DIY skin lightening & Sudanese and Emirati jockeying in Mogadishu
Issue #12: Somalia is increasingly caught in the geopolitical crosshairs of Sudan, the UAE, Egypt, and Ethiopia. We break it down.
Good morning everyone and welcome to another issue of Acacia, Geeska’s weekly East Africa newsletter!
Do you remember that clip (here) from April of a white woman racially abusing an autistic Somali child in Rochester, Minnesota? Her name is Shiloh Hendrix, and when a man confronted her and filmed the encounter she was entirely unrepentant. The incident became a siren call for the far right, which raised nearly $823,458 on her behalf on GiveSendGo, with the Independent reporting she’d been elevated into a sort of “cultural folk hero”. Figures like Nick Fuentes, Tim Pool and Matt Walsh all rushed to her defence. Well: Hendrix is now facing a disorderly conduct charge. In many ways, Somalis are the canaries in the coal mine for what The Guardian describes as a major shift in public attitudes; one “where bigoted acts receive more open, tangible support than ever before”. Blaze TV, a prominent right-wing YouTube channel, for example, has a whole video on “Zohran Mamdani & Somali Radicals”. We’ve flagged this in several previous newsletters, in relation to other prominent Somali-Americans such as Ilhan Omar, Omar Fateh, and most recently Ismail Mohamed, a Democratic state representative from Ohio.
Staying in the US, a more positive example of engaging with diversity came from Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey, who attended the Ogaden National Liberation Front’s (ONLF) 41st anniversary. He’s giving Duolingo streak energy. Hoyo Sambusa, a company founded by Somali sisters a decade ago to employ Somali women, is also making its debut at the Minnesota State Fair. Look here.
Pivoting back to the Horn of Africa: Hargeisa has entered the five-star hotel era with the much anticipated opening of the Serene Sarovar Premiere. Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (Irro), attended the inauguration.
That’s the entrée. This week we’re covering geopolitics: visits to Mogadishu by Emirati and Sudanese delegations; Egypt seemingly on track to join the African peacekeeping force in Somalia — much to Ethiopia’s irritation; the dangers of DIY skin lightening; a focus on Sudan in the region; and more.
Geopolitics: Sudan and UAE jockey for influence in Mogadishu
Mogadishu had an unusually busy week of visitors, as both Sudan and the United Arab Emirates dispatched delegations to Villa Somalia within two days of each other. First through the doors was Sudan’s intelligence chief, Ahmed Ibrahim Ali Mufaddal. He met President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud at Villa Somalia, carrying a message from Sudan’s military leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. The note, according to an official readout, reaffirmed Khartoum’s “commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation with Somalia in all areas of mutual interest.” Then the UAE stepped in. State minister for foreign affairs, Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan, arrived in Mogadishu on Wednesday with what the Somalis called a “special message” from Mohammed bin Zayed but no further details. Veteran Voice of America journalist, Harun Maruf, asked: “What was the message?” Somalia’s state news agency, SONNA, reported that the two meetings were unrelated.
Not everyone is convinced. Omar Mahmoud, the International Crisis Group’s senior Somalia analyst, told Acacia: “The visits were likely linked to allegations that the UAE has been using Bosaso as one of the corridors for Emirati planes on the way to Sudan”. Mahmoud added: “Sudan has been rallying diplomatic support against the UAE and Somalia sits on the UN security council, increasings its stature. The UAE rather likely wants to keep the issue out of open discussion”. Rich Tedd, a journalist who monitors flights across northeast Africa recently told Acacia that nearly 80 military cargo flights landed in eastern Libya in July, where the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have a presence — with more than half of them, originating from Bosaso, Puntland. Sudan has already lodged a protest directly with Mogadishu. Somali authorities aren’t able to do much about it. Cameron Hudson, a senior associate in the Africa Programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, tells Acacia. “Somalia is too beholden, as the UAE plays a role in counterterrorism against IS-Somalia.” He adds that Puntland has become one of five likely locations — alongside the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Libya, and Chad — from which Abu Dhabi resupplies the RSF. “The UAE has virtually encircled Sudan,” Hudson says.
