Introduction
In August 2025, a faction of Somalia’s main opposition alliance signed a new electoral agreement with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, marking a major political shift ahead of the next polls. The breakaway group, which includes former Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, former parliamentary speakers Mohamed Mursal and Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, and veteran diplomat Dahir Mohamud Gelle, reached the deal following negotiations in Mogadishu. The agreement outlines a revised electoral framework aimed at advancing Somalia toward a one-person, one-vote system, in which federal lawmakers will be directly elected by citizens and will, in turn, choose the president. The framework maintains that the president will appoint the prime minister with parliamentary approval, while the House of the People retains the power to withdraw confidence.
Somalia’s main opposition coalition, the Somali Salvation Forum, has formed a new political alliance with the presidents of Puntland and Jubaland in a coordinated effort to challenge President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as his term nears its end. The agreement, reached during a meeting in Nairobi, brought together Jubaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islam Madobe, Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni, and leading opposition figures, including former Prime Ministers Abdi Farah Shirdon and Hassan Ali Khaire, as well as MP Abdirahman Abdishakur. In a joint communiqué, the leaders announced the creation of the Council for the Future of Somalia, a coalition aimed at countering what they described as President Mohamud’s unilateral political agenda. The alliance was formed amid growing resistance to the president’s push for a nationwide one-person, one-vote election, which critics argue is unrealistic under current security and political conditions and could be used to justify an extension of his term.
Gunfire erupted in Mogadishu on 10th September 2025 as opposition leaders and their armed escorts clashed with Somali police outside the Warta Nabadda district station. The incident followed public outrage over viral footage showing officers assaulting two elderly civilians during forced evictions in nearby neighbourhoods. The confrontation left one person dead and several others injured, though casualty figures remain disputed. Opposition leaders, including former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, accused the government of using excessive force during forced evictions and said they intervened to protect displaced residents. Government officials, however, claimed the opposition tried to storm a police station and portrayed the confrontation as a security threat.
In October 2025, Somalia’s federal parliament ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, marking a key milestone in strengthening legal protections for children across the Horn of Africa. However, the ratification comes with significant reservations rooted in religious and constitutional considerations. In a statement following the vote, the Ministry of Family and Human Rights Development reaffirmed Somalia’s commitment to advancing child rights. Still, it underscored that the national constitution and Islamic law remain the supreme sources of authority in interpreting and applying the charter. The ministry stated that provisions conflicting with Islamic teachings would not be implemented, citing articles on freedom of religion, minimum marriage age, adoption, and definitions of adulthood as inconsistent with Somali religious and cultural norms.
The UN Human Rights Council, at the conclusion of its 60th session, adopted a resolution terminating the mandate of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia and mandating the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to assume responsibility for technical assistance and reporting. Established in 1993, the Independent Expert mechanism has been instrumental in monitoring and documenting human rights developments in Somalia. Its discontinuation marks a significant shift in the Council’s engagement approach, moving from independent oversight to a technical cooperation framework. Given the persistence of serious human rights violations and institutional fragility, sustained international scrutiny remains imperative. It is therefore essential that credible, evidence-based assessments inform OHCHR’s technical assistance and that reporting remain comprehensive and transparent. The meaningful participation of national actors, including HRDs and the National Independent Human Rights Commission, should be prioritised to ensure local ownership and accountability.
Peaceful Assembly
On 8th September 2025, evicted families, mostly women and children, held a peaceful protest near the Mogadishu residence of Galmudug State President Ahmed Abdi Kaariye Qoor Qoor. The demonstrators were residents displaced from the former fire brigade camp in Wadajir district who accused the president of failing to fulfil his promise to provide them with alternative land following government-led demolitions.
Expression
Between January and April 2025, the Somalia Journalists Syndicate (SJS) recorded a sharp rise in media repression. Authorities arrested 46 journalists, kidnapped two, and shut or raided several outlets, including Universal TV and Radio Risaala. More than 30 reporters lost equipment, while others faced beatings and intimidation. Government ministries actively targeted critical reporting, pushing many journalists into self-censorship or exile. Online spaces also narrowed, with Meta restricting pages critical of the government. Female journalists faced particular risks, with six cases of targeted attacks and harassment.
