suffered $395bn in losses and damages from extreme weather events, $156bn of which can be attributed to the climate crisis.

“Every year, we see more devastation from the worsening effects of climate change,” said Emily Wilkinson, principal research fellow at ODI Global.

“Wealthier nations urgently need to scale up climate finance and also make sure it reaches the right places. For remote or unstable places [facing conflict or other vulnerabilities], such as those featured in the study, getting projects off the ground might be harder, but the benefits will also be more keenly felt by affected populations.”

In 2023, the Cop28 climate summit agreed to the creation of the Loss and Damage Fund, which would provide financial support for some destruction caused by climate change. But wealthy, higher-polluting countries pledged a total of $768m to the fund; a fraction of the financial losses that vulnerable countries face, and will continue to face. It was agreed this year that the fund will pay out $250m of this sum until the end of 2026.

Hurricanes, droughts and flooding

To calculate the proportion of losses and damages resulting from climate change, ODI Global’s research uses climate mapping studies combined with figures from EM-DAT, the international database covering 26,00es0 mass disasters worldwide, and United Nations disaster reports.

Tropical cyclones – often referred to as hurricanes or typhoons – and flooding have caused the most damage in small-island developing states like the Bahamas, which has lost at least $4bn from climate-attributed events.

Scientists believe tropical cyclones are becoming more intense thanks to the climate crisis, due to warmer seas and stronger winds heightening their impact. Meanwhile, rising sea levels from melting ice caps will contribute to increased flooding of low-elevation islands.

Severe droughts and deadly flooding have ravaged the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, severely impacting many communities that rely on agriculture. The ODI Global report found that climate change contributed to at least $11.5bn in losses and damages to livestock and crops in these countries, causing lasting harm to livelihoods and food supplies in agrarian areas with already high poverty rates.

Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia have suffered tens of billions of dollars in losses between them, but Somalia has suffered the worst of all. Devastating droughts and subsequent floods have led to $151bn in losses and damages, $75bn of which ODI Global estimates is attributable to climate change.

Somalia’s extended droughts have been exacerbated by the climate crisis, researchers have found, contributing to lower rainfall, warmer air temperatures, and higher evapotranspiration – the combined processes that move water from the Earth’s surface into the atmosphere.

These droughts in recent years have caused widespread crop failures and livestock losses, plunging many farmers and herders into poverty. Nearly half of Somalia’s eight-million-strong population has also faced food insecurity. As The Independent has reported, Somalia is facing drought and low crop yields once again; this time, charities are worried that aid cuts will limit their ability to respond to food shortages.

Many of the nations included in the ODI Global study have smaller economies, increasing the impact of climate crisis-related losses. On the Caribbean island of Dominica, such damage has cost nearly a tenth (9.25 per cent) of gross domestic product (GDP) each year on average over the last two decades.

Haiti, Kenya and Grenada are among the nations already facing substantial losses, more than two per cent of their GDP per year, thanks to climate change. Extreme weather events such as hurricanes can increase that number substantially, given the damage they can do quickly.

This means that poorer nations, some of whom are facing further strain from regional conflicts, are disproportionately taking the brunt of climate-related destruction.

These effects will only continue to get worse, warn ODI Global’s researchers, who estimate at least a further $235bn in these countries from climate-related damages if the planet warms by 2C compared to pre-industrial levels. According to climate scientists at Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), each of the past 10 years (2015–2024) was one of the 10 warmest years on record. The monthly global average temperature exceeded 1.5C above pre-industrial levels for 11 months of the year.

“The escalating costs from climate change will have a serious toll on economic growth and living standards, and a wider risk of geopolitical stability in some regions,” Ms Wilkinson, a research fellow at ODI Global, said. “Climate change contributing to a poorer, more dangerous, future is bad for everyone, but we are not too late to change course.”

Disruptions to aid increase risk of famine and poverty

In the wake of extreme weather events, communities are heavily reliant on aid as people are displaced from their homes and access to food and infrastructure is disrupted.

In 2023 alone, the countries in this study received some £7.5nn in aid from the US and the UK, with millions of people relying on life-saving food assistance.

But with the total dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and UK cuts threatening access to aid for some 55 million people, this support is drying up while the consequences of climate change are worsening.

In Ethiopia, food shortages in the northern region have led to starvation. A funding gap of $222m has already forced the World Food Programme to suspend malnutrition treatment for 650,000 women and children.

Just this week, the UK government refused to reconsider its cuts to aid spending and could not commit to funding for nutrition, the International Development Committee reported.

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “Demands for action from the world’s most vulnerable and the requirements for delivering security for British citizens are fundamentally aligned.

“That is why we are supporting those who are experiencing the worst impacts of the climate crisis and working together with partners to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement.”

