Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Eritrea - regional politics, conflict and development.
Global development
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Exclusive: Coordinated airstrikes on territory held by al-Shabaab are driving the civilian population to find refuge alongside a river where rising water levels are a threat to safety. Is it a deliberate military…
In Brief
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In September, fighting broke out in Ethiopia’s Tigray region between Ethiopian government forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), effectively collapsing the 2022 peace deal. In October, Ethiopian forces…
Yemen
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Their overland routes to safety blocked off, several thousand people have boarded boats to escape gunfire, bombing and a dire humanitarian situation Abubaker Saeed was fishing in the Red Sea off Yemen’s coast last month…
Ethiopia
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Biruk Mekonnen , the Ethiopian ambassador to the UK, responds to an editorial on the war in Tigray Your attention to Ethiopia is welcome, but your editorial ( 8 October ) presents an incomplete account of the crisis…
Eritrea
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Country has not had an election in 33 years and has withdrawn cooperation with UK on migrant returns Eritrea, the east African country embroiled in a row with the UK over its refusal to accept the return of rejected…
Egypt
On Friday, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos wrote to the U.N. Security Council, citing Article 51 of the U.N. Charter, to say Eritrean troops had advanced up to 38 miles into Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region…
Djibouti
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Eighty-four others still missing from vessel heading to Yemen with 305 people onboard, UN migration agency says At least 139 people, including 15 children, have died after a boat carrying 305 migrants capsized off the…
Ethiopia
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The escalating violence reflects deep domestic rifts – but is fuelled by broader geopolitical power games When the Nobel peace laureate is announced on Friday, the committee will be hoping that its choice ages better…
Ethiopia
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Government forces’ attack raises risk of internal conflict in Ethiopia that could trigger regional war Eritrean troops who crossed into Ethiopia’s Tigray region have come under drone attack from government forces…
Global development
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I was sentenced to three years in jail for insulting government institutions. Now I am free, I will carry on fighting for the women I met in prison ‘Why don’t you just drive your tuk-tuk and do your work?” the judge…
Global development
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Civilians try to flee as men and boys rounded up on streets by new alliance as Ethiopia conflict erupts again As renewed fighting has threatened a fresh humanitarian crisis in the northern region of Ethiopia, reports are…
Global development
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After Guardian investigation uncovered drone strike that killed 12 civilians and injured many more, seven-year-old Abdiqadir Salah underwent vital operation in Mogadishu On the rickshaw ride to the hospital, Marian Haji…
Middle East
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This is a brief designed to locate all the fuses under nearly all the explosive checkpoints, surrounding the chokepoint of grief, called Bab al-Mandab. For five centuries the Red Sea’s front door has been sold as…
Middle East & Africa
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Fighting is happening in northern Ethiopia between federal troops and a rebel alliance led by Tigrayan forces. This conflict resembles the earlier civil war from 2020 to 2022, which resulted in massive casualties…
World News
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Ethiopian government forces are advancing towards Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region, as fears rise that the ongoing conflict could escalate into a wider war following the breakdown of diplomatic ties with…
Horn-of-africa
Ethiopia is on the brink of another civil war. Last week, fighting between rebels and federal forces in the northern Tigray, Amhara, and Afar states left hundreds dead. These clashes may signal the start of a potentially…
Ethiopia
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Fighting escalates after Tigrayan rebels form new coalition aimed at overthrowing Abiy Ahmed government There are growing fears of a return to civil war in Ethiopia after an offensive by fighters from Tigray into the…
Somalia
The president of Somaliland took advantage of the geopolitical and global economic turmoil caused by the Iran War to visit Washington this week in an effort to advocate for American recognition of Somaliland and for the…
Books
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More than 180 writers sign letter renewing calls for information on 12 authors detained incommunicado since 2001 crackdown on free speech by Isaias Afwerki More than 180 writers have signed a letter to Eritrean president…
Global development
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After losing much of its forests in recent decades, the country’s people have led the way in planting saplings across the country as part of the government’s Green Legacy Initiative When Halima Kedir first began planting…
Active Citizens
By CIVICUS Sep 17 2026 (IPS) CIVICUS discusses renewed conflict and a growing crackdown on independent media in Ethiopia with Yonas Kedir, Editor-in-Chief of the independent news outlet Addis Standard, who was recently…
World News
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The detention of newly trained Somali soldiers in Ethiopia’s Somali Regional State has brought renewed attention to a Saudi-backed military training programme in Somalia and raised questions about the future deployment…
Africa
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In August 2026, the Ethiopian government declared Sam Fabrizi, the Italian ambassador, persona non grata. Rome chose to remain silent. This incident is not merely a diplomatic incident, but a striking example of the new…
Somalia
