Somalia’s largest opposition alliance, the Somali Salvation Forum, has accused government security forces of carrying out forced evictions, unlawful arrests and the killing of a civilian during operations in Mogadishu’s Yaqshiid district.

In a statement released Saturday, the Forum expressed condolences over the death of Abdullahi Abdi Raage, a longtime resident of the Buulo-Geesaale neighborhood. According to the group, Abdullahi was fatally shot while speaking out against what residents described as forced displacement by security personnel.

The opposition bloc also condemned the arrest of Himilo Media photographer Abdullahi Mohamed Ali (Saawey), who was detained while documenting the evictions, and criticized what it called the unlawful detention of Kamil Abdi Macow, an employee of the Mogadishu municipal government.

The Forum accused security agencies of using excessive force and carrying out operations in violation of the law, alleging that the actions had resulted in civilian casualties and heightened fear among residents.

The group urged authorities to halt evictions immediately and to uphold civil rights and press freedoms. It also called on President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and national security leaders to hold officers accountable for abuses, warning that continued violations risk deepening public mistrust and damaging Somalia’s international reputation.

Somalia’s federal government has been forced into full digital retreat after its much-hyped E-TAS travel system was hit by a massive security breach that exposed thousands of travelers’ private data — another humiliation for Mogadishu’s fragile institutions and a stark warning from the United States about the dangers of its failed digital governance.

The Somali Immigration and Citizenship Agency (SICA) admitted on Sunday that “unauthorized actors” infiltrated the new platform, stealing sensitive information and forcing officials to shut down the entire system. The breach, confirmed by U.S. Embassy officials in Mogadishu, reportedly compromised data belonging to more than 35,000 travelers.

A U.S. Embassy security alert described the exposure as a serious cyber threat and urged anyone who used the system to assume their personal information had been compromised. American officials said the breach could enable “identity theft, phishing campaigns, and digital targeting” of Somali citizens and foreigners alike.

While Mogadishu scrambled to contain the damage — forming an emergency “national investigative committee” — critics across the region saw the collapse as a symptom of a deeper problem: a federal government obsessed with control, yet incapable of protecting even its own systems.

The irony is bitter. Just weeks ago, Mogadishu was trying to force its E-TAS system on Somaliland and Puntland, insisting that all travelers — even those entering Hargeisa — must apply through its portal. Somaliland immediately rejected the order, declaring that only visas issued by its own immigration authority are valid within its borders. Puntland followed, calling the federal system “illegal.”

Now, the very system Mogadishu tried to impose on others has imploded — leaving the world questioning whether the federal government can manage even basic cybersecurity, let alone national sovereignty.

Somaliland officials have repeatedly warned of the dangerous centralization of data in Mogadishu’s hands, calling the system “a political tool masquerading as modernization.” That warning now appears prophetic. While the federal platform bleeds private data into the dark web, Somaliland’s secure, independent visa system continues operating smoothly, trusted by international partners and airlines.

The episode has exposed not just technical incompetence, but deep insecurity in Mogadishu’s leadership — a government chasing “recognition” abroad while losing credibility at home. For Somaliland, it is vindication: a digital fortress standing firm while its southern neighbor collapses under the weight of corruption and envy.

Somalia’s Political Map Shifts as Top Leaders Unite Behind Former PM for 2026 Race.

A group of prominent Somali political figures announced on Monday the formation of a new political alliance, declaring they will field former Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdoon “Saacid” as their presidential candidate in Somalia’s 2026 elections.

The coalition, known as the National Sovereignty Alliance, brings together nine senior politicians from across political organizations, parties and regional constituencies.

Several members have previously held national cabinet posts or leadership roles and have now resigned from their respective parties to join the new bloc.

In a joint statement, the alliance’s leaders said their decision followed a series of meetings assessing what they described as Somalia’s deteriorating political, security and economic conditions.

Their statement cited concerns over “the erosion of national unity, the collapse of the economy, the neglect of social services and the loss of public confidence in the Somali state.”

The alliance named the following figures as founding members:

1. Abdikarim Hussein Guuleed

2. Fahad Yasin Haaji Daahir

3. Mohamed Abuukar Islow Duale

4. Thabit Abdi Mohamed

5. Guuleed Salah Bare

6. Abdi Adan Hoosow

7. Abdirizak Khilaaf Ahmed

8. Faarax Ali Shire

9. Duale Adan Mohamed

The new political front is entering a landscape marked by shifting alliances and intensifying maneuvering ahead of the 2026 presidential race.

With Shirdoon positioned as its candidate, the National Sovereignty Alliance framed its formation as a response to a country in need of renewed direction and stronger governance.

The grim realities unfolding off the coast of Lampedusa, where desperate men, women, and children flee failed states only to perish in the Mediterranean, are a direct, human consequence of political failure in Mogadishu.

For three decades, Somalia has been the tragic epicenter of displacement, not due to circumstance, but due to a leadership crisis defined by a failure of conscience and strategic vision.

The sight of citizens drowning while seeking escape speaks more volumes about the quality of governance than any election theater can obscure.

This crisis of conscience is matched only by a crisis of sovereignty. Under the current administration, the nation appears to be systematically liquidating its long-term national interests for short-term political expediency.

