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Mohamed Osman

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Sep 1, 2026, 3:03 PM

Ports, Power, and Recognition: The New Struggle for the Horn of Africa

Why rival ports, security partnerships, and competing claims of sovereignty are reshaping the southern Red Sea

Aug 31, 2026, 6:27 PM

When the Shir Meets the State: Somali Consensus and Turkish Centralism

Why two different traditions of authority create friction in Turkey–Somalia relations. Turkey and Somalia are often described as close strategic partners. Yet beneath their cooperation lies a deep political mismatch. Traditional Somali governance prizes negotiated authority, dispersed power, and the...

Aug 30, 2026, 3:17 PM

The Word as Shield: How Somali Poetry Makes Peace

How dignity, kinship, customary law, and eloquence turn language into civic power. In Somali culture, a well-chosen word can do the work of a shield. Shaped by pastoral-nomadic life and Islam, communities learned to balance independence with mutual responsibility in...

Aug 29, 2026, 2:18 PM

Why Turkey’s EU Membership Bid Failed

How a decades-long accession campaign became a pragmatic—but uneasy—partnership. Turkey’s European journey is one of the continent’s longest unresolved political stories. The relationship began with the 1963 Ankara Agreement, followed by a membership application in 1987, candidate status in 1999,...

Aug 28, 2026, 5:23 PM

Berbera at the Crossroads: America, Somaliland, and the Red Sea

Somaliland rarely dominates foreign-policy debate, yet its location places it at the centre of urgent US concerns: Red Sea shipping, competition with China, counterterrorism, and the search for dependable partners in the Horn of Africa. At the centre of...

Aug 27, 2026, 2:52 PM

The Somaliland Bargain: Berbera, Red Sea Security, and Trump’s Recognition

Why Somaliland believes strategic geography, diplomatic disruption, and a transactional Washington could finally change its international status.

Aug 26, 2026, 1:10 PM

Chokepoint in Crisis: The New Battle for the Red Sea

The Bab-el-Mandeb Strait is one of the world’s most consequential maritime chokepoints. At its narrowest, the passage between Yemen and the Horn of Africa is only about twenty-nine kilometres wide. That geography has allowed Yemen’s Houthi movement to turn...

Aug 25, 2026, 3:18 PM

The Moving Shade: Timeless Somali Wisdom for a Changing World

What proverbs about wealth, justice, patience, and kinship teach us about living well “Adduunyo waa hanti iyo hadhkiisa”—worldly life is wealth and its shifting shade. In a few words, this Somali proverb offers an image anyone can recognize: shade is...

Aug 24, 2026, 2:59 PM

Somaliland at the Crossroads: Why Berbera Matters

A strategic port, an emerging trade corridor, and a coastline at the centre of Red Sea competition Somaliland’s geopolitical influence begins with geography. Its coastline runs along the Gulf of Aden, near the approaches to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait—the narrow...

Aug 23, 2026, 2:31 PM

Greece and Somaliland: A Strategic Partnership at the Gateway to the Red Sea

A strategic partnership at the crossroads of the Red Sea, African trade, and Greek maritime power Greece and Somaliland may seem like unlikely partners. One sits at the entrance to the eastern Mediterranean; the other lies on the Gulf of...

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About Me

Mohamed Osman, a retired physician and public health specialist from Somaliland, is a Canadian citizen who has worked with Ottawa Public Health and Alberta Health Services. He is also recognized for supporting Somaliland's recognition.