Faisal
@faisalahali.bsky.social
Freelance journalist reporting on Somalia and East Africa.
🔗 https://www.aljazeera.com/author/faisal-ali
🔗 https://www.aljazeera.com/author/faisal-ali
The colleagues at @africasacountry.bsky.social have republished my article on the rise of the military class now steering politics in several African countries — with Madagascar the latest example — and what is driving this problem.
africasacountry.com/2025/11/the-...
africasacountry.com/2025/11/the-...
The coup kids are in charge now
Across the continent’s new coup belt, young officers are stepping into power, casting themselves as guardians against corrupt civilian elites.
africasacountry.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:13 AM
The colleagues at @africasacountry.bsky.social have republished my article on the rise of the military class now steering politics in several African countries — with Madagascar the latest example — and what is driving this problem.
africasacountry.com/2025/11/the-...
africasacountry.com/2025/11/the-...
I joined Alex Thurston and @natkpowell.bsky.social for a conversation about how the end of the Cold War played out across the Sahel and Horn of Africa regions.
We also looked at the characters from that era and the legacies of their rule today. Check it out 👇
We also looked at the characters from that era and the legacies of their rule today. Check it out 👇
@faisalahali.bsky.social, Alex Thurston, and I have done a podcast episode on the end of the Cold War in West and East Africa. The discussion is wide-ranging, covering a variety of experiences of the late 1980s/early 1990s, and their legacies. Have a listen! alexthurston.substack.com/cp/179131463
Podcast Episode: The End of the Cold War from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa
I talk with Faisal Ali and Nathaniel Powell about a pivotal period in African history.
alexthurston.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 10:15 PM
I joined Alex Thurston and @natkpowell.bsky.social for a conversation about how the end of the Cold War played out across the Sahel and Horn of Africa regions.
We also looked at the characters from that era and the legacies of their rule today. Check it out 👇
We also looked at the characters from that era and the legacies of their rule today. Check it out 👇
Reposted by Faisal
@faisalahali.bsky.social, Alex Thurston, and I have done a podcast episode on the end of the Cold War in West and East Africa. The discussion is wide-ranging, covering a variety of experiences of the late 1980s/early 1990s, and their legacies. Have a listen! alexthurston.substack.com/cp/179131463
Podcast Episode: The End of the Cold War from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa
I talk with Faisal Ali and Nathaniel Powell about a pivotal period in African history.
alexthurston.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:03 PM
@faisalahali.bsky.social, Alex Thurston, and I have done a podcast episode on the end of the Cold War in West and East Africa. The discussion is wide-ranging, covering a variety of experiences of the late 1980s/early 1990s, and their legacies. Have a listen! alexthurston.substack.com/cp/179131463
Reposted by Faisal
honestly DRC deserved to advance and hopefully they make the World Cup. but horrendous display from us. maybe we'll finally get reform at the NFF
November 16, 2025 at 10:01 PM
honestly DRC deserved to advance and hopefully they make the World Cup. but horrendous display from us. maybe we'll finally get reform at the NFF
Somalia’s immigration agency confirms a data breach and is investigating its scale/cause.
Former 🇸🇴 telecoms minister Mohamed Ibrahim tells me authorities should’ve been more upfront instead of delaying.
🔗 aljazeera.com/news/2025/11...
Former 🇸🇴 telecoms minister Mohamed Ibrahim tells me authorities should’ve been more upfront instead of delaying.
🔗 aljazeera.com/news/2025/11...
Somalia confirms major data breach in electronic visa system
Officials launch probe days after breach emerged amid widespread concern and speculation over leaked data.
aljazeera.com
November 16, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Somalia’s immigration agency confirms a data breach and is investigating its scale/cause.
Former 🇸🇴 telecoms minister Mohamed Ibrahim tells me authorities should’ve been more upfront instead of delaying.
🔗 aljazeera.com/news/2025/11...
Former 🇸🇴 telecoms minister Mohamed Ibrahim tells me authorities should’ve been more upfront instead of delaying.
🔗 aljazeera.com/news/2025/11...