This article was produced as part of The Independent’s Rethinking Global Aid project

Talo muhiim ah oo Somalia kuwajahan

Madaxweynaha Somalia, Arriswasaaraha Somalia, wakiilo ka socda baarlamaanka, wakiilo ka socda ururada mucaaraddka, wakiilo ka socda bulshada ariyaga) waa iney kulan deg deg ah iskugu yimaadaan danta guud ee dalka awgeed, hana  joojiyeen  dagaalka siyaasiyeed ee xukun jaceelka ah oo wax dan ah ugu jirin shacabka Somaliyeed, dhibaato weyna ku abuuri kara dalka Somalia.

Somalia maanta qalalaasi siyaasadeed uma baahna, caalamkuna indhaha ayuu ku yaan Siyaasiyiinta Somalia, iyo mustaqbalka Somalia.

Horumamarka dalkiina iyo dadkiina wax walba ka hormariya haddi aad wadaniyiin tihiin.

JOOJIYA QABYAALADDA OO XILIGII XURIYADDA Somalia qaadatay 1960 la burburiyey.

Siyaasiga Somaliyeed oo maanta qabiil aaminsan waa cadawga kowaad iyo  khaanu-wadan ee Somalia allah ha ka qabto shacabka iyo dalka Somaiia.

Migrants deported from US to South Sudan held in Djibouti

Source: ARAB NEWS, Saturday May 24, 2025

The US government claims it expelled the eight migrants from a range of nations due to their past convictions for violent crimes [GETTY]

A group of migrants deported from the United States towards conflict-torn South Sudan will be held for now in Djibouti after a court ruling, the Trump administration lamented Thursday.

The US government claims it expelled the eight migrants from a range of nations due to their past convictions for violent crimes.

The migrants left the United States on a flight on Tuesday bound for South Sudan instead of their nations of origin, after Washington failed to obtain approval from their respective governments to take them back.

They are currently detained by the Department of Homeland Security in Djibouti, where there is a major US military base.

US District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston ruled Wednesday evening that the Trump administration had violated one of his previous orders, calling the timeframe given for the migrants to contest their expulsions to South Sudan “plainly insufficient.”

South Sudan, an impoverished nation which has long grappled with insecurity and political instability, has an advisory against travel from the US State Department.

In his ruling, Murphy said that migrants had to receive greater notice and at least ten days to appeal the decision, as required by the United Nations Convention Against Torture.

He also ruled that six of the migrants were entitled to invoke, with the aid of a lawyer, their “fear” of torture or ill-treatment in the third country.

And if the Department of Homeland Security deemed the fear unfounded, it still needed to grant at least 15 days to appeal the expulsion procedure.

Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Thursday to decry Murphy’s order, saying he “has ordered that EIGHT of the most violent criminals on Earth curtail their journey to South Sudan, and instead remain in Djibouti.”

“He would not allow these monsters to proceed to their final destination,” he continued, claiming that the courts are “absolutely out of control.”

The White House identified the eight men as two citizens of Myanmar, two Cubans, a Vietnamese man, a Laotian, a Mexican and a South Sudanese citizen.

While the government said those scheduled for expulsion had ample warning, lawyers for the Vietnamese national and one citizen of Myanmar said in court filings that their clients only learned the night before or on Tuesday, when the flight left.

For their part, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday that South Sudan was not the “final destination” for the migrants.

Kenya Moves Closer to China

 Source: The Star published on 18 May 2025 an article titled “US at a Crossroads in Africa as China Rekindles Ties with Kenya” by Eliud Kibii.

Kenya’s increasing engagement with China raises concerns about the future of Kenya-US relations.  Unlike China, the US also lacks a coherent, long-term strategy toward Africa.

Sudan: Sudan Armed Forces Makes Gains in Spite of Drone Attacks

 Source: AEI Critical Threats published on 22 May 2025 an analysis titled “SAF Advances across Sudan Despite RSF Drone Strikes” by Kathryn Tyson.

The Sudan Armed Forces have made incremental progress against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in spite of successful RSF drone strikes on Port Sudan.

Migrants deported from US to South Sudan held in Djibouti

Source: Arab News, Saturday May 24, 2025

The US government claims it expelled the eight migrants from a range of nations due to their past convictions for violent crimes [GETTY]

A group of migrants deported from the United States towards conflict-torn South Sudan will be held for now in Djibouti after a court ruling, the Trump administration lamented Thursday.

The US government claims it expelled the eight migrants from a range of nations due to their past convictions for violent crimes.

The migrants left the United States on a flight on Tuesday bound for South Sudan instead of their nations of origin, after Washington failed to obtain approval from their respective governments to take them back.

They are currently detained by the Department of Homeland Security in Djibouti, where there is a major US military base.

US District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston ruled Wednesday evening that the Trump administration had violated one of his previous orders, calling the timeframe given for the migrants to contest their expulsions to South Sudan “plainly insufficient.”

South Sudan, an impoverished nation which has long grappled with insecurity and political instability, has an advisory against travel from the US State Department.