Geopolitics: Egypt troops on track to join African peacekeepers in Somalia – Ethiopia isn’t happy
Preparations for the deployment of an Egyptian contingent in the African Union’s peacekeeping force in Somalia, the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (Aussom), remain on track, as a unit of Egyptian soldiers has completed its training programme and will soon join the force. In a post on X, Somalia’s defence ministry welcomed the news, adding: “This step underscores Egypt’s strong commitment to supporting Somalia’s security and strengthening the capacity of the Somali National Army through the new Aussom framework.” Egypt’s contingent will be the smallest (just over 1,000), fighting alongside Djiboutian, Kenyan, Ethiopian and Ugandan troops against al-Shabaab in south-central Somalia. Egypt and Somalia have been strengthening their relationship (including mutual defence pact) since last year when since Somaliland and Ethiopia’s sea access deal last year. Somalia welcomed Egypt’s participation in the African peacekeeping force, which Egypt accepted. Cairo has its own dispute with Ethiopia over a project to construct a dam on the Nile. The memorandum infuriated Somalia, which accused Ethiopia of annexing its territory, but a deal was eventually brokered by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the so-called Ankara Declaration, which put bilateral relations back on track.
Last week, Ethiopia’s ambassador to Türkiye, Adem Mohammed, told the Turkish news agency Anadolu Ajansı that the declaration was working despite reports the Ankara Declaration was dead. In any case, Egyptian-Somali cooperation has continued. Last August, Emirati newspaper The National reported that Egypt had bilaterally deployed 300 special forces from its commando units. Egypt has also sent Somalia arms. And now the plan to deploy troops has further irked Ethiopia, which had previously advised Somalia against allowing Egyptian troops to be stationed there. In an interview this week with Somali channel Universal TV, Ethiopia’s newly appointed ambassador, Sulaiman Dedefo, said his country was “not scared and not threatened by the presence of Egyptian forces” as long as they do not “challenge our forces.” He added that Egypt lacked a track record of peacekeeping success and, in a broadside, suggested they focus on Palestine, Libya, and Sudan. Egyptian MP Mustafa Bakhri said Ethiopian criticisms were “unacceptable and only intended to provoke instability”. Liam Karr, Africa Lead for the Critical Threats newsletter, however, speculated that Somalia could become a “potential proxy theatre” if tensions between Egypt and Ethiopia escalate into violence.
Politics: Somalia’s election drama - splits, deals, and the [long] road to 2026
Somalia’s election season is entering a chaotic phase. The once-unified Salvation Forum — a coalition of opposition heavyweights including former presidents and three prime ministers — has fractured after ex-PM Omar Sharmarke, former speakers Sharif Hassan and Mohamed Mursal, and ex-minister Dahir Gelle struck a deal with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The agreement resets the electoral rules over which there has been serious dispute: parliament will elect the president; the president will appoint a prime minister subject to parliamentary approval (with MPs retaining the power to withdraw confidence); any political group with 10% of seats becomes a national party (with no limit to parties); and both sides pledge to “advance direct elections (one person, one vote).” The deal marks a break from Hassan Sheikh’s earlier push for a nationwide one-person-one-vote presidential model and his controversial amendments expanding presidential powers. AU chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf hailed it as a “political achievement,” while IGAD’s Dr Workneh Gebeyehu called it “an important step towards advancing unity, stability, and reconciliation.”
Critics, however, see danger in the fine print. Afyare Elmi, a Somali academic, warned the government is “picking and choosing provisions” while leaving Somalia without a shared constitution, arguing the deal effectively locks in a term extension since current laws “cannot be implemented within eight months.” Puntland and Jubaland are still outside the talks and many opposition leaders still reject the president’s model outright, so the deal is a partial breakthrough at best. Analyst Hussein Sabrie added that the government’s record undermines its promises: despite passing a National Elections Act mandating one-person-one-vote, recent parliamentary seats, state assemblies, and even Mogadishu’s mayoral appointments were all filled without public input. “If direct elections were not used to choose” these posts, he asked, “how can there be confidence that one-person-one-vote elections will suddenly be conducted simultaneously” across the country?
Society: TikTok’s DIY skin-lightening craze
A video went viral this week showing a woman casually dumping tubs of skin-lightening creams and chemicals into a cement mixer — yes, the kind used for construction — to whip up her own melanin destroying concoction. On TikTok alone, it has racked up more than half a million views. In clips promoting her product, the same woman claims you’ll be “white in two days.” The mix, known as qasqas, containing everything from eggs to baby oil, cocoa butter and various skin lighteners, is scooped into jars and sold for as little as three dollars. A quick search of “qasqas” on TikTok pulls up hundreds of similar videos: influencers mixing, packaging, and marketing these unregulated blends like DIY beauty hacks. Men also use the products but they’re targeted at women. Skin-lightening has long been marketed as a shortcut to beauty and a world of opportunity, but these products often contain dangerously high levels of harmful chemicals and have been linked to cancer. Dr. Mohamed Osman, pharmacist and researcher, told Acacia that “these products contribute to chronic illnesses like diabetes and high blood pressure, damage women’s skin to the point of sun intolerance, reducing vitamin D”. The global market for skin whitening was estimated at $8.8 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow further, reaching $5.7 billion by 2030. Several multinational corporations make huge profits by exploiting colourism, from Nivea to Unilever. The latter was forced to change the name of one of its lightening products, Fair & Lovely, after facing a backlash.
