A delegation of the National Electoral Commission (NEC) led by the Chairman of the National Electoral Commission Mr. Muse Hassan Yusuf has left for Aynabo in Saraar region in a bid to survey satisfactorily ample locations for polling stations in the pastoral lands.
The elections are due on November 13th this year.
He was accompanied by the electoral implementation committee that comprises the NEC and officials drawn from both the political parties and organizations.
They are to gather information which would aid them in earmarking the best places and locations in preparations for the elections.
On the other hand, the delegation of the National Electoral Commission held meetings with the Security Committee of Sarar Region led by the Deputy Governor of Sarar Region and the sectional commanders of various forces, where they discussed the strengthening of security and how to ensure the safety of the elections at the places where the elections would be held.
Meanwhile, a similar NEC elections implementation group led by the Deputy Chairman of the National Electoral Commission, Mr. Ahmed Osman Hassan and Commissioner Ibrahim Ma’alin Adan made a trip to both Awdal and Selel regions for the same kind of tasks.
The National Examinations Office of the Republic of Somaliland has today announced the final results of the final exams for the 2023-2024 school year for 8th grade in primary school and 4th grade in high school.
The Minister of Education and Science JSL Dr. Ahmed Aden Buxane together with the Director General of WW&S Mustafe Omar Farah and the Chairman of the National Examinations Office JSL today officially announced the results of the certificate examinations for the academic year 2023-2024.
The announcement event was held at the headquarters of the JSL National Examinations Office, and the Chairman of the National Examinations Office, Mr. Daoud Ahmed Farah, spoke first and gave details about the certificate examination for the 8th grade in high schools and the 4th grade in secondary schools.
Also, the general director of WW&S, Md. Mustafa Omar Faraq, speaking during the occasion, said that the overall results of the test were successful. We thanked the director general of the National Examinations Office and the staff who participated in the smooth running of the certification examinations for the academic year 2023-2024.
Finally, the Minister of the Ministry of Education and Science Dr. Ahmed Aden Buxane who closed the occasion said that the Ministry of Education will give free scholarships to the students who passed the exam.
In an exciting leap toward modernizing Somaliland’s health system, the Ministry of Health Development (MOHD) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Population Services International (PSI) to craft its first-ever Digital Health Strategy. This partnership signals a significant shift in the Ministry’s approach to healthcare, leveraging digital tools and innovative solutions to improve access, delivery, and quality.
As healthcare demands rise and the need for accessible, high-quality services becomes increasingly urgent, the MOHD sees digital health as a transformative solution. The Digital Health Strategy, which PSI will support in developing, aims to create a resilient, data-driven health system capable of addressing current challenges while also preparing for future crises such as pandemics or natural disasters. The strategy is centered on several key pillars including:
Demand Generation for Digital Health Services: A major focus will be raising awareness of digital tools like telemedicine, health apps, and e-health platforms, ensuring that both communities and healthcare providers embrace the benefits of these innovations.
Health Data Integration: The introduction of interoperable digital health records will allow for seamless patient data sharing across healthcare facilities, enhancing diagnosis, treatment, and continuity of care.
Strengthening the Healthcare Workforce: Health workers will be trained to use digital platforms effectively, boosting the quality of service delivery and patient outcomes.
Real-time Disease Surveillance: Systems will be put in place to track disease outbreaks in real-time, allowing the Ministry to respond swiftly to public health threats.
During the technical agreement partnership signing ceremony, which took place in June 2024, Hon. Hassan Mohamed Ali, Minister of Health Development said, “The Strategic Technical Partnership Agreement between the Somaliland Ministry of Health Development and PSI will provide a robust framework for all our strategic collaborations. This partnership is pivotal in advancing healthcare delivery, strengthening health systems, and contributing to the attainment of universal health coverage. Through this agreement, we will elevate healthcare service delivery initiatives, enhance our Health Information System for informed decision-making, advance key health management components, increase health awareness and improve our capacity to prevent and manage health emergencies.“
Building a Stronger Digital Health Ecosystem
PSI will work hand in hand with the MOHD to ensure that the digital ecosystem is aligned with national priorities. As part of the Health Information Systems (HIS) Technical Working Group, PSI is already a trusted digital health partner in Somaliland. This strategic collaboration positions PSI to contribute significantly to the development of digital health solutions, while also fostering stronger ties with the Ministry.
