The Council called on the Federal government to accelerate to response to the drought and called on the aid agencies to double their support for drought relief as 8 million are on the brink of famine.

But unlike the case in Gothic Serpent — an operation that included the infamous Battle of Mogadishu, also known as Black Hawk Down — no U.S. forces were killed in the events of 2019.

As the country heavily relies on foreign aid, the majority of the new budget estimated (70%) will be provided by international donors, including the World Bank which provides the government financial backing.

The verification duty comprises analyzing the country’s readiness to join the Community, which currently has seven partner states.

In October, Somalia signed a petroleum exploration agreement for seven offshore blocks with United States-based Coastline Exploration.

The capital has been put on lockdown ahead of the arrival of the president of the nighbouring country on Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, al-Shabab has imposed restrictions on workers and vehicles of Somalia’s largest telecommunications company, military officials said on Tuesday.

The visiting delegations are set to hold talks with his Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud, along with other top government officials at Villa Somalia. The aim of their visit remains unclear.

The National Consultative Council meeting which kicked off on Monday seems the leaders will need more time to fix the contentious issues related to the regional issues, mainly term extensions.

Al-Shabaab is facing the biggest defeat since is began the insurgency in Somalia in 2008.

The US has provided ongoing support to the Somali government since President Joe Biden approved in May a Pentagon request to redeploy US troops to the area in an attempt to counter the terrorist group.  

Coast regional commissioner John Elungata said assailants attacked the village at night but were repulsed by Kenya Police Reservists after a heavy gunfight.