Reposted by Faisal
"But a covert proxy war between Ethiopia, Eritrea and their allies has, in effect, already begun. It needs worryingly little to explode into the open."
www.economist.com/middle-east-...
www.economist.com/middle-east-...
Ethiopia is perilously close to another war
Conflict in Tigray could balloon into a regional conflagration
www.economist.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:45 PM
"But a covert proxy war between Ethiopia, Eritrea and their allies has, in effect, already begun. It needs worryingly little to explode into the open."
www.economist.com/middle-east-...
www.economist.com/middle-east-...
Reposted by Faisal
Samir Zitouni, 48, was left with critical injuries after he confronted the perpetrator, who wounded 10 people on the Doncaster to London King's Cross service on Saturday.
www.newarab.com/news/algeria...
www.newarab.com/news/algeria...
Algerian worker praised for ’heroism’ during UK train attack
A rail worker who saved multiple lives during last week’s mass stabbing attack on a UK train has been named as Algerian Samir Zitouni.
www.newarab.com
November 5, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Samir Zitouni, 48, was left with critical injuries after he confronted the perpetrator, who wounded 10 people on the Doncaster to London King's Cross service on Saturday.
www.newarab.com/news/algeria...
www.newarab.com/news/algeria...
I spoke with three survivors of the RSF assault on el-Fasher. They described the city’s fall in harrowing detail and a desperate journey, carrying children and themselves wounded for days to reach safety in Tawila.
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11...
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11...
New light shed on el-Fasher horror as survivors arrive in Sudan’s Tawila
Testimonies describe bodies in streets, families torn apart and days without food as paramilitary seizes Sudan city.
www.aljazeera.com
November 3, 2025 at 5:35 PM
I spoke with three survivors of the RSF assault on el-Fasher. They described the city’s fall in harrowing detail and a desperate journey, carrying children and themselves wounded for days to reach safety in Tawila.
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11...
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11...
Reposted by Faisal
An ad in today’s LA Times paid for by San Francisco-based pro-Israel organization “Facts and Logic About the Middle East” calls accusations of Israel committing genocide in Gaza “blood libel” and says “genocide liars deserve the label of ‘antisemite’”
November 2, 2025 at 7:46 PM
An ad in today’s LA Times paid for by San Francisco-based pro-Israel organization “Facts and Logic About the Middle East” calls accusations of Israel committing genocide in Gaza “blood libel” and says “genocide liars deserve the label of ‘antisemite’”
Reposted by Faisal
Reading. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/01/w...
Working Past 100? In Japan, Some People Never Quit.
www.nytimes.com
November 1, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Reading. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/01/w...
I interviewed Sami Hamdi's wife and his legal team. He's a British-Tunisian commentator and pro-Palestine activist that has been detained by US immigration authorities. He's been held by ICE for almost a week now
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
‘Bring him home’: Sami Hamdi’s wife urges US to release UK journalist
Soumaya Hamdi describes shock detention at San Francisco airport as lawyers file emergency legal challenge.
www.aljazeera.com
November 1, 2025 at 5:06 PM
I interviewed Sami Hamdi's wife and his legal team. He's a British-Tunisian commentator and pro-Palestine activist that has been detained by US immigration authorities. He's been held by ICE for almost a week now
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
Reposted by Faisal
The night of rebellion that changed France and Algeria forever:
On the night of 31 October 1954, a series of attacks across colonial Algeria marked the start of the Algerian War – a bloody conflict that would last eight years.
rfi.my/B5iV.BS
On the night of 31 October 1954, a series of attacks across colonial Algeria marked the start of the Algerian War – a bloody conflict that would last eight years.
rfi.my/B5iV.BS
The night of rebellion that changed France and Algeria forever
On the night of 31 October 1954, a series of attacks across colonial Algeria marked the start of the Algerian War – a bloody conflict that would last eight years. Claimed by the newly formed National…
rfi.my
November 1, 2025 at 9:22 AM
The night of rebellion that changed France and Algeria forever:
On the night of 31 October 1954, a series of attacks across colonial Algeria marked the start of the Algerian War – a bloody conflict that would last eight years.
rfi.my/B5iV.BS
On the night of 31 October 1954, a series of attacks across colonial Algeria marked the start of the Algerian War – a bloody conflict that would last eight years.
rfi.my/B5iV.BS
Mohammed Zakaria lost sleep tracking el-Fasher’s fall, then saw on social media that his family had been killed.
