Author: Osman Omar

Following reports that the United States intends to end its support for UN assistance to the African Union mission in Somalia after 2026, concerns have grown that Al-Shabaab could exploit a security vacuum. Yet testimony from the front line offers a different assessment. Somalia’s National Army is no longer weaker than the insurgency in direct combat. Its real disadvantage is insufficient manpower, mobility and logistical capacity to control the country’s vast rural terrain. Rather than maintaining foreign forces indefinitely, international partners should begin transferring more resources toward building a larger and self-sustaining Somali military. One soldier making that argument is…

Falanqayn uu qoray Somali Insider Warqad furan oo uu Golaha Mustaqbalka Soomaaliyeed 27-kii Luulyo 2026 u diray dalalka ciidamada iyo booliska ku biiriya Hawlgalka Midowga Afrika ee Soomaaliya—AUSSOM. Waxay daaha ka rogtay weji cusub oo uu galay khilaafka siyaasadeed ee Soomaaliya. Goluhu warqadda kuma uusan koobin madaxda Uganda, Kenya, Itoobiya, Jabuuti, Burundi iyo Masar. Nuqullo ayuu sidoo kale u diray Midowga Afrika, IGAD, waddamada Afrika ku metela Golaha Ammaanka, Maraykanka, Ingiriiska, Midowga Yurub, Turkiga iyo hay’adaha Qaramada Midoobay. Dusha sare, farriintu waa mid macquul u muuqata: in heshiis siyaasadeed oo Soomaali leedahay uu saldhig u noqdo kala-guurka amniga. Hase yeeshee,…

Analysis by a Somali Insider An open letter sent by the Somali Future Council to countries contributing troops and police to the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia AUSSOM, has opened a new chapter in Somalia’s political confrontation. The letter, dated July 27, 2026, was addressed to the leaders, defence ministers and military chiefs of Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Burundi and Egypt. Copies were also sent to the African Union, IGAD, African members of the UN Security Council, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Türkiye and United Nations missions. On the surface, the Council’s message…

There’s a difference between fighting a war and appearing to fight one. A closer look at Somalia’s recent security leadership reveals two distinct patterns: territorial loss under previous command structures and territorial consolidation under current leadership. When examined in terms of operational outcomes rather than rhetoric, the contrast becomes difficult to ignore. During the tenure of Abdullahi Sanbaloolshe and other dismissed commanders, such as former Somali national army commander General Odawaa, multiple strategically significant areas fell out of government control. Some of these locations were neither remote nor indefensible; they were populated, well-known, and, in some cases, deeply connected to…

There are moments in a nation’s life when change does not announce itself with spectacle, but instead unfolds with a quiet, deliberate persistence. Somalia today appears to be entering such a moment. For much of the past three decades, the country has been defined not by coherence, but by fragmentation—its political authority diffused, its national identity diluted, and its institutional capacity severely attenuated. Sovereignty, in many respects, became a negotiated concept, mediated through clan structures and regional power centers rather than anchored in a unified state. It is within this historical context that the leadership of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — In the late afternoon, when the heat softens and the city exhales, children gather along the beach in Mogadishu. They kick a worn ball across the sand, drift toward the water, and, every so often, glance up at the horizon. There, barely breaking the line between sea and sky, sits a ship. It is not large from this distance. It does not announce itself. But it has altered the way people talk—quietly, cautiously—about what might come next. For years, Somalia’s offshore oil and gas reserves existed as a kind of national rumor: mapped in studies, discussed in…

Officers from the Somali National Army, working alongside Turkish military electrical engineers, have developed a new system aimed at neutralizing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used by Al-Shabaab. These roadside bombs, often buried along key routes, have caused significant casualties and operational challenges for Somali forces. The new system is based on intelligence gathered from captured bomb-makers and technical analysis of their devices. How Al-Shabaab IEDs Operate According to field intelligence and engineering analysis: The Counter-IED System The newly developed system targets the electrical mechanism of these explosives. This system can disable or neutralize IEDs from a distance of up to…

Waxaa jirta su’aal si aamusnaan ah uga dhex wareegaysa siyaasadda Soomaaliya—su’aal aan si dhab ah loo wajihin, balse go’aamin karta jihada dalka: yaa dhab ahaantii qaada culayska dhaqaale ee dowladnimada, yaase leh awoodda go’aan qaadashada? Muqdisho maanta ma aha oo kaliya caasimad siyaasadeed; waa xarunta dhaqaale ee dalka. Dakhliga ka yimaada dekedda, garoonka, iyo dhaqdhaqaaqa ganacsiga ayaa laf-dhabar u ah miisaaniyadda federaalka. Dowladda shaqaynaysa maanta—hay’adaha jira, adeegyada socda, waxay si weyn ugu tiirsan yihiin canshuurta laga soo ururiyo magaalada. Laakiin xaqiiqadan dhaqaale waxaa la socda khilaaf siyaasadeed. Siyaasiyiin ka kala yimid gobollada qaar ayaa doonaya saameyn buuxda oo federaal, iyagoo…

Dunida dijitaalka ee maanta, computer-kaaga ma aha kaliya qalab ee waa aqoonsigaaga, shaqadaada, iyo noloshaada gaarka ah. Xaqiiqda murugada lehna waa tan: dadka badankood ma ogaan karaan in nidaamkooda la jabsaday ilaa waxyeelladu dhacdo ama ay gali waayeen computer kooda.. Khatarta cyber-ka mar walba isma muujiso. Mararka qaar waxay ku timaadaa isbeddello yar yar oo qarsoon, aamusnaan leh, sahalna loo iska indho-tiro. Laakiin calaamadahaas yar yar waa muhiim. Fahamkoodu waa tallaabada ugu horreysa ee aad isku difaaci karto. Sida Loo Garto Calaamadaha Digniinta Nidaam Windows ah oo la jabsaday badanaa wuxuu u dhaqmaa si ka duwan midka caadiga ah .…

Mogadishu; Somalia Follow the Mandate—or Leave: Somalia’s Sovereignty Isn’t Optional Somalia is no longer stuck in the ruins people remember. The country is moving, pushing back Al-Shabaab, reopening roads, rebuilding institutions, and proving that the federal government is no longer symbolic. But right in the middle of that progress, there’s a contradiction that’s too obvious to ignore. In cities like Kismayo, Baydhabo, and Jowhar, African Union forces are present, yet the authority of the federal government doesn’t fully apply. Local leaders operate with protection but without full accountability to Mogadishu. That’s not stability. That’s a system working against itself. And…

1. Xusuustii Maalintii Rajada. Markii madaxweyne Cabdiqaasim salaad Muqdisho Yimid Waxaan ahaa teenager sanadkii 2000. Dad badan ayaa xasuusta maalintaas, laakiin dhalinyaradii waqtigaas joogtay si gaar ah ayay u xasuustaan. Magaalada oo dhan waxaa ka muuqday rajo cusub. Markii uu hadlay, wuxuu yiri eray ay dad badani qalbigooda ku reebeen: “Soomaaliya ceel uma qodna, cidina uma maqna.” Eraygaas dhalinyaradii Muqdisho joogtay si dhab ah ayay u qaateen xaqiiqda waqtigaa jirteyna way aheed Waxaan u arkeeynay in waqtigii mugdiga uu soo dhammaanayo. Boqolaal iyo boqolaal dhalinyaro ah ayaan soo buuxinnay garoonka Muqdisho. Qof walba wuxuu lahaa hal riyo: in nabad iyo…