Several African countries, starting with South Africa, have bans in place on the products, including South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ghana. Somalia has not yet moved in this direction. “The lack of proper regulations and strict policies has allowed these products to flourish,” Dr. Osman said. Here’s the problem: most of the people making qasqas have zero training in chemistry, dermatology, or public health. Yet they’re selling skin-whitening creams with slogans like “get white right now” and disturbing promises that “hands and legs will be so white, people might get confused if you’re Syrian, Turkish, or Somali.” Some of the biggest accounts pushing qasqas, like Hiil Haween — ironically meaning “Feminine Solidarity” — with over 100,000 followers, are amplifying the trend.
Health: New study finds higher rates of hypotension in Somali women undergoing caesareans
Why are caesarean deliveries riskier for Somali mothers? A team of Somali doctors — Asha Abdullahi Barud, Ikran Abdulkadir Ali, Nasra Mohamud Hilowle, Hiba Bashir Hassan, and Iftin Mohamed Osman — recently set out to find answers. In their study, they discovered that 78% of mothers, in a 320 person sample, who underwent caesareans under spinal anaesthesia in Mogadishu experienced sudden drops in blood pressure. That is a much higher rate than reported in similar studies from countries such as Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Colombia. Another study, examining more than 12,500 deliveries in a Somali hospital between 2015 and 2021, found that 21.6% of births were c-sections — well above the World Health Organization’s recommended rate of 10–15%. Caesareans were most common among younger mothers, first-time mothers, those carrying full-term babies, and women who had missed regular prenatal check-ups. The study also reported a maternal death rate of 1.7%.
Asha Abdullahi Barud, one of the doctors who took part in the study, told Acacia that, given the higher incidence of hypotension in Somali caesareans, doctors need to be trained to recognise the signs of low blood pressure, and women should be provided with the necessary IV fluids and support. “The problem is preventable if people are ready and have the resources to help patients,” Barud said. She added that the study was an important breakthrough and encouraged other Somali academics to research various issues in Somalia’s health sector, in order to improve patient care and prevent avoidable complications and deaths.
Across the gees
There is a glimmer of good news from Sudan, where an estimated two million people have returned to their homes in territories recaptured by the Sudanese army from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). A report by the International Organization for Migration said of these returnees, 77% were internally displaced, while the remainder came back from abroad, mainly Egypt, Libya and South Sudan. The country has been called the “world’s largest humanitarian crisis” due to the scale of displacement, hunger and violence. Fighting still rages across the country.
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which has been battling the Sudanese army since 2023, has built long berms around the North Darfur city of El Fasher, according to a new report from Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab. The city — the last major urban centre in Darfur under government control — has been besieged by the RSF for months, leaving its population starved. “With these berms, RSF is creating a literal kill box around El Fasher,” the report said. The report notes that these “berms will create physical boundaries to prevent smuggling goods like food and medicine into El Fasher or people out of El-Fasher.” At least 89 people have been killed in RSF attacks over the past 10 days in the city.
In more positive developments, the quiet resilience of the Sudanese people was on display in a video showing them gathering to clean up Khartoum University’s Sport Science College. The RSF has been accused of looting the university. Khartoum University — the country’s oldest — retains a strong reputation across Africa for its programmes in law, medicine, and the natural sciences.
Africa
Nigeria, Kenya, Somalia, and South Sudan face severe shortages of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) due to US aid cuts under Trump, putting millions of malnourished children at risk, Save the Children warns. RUTF is a nutrient-dense, shelf-stable paste of peanuts, milk, sugar, oil, and vitamins for treating malnourished children. Save the Children estimates that 15.6 million people across 18 countries including over 2.3 million severely malnourished children could be cut off much needed food supplies.
Tangent
Omar Mahmoud, the International Crisis Group’s senior Somalia analyst, interviewed for this issue of Acacia, has appeared on Somali Public Agenda to discuss Somaliland, Somalia’s security situation, and the new peacekeeping force, Aussom. It is a really good overview of the issues.
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