This list article covers significant events in the year 2022 in Somalia.
Incumbents President: Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo (until 15 May), Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (since 15 May) Prime Minister: Mohamed Hussein Roble (until 15 June), Hamza Abdi Barre (since 15 June) Speaker of the Senate: Mohamed Ali Yusuf (until 26 April) Abdi Hashi Abdullahi (since 26 April) Speaker of the House: Mohamed Mursal Sheikh Abdurahman (until 28 April), Aden Madobe (since 28 April)
Events Ongoing
Somali Civil War (2009–present) (timeline) Controversies of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud COVID-19 pandemic in Somalia
January 10 January – Somali leaders announce they struck a deal to complete presidential and parliamentary elections by 25 February after repeated delays. 18 January – At least four people are killed and ten others injured in Mogadishu by a suicide bombing at a tea shop near a military base. 24 January – The US Embassy in Mogadishu welcomes ambassador Larry André Jr. arrival to discuss the upcoming 25 February elections with government officials.
February 19 February – February 2022 Beledweyne bombing: An al-Shabaab suicide bomber kills 14 people at a restaurant in Beledweyne, including a candidate in the parliamentary vote. 24 February – Only 175 of the 275 MPs are reported to have been elected for the elections set to take place the next day as the federal states continue debates over venues, delegates, and fairness of the polls. 25 February – The scheduled presidential and parliamentary elections are again postponed to 15 March.
March March – Nearly 90% of the country's districts are affected by a historic multi-season drought. Fourteen million people are severely food insecure across the Horn of Africa, including Somalia. 15 March – The presidential and parliamentary elections are again further postponed to 31 March in order to complete the election of the Lower House or House of the People. 16 March – The United States applies visa restrictions to individual Somalis the United States felt were responsible for failing to meet the 15 March deadline to finish parliamentary elections. 17 March – United States senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland), and Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota), introduce a bill titled the Somaliland Partnership Act, calling for closer U.S. engagement with the unrecognized nation. 19 March – Governor of Puntland Said Abdullahi Dani announces his candidacy in the Lower House elections. 23 March – Al-Shabaab kills at least 48 people and injures at least 108 in a series of attacks in Mogadishu and Beledweyne, including Somali female Member of Parliament Amina Mohamed Abdi. 27 March – Al-Shabaab militants overrun the Af Urur military base in Puntland, killing four soldiers. 30 March – A prayer meeting is held in Mogadishu for MP Amina Mohamed Abdi who was killed in Beledweyne on 23 March. 31 March The 2022 Somali presidential election was scheduled to be held. The U.N. Security Council votes unanimously to endorse the African Union’s new transitional mission in Somalia ATMIS, which will replace AMISOM which had been present in the country for fifteen years.
April 1 April – 2022 Waheen Market fire: A large fire destroys main market (Waheen Market) in the city of Hargeisa, destroying an estimated 2,000 shops and stalls and injuring 28 people. 4 April – Mogadishu offers to send $11.7 million to Hargeisa to help those who lost their lives and property in the Waheen market fire. 6 April – PM Roble orders African Union Ambassador to Somalia Francisco Madeira, persona non grata to leave the country within 48 hours because of "engaging in acts that are incompatible with his status," after audio emerged of him criticizing government officials for not dealing with national security problems. President Mohamed immediately rejected the expulsion. 10 April If no aid is brought to Somalia by the summer of this year, "350,000 of the 1.4 million severely malnourished children in the country, will perish," warns OCHA member Adam Abdelmoula. The Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance launches an iftar program, in the presence of representatives from Saudi Arabia and Somalia, to distribute food to help people break their fasts throughout Ramadan. 11 April Federal Electoral Implementation Team (FEIT) chairman Muse Guelleh Yusuf travels to Baidoa to help solve a dispute over four Lower House seats that were nullified by the commission. The trip was a success, two-seat disputes were resolved, and a re-run was organized for another candidate who won (Saredo Mohamed Abdalla) but did not meet the age limit. National security advisor Fahad Yasin files a petition with the nascent Supreme Court over an election dispute. 14 April The Lower House or House of the People elections finally concluded after four months of delay, swearing in 205 new parliament members. 54 senators and over 246 Lower House members took oath for the upcoming presidential elections. There is wide criticism following the elections, though, that only a few thousand people of the 16.3 million in Somalia voted for a member of parliament. "Massive corruption, abuse of power, and disregard of the election's rules" are all reasons to blame, according to the BBC. National security advisor Fahad Yasin does not receive a FEIT certification for his seat after it is nullified by the electoral commission for electoral irregularities and is scheduled for a re-run. The first women-run radio and television company opened in Mogadishu. Supported by the United Nations, Bilan Media plans to produce stories important to women and their rights. 16 April – A new African Union ambassador is expected to come to Somalia to replace Francisco Madeira after a controversy on 6 April soured relations. 18 April – Jihadist terrorist group al-Shabaab claims responsibility for a mortar fire attack on Somalia's parliament that injures at least six people during the joint session. 19 April – The Somali government and a U.S.-based company, Coastline Exploration Ltd., dispute the validity of an oil exploration agreement in February in Istanbul. Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Abdirashid Mohamed Ahmed is happy to implement the oil deal, which, after a 5% royalty, would split profit 50/50, while Somali President Mohamed and PM Roble reject the deal, declaring it "null and void," citing government decrees banning all ministries and government agencies from signing agreements with foreign governments and organizations until the ongoing parliamentary elections are finalized. 22 April – An al-Shabaab suicide bombing takes place at the Pescatore Seafood Restaurant in Lido Beach, killing at least six people and injuring seven. 25 April – Two legislators accuse intelligence agents of opening fire on a lawmaker's car and getting into a shootout outside a hotel where parliamentarians were being sworn in. This alleged attack is condemned by PM Roble.
26 April Speaker of the House Abdi Hashi Abdullahi is reelected in a vote by the 54-seat Upper House of Parliament. In the vote, Abdullahi won 28 votes, while his rival Salah Jama, got only 24 votes. Osman Dubbe won the remaining 2 votes. PM Roble authorises ATMIS peacekeepers to secure an aeroplane hangar in Mogadishu where a speaker of the lower house of parliament should be voted on on 27 April and to take care of the necessary security responsibilities for a successful election as well. President Mohamed countermanded the order, saying police are responsible for security. 27 April Internal Minister of Security Abdullahi Haji Hassan Mohamed Nuur, a close ally of PM Roble, suspends the Chief of Police, Maj. Gen. Abdi Hassan Mohamed Hijar for "sabotaging" elections and taking instructions from Villa Somalia, which are supposed to conclude today with the Lower House electing the leadership of the new parliament. To still ensure the security of the elections, the work of the Commander will continue with the Deputy Commander. Before his dismissal, Maj. Gen. Hijar insisted he wanted the lower house elections today to be postponed because he could not guarantee proper security. Police tried to block the entrance to the aeroplane hangar organized yesterday for lower house parliament elections to take place, but Roble's security forces ordered them to leave, according to Reuters journalists at the scene. 28 April Lower House parliamentary elections conclude, electing Aden Madobe as the new Speaker of the House in a vote that was delayed most of the previous day due to disagreements over the security of the venue of the vote. Nur beat his nearest rival 98 to 74 votes. Both President Mohamed and PM Roble send congratulatory messages on their Twitter accounts.
May 3 May – Al-Shabaab jihