In Somalia, widespread energy poverty and a heavy reliance on conventional energy sources are deeply linked to ongoing conflict dynamics. Dependence on firewood and charcoal worsens environmental degradation and intensifies competition over natural resources
Solar Power And Environmental Peacebuilding In South-Central Somalia
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
This report looks at the factors that impact the vulnerability of youth who are migrants in Sudan and Ethiopia. Sudan and Ethiopia are important migration crossroads in East Africa, and routes through this region are characterised by a substantial risk of abuse. The study presents a statistical analysis based on data collected in 2022–2023 in Sudan and Ethiopia
A Statistical Analysis of Migrant Youth Vulnerability in Sudan & Ethiopia
Mixed Migration Centre
In Somalia, climate change disproportionately disrupts agricultural and pastoral livelihoods, driving harmful practices, such as resource overexploitation, which exacerbate conflicts. To address these challenges, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) promotes regenerative agriculture as a part of a broader environmental peacebuilding approach aiming to replace negative coping strategies with sustainable practices for long-term resilience
Cultivating Change: Regenerative Agriculture and Peacebuilding in South-central Somalia
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), which replaced AMISOM in 2022, is a UN peacekeeping mission with the mandate to support the Somali Security Forces (SSF) in combating al-Shabaab and securing the country. As ATMIS is set to conclude by December 2024, discussions are underway for a follow-on mission, the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), to ensure continued support and prevent a security vacuum.
ATMIS Transition and Post-ATMIS Security Arrangements in Somalia
International Peace Institute
An estimated ten thousand cattle rustlers attacked an Eastern Equatoria community on 23 April, killing 32 people, stealing 16 000 head of cattle from herders - and abducting over 100 women and children. The abduction of women and children during cattle raids is fairly common along the South Sudan-Ethiopia border.
Cultural practices and state weaknesses drive South Sudan-Ethiopia abductions
Enhancing Africa's response to transnational organised Crime
Somalia is experiencing significant impacts of climate change, including higher air temperatures, increased evaporation and more variable inter annual rainfall, all of which lead to more frequent and severe droughts and floods. These changes have direct consequences for the estimated 72 per cent of the national population that relies on farming and pastoralism.
From conflict to collaboration: Co-funding environmental peacebuilding in South-Central Somalia
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Since 2003, US airstrikes in Somalia have caused significant civilian harm, though most reported incidents of civilian harm have been deemed “unsubstantiated” by US Africa Command (AFRICOM). In the few cases the US military has deemed credible, the Department of Defense (DoD) has not provided a response beyond public acknowledgment that it mistakenly killed civilians.
Extend Your Hand: Civilian Preferences for Amends in Somalia
Center for Civilians In Conflict
The Multi-Partner Somalia Infrastructure Fund (SIF) was established in October 2016 with the key objective of supporting Somalia to develop and rehabilitate key infrastructure, rebuild institutions, and reinforce economic governance. This report provides an update on the Fund’s activities covering the period January to December 2023.
Somalia infrastructure fund 2023 annual progress report
African Development Bank Group
A new major battle broke out in the North Darfur city of El Fasher, which has been surrounded since April by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). El Fasher is the only capital city in Darfur that is still controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The SAF, backed by its allies, managed to conduct multiple offensive maneuvers on RSF strongholds in rural territories in North Darfur. During the clashes, the SAF claimed to have inflicted several casualties on the RSF, including killing the local operation commander.
Fighting deepens around El Fasher in Sudan, al-Shabaab loses territory in Somalia, and police crackdown on tax-related protests in Kenya
Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED)
This research paper charts these dynamics, exploring their drivers and impacts. It focuses on how different actors – including government armed forces, local elites, and militias and rebel groups in border regions – have competed for control of farmlands, sesame production and trade. The paper also proposes solutions that might help to reduce violence and promote stabilization by addressing internal and transnational conflict dynamics affecting Ethiopia and Sudan.
The Conflict economy of sesame in Ethiopia and Sudan
Chatham House
Climate change is a priority area in European and broader Western initiatives for global security, with a significant focus on Africa. This paper argues that advancing the climate security agenda in Africa necessitates an approach oriented towards integrating climate adaptation and finance into a ‘peace continuum’, spanning prevention, peacebuilding, and development.
Towards a peace continuum approach to climate security
Danish Institute for International Studies
On 1 January 2024, a surprise Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was announced between the self-declared breakaway Republic of Somaliland and Ethiopia. The deal allowed landlocked Ethiopia to lease 20 kilometres of Somaliland’s coastal land for naval and commercial purposes.
Somaliland at the centre of rising tensions in the Horn of Africa
Danish Institute for International Studies
Since August 2022, the Somali federal government has engaged in a counter-insurgency campaign against al-Shabaab. Somali troops achieved some successes, including dislodging the militants from hundreds of locations previously under al-Shabaab’s control in Hirshabelle and Galmudug states in central Somalia. Clan militias and local power brokers provided active support to the counter-insurgency, sharing operational information with the government and giving legitimacy to government forces.
Somalia Al-Shabaab Strikes Back at Local Administrators
ACLED
During the summer of 2023, al-Shabaab’s operations along the Kenya-Somalia border have significantly increased, raising concerns over a possible flare-up of cross-border activity. Between June and early August, ACLED records over 90 political violence events involving al-Shabaab militants in the border area, over half of which occurred in the Lower Juba region of Somalia (see map below). Increased al-Shabaab activity in the border area has resulted in a marked surge in attacks targeting security forces and civilians in northeastern Kenya and coastal Lamu county since June 2023, and a parallel surge in al-Shabaab activity recorded in neighboring Jubaland state in Somalia in July.
Kenya-Somalia Border: Rising al-Shabaab Threat in the Wake of ATMIS Drawdown
Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project
This policy brief analyses the extent to which diaspora investment can support economic development and livelihoods, with a particular focus on fragile settings. Using the case study of Somalia, the brief explores some of the main advantages and risks associated with this tool.
Promoting diaspora investment in fragile settings: The case of Somalia
Clingendael
Somalia grapples with unique cultural, societal, and structural hurdles that hinder women’s access to political processes. Despite introducing a non-legally binding quota, the most recent federal elections in 2022 saw a decline in women’s parliamentary representation. Beyond this, women’s leadership in public spaces remains inadequate at all levels. Patriarchal norms, gender stereotypes, and cultural barriers hinder women’s full participation in decision-making, with women predominantly perceived as homemakers, with caregiving responsibilities.
Enabling Womens Representation and Participation in Political Dialogues in Somalia
Rift Valley Institute
The European Union (EU) and its Member States welcome the significant progress achieved in Somalia since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud assumed office in May 2022. The EU commends the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) for its efforts to build a stable and peaceful Somalia to ensure delivery on the security transition in line with the UN Security Council mandates UNSCR 2628 and UNSCR 2670, as well as for its ambitious reform agenda, including commitment to comprehensive reconciliation and macro-economic reforms.
Council Conclusions on Somalia
Council of the European Union
Drought, floods and conflict are recurrent phenomena in the Somali regions, as are local emergency support practices that take place outside the auspices of the international humanitarian system. Kinship and community members share and donate food, money and other kinds of support to people in need, drawing on long-established kinship practices and narratives of a snared nomadic heritage.
Somali Vernacular Humanitarianism: Translocal Emergency Assistance
Danish Institute for International Studies
After her father was assassinated, Ilwad Elman and her family fled war-torn Somalia, becoming refugees in Canada. But at 20 she returned home - and stayed - to build support for survivors in a country where gender-based violence is rampant.
The Fearless Activist Taking on Sexual Violence in Somalia
Narratively
The Ethiopian government faces difficult choices to limit the impact of black market currency exchange and improve its foreign currency reserves.
Over at least the past three years Ethiopia’s foreign currency deficit has led to a thriving black market exchange, fuelling already-problematic illicit financial flows in the country. The black market limits the inflow and facilitates the outflow of legitimate foreign currency to and from Ethiopia.
IFFs and money laundering. Should Ethiopia legalise its informal currency exchange markets?
ENACT Africa
In the early 20th century Djibouti was a French colony, separated from Yemen by the 32-kilometer Bab al-Mandeb Strait. When the colony needed labor for economic development and the construction of a new port in Djibouti city, they called on Yemeni builders, farmers and sailors. Most workers came from the Tihama region on Yemen’s Red Sea Coast, while the majority of Yemeni merchants trading in Djibouti were from Al-Hujariah, a mountainous region of central Yemen in modern-day Taiz governorate. Today, those who stayed and integrated into society are often referred to as the “Arabs of Djibouti.” Others, mostly merchants from Taiz city and nearby Al-Turbah left their families in Yemen and have maintained a lifestyle of circular mobility.
The Evolution of Yemen Migration to Djibouti
Center for Strategic Studies
After her father was assassinated, Ilwad Elman and her family fled war-torn Somalia, becoming refugees in Canada. But at 20 she returned home, and stayed, to build support for survivors in a country where gender-based violence is rampant. Ilwad Elman knew she would be risking her safety and possibly even her life by going back to Somalia, but she was determined to go.
The Fearless Activist Taking on Sexual Violence in Somalia
Canada's National Observer
This study explores Southwest’s attempts to form local district councils through indirect elections mediated by elders – a process that is more democratic than the practice of direct appointments. It investigates phases of slow stabilization and reconciliation through indirect election. The paper also examines organic approaches to political inclusion, the role of technical expertise in conducting indirect election at the district level and illustrates major post-election hurdle and concludes with recommendations.
District council formation through indirect election in southwest state of Somalia: A means to democratization
Heritage Institute
The agreement signed by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian government on 2 November 2022 offers a real chance to end one of the bloodiest wars in the world. The implementation of the agreement is going well so far. However, the peace process has brought into focus the question of a stable distribution of power within Ethiopia and in the Horn of Africa.
Sustaining Peace in Ethiopia
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik
Cutting off al Shabaab’s estimated $100 million in extortion-generated annual revenue will require restoring the integrity of Somalia’s compromised financial, judicial, and intelligence agencies.Despite setbacks, al Shabaab remains a resilient and destabilizing threat in Somalia. In the past year, it was linked to 2,553 violent events and 6,225 fatalities. This represents nearly a doubling in the number of incidents since 2019. Fatalities involving al Shabaab have increased by 120 percent during this period.A key means by which al Shabaab has remained resilient is the estimated $100 million in revenue it generates annually. By comparison, the Federal Government of Somalia accrues approximately $250 million in annual revenue.
Reclaiming Al Shabaabs Revenue
Africa Center For Strategic Studies
On 6 February, six zones and five special woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State (SNNPR) held a referendum on statehood to determine whether the zones – Wolayta, Gamo, Gofa, South Omo, Gedeo and Konso – and special woredas – Derashe, Amaro, Burji, Basketo and Ale – will form a separate autonomous state or remain within the SNNPR. This was the third such referendum on statehood to be held in the region since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018.
Referendum in Ethiopias Southern Region
Rift Valley Institute
According to the Puntland voter registration law (2021), to hold credible and transparent elections, voters must be registered to vote in a process managed by the Transitional Puntland Election Commission (TPEC). The registration process is one of the most challenging phases in the election process, as it often involves numerous technical and administrative tasks that require resources and political will, which can lead to delays in the process. 0n 25th May 2022, TPEC released the schedule for the local elections, which included a list of proposed activities from May 2022 to February 2023.
Initial Phase of Puntlands Voter Registration Process
Rift Valley Institute
Based on interviews with actors closely involved in the discussions, this Weekly Review examines the influence of international law in the negotiations on South Sudan’s permanent constitution-making process relating to public participation. While international law was infrequently referred to in the negotiations, much of what was discussed and agreed resonates with international law.
South Sudans Permanent Constitution-Making Process Negotiations: The Influence of International Law and Public Participation
The SUDD Institute
This report is a product of the Somali Dialogue Platform. The Somali Dialogue Platform is a programme which supports Somalis to achieve consensus on contentious political issues and is implemented by the Rift Valley Institute. The Somali Dialogue Platform is funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Somalias 2021-22 Political Transition: Lessons Learned For Future Democratization
Rift Valley Institute
Over the past decade, significant progress has been made in Somalia’s post-conflict trajectory, including the formation of the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) in 2012 following the endorsement of the Provisional Federal Constitution. Federal Member States (FMSs) were formed from 2013 onwards and a range of significant institutional reforms have followed.
Revitalizing the negotiation of contentious political issues in Somalia
Rift Valley Institute