Through this partnership, PSI also expects to manage funding from several donor institutions and channel it into implementing the Digital Health Strategy and strengthening the overall health system.
As work begins on the Digital Health Strategy, both organizations will engage with local communities, health professionals, and the private sector to ensure widespread participation and support. This collaboration will lay the foundation for a robust digital health ecosystem that is equipped to meet the challenges of the future, improving health outcomes in Somaliland.
Every morning in Hargeisa, women hoping to get casual work can be seen sitting on rocks in front of Hawadle football ground on Idacada road, waiting for an employer to come past and pick them.
Most of these women leave their houses early in the morning in the hope of landing a job. Others go knocking on doors to find cleaning jobs.
But with tough economic times and unemployment rife, women like Najma Isse Muhumed, a mother of seven, are becoming increasingly desperate. Najma hasn’t had any work for the past three months.
She had been washing clothes, cleaning and cooking, bringing home $6-10 a day that covered her family’s needs. But after five years of domestic work, her employers told her they couldn’t afford to keep her on.
Najmo said they depend now on food from their neighbours. Whenever they can’t find anything, they sleep hungry.
“We have got nothing, we can only pray to God to help us in this situation,” she said.
She owes $400 in rent arears for the last five months and has been warned of eviction by her landlord. Having suffered previous evictions from other rented houses, she is feeling stressed about how to raise the money.
Her children have been sick with fever for a week but she has no money to take them to hospital for treatment.
She still goes out job hunting every morning.
“I leave my house at around 9:30 am, it is hard since there is no medicine to give the children. I try to console myself because I know it’s God that provides,” she said.
Najma said accessing water in their neighbourhood is difficult. Water trucking services charge $7.5 for a barrel of water which she can’t afford. Sometimes when they find food they lack water to cook a meal.
Five of her children were attending a local school but she hasn’t been able to pay the $5 fee per child since losing her job.
Factors contributing to the economic downturn include the recent fire that destroyed businesses in the city’s Waaheen market, conflicts in some regions, and the elections in Somaliland scheduled for November. People appear generally to be spending less.
Sahra Ismail Nur, who had domestic work for the past three years, is also jobless now. She said her employers have been hiring younger girls from the rural areas who accept pay as low as $40 a month.
She has not had regular work for the past two months. She occasionally gets called up for a one-off job although the poor pay doesn’t buy them a single meal.
“We don’t have water in our house and it’s hard to get water. I only tell God about my dire situation, there are many hardships,” she said.
Food prices have also been rising. Sahra has been taking food on credit from a local store but the store owners informed her that with a debt of $250 over three months they are stopping the facility until she settles.
She has been looking for work anywhere including in municipal offices but has had no luck.
Asiya Mohamed Hashi, a mother of two, has not had any income since May when the household she regularly worked for told her they couldn’t continue paying her $50 a month for cleaning. Her job used to cover the rent, food and education for her children.
“It has affected us, we have nothing. It was good before when we would get a job every two days that covered our needs. The work was hard but we wouldn’t have to beg people. We are now sitting at home and we don’t know what to give the children,” she said.
Asiya said the work was hard and the house owners sometimes failed to pay her the agreed wages. She lives with her sick and elderly mother and is worried about being able to pay for her medical bills.
She moved from Burao in 2018, hoping to find better work in Hargeisa than selling samosas and snacks in the street as she used to do. She feels very disappointed and fearful of the future.
His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Somaliland, Muse Bihi Abdi on Wednesday officially inaugurated the National Conference on Fisheries Development, which commenced today in Hargeisa.
The conference, aimed at advancing the fisheries sector in Somaliland, was attended by key figures including members of the cabinet, parliamentarians, politicians, representatives from investment companies, banking officials, and leaders from the Ministry of Fisheries Development. During the event, the Ministry presented its national strategy to enhance the country’s fisheries, a vital natural resource for Somaliland.
The Minister of Fisheries and Coastal Development, Mr. Mahmoud Warsame Jama, delivered a comprehensive address, outlining the ministry’s goals for the conference. He emphasized that the event was intended to highlight investment opportunities in Somaliland’s fisheries sector and to develop national plans for its sustainable management.