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
Sudanese activist sees his executed uncles in RSF videos from el-Fasher
Mohammed Zakaria lost sleep tracking el-Fasher’s fall, then saw on social media that his family had been killed.
www.aljazeera.com
October 29, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Mohammed Zakaria lost sleep tracking el-Fasher’s fall, then saw on social media that his family had been killed.
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
Africa has seen a wave of coups over the last five years. I dug into why this pattern keeps repeating itself, even in countries with totally different circumstances.
somaliarchive77.substack.com/p/africas-mi...
somaliarchive77.substack.com/p/africas-mi...
Africa’s militaries re-enter the driver’s seat
Ten coups in five years have returned Africa’s soldiers to power. Cast as saviors against corrupt civilians, they now rule across the continent but history shows their promises rarely deliver.
somaliarchive77.substack.com
October 26, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Africa has seen a wave of coups over the last five years. I dug into why this pattern keeps repeating itself, even in countries with totally different circumstances.
somaliarchive77.substack.com/p/africas-mi...
somaliarchive77.substack.com/p/africas-mi...
The Madagascar coup, though popularly backed, continues a long-running trend of the militarisation of African politics in recent years, beginning with the belt stretching from the Atlantic to the Red Sea, to Gabon to now Madagascar.
apnews.com/article/mada...
apnews.com/article/mada...
Leader of Madagascar's military coup tells AP he is 'taking the position of president'
The leader of Madagascar's military coup says he is “taking the position of president” and that the armed forces will remain in charge of the sprawling African island nation for up to two years before...
apnews.com
October 15, 2025 at 5:46 PM
The Madagascar coup, though popularly backed, continues a long-running trend of the militarisation of African politics in recent years, beginning with the belt stretching from the Atlantic to the Red Sea, to Gabon to now Madagascar.
apnews.com/article/mada...
apnews.com/article/mada...
"Thirty-two African nations spend more servicing external debt than funding healthcare, while 25 allocate more to debt than to education."
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
Urgent debt relief demanded for Africa amid public sector crisis
Many African nations now spend more servicing external debt than funding healthcare and education.
www.aljazeera.com
October 13, 2025 at 8:03 AM
"Thirty-two African nations spend more servicing external debt than funding healthcare, while 25 allocate more to debt than to education."
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
"While Mengistu’s move may advance Soviet aims in Africa (see box), it also relieves the U.S. of the moral burden of backing yet another bloodthirsty dictatorship."
Archives, May 1977
time.com/archive/6881...
Archives, May 1977
time.com/archive/6881...
time.com
October 10, 2025 at 3:58 PM
"While Mengistu’s move may advance Soviet aims in Africa (see box), it also relieves the U.S. of the moral burden of backing yet another bloodthirsty dictatorship."
Archives, May 1977
time.com/archive/6881...
Archives, May 1977
time.com/archive/6881...
Been looking into why Jimmy Carter didn’t frame the 1977 Somalia-Ethiopia war purely in Cold War terms & back Mogadishu when Moscow supported Ethiopia.
His administration was signalling it no longer wanted a reactive, anti-Soviet policy in the Third World.
His administration was signalling it no longer wanted a reactive, anti-Soviet policy in the Third World.
October 10, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Been looking into why Jimmy Carter didn’t frame the 1977 Somalia-Ethiopia war purely in Cold War terms & back Mogadishu when Moscow supported Ethiopia.
His administration was signalling it no longer wanted a reactive, anti-Soviet policy in the Third World.
His administration was signalling it no longer wanted a reactive, anti-Soviet policy in the Third World.
