November 21

• Somalia: Kenyans Alienate Somalis [analysis]

  The Somali militant group al-Shabaab is currently losing ferocious battles against Kenyan troops in Southern Somalia - part of an African Union peacekeeping mission. However, they... Read more »

November 2

• Somalia: The Kismayo Conundrum(s) [analysis]

  If insecurity was the thorniest problem that plagued Somalia's previous governments, the new one will be dogged by multiple political challenges. Chief among those is the status of... Read more »

October 24

• East Africa: Use of Khat Divides Opinions [analysis]

  This piece is part of the Africa and the War on Drugs debate - a series of articles and reviews commissioned to coincide with the launch of the latest book in the African Arguments... Read more »

October 10

• Somalia: After Kismayo - What Next for Al-Shabaab and Somalia? [analysis]

  After a long wait, the Kenya Army finally entered the southern Somali port of Kismayo on 28 September, following an attack by sea, air and ground forces. Kenya deserves some praise... Read more »

September 18

• Somalia: A New President for Somalia [opinion]

  The election of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud by Somalia's Transitional Parliament is an unexpected success for the hugely discredited political process in the country. It could prove to... Read more »

September 11

• Somalia: Political Newcomer Takes Power in Landslide [analysis]

  On Monday, Somalia lived up to its track record for never re-electing an incumbent leader. President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed lost to a political newcomer, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, in a... Read more »

September 5

• Ethiopia: Post-Meles Narratives [analysis]

  Haile Mariam Desalegn - Ethiopia's new PM - must build on Meles Zenawi's strong national and regional legacy to maintain Ethiopia's influential position. Read more »

September 3

• Somalia: Al-Shabaab Suffer Dramatic New Losses [analysis]

  For the first time in four years, the militant group al-Shabaab is not the center of attention in Somalia. Since the fighters were ejected from the capital Mogadishu a year ago by... Read more »

August 24

• Somalia: Politicians Continue to Use the Country's Institutions for Personal Profit [analysis]

  Somalia's upcoming permanent government is feted as a model for national reconciliation and good governance. Read more »

August 17

• Somalia: Peace in Mogadishu Is Fragile but Holding [analysis]

  Last month, as I walked through Bakara market - the main commercial district of Mogadishu - it was difficult to believe that just one year ago, it had been a stronghold of the... Read more »

August 3

• Somalia: A Warlord's Life and Days [book review]

  HALGAN IYO HAGARDAAMO: Taariikh Nololeed (STRUGGLE AND CONSPIRACY: A Memoir) by Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, 2012. Read more »

July 31

• Africa: You Will Hear the Story of Mo Farah [analysis]

  If you don't know the story of Mo Farah now, you almost certainly will the day after the 5,000 metres Olympic final on Saturday 11th August. Read more »

July 20

• Somalia: Somaliland - Mary Harper Sees a Country in Microcosm At the Hargeisa International Book Fair [opinion]

  Shortly after I posted a blog about a book fair in Somaliland, I received a comment from a contributor to a highly respected international magazine. He asked whether it was a joke.... Read more »

July 16

• Africa: Africa in the News - Kagame Denies Rwandan Involvement With M23

  Below is the weekly Africa news update available for memebers of the Royal African Society. To find out about getting Africa in the News delivered to your inbox every Friday click... Read more »

July 3

• Somalia: Nation Prepares for Convoluted Election [analysis]

  After 12 years of feeble transitional governments, Somalia is slated to have a permanent administration that theoretically will be able to borrow money from the World Bank, sign... Read more »

June 14

• Africa: UN Mismanages Nation's Civil Aviation [analysis]

  For nearly two decades, a small United Nations body has managed Somalia's airspace without Somali involvement and international oversight. Sources close to that office reveal that... Read more »

June 8

• Somalia: Somalia Must Seize Its Chance to Break Sterile and Corrupt Mould of Nation-Building [analysis]

  The impending expiry of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) has occasioned an unseemly rush to establish a 'permanent', and therefore 'legitimate', administration in... Read more »

May 28

• Somalia: Take a Holiday in Somaliland - Journey to the State That Isn't [analysis]

  Michela Wrong once wrote that you can tell a lot about an African country by the way they issue, or refuse you a visa. This remains true, but as African leaders see the benefits of... Read more »

April 20

• Ethiopia: Nation Can Become New East African Hegemon [analysis]

  Recent news that the Republic of Somalia and newly independent South Sudan have applied to join the East African Community (EAC) has elicited uncharacteristically heated debate on... Read more »

April 11

• Somalia: 'Newly Liberated Areas' - What Comes Next? [analysis]

  Ethiopian troops have played a crucial role in liberating parts of Somalia from Al Shabaab, but their time there will be limited. Read more »

April 4

• Somalia: Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys and the Politics of the Al-Shabaab Split [analysis]

  If a split within the rank and file of Somalia's al-Shabaab militants was a mere speculation, it has now become a reality, thanks to a lacerating Friday sermon by Sheikh Hassan... Read more »

March 19

• Somalia: Understanding the Al-Shabaab/Al-Qaeda 'Merger' [analysis]

  Last month, the radical Islamist group al-Shabaab, which controls vast swathes of territory in south and central Somalia, declared it was joining the al-Qaeda Network. The... Read more »

March 16

• Somalia: Somaliland Did Not Surrender Sovereignty By Attending the London Conference [analysis]

  Somaliland is re-engaging with international diplomacy related to its neighbour, Somalia. Our country has received widespread praise for its contribution to the recent London... Read more »

March 2

• Africa: Don't Force Statehood On Somalia? [analysis]

  Reading Richard Dowden's piece for African Arguments 'Don't Force Statehood on Somalia', stimulates me to reflect on an insight, largely drawn from my examination and understanding... Read more »

February 27

• Somalia: London Takes the Wrong Route to Peace [opinion]

  At first I withheld judgment on the British government's decision to hold a major international conference on Somalia. It was so good to hear the government at last taking an... Read more »