Other speakers included the Chairman of the Berbera District Council, Mr. Abdishakur Mohamed Hassan (Ciddin), Minister of Water Development Mr. Suleiman Yusuf Ali Koore, and Minister of Environment and Climate Change Mrs. Shukri Haji Ismail Bandare. They all commended the Ministry of Fisheries for its efforts in formulating a national plan for the sector, recognizing the ministry’s potential to achieve significant progress.
In his remarks, President Muse Bihi Abdi praised the Ministry of Fisheries for organizing such a pivotal conference and urged both the public and business community to actively invest in the fisheries industry, as well as other domestic production sectors.
The President further encouraged participants to engage in meaningful discussions and develop actionable, forward-thinking plans for the future, stressing the importance of involving experts in the fisheries field to drive progress.
Last weekend, the head of Egyptian intelligence and the Foreign Minister met in Asmara with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and delivered a direct message from Al Sisi aimed at “strengthening and developing bilateral relations in all fields”
Egypt’s diplomatic activism in the Horn of Africa continues. After the military cooperation agreement signed with Somalia to send 10 Egyptian soldiers to Mogadishu, which infuriated neighboring Ethiopia, the government in Cairo is now considering a similar agreement with Eritrea, which would also include bilateral measures to protect shipping in the Red Sea. The Emirati newspaper “The National” reports this, underlining that at the same time Egypt is also discussing with Asmara a possible Egyptian mediation in the ten-year conflict between the Eritrean government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), protagonist of the war that ended two years ago that pitted it against the Ethiopian army. The talks between Egypt and Eritrea follow a surprise visit made last weekend to Asmara by the head of Egyptian intelligence Kamal Abbas, very close to the president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and accompanied by the Foreign Minister Badr AbdelattyThe two delegates met with the Eritrean President, Isaiah Afwerki, and according to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, they delivered a direct message from Al Sisi aimed at “strengthening and developing bilateral relations in all fields”.
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The senior Egyptian officials, the statement continued, “also listened to President Afwerki’s views on the developments in the Red Sea regarding the importance of finding the right circumstances to restore normal maritime navigation and international trade through the Bab el Mandeb Strait,” which connects the Red Sea to the Arabian Sea. Together, the territories of Egypt and Eritrea cover about 5 kilometers of the Red Sea coastline, including the Egyptian coasts of the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba, as well as 355 islands under Eritrean sovereignty. Egypt controls the northern areas of the Red Sea, including the Suez Canal that connects it to the Mediterranean, while Eritrea is located near the strategic Bab el Mandeb Strait. Sisi and Afwerki last met in February, when they met in Cairo. Three months earlier, they had met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
If confirmed, the military cooperation agreement with Eritrea would be the latest to be signed between Cairo and countries in the Horn of Africa, East Africa or the Nile Basin. These include Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan and, most recently, Somalia. Analysts have long suspected that such agreements were designed primarily to pressure Ethiopia to show flexibility in its dispute with Egypt over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the mega-project nearing completion on the Nile River that Cairo considers an existential threat to its water supply. This was particularly the agreement with Somalia, signed on 14 August during the visit to Cairo by the Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, exacerbating the already bitter tensions between Somalia and Egypt, on the one hand, and Ethiopia, on the other.
Under the agreement, a total of 10 Egyptian soldiers will be sent to Somalia: half of these (5) will be integrated into the African Union Stabilization and Support Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) – which will replace the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) on 1 January 2025 – while the other 5 will be deployed bilaterally. The Ethiopian response, announced with a fiery statement released the day after the arrival in Mogadishu of the first Egyptian soldiers who will be deployed in the regional states of Hirshabelle, Southwest and Galmudug, was not long in coming: it first came with the deployment of armored vehicles and hundreds of men on the border with Somalia, then with the seizure of several key airports in the Somali region of Ghedo, including Luq, Dolow and Bardere, in an attempt to prevent the possible air transport of Egyptian troops to the area. The airports are the only access points to the cities in the Gedo region, since the main roads are controlled by the jihadist group Al Shabaab.
Tensions with Ethiopia have had the effect of further bringing the positions of Somalia and Egypt closer, already significantly improving after the election of President Mohamud in May 2022. Long at loggerheads with Addis Ababa over the Gerd dam, Egypt has been a key player in Somalia’s security since early 2023, contributing to the training of Somali army recruits and the supply of weapons and ammunition and the care of wounded Somali soldiers in Egyptian military hospitals. Also last year, Mogadishu and Cairo began talks for closer strategic cooperation, and press rumors have been circulating for some time – so far unconfirmed – according to which Mogadishu is considering granting Egypt a military base in the center-south of the country.