From the start, the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has been a story of unintended consequences. Contrary to President Donald Trump’s hopes for a quick victory, the conflict has morphed into a sustained crisis, one that has…
Somalia
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US-Israel war on Iran and political instability in Somalia lead to pirates targeting cargo ships off Horn of Africa The scourge of Somali piracy targeting cargo ships and smaller dhows off the Horn of Africa has returned…
Middle East & Africa
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China’s endorsement of Egypt’s right to protect its water and food security marks a significant diplomatic development in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute. It does not amount to a formal rejection of…
Middle East & Africa
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The People’s Republic of China possesses a broad network of geopolitical and economic interests in the Horn of Africa, a region of vital importance to Chinese interests. This gives it significant and direct leverage over…
Middle East & Africa
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The Red Sea no longer separates the Middle East from Africa. It increasingly connects their security problems. Across the Horn of Africa, ports, trade routes, military partnerships and local conflicts are attracting…
Economy
85% of Ethiopia’s industrial park production is in textiles and garments, with manufacturing led by the $250m Hawassa Industrial Park. Back in July 2015, construction started on the Hawassa Industrial Park (HIP)…
World News
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Federal Troops Regain Control Somali federal forces pushed opposition fighters out of Baidoa on Monday after hours of intense fighting in one of the country’s largest cities, residents told Reuters. The clashes left a…
Eritrea
On July 19, President Donald Trump’s top Africa adviser, Massad Boulos, held a series of talks in Cairo with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Eritrea and Somalia. The participants framed the discussions as an effort to…
Red-sea
In early August, the top U.S. special operations commander for Africa signed a security agreement with the president of Puntland — a semi-autonomous region in northeastern Somalia — to expand the American military…
Generation Jihad
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The US is losing leverage in Somalia as frustration with Mogadishu threatens critical African Union support and risks strengthening Al Shabaab’s hold. In Mali, renewed US airstrikes against JNIM raise a parallel…
2023 Sudan War
Subscribe to our Lens on Sudan newsletter here . The military’s offensive in Kordofan continued this week with the capture of the strategic Jabal al-Dayer area near Rahad, building on last week’s gains that brought five…
Politics
After four years of a contentious peace between the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, fighting broke out between the two sides on Saturday. The clashes spanned from the Humera border…
Politics
Subscribe to our Lens on Sudan newsletter here . With Washington’s revised ceasefire initiative drawing cautious engagement from Khartoum and diplomatic activity around Sudan intensifying, much of the week’s political…
Foreign policy
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Humanitarian support keeps families buying food, shops trading and clinics open when crisis hits, says Abdullahi Nur Osman Foreign Office figures showing that the UK will almost halve bilateral aid to Somalia by 2029 (…
Long War Journal
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Somalia said that it and “international partners” killed Maalin Jinow Ibrahim, a reported co-founder of Shabaab and a member of its central shura council, in a targeted operation earlier this month. However, Al Qaeda’s…
SWP Comment
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The Conflict Between the TPLF and the Ethiopian Government Has the Potential to Escalate beyond the Country’s Borders Tensions between Addis Ababa and the Tigray Region are gradually mounting. Miscalculations could even…
Global development
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As fear and fighting ease in Mogadishu, coffee shops have become catalysts for change, bringing jobs for women and creating much-needed social spaces Every morning at six, Saabiriin Hassan slips on her apron as she takes…
Global development
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Amid fears of fresh bloodshed, the country is hoping its offer of education and employment can provide a model for other nations to follow It didn’t matter that he was so frail he could barely walk. Rahmatalla Abdeen…
Feature
Somalia’s long-running conflict has pushed thousands of people, including children, into the al-Shabaab militant group Originally published on Global Voices Members of the Al Qaeda-affiliated militant group Al Shabaab…
Long War Journal
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The United States is on pace for another record year of military strikes in Somalia in 2026. At least 74 strikes have been carried out so far, the majority targeting Al Qaeda’s Shabaab—a clear shift from 2025, when the…
Commentary
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Numerous recent pirate attacks, especially the hijacking of three merchant vessels off the Horn of Africa, are a stark reminder that the conditions for resurgence can return quickly.It took years of sustained…
Africa
When a remote east African city was being shelled by Somaliland soldiers three years ago, a German academic became an unlikely messenger for the beleaguered inhabitants of Las Anod. Dr Markus Hoehne, an anthropologist…
Economy
In Part 2 of the Ethiopian Airlines story ( read part one here ), Bright Simons analyses the strategic decisions and managements skills that went into building on the airlines modest success and turning it into Africa’s…
Economy
Ethiopian Airlines is today one of the most successful airlines in the world, but when it was first conceived, 80 years ago, Ethiopia did not even have a runway. The story of how it rose from such a barren background to…
Global development
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Sentencing of 27-year-old Sadia Moalim Ali condemned by former president and prime ministers as well as rights groups A rickshaw driver in Somalia has been sentenced to three years in prison for comments she made on…