On March 20, 2025, journalist Yusuf Abdalla Yusuf was arrested by plainclothes security officers in Hargeisa, capital of the breakaway region of Somaliland, after publishing a video report about alleged intelligence cooperation between Somalia and Somaliland authorities, according to the Somaliland Journalists Association (SOLJA) and the journalist, who spoke with CPJ after his release.
Officers raided Yusuf’s hotel room, confiscated his laptop, camera, and phone, and held him at a Somaliland intelligence facility for about five hours, the journalist, owner and publisher of the online media outlet XogOgaal, told CPJ.
During interrogation, Yusuf was questioned about his report, which examined rumors that Somali intelligence officers were in Hargeisa to train Somaliland personnel.
Since Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991, relations between the two remain tense. Somaliland is only internationally recognized by Israel.
After reviewing the video, officers concluded Yusuf had done nothing wrong and said the arrest resulted from a misunderstanding. He was released without charge, his equipment was returned, and he was instructed not to speak publicly about the incident.
The report also discussed the sensitivity of Somalia-Somaliland relations and later concluded that the alleged intelligence cooperation between Mogadishu and Hargeisa was false.
CPJ did not receive response to emails sent to Somaliland’s ministry of information and police force, or a query via messaging app to a number on the police’s Facebook page.