In addition to the common Ethiopian threat, the thaw in relations between Cairo and Mogadishu’s historic ally Turkey has also brought Egypt and Somalia closer together. This thaw was confirmed by the recent visit to Ankara by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi (the first since 2014). A visit that clearly and unequivocally indicated the renewed closeness between the two countries after the years of frost experienced since 2013 due to divergent positions on political Islam, but also on regional geopolitical issues. In the years following 2013, specifically in 2021, the thaw between Qatar – the main point of reference for the Muslim Brotherhood – and the Gulf bloc formed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, together with Egypt, has in fact opened new opportunities for relations between Cairo and Ankara.
In spite of the catastrophic challenges Somalia faces – including drought, flooding, conflict and climate change – some are optimistic about the country’s future. Alyona Synenko/ICRC
Somalia may be one of the poorest countries in the world and beset by violence, but it is “fixable”, according to its top climate official.
The country has been torn apart by more than 30 years of overlapping conflicts – including an Islamist insurgency, a civil war, and a series of regional and clan confrontations. Yet Abdihakim Ainte, the Somali prime minister’s climate advisor, still regards his country as “as story of potential – of promise”.
What makes his optimism all the more surprising is the fact climate change is amplifying virtually all the challenges his country faces.
One commentator described climate change as a “chaos multiplier”, because it exacerbates existing tensions and entrenches conflict in fragile states like this.
The most obvious effects of climate change here have been in agriculture. Somalia is still overwhelmingly an agricultural economy, with about two thirds of the population depending on farming and animal herding for most of their income.
In 2022 the country experienced its worst drought for 40 years – an event scientists estimate was made 100 times more likely by human-caused climate change.
The extent of the challenge Somalia faces became clear as the convoy of International Red Cross (ICRC) Land Cruisers we were travelling in rumbled into the dry scrub that covers most of the country. We were accompanied by three guards clutching AK47s – Somalia is the only country in the world where Red Cross staff travel with armed security as standard.
For thousands of years, Somalis have made a living herding camels. Alyona Synenko/ICRC
Persistent drought has left farmers and herders fighting for access to water and grazing ground. Alyona Synenko/ICRC
The camel herders and small-scale farmers we met are on the front line of climate change here. For thousands of years Somalis have been eking out a living moving their herds of camels and goats from one pasture to the next across this dry land.
But climate change is disrupting the patterns of rain that made this way of life possible.
Sheik Don Ismail told us he lost all his camels during the drought, when grazing grounds dried up and the fodder he grew on his small farm wasn’t enough to sustain them.
“The well became dry and there was no pasture, so the animals began to die,” he said, shaking his head. “The life we lead now is really bad – really bad.”
That drought left farmers and herders fighting for access to water and pasture. Sheik Don said he was sometimes forced to defend his land at gunpoint.
“There is no respect if you don’t have a gun,” he said. “The herders who lead their animals into the farm stay back when they see my weapon. They get scared.”
In a country divided into rival clan groups and already scarred by violence, these localised disputes can easily spiral into full-blown battles, said Cyril Jaurena, who runs the ICRC operation in Somalia.
“Access to boreholes and pastureland gets more and more difficult to find, and so the population in the area might end up fighting – competing for those resources, and sometimes it goes to people shooting at each other,” he warned.
And drought isn’t the only problem here. Last year Somalia experienced terrible floods as a result of rains scientists say were made twice as intense by human-caused global warming. The floodwater washed away precious soils killing hundreds of people and displacing one million others.
The UN estimates more than 1.5m children under the age of 5 are acutely malnourished in Somalia. Alyona Synenko/ICRC
The effects of Somalia’s climate change “double whammy” are all too evident in the hunger clinic the Red Cross runs in a hospital in the port city of Kismayo on the south coast.
Every day a steady stream of mothers bring their malnourished babies here. Many have had to cross from territory controlled by al-Qaeda’s lethal affiliate, Islamist militants al-Shabab, to get here.
The UN estimates more than 1.5m children under the age of five are acutely malnourished in Somalia.
