Protection Cluster

MOGADISHU — Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Somalia’s parliament Friday to reject a constitutional amendment that aims to lower the age of majority, claiming it would “weaken rights protections for children”. The proposed changes, which will be debated on Saturday, make a distinction between the age of maturity at 15 …

MOGADISHU — The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Thursday that Somalia is hosting 38,642 registered refugees and asylum-seekers as of February. About 67 percent of them are women and children, 30 percent are school-age children (6-17 years), and 26 percent are women and girls of reproductive …

MOGADISHU — The Minister of Defense of the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), Abdikadir Mohamed Nur, met today with the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Catriona Laing, and the UNICEF Representative, Wafaa Said. Abdukadir Mohamed Nur emphasized the importance of the Somali government’s efforts in combating child recruitment, …

AFGOYE — Detailed information has emerged regarding an airstrike that occurred yesterday in areas located near the Afgoye district of Lower Shabelle region, resulting in significant casualties. The target of this attack was members of Al-Shabaab who infiltrated these areas, causing extensive damage to the local population. Some of the …

MOGADISHU —  The Al-Shabaab terrorist group stormed a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu late Thursday following several bomb explosions and gunfire. Clashes erupted following the attack on the popular SYL hotel, which is located close to the presidential palace. Many people were injured, including Government Spokesperson Farhan Jimale, journalists …

MOGADISHU — Ahead of International Women’s Day, the UK’s top diplomat, Sir Philip Barton, joined British Ambassador to Somalia Mike Nithavrianakis and Somali Minister for Women, Human Rights and Development, Amina Hassan Ali, to launch the UK’s flagship Gaashaan project, which will support survivors of gender-based violence across Somalia. The …

MOGADISHU — A roadside bomb explosion occurred today in the district of Heliwa in the Banadir region. The explosion targeted a military police vehicle. According to reports, the explosion took place in the Shaaciye neighborhood of Heliwa district, with witnesses stating that a government military vehicle was passing by at …

MOGADISHU — Save the Children, an international charity, has called for increased protection of women and girls in Somalia amid a surge in sexual abuse and rape against teenage girls in recent months. The charity said a 13-year-old girl was raped by a group of armed men outside her home …

MOGADISHU — Police in Mogadishu have identified the people responsible for the abduction and killing of a young man in Mogadishu’s Heliwa district. The spokesperson of the Somali Police Force, Major Sadiq Aden Ali Doodishe, told reporters on Thursday that the perpetrators who killed Abukar Ahmed Kaabah are known and …

MOGADISHU/HAVANA — Cuba and Somalia are cooperating to clarify the current situation of Cuban Drs. Assel Herrera and Landy Rodriguez, who were abducted in 2019 on the border between that African country and Kenya. According to a post on X, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez held a telephone conversation with …