Fahad Yasin Haji Dahir

Palace Intrigues
Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, Emmanuel Macron, Alassane Ouattara, Farmajo

Intrigues big and small – every Thursday, Africa Intelligence takes a peek into the corridors of power in Africa and beyond.

GabonGeneral Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema changes plane plans

Ivory Coast Tidjane Thiam on the menu at Alassane Ouattara's dinner with Emmanuel Macron

SomaliaBehind the scenes of Farmajo's rift with his ex-spymaster

Somalia
New Somalian ambassador to Qatar to be announced in September

A decision over the future ambassador to Doha is currently being made in Mogadishu. Somalia has long held strategic importance for Qatar.

Somalia
Somalia's partners to meet in Doha next week

The group of security partners of Somalia, which includes the United States, the United Kingdom, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar and whose goal is to assist the government of Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, is to meet again next week in Do

Somalia
Farmajo's ex-spy chief Fahad Yasin plots his comeback from Ankara

Less than six months after Farmajo's presidential election defeat, his intelligence chief is angling to return to the Villa Somalia alongside his former boss as soon as he can.

Djibouti, Somalia
Former Mogadishu spymaster points finger at ex-Djibouti police chief

Fahad Yasin Haji Dahir, the head of the Somali intelligence services until 2021, has accused Djibouti, and in particular its former police chief, of plotting his disappearance.

Kenya, Somalia
How Doha failed to reconcile Nairobi and Mogadishu

Despite their combined efforts, Qatar's ambassadors in Kenya and Somalia have failed to lower tensions between the neighbouring countries, locked in a row over offshore oil reserves that straddle their respective borders.

Somalia
Qatar quietly prepares for life after Farmajo

The emirate is distancing itself from the outgoing Somali president and spy chief Fahad Yasin could be the first to pay the price. As a sign of his loss of influence, Yasin is being sued for a raid on a local radio station late last month.

Kenya, Somalia
Kenyatta tries to sidestep arbitration and resolve border dispute with Mogadishu via Doha

For fear of losing, Kenya has decided to boycott the arbitration hearings at the International Court of Justice on its martime border dispute with Somalia and is hoping to find a solution instead with the help of Doha.

East Africa
Kenyans, Somalis fall hostage to UAE-Qatar cold war

The United Arab Emirates' borders have been closed since mid-November to nationals of thirteen African and Arab countries, including Kenya and Somalia. The official reason was security concerns, but, behind the scenes, the closure has clear political overtones.

Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia
Why Abiy and Issayas back Farmajo's re-election bid

Addis Ababa and Asmara see Somalia's president as an ally in their fight against regionalism in the Horn.

Eritrea, Somalia
Asmara to train Somalian recruits

According to information obtained exclusively by the Indian Ocean Newsletter, on 20 and 21 August the Eritrean government laid on [...]