About a fifth of the population – whose lives have been disrupted by conflict and climate-induced crises – now live in refugee camps. Alyona Synenko/ICRC
Around four million Somalis have been driven into vast makeshift refugee camps – about a fifth of the total population.
Displaced people make their homes out of anything they can get hold of – pieces of old fabric, plastic sheets and rusty corrugated iron – all draped over a web of dry sticks. Some people even unroll tin cans into strips to form parts of their walls.
There is little international support, if any. At the refugee camp I visited, just outside the city of Garowe in the north of Somalia, families have to pay for their food and water, as well as pay rent for the scraps of land where they build their shacks.
After more than three decades of war, Somalia has fallen way down the list of international priorities. Its problems have been eclipsed by what seem like more urgent conflicts, in places like Ukraine and Gaza. The UN calculates Somalia needs at least $1.6bn (about £1.2bn) to meet the basic humanitarian needs of the people this year, but so far just $600 million has been pledged by donor governments.
Halima’s husband and four of her sons have taken jobs as paid fighters with local militia. Alyona Synenko/ICRC
The entwined impacts of climate and conflict have created a huge reservoir of potential recruits for the country’s many conflicts.
Those in the camps are desperate for money, and the easiest work to come by – according to the people I spoke to – is as a paid fighter with one of the many rival armies.
One woman told me of her fears for her husband and four of her five sons after they became fighters with a local militia.
“They are rural people with no skills, so the only work they could get was in the army,” Halima Ibrahim Ali Mohamud said as we sat on carpets laid over the dirt floor of her hut.
“They were desperate, and when you are without food long enough, and your children are looking at you, you will do anything.”
As we went from shack to shack, mothers told us similar stories of husbands and sons who had left to become fighters, some of whom had been killed.
Somalia once relied on diesel generators and other fossil fuels to meet its energy needs – but the country has substantial renewable energy potential. Alyona Synenko/ICRC
But many Somali people are taking action. The local power station in Garowe has been investing in wind and solar power, for example.
The decision wasn’t prompted by some international initiative, says the company CEO. Abdirazak Mohamed said he hasn’t received any grants or aid from abroad. The National Energy Corporation of Somalia (NECSOM), who he works for, is making the investments because renewables – energy derived from natural sources like the sun and the wind – are much better value than the diesel generators the power station used to rely on.
Refugee Amina uses the money she makes at her cafe to care for her husband and eleven children. Alyona Synenko/ICRC
I met Somali entrepreneurs setting up businesses, including a woman who had arrived in the Garowe refugee camp with nothing, but who set up a thriving business.
Amina Osman Mohamed explained how she had borrowed food from a local stall, cooked it, and used the small profit she made to do the whole thing again the following day.
The small but busy café she created generates the extra cash she so desperately needs to care for her sick husband and 11 children – including those of her widowed daughter.
As I left Amina’s bustling café, I began to understand why the Somali prime minister’s climate advisor is optimistic about his country’s future.
There is hope. But with climate change turbo-charging the conflict here, this country will need continued international help to make peace and build resilience against our changing climate.
MP Mohamed Abiib speaks during a parliamentary session in Hargeisa, Somaliland, in this undated file photo.
Hargeisa- The Somaliland Human Rights Commission has raised concerns over the prolonged detention of MP Mohamed Abiib, who has been held at Mandera Prison for over two weeks without formal charges. Abiib was arrested at Hargeisa’s Egal International Airport on September 2 after returning from the United Arab Emirates. His arrest came from his public criticism of President Muse Bihi’s administration.
Following a visit to the detention facility, the commission reported that the MP’s parliamentary immunity had not been respected. They urged the Somaliland government to uphold the law by ensuring Abiib’s access to his legal rights and due process.
“The continued detention of the MP without proper legal procedures is alarming,” the commission stated, emphasizing the urgency of safeguarding the MP’s rights.
The commission has called for immediate action to guarantee that Abiib receives fair treatment under the law.
In a session held last Monday, Somaliland’s Parliament voted overwhelmingly—43 out of 47 lawmakers—to reject charges against Abiib, which included allegations of treason, defamation of the military, and aiding the enemy. The vote marked the second time Parliament dismissed attempts to strip Abiib of his immunity and prosecute him.