My latest blogpost looks at the almost simultaneous collapse of Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia's governments at the end of the 1980s and early 1990s
89'-91: Northeast Africa's “collective near-death experience”
somaliarchive77.substack.com/p/89-91-nort...
89'-91: Northeast Africa's “collective near-death experience”
somaliarchive77.substack.com/p/89-91-nort...
89'-91: Northeast Africa's “collective near-death experience”
Between 1989 and 1991, every government from Chad to Somalia collapsed. The region still grapples with the legacy of this tumultous period.
somaliarchive77.substack.com
October 10, 2025 at 2:35 PM
My latest blogpost looks at the almost simultaneous collapse of Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia's governments at the end of the 1980s and early 1990s
89'-91: Northeast Africa's “collective near-death experience”
somaliarchive77.substack.com/p/89-91-nort...
89'-91: Northeast Africa's “collective near-death experience”
somaliarchive77.substack.com/p/89-91-nort...
Attackers wore military uniform and rode vehicles imitating security forces to breach a high-security prison in the capital.
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
Al-Shabab fighters killed in Mogadishu prison assault, Somalia confirms
Attackers wore military uniform and rode vehicles imitating security forces to breach a high-security prison in capital.
www.aljazeera.com
October 5, 2025 at 8:04 AM
Attackers wore military uniform and rode vehicles imitating security forces to breach a high-security prison in the capital.
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...
Reposted by Faisal
"Numbers matter... Yet Michael Spagat of Royal Holloway University of London fears the continent is now on the cusp of a new 'data dark age'."
My latest 👇
www.economist.com/middle-east-...
My latest 👇
www.economist.com/middle-east-...
Measuring mortality is getting even harder in Africa
One estimate puts deaths in the war in Tigray at 5,325; another at 600,000
www.economist.com
September 28, 2025 at 3:13 PM
"Numbers matter... Yet Michael Spagat of Royal Holloway University of London fears the continent is now on the cusp of a new 'data dark age'."
My latest 👇
www.economist.com/middle-east-...
My latest 👇
www.economist.com/middle-east-...
Reposted by Faisal
THREAD: this investigation took up over half my year, but it's here in @thecontinent.org:
A Djiboutian drone strike in January was depicted as a army operation targeting rebels. It was actually a massacre of civilians. The bloodshed & coverup implicating Ethiopia, Djibouti, France & Turkiye.
#OSINT
A Djiboutian drone strike in January was depicted as a army operation targeting rebels. It was actually a massacre of civilians. The bloodshed & coverup implicating Ethiopia, Djibouti, France & Turkiye.
#OSINT
September 28, 2025 at 4:14 AM
THREAD: this investigation took up over half my year, but it's here in @thecontinent.org:
A Djiboutian drone strike in January was depicted as a army operation targeting rebels. It was actually a massacre of civilians. The bloodshed & coverup implicating Ethiopia, Djibouti, France & Turkiye.
#OSINT
A Djiboutian drone strike in January was depicted as a army operation targeting rebels. It was actually a massacre of civilians. The bloodshed & coverup implicating Ethiopia, Djibouti, France & Turkiye.
#OSINT
Reposted by Faisal
Who doesn't like a September dramatic sky?
Blue sky, white cloud and early autumn wind over the Canal, London, York St.
Blue sky, white cloud and early autumn wind over the Canal, London, York St.
September 15, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Who doesn't like a September dramatic sky?
Blue sky, white cloud and early autumn wind over the Canal, London, York St.
Blue sky, white cloud and early autumn wind over the Canal, London, York St.
In my latest piece, I spoke with Ethiopian doctors who went on strike – many of whom were arrested – over pay and working conditions earlier this year. The strikes were suspended to give the government a chance, but they could resume this month.
www.aljazeera.com/features/202...
www.aljazeera.com/features/202...
www.aljazeera.com
September 2, 2025 at 7:03 PM
In my latest piece, I spoke with Ethiopian doctors who went on strike – many of whom were arrested – over pay and working conditions earlier this year. The strikes were suspended to give the government a chance, but they could resume this month.
www.aljazeera.com/features/202...
www.aljazeera.com/features/202...