Crisis Chronology

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SOMALIA

01/01/2024

Ethiopia agrees to recognize Somaliland in exchange for a lease on 20 km of coastline. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somali objects. The proposed deal has been backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which remains a strong supporter of Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy.

11/20/2023

Somalia flooding kills 50, displaces 700,000.

11/07/2023

Torrential rains displace more than 300,000.

03/21/2023

World Health Organization estimates that 43,000 died in Somalia in 2022 due to the longest drought on record in the country.

02/21/2023

Fighting resumes in Somaliland between Somaliland military and local militias, causing thousands to flee. It was caused by leaders of the Dhulbahante clan reportedly declaring that they no longer considered themselves part of Somaliland and that Sool, Sanaag and Cayn regions would now be governed by Somalia.

01/06/2023

Somaliland troops withdraw from town claimed by Somali state of Puntland.

12/22/2022

Government says it has recaptured town from Al Shabab.

12/13/2022

Famine as defined by international organization responsible for such designations is averted at least until spring 2023, though many are dying. The organization, the International Food Security Phase Classification, reserves that definition for the most extreme situations of mass starvation.

08/11/2022

Protests demanding a November presidential election result in five deaths and numerous injuries.

05/16/2022

US to send troops again to Somalia to target al-Shabab leaders.

05/15/2022

President elected

Parliament elects former president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to be president.

05/05/2022

Parliament sets 5/15 as the date on which it will hold the presidential election.

04/28/2022

Parliament elects a new speaker, a key step in establishing a new government. Parliamentarians had been barred from entering their chamber by police loyal to President Farmajo, but Prime Minister Roble asked AU peacekeepers to allow them to enter.

04/18/2022

Drought worsens in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia as rainy season remains dry.

03/22/2022

Al-Shabab attacks military base near Mogadishu.

03/14/2022

Muse Bihi Abdi, Somaliland leader, asks for international recognition of the region’s independence.

02/08/2022

Severe drought in Horn of Africa threatens famine for millions in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. Three seasons of dry rainy seasons have decimated harvests and forced migration.

01/09/2022

Leaders agree to hold parliamentary elections by 2/25 after discussions between Roble and state leaders.

12/27/2021

President Farmajo (Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed) suspends Prime Minister Mohammed Hussein Roble, accusing him of stealing land owned by the army and interfering with an investigation into it. The marine forces commander was also suspended pending the investigation. Roble says the move is unconstitutional and a coup. The president’s mandate expired in 2/21.

12/27/2021

Roble, refusing to leave his office, orders the military to be under his command. Military loyal to Roble take up positions in the capitol, while military loyal to Farmajo take positions near the presidential palace. Somalia is largely controlled by clan allegiance, and this holds true for the military as well, causing concern that it could be split by these clan loyalties.

10/12/2021

UN court largely sides with Somalia in maritime border dispute, saying there was no clear established border and draws one close to that suggested by Somalia. Kenya rejects the decision.

10/08/2021

Kenya rejects the jurisdiction on the UN International Court of Justice ahead of its ruling on the Kenya-Somalia maritime border.

10/05/2021

Elections due to be held this month are rescheduled after Roble and Farmajo agree on who will head the intelligence agency. Farmajo’s appointee will take up the post as acting head and Roble’s appointee will be a state minister. That will allow elections to take place. Under the indirect electoral process, regional councils are meant to choose a senate, which could be completed this week.

09/08/2021

Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble accuses President Farmajo of "obstructing" a high-profile investigation into the fate of an intelligence agent.

09/06/2021

Farmajo asks spy chief Fahad Yasin to continue in his role in a rebuke of Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble’s earlier decision to suspend him. The disagreement came in the wake of the government’s alleged failure to investigate the death of Ikran Tahlil, an agent whose demise gripped the nation after the intelligence agency said she was killed by al Shabab, though they deny any involvement in Tahlil’s death.

07/25/2021

Elections due to start today are postponed due to threat of violence by Al Shabab.

06/30/2021

Government announces presidential and parliamentary elections will be held 10/10/21. The upper house of parliament will be elected on 7/25 and the lower house between 8/10 and 9/10. Then parliament will convene on 10/10 and elect a president. Special delegates, chosen by the country's clan elders, pick lower house MPs while senators are nominated by state presidents and then endorsed by local legislatures.

05/30/2021

Voting for parliament and local offices in Somaliland.

04/28/2021

Farmajo announces that he will not attempt to extend his term for two more years, and praised statements from legislators advocating early elections. He says he will appear before parliament on 5/1 to gain their support for the electoral process that was agreed earlier and calls for meetings to implement that process.

04/25/2021

Fighting breaks out in Mogadishu between security forces that support Farmajo and others that support his opponents.

04/12/2021

Lower house of parliament extends President Farmajo’s mandate by two years. The upper house must also approve.

04/07/2021

Fighting in Darfur continues.

04/07/2021

Talks on new election procedures collapse.

04/05/2021

Fighting between Masalits and Arabs in West Darfur.

03/15/2021

Kenya boycotts International Court of Justice hearing about its maritime dispute with Somalia. The court will hear Somalia’s argument.

02/08/2021

Somalia's presidential election is due on Monday but it is unlikely to go ahead, according to provincial officials despite talks between President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and opposition candidates. The process to pick lawmakers was scheduled for December but has yet to start after the opposition accused the federal government of placing presidential allies in the electoral commission.

02/07/2021

Opposition unites and announces that they no longer recognize Farmajo as head of state.