On 5th May 2025, the National Intelligence & Security Agency (NISA) raided the home and media studio of journalists Bashir Ali Shire and Mohamed Omar Baakaay in Mogadishu. They blindfolded and arrested Bashir, confiscated equipment, and detained Baakaay’s brother, Anas Omar Mohamud. Witnesses report the agents beat Anas while demanding Mohamed’s whereabouts before taking both men to the police station. They were later released, but Baakaay’s passport, ID, and phone remain seized. He has since stated he cannot return home due to fear of further attacks. The raid came a day after Kaaraan District Commissioner Farah Adani incited violence against Baakaay, urging supporters to assault him and break into his home. Adani publicly branded the journalist a drug addict and worse than terrorists.
Between 22nd and 24th May 2025, Somali security forces intensified their crackdown on journalists. On 22nd May, police arrested RNN TV reporters Abdullahi Yusuf Hassan and Mohamed Hassan Geedi, and Himilo Somali TV cameraman Yahye Mohamud Hersi, while covering a protest by women meat sellers at Zoobe Junction. They were handed to NISA officers who detained them, deleted their footage, and warned them against publishing any material on the demolitions.
The next day, in South Galkayo, online reporter Ali Maalin Nuur was arrested after posting a video exposing alleged extortion by Galmudug security forces at a roadblock. He was held overnight without being recorded in the occurrence book, threatened, and forced to delete his report before release.
On 24th May, NISA agents detained 11 journalists from Shabelle TV, SYL TV, Somali Cable TV, Goobjoog Media and Five Somali TV while they were collecting public opinion on opposition criticism of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Their equipment was seized and footage deleted. Dalbile TV reporters Anisa Ahmed Mohamed and Masud Abdirahman Yusuf were also chased and harassed by plain-clothes NISA officers along Maka Al-Mukarama Street, where journalists said independent reporting had been effectively banned. Local media described a heavy presence of armed NISA agents in central Mogadishu and reported the arrest of a tuk-tuk driver and activist, Sayid Ali, for speaking out against repression.
On 30th May, police raided Radio Wanlaweyn FM and arrested its director, Ismail Khalif Ahmed, after the station reported that local officials were coercing residents to make payments for a hospital construction project. Ismail was detained overnight, interrogated, and threatened with continued imprisonment unless the report was deleted and a public apology issued. Under pressure, the station removed the story.
On 28th May, security officers in Mogadishu’s Kaxda district detained RTN TV journalists Nuh Farah Mahad and Mohamed Abdukadir, along with Five Somali TV reporter Mohamed Abdi Hassan, as they covered a protest by elders excluded from the voter registration exercise. The journalists were threatened and released only after local elders intervened.
On 26th May, several reporters were attacked in Kaxda while documenting allegations that NISA agents had abducted casual labourers and forced them to register as voters. Similar reports emerged from Bakara Market, where journalists were threatened and had their equipment seized while covering incidents of alleged forced registration. These incidents demonstrate a growing pattern of unlawful arrests, censorship, and intimidation by security forces, aimed at silencing scrutiny of electoral malpractice and corruption.
In early August 2025, armed officers in Mogadishu raided the premises of SMS Somali TV. They arrested three journalists, Osman Abdullahi Mohamed, Hussein Isse Mohamed, and Mahad Mohamed Abdirahman, after they returned from covering reports of forced evictions in the city. The journalists had been documenting the removal of families from public land allegedly sold to wealthy businessmen. CCTV footage from the station captured the officers physically assaulting and forcibly detaining the journalists. Mahad Mohamed Abdirahman was released later that evening, while Osman Abdullahi Mohamed and Hussein Isse Mohamed were held until the following afternoon and released without charge. The journalists claimed that security officers confiscated and deleted all footage from their assignment.
On 9th September 2025, the Puntland Attorney General’s Office summoned journalists Suways Jama Mohamud and Hassan Abdi Ali for questioning following complaints filed by the Ministry of Information. Both journalists have faced growing pressure for their independent reporting critical of Puntland authorities. Suways, a reporter for Puntland State TV and founder of Suways Media, had earlier published an interview with a local commander from the SSC-Khaatumo group, after which she allegedly received threats of arrest and was unlawfully suspended from her position. Although the suspension was later overturned by the Ministry of Labour and Puntland State TV’s human resources office, Suways was summoned again in September and questioned about social media posts and vox pop interviews in which citizens criticised senior government officials, including the president and vice president. Similarly, Hassan Heykal, director of Milgo Media, was interrogated about five reports, among them interviews with critics of government conduct and commentary highlighting alleged abuses by security personnel linked to the vice president. Both journalists were accused of “criticising government officials and incitement” without being formally charged.