Despite repeated efforts by the Somaliland Parliament to dismiss the accusations against him being thwarted by procedural issues, Abiib remains in custody, igniting public backlash and raising questions about the government’s respect for parliamentary immunity and due process.
The Somaliland government has defended its actions by announcing that Abiib will face trial on treason charges. Deputy Minister of Interior Abdillahi Hussein Mohamed stated that Abiib’s case had been pending for some time and claimed that the MP engaged in activities aimed at destabilizing Somaliland.
Abiib’s family has been persistent in their efforts to address his detention. His brother, Abdulqadir Abiib, noted that the family has faced restricted access and bureaucratic hurdles in their attempts to visit him. There have been unverified reports of physical mistreatment during his detention, exacerbating concerns over his well-being. The family has made repeated attempts to secure a meeting with President Muse Bihi to address Abiib’s detention, but these efforts have so far been unsuccessful. While the Somaliland Human Rights Commission reported that Abiib had not been mistreated, his continued detention without a trial date raises broader human rights issues.
The Somaliland Human Rights Commission has called for immediate action to ensure that Abiib is granted his legal rights.
President Muse Bihi Abdi of the Republic of Somaliland welcomed a high-level delegation to the Presidential Palace on Tuesday. The delegation, comprised of parliamentarians and officials from Kenya and Ethiopia, is visiting Somaliland to participate in an international conference organized by the Ministry of Employment, Social Affairs, and Family of Somaliland. The conference aims to promote women’s empowerment and share best practices on women’s issues.
In his welcoming remarks, President Muse Bihi Abdi briefed the delegation on Somaliland’s journey through various historical stages and its current achievements. He emphasized that the nation’s progress is the result of collective efforts by successive governments and the citizens of Somaliland, who remain steadfast in supporting their government and protecting their national sovereignty.
The delegation expressed their appreciation to the president and the people of Somaliland for the warm and respectful reception. They also praised the country’s remarkable progress in various sectors.
The President during the meeting was flanked by senior officials from the Ministry of Employment, Social Affairs, and Family, including Minister Ali Omar Mohamed (Ali Xoorxoor), Deputy Minister Mrs. Yurub Abiib Abdi, Director General Mr. Ahmed Hassan Aw Aden, MP Fu’aad Ahmed Dirie, and Muuna Isse Mahad.
The delegation members included Senator Hamida Ali Kibwana, Chairperson of the Kenya Women’s Organization, Kenyan MPs Fatuma Ali, Ummulkheir Kassim, and Ngelechei Caroline Jeptoo, and Mrs. Ubax Abdirahman, Deputy Minister of Gender and Child Development from the Somali Regional State of Ethiopia.
Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart, in Cairo on August 5, 2024. AFP
By Mohamed Hatem
The third phase of the Ankara Process mediation talks between Somalia and Ethiopia, initially set for 2 September and rescheduled to 17 September, has been postponed indefinitely with no future date set, according to Turkiye Today.
Although no official reason was given for the delay, it follows comments by Somalia’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi, who suggested that Somalia might consider supporting Ethiopian rebel groups if Ethiopia proceeds with its controversial agreement with Somaliland.
Signed in January 2024, the deal involves Ethiopia recognising Somaliland’s secession in exchange for leasing 20 kilometres (12 miles) of coastline for 50 years.
This would provide Ethiopia, one of the world’s largest landlocked countries, with long-sought-after access to the sea.
However, Somalia views the agreement as an infringement on its sovereignty and has warned of possible drastic measures.
“The option to have contacts with armed rebels in Ethiopia or rebels that are fighting against the Ethiopian regime – if it continues this, to have contact with them is an option open to Somalia,” Fiqi said.
The delay in the mediation talks may also be linked to Egypt’s recent deployment of troops to Somalia, some sources told Turkiye Today.
On 14 August, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud witnessed the signing of a military cooperation protocol between their countries.
Despite the delay, the Ankara Process, designed to foster dialogue between Somalia and Ethiopia, continues to receive strong backing from Türkiye, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan actively working to ease tensions between the two nations.
Somaliland is not recognised by Egypt which has repeatedly asserted its firm position in supporting Somalia’s unity and sovereignty over its territories.
The United States, the European Union, China, the African Union, and the Arab League have all urged Ethiopia to respect Somalia’s sovereignty.