In his ruling, Murphy said that migrants had to receive greater notice and at least ten days to appeal the decision, as required by the United Nations Convention Against Torture.

He also ruled that six of the migrants were entitled to invoke, with the aid of a lawyer, their “fear” of torture or ill-treatment in the third country.

And if the Department of Homeland Security deemed the fear unfounded, it still needed to grant at least 15 days to appeal the expulsion procedure.

Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Thursday to decry Murphy’s order, saying he “has ordered that EIGHT of the most violent criminals on Earth curtail their journey to South Sudan, and instead remain in Djibouti.”

“He would not allow these monsters to proceed to their final destination,” he continued, claiming that the courts are “absolutely out of control.”

The White House identified the eight men as two citizens of Myanmar, two Cubans, a Vietnamese man, a Laotian, a Mexican and a South Sudanese citizen.

While the government said those scheduled for expulsion had ample warning, lawyers for the Vietnamese national and one citizen of Myanmar said in court filings that their clients only learned the night before or on Tuesday, when the flight left.

For their part, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday that South Sudan was not the “final destination” for the migrants.

South Sudan refugees in Ethiopia face ‘health catastrophe’, charity warns

Source: Saturday May 24, 2025

Thousands of South Sudanese refugees face worsening health conditions in Ethiopia as cholera spreads and conflict escalates.


A group of women collect water from a water point set up by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in South Sudan, February 13, 2025 [File: Diego Menjibar/EPA-EFE]

An international medical charity has warned of a looming “health catastrophe” among South Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia, citing surging cholera cases and widespread malnutrition in overcrowded camps near the border.

In a statement issued Friday, Doctors Without Borders, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), said the local health system is overwhelmed and unable to cope with the needs of tens of thousands of new arrivals.

“With waterborne illnesses like cholera and acute watery diarrhoea on the rise, the risk of a public health catastrophe is imminent,” MSF said.

The influx follows renewed violence in South Sudan, where a fragile power-sharing deal has broken down.

Clashes between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and rival groups aligned with First Vice President Riek Machar have intensified, forcing many to flee. Machar was placed under house arrest in March, further straining the peace process.

Between 35,000 and 85,000 refugees have fled to Mattar, an Ethiopian border town, according to MSF.

The organisation reported treating more than 1,200 cholera patients, warning that the disease can be deadly in up to 20 percent of cases if untreated. It also noted that more than 40 percent of malaria tests have come back positive, and nearly 7 percent of children under five suffer from severe acute malnutrition.

‘Dire humanitarian situation’

Since February, more than 200 people with war injuries have arrived at MSF clinics in the area.

MSF urged all parties to the conflict to ensure humanitarian access and called on international donors to increase support. “Shelter, water and medical care are severely lacking in Mattar,” it said.

The UN warned on Friday that the situation in South Sudan is deteriorating quickly and on the brink of a wider crisis. “The escalating hostilities… portend a real risk of further exacerbating the already dire human rights and humanitarian situation,” said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk, urging all sides to pull back immediately.

Between 3-20 May, fighting reportedly killed at least 75 civilians and injured dozens more. UN reports say the South Sudanese military carried out air, ground and river assaults in populated areas, including attacks on an MSF-run health facility.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

Somali Government warns opposition over security criticism and use of heavy weapons in Mogadishu

Source: Hiiraan Online, Saturday May 24, 2025

Mogadishu (HOL) – The Somali government issued a sharp response on Friday to opposition leaders who criticized the Council of Ministers for allegedly failing to ensure security in the capital, Mogadishu.

State Minister of Defense Omar Abdi Ali rebuked claims made during an opposition meeting, particularly remarks by opposition figure Abdirahmaan Abdishakur, accusing him of spreading false information about the capital’s security situation.

“Abdirahmaan Abdishakur is staying at the airport in Mogadishu, and he went to Siigaale. If he is called from anywhere else tomorrow, he will go. Who is ensuring his safety?” the minister asked. “Mogadishu is safe. What he said is false, and anyone who lies about the city’s security will be exposed by the people living here.”

Minister Omar emphasized that while the opposition has the constitutional right to assemble in Mogadishu, they are not permitted to bring heavy weapons into the capital. He warned that any attempt to disrupt security or incite unrest would result in legal consequences.

He further announced that government troops who escorted opposition leaders during Friday’s event would be held accountable, stressing that soldiers acting outside official orders would face disciplinary action.

“Heavy weapons are prohibited in Mogadishu. If vehicles with heavy weapons are found, they will be dealt with. Unauthorized soldiers and unregistered vehicles will also be held responsible,” he added.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Mohamed Abdulqaad Haaji (Jeego) called on all Somali citizens to support national security forces and contribute to efforts to maintain peace in Mogadishu and across the country.

This exchange of accusations and warnings comes as opposition groups prepare for a major political conference in Mogadishu in the coming days, which is expected to address governance, security, and the upcoming elections. The government’s firm stance signals rising political tensions amid growing opposition activity.