Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Friday visited a provincial capital claimed by the breakaway region of Somaliland — the first visit there by a sitting president in over 40 years. The visit to Las Anod, the administrative capital of the Sool region, comes amid heightened diplomatic tensions in the Horn of Africa after Israel officially recognised Somaliland, drawing strong opposition from Mogadishu. Mohamud was attending the inauguration of the president of the newly created Northeast State, which became Somalia’s sixth federal state in August. It was the first visit by a Somali president since 1984. Somalia is a federation of semi-autonomous states, some of which have fraught relations with the central government in Mogadishu. The Northeast State comprises the regions of Sool, Sanaag and Cayn, all territories Somaliland claims as integral to its borders. (AFP)

Somalia’s federal government has confirmed the existence of a proposed three-way security agreement with Saudi Arabia and Egypt, aimed at strengthening cooperation on Red Sea security and expanding military collaboration, a government spokesperson said. The agreement, which officials said is still being finalized, focuses on boosting strategic security coordination, deepening military ties and reinforcing the three countries’ joint role in regional stability. … The confirmation comes after Somalia recently canceled security and port agreements with the United Arab Emirates, accusing Abu Dhabi of violating Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Somali government cited the transfer of a leader linked to Yemen’s separatist movement from within Somalia without informing the federal authorities. Officials close to the talks said Saudi Arabia has applied diplomatic pressure on Somalia to scale back its ties with the UAE, amid growing tensions between the two Gulf powers, both members of the OPEC+ alliance. The rift has been fueled by disagreements linked to the war in Yemen and broader regional influence. (Garowe Online)

Sudan’s energy ministry is working with Chinese firm Siyuan Energy Company to supply transformers and mobile power stations to repair infrastructure damaged by the country’s civil war, a ministry statement said on Tuesday. The electricity sector has suffered extensive damage in the 20-month conflict, with approximately 150,000 kilometres of transmission lines and 15,000 transformers affected, according to ministry figures. Key power stations in Bahri, Garri and Jebel Aulia have also been severely damaged. Consulting Engineer Mu’tasim Ibrahim Ahmed met the regional director of Siyuan Energy Company in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss accelerating the delivery of hydroelectric generation transformers, the statement said. Both sides agreed the Chinese company would conduct field assessments of war-damaged stations in Sudan and urgently supply emergency mobile transformation stations to provide immediate relief, it added. They also discussed adding more transformers to their agreement. (Sudan Tribune)

Uganda’s army chief, who is also the son of long-serving president Yoweri Museveni, said he wants opposition leader Bobi Wine dead, days after Wine claimed he had been forced into hiding. General Muhoozi Kainerugaba’s comments come after Museveni won an eighth term following an election on Thursday that was widely criticised by poll observers and rights groups. The embattled opposition, led by 43-year-old Bobi Wine — real name Robert Kyagulanyi — says they faced violence and intimidation ahead of the vote, with international bodies also accusing the government of “brutal repression”. “We have killed 22 NUP terrorists since last week. I’m praying the 23rd is Kabobi,” Kainerugaba posted on X late Monday night, referring to Wine and his National Unity Platform (NUP) party. (AFP)