Friday 20 Feb 2026 {HMC} Türkiye has once again stressed its commitment to mutual cooperation with Somalia, dismissing speculations that Ankara’s energy deals with Mogadishu are aimed at reaping one-sided benefits.

“Claims circulating on certain social media accounts that attempt to portray Türkiye as a country seeking unilateral gains in the energy sector in Somalia—particularly concerning oil exploration—constitute clear disinformation and represent a deliberate distortion aimed at undermining the mutually beneficial cooperation between Türkiye and Somalia,” the Directorate of Communications in the Turkish Presidency said in a statement on Thursday.

This comes as Turkish deep-sea drilling ship Çağri Bey travels to Somalia for the Horn of Africa country’s first-ever oil production, which the two countries have described as a milestone in their relations.

Somalia’s Minister of Petroleum Dahir Shire had said, in an interview with TRT Afrika, that the oil drilling was a ‘‘long-awaited and historic moment for the Somali people.’’

‘Brotherly nations’

The oil drilling, expected to start off Somalia’s coast in April, followed an exploration by a Turkish vessel, Oruç Reis, last year after the two countries signed deals in the oil and gas sector as part of their growing ties across various sectors.

“The agreement established between the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) and the Somali Petroleum Authority clearly states that natural resources are the rightful property of the people of Somalia,” the statement added.

“Türkiye and Somalia maintain their relations through a foundation of mutual cooperation, reflecting the bond between two sovereign, friendly, and brotherly nations,” Ankara said.

“As this solidarity continues to strengthen across various fields, it is crucial to avoid giving credence to disinformation campaigns and black propaganda designed to undermine this partnership,” it added.

Friday 20 Feb 2026 {HMC} The UN World Food Programme said on Friday its life-saving food and nutrition assistance in Somalia could grind to a halt by April unless new funding is secured, putting millions of people at risk of worsening hunger.

An estimated 4.4 million people face crisis-level food insecurity, with nearly one million of them experiencing severe hunger, due to the impact of failed rainy seasons, conflict and declining humanitarian funding, the WFP said.

“The situation is deteriorating at an alarming rate,” Ross Smith, WFP director of emergency preparedness and response, said in a statement.

“Families have lost everything, and many are already being pushed to the brink. Without immediate emergency food support, conditions will worsen quickly,” Smith said.

Poor rains

Somalia declared a national drought emergency in November after recurrent seasons of poor rainfall, and other countries in the region have also been hit.

The WFP, the largest humanitarian agency in Somalia, said it has already scaled back assistance from 2.2 million people earlier this year to just over 600,000 due to funding shortages. Nutrition programmes for pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children have also been sharply reduced.

The agency said it faces a critical moment similar to a crisis in 2022, when famine was narrowly averted following large-scale international support. It is seeking $95 million to sustain operations between March and August.

“If our already reduced assistance ends, the humanitarian, security, and economic consequences will be devastating, with the effects felt far beyond Somalia’s borders,” Smith said.

SOURCE:Reuters

Friday 20 Feb 2026 {HMC} At least three aid workers have been killed and four others wounded in a drone attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on an aid convoy in Sudan’s South Kordofan state, according to the Sudan Doctors Network, in the latest carnage against civilians caught up in the nation’s brutal civil war.

The convoy of trucks carrying food and humanitarian supplies was targeted by the RSF, and its ally, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North, while travelling through the Kartala area on its way to the cities of Kadugli and Dilling on Thursday.

“The network strongly condemned the deliberate targeting of humanitarian convoys, describing it as a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and of all norms prohibiting attacks on humanitarian workers,” wrote the Sudan Doctors Network in a social media post.

The network said that this attack marked the “second such incident in less than a month, following the shelling of a United Nations aid convoy in the town of Al-Rahad,” adding: “this dangerous escalation threatens the safety of humanitarian operations and further exacerbates civilian suffering”.

The Sudan Doctors Network reiterated its call to the “international community, the United Nations, and human rights organisations to exert urgent and effective pressure on the leadership of the Rapid Support Forces to ensure the protection of aid convoys and their workers, to open safe and sustainable humanitarian corridors, and to hold those responsible for targeting aid accountable”.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify the latest RSF attack, which came a month after the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) announced that it had broken a nearly two-year-long RSF siege on Dilling.

Dilling lies halfway between Kadugli – the besieged state capital – and el-Obeid, the capital of neighbouring North Kordofan province, which the RSF has sought to encircle.

The RSF and the SAF have been waging a brutal civil war for control of Sudan since April 2023, which has killed thousands of people and displaced millions.

After being forced out of the capital, Khartoum, in March, the RSF has focused on the Kordofan region and el-Fasher city in North Darfur state, which was the military’s last stronghold in the sprawling Darfur region until the RSF seized it in October.

Reports of the paramilitary carrying out mass killings, rape, abductions and looting emerged after el-Fasher’s takeover, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) launched a formal investigation into “war crimes” by both sides.

On Wednesday, the UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan determined that the RSF carried out “a coordinated campaign of destruction” against non-Arab communities in and around el-Fasher during its 18-month siege of the city, the hallmarks of which amount to genocide.

The fact-finding mission, which was mandated by members of the UN Human Rights Council, said that the RSF had committed at least three out of the five criteria of what constitutes a genocide.

According to the report, they included killing members of protected ethnic groups (in this case, the Zaghawa and Fur communities), causing serious bodily and mental harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction in whole or in part.

Following the report’s release, the United States announced sanctions on RSF Brigadier-General Elfateh Abdullah Idris Adam, Major-General Gedo Hamdan Ahmed Mohamed and field commander Tijani Ibrahim Moussa Mohamed for their roles in the “horrific campaign” of the siege and capture of el-Fasher.

Source Aljazeera

Friday 20 Feb 2026 {HMC} The first phase of talks between Somalia’s Future Council and the federal government wrapped up Thursday in Mogadishu, with a focus on the country’s upcoming elections.

The meeting, held at Villa Somalia, aimed to find common ground on key electoral issues and reduce political uncertainty.

Officials said both sides agreed on the importance of reaching a comprehensive deal on the type of elections to be held. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud confirmed that the government plans to conduct local council elections in three federal member states.

Despite the conclusion of this initial round, political discussions continue. A separate meeting was held at a hotel near the airport for Future Council leaders to finalize their stance ahead of discussions with the government.

The parties are set to reconvene on Friday to continue negotiations and address remaining issues.