02/03/2021

President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohammed calls meeting of state officials to discuss the presidential mandate. The legislature elects the president, but the government has failed to hold a vote for the legislature, so no new president can be elected. The current mandate expires 2/8.

01/26/2021

Heavy fighting on Kenya-Somalia border. Somalia accuses Kenya of training rebels and fomenting attacks in Jubaland. Kenya denies this. Somalia cut diplomatic relations with Kenya in 12/20 over the dispute over this territory.

12/15/2020

Somalia severs diplomatic ties to Kenya due to that dountry’s alleged interference in Somalia’s internal affairs.

12/15/2020

Protest against Pres Farmaajo because he delayed elections set for this month, officially due to disagreements over the composition of the electoral board.

12/05/2020

US orders withdrawal of its 700-800 troops. No explanation is given.

09/24/2020

Roble is confirmed by parliament.

09/19/2020

Pres Mohamed appoints Mohamed Hussein Roble, a civil engineer without political or governmental experience, to be prime minister. The appointment is accompanied by an agreement with regional leaders to suspend the “one person, one vote” election model advocated by the UN.

07/25/2020

Khaire loses vote of no-confidence, 170-8, for failing to provide security for elections. Pres Mohamed says he will appoint a new prime minister.

07/22/2020

Leaders of the central government and the federal states agree to hold timely elections as the tenure of the president and the parliament run out, later this year.

05/18/2020

Al-Shabab claims responsibility for the killing of a regional governor.

04/29/2020

Somalia confirms 480 cases of COVID-19 virus, but observers believe the real number is much higher because of the lack of widespread testing.

03/16/2020

Somalia confirms its first case of COVID-19.

03/04/2020

Kenya accuses Somali military of attacking Kenyan town on the border. Somali forces were pursuing forces loyal to Ahmed Madobe, president of Jubaland, one of the semi-autonomous regions of Somalia. Madobe has been resisting central government and is considered a key ally of Kenya. Somalia accuses Kenya of harboring a fugitive Somali minister. Kenya and Somalia dispute a large maritime regime in the Indian Ocean. Kenya accuses Somalia of not going enough to fight al-Shabab and has discussed annexing parts of Somalia.

02/19/2020

Al Shabab force attacks and briefly holds military base south of Mogadishu.

02/13/2020

Pres Farmajo of Somalia and Muse Bihi of Somaliland meet, a diplomatic breakthrough.

02/02/2020

Government declares national emergency over locust plague.

09/25/2019

In talks mediated by Egypt, Kenya and Somalia agree to normalize relations and work out disagreements about territory. In 2/19, Somalia accused Kenya of auctioning offshore oil fields in a disputed maritime area. The dispute is currently with the International Court of Justice. It is the second time the two countries have attempted to work out their problems.

07/12/2019

Al Shabab attacks a hotel in Kismayo, killing 26.

06/11/2019

Kenya closes border with Somalia and imposes a trading ban. The move is likely due to Kenya’s dispute with Somalia over ocean rights, now at the International Court of Justice.

03/11/2019

US bombing in Somalia has increased substantially in Trump administration.

01/08/2019

Parliament of the semi-autonomous Puntland region of Somalia elects Said Abdullahi Deni. Asad Osman Abdullahi was second. Incumbent Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas lost in the first round of voting. Deni campaigned on reform and a strong response about Al Shabab.

01/02/2019

Government orders UN official to leave the country after he questions the actions of Somali forces in the arrest of an Al Shabab leader.

12/13/2018

Continuing discussions initiated by the Saudis about a regional alliance of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

12/11/2018

Fourteen of the 92 legislators who signed the impeachment motion take their names off the list, and the motion fails.

12/10/2018

Two legislators file impeachment motion against Farmajo, but it is rejected by the deputy speakers of parliament on the grounds that there is no high court to hear the case. They alleged that Farmajo secretly signed agreements with Ethiopia and Eritrea and that he extradited criminals. Constitutionally, 92 of the 272 legislators must sign an impeachment motion, and two-thirds of the legislature must vote to convict.

11/01/2018

Former Al Shabab leader Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansur is cleared to run for political office.

08/01/2018

After Somali Pres Mohamed calls for lifting UN sanctions on Eritrea, Djibouti protests, saying the Eritrea is illegally occupying Djibouti territory and holding Djibouti prisoners.

07/30/2018

Eritrea and Somalia agree to restore diplomatic relations broken after Somalia accused Eritrea of supporting Somali Islamic militants.

01/04/2018

PM Khaire replaces three cabinet ministers: foreign affairs, interior, and commerce. There has been criticism of the government’s failure to stem attacks by Al Shabab.

11/21/2017

US increasing air attacks on Al Shabab in Somalia.

11/21/2017

Bihi elected president of Somaliland

Ruling KULMIYE is declared winner of Somaliland election, and Muse Bihi is elected president with 55% of the vote to Abdirahman Irro’s 40%.

11/13/2017

Elections in breakaway Somalia region Somaliland, with current president Ahmed “Silanyo” Mohamed Mohamoud, accused of corruption and nepotism, stepping down. Main candidates are Muse Bihi of ruling Kulmiye Party, and Abdirahman “Iro” Mohamed Abdullahi of the Waddani party, highly critical of previous government, and Faysal Ai Warabe of the Justice and Peace Party, who is anti-clan and advocates a welfare state.

11/07/2017

African Union reducing force in Somalia to make Somali forces responsible for security. Al Shabab attacks increasing and Somalia has appealed to other countries for support.

11/02/2017

Ethiopian troops enter Somalia to fight al-Shabab.