The maritime and oil/gas agreements signed with Türkiye, for instance, are being scrutinized not as partnerships, but as an effective auctioning of Somalia’s sovereign assets.

The financial calculus—where foreign powers claim substantial revenue shares of Somalia’s Exclusive Economic Zone—raises profound questions about the administration’s prioritization of personal gain over national prosperity, a dynamic underscored by Somalia’s consistent placement at the very bottom of global corruption indices.

The geopolitical danger deepens when financial instability and systemic corruption are directly linked to security policy.

Despite hundreds of millions in annual international security aid, the Somali National Army remains crippled by mismanagement, while the leadership, in a desperate gamble, entertains the deeply unsettling prospect of reconciliation with Al-Shabaab—a reckless move that only emboldens the very terrorist structures responsible for the nation’s turmoil.

This creates an emerging dynamic where the interests of the Federal Government begin to dangerously align, or at least strategically tolerate, the activities of groups potentially backed by adversarial foreign powers like Iran and its proxies.

This confluence of human tragedy, institutional graft, and strategic exposure defines the current chapter.

The administration’s failure to secure its nation’s future or even its borders transforms Somalia into a growing strategic liability for the entire region.

The world must recognize that sustaining a perpetually failed state model that generates both chaos and desperation is no longer a viable policy; it is a costly endorsement of decay.

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud: Somalia’s Ultimate Betrayer

Puntland’s elite Dervish forces have captured a Turkish national and ISIS operative, identified as Feyzul Hashim Suleyman, during an intelligence-led raid in Togga Balade, a remote area of the Bari region long known as a refuge for jihadist cells.

The operation, part of the fourth phase of Operation Hilac, marks a major success in Puntland’s campaign to dismantle ISIS networks entrenched in the Cal-Miskaad mountains.

Security officials confirmed to WARYATV that Suleyman’s arrest follows weeks of tracking by Puntland intelligence units.

He is believed to be the second Turkish national captured in two months, after the June arrest of Hassan Ataar, another ISIS-linked foreign fighter operating in the same area.

Authorities disclosed that two additional Turkish nationals — Emre Kemal Yilmaz and Aylin Derya Kaya — remain at large, reportedly still hiding in the Cal-Miskaad mountain range, where ISIS has maintained training and logistics bases since 2015.

According to Gen. Ahmed Abdilaahi Sheikh, a senior Puntland military officer overseeing the campaign, the captured men are part of a group of Turkish fugitives who fled their country after the failed 2016 coup attempt.

“Our intelligence indicates they joined ISIS in Syria before relocating to Puntland, where they embedded themselves in local militant networks,” Gen. Ahmed told reporters.

He said investigations are underway to establish possible links between these foreign fighters and international smuggling operations and the PKK’s regional shadow networks.

Security experts say the arrests highlight an alarming development — the Cal-Miskaad range is evolving into a transnational haven for foreign extremists seeking to rebuild ISIS’s operational capacity across East Africa.

Analysts warn that the integration of Turkish, Syrian, and Somali militants in the area points to a renewed strategy by ISIS to use Puntland as a regional coordination hub, exploiting the difficult terrain and weak maritime monitoring along the Gulf of Aden.

A Somali national was also captured during Monday’s clashes, suggesting that local recruits continue to provide logistical cover for foreign fighters.

WARYATV’s defense sources note that Puntland’s Operation Hilac has become one of the Horn of Africa’s most effective counterterrorism efforts, conducted without significant foreign troop presence but supported by intelligence coordination with regional partners.

The operation’s success underscores Puntland’s growing role as a frontline state in the global fight against ISIS and transnational terrorism — and raises new questions about the flow of foreign jihadists from Turkey, Syria, and Iraq into Somalia’s northern highlands.

Leaders from Somalia’s federal member states of Jubaland and Puntland joined forces with prominent opposition figures in Nairobi on Thursday to launch a new political platform, signaling a potential realignment in the country’s fractious politics.

The gathering brought together Jubaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Madobe), Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni, former prime ministers Hassan Ali Khayre and Saacid Shirdoon, and opposition MP Abdirahman Abdishakur. In a joint resolution, they announced the creation of the Somali Future Council, uniting the Somali Salvation Forum with the two regional governments.

The Council, they said, will convene again inside Somalia “as soon as possible” to finalize its structure and set priorities for the country’s political transition. While the statement emphasized safeguarding Somalia’s unity and resisting actions that could threaten cohesion, the move underscores growing tensions between federal leaders and regional authorities who have long demanded a greater say in governance.

The Nairobi meeting comes just as President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is preparing to travel to Kismayo for talks with Jubaland officials on easing the political standoff and facilitating upcoming elections. His administration has yet to respond to the Nairobi initiative, which could complicate his efforts to consolidate control.

The leaders also thanked the Government of Kenya for supporting efforts to stabilize Somalia — a gesture highlighting Nairobi’s growing role as both mediator and regional stakeholder.

For now, the Somali Future Council is a declaration of intent rather than a fully-formed bloc. But its emergence reflects the widening fault lines in Somali politics and sets the stage for renewed contestation over the direction of the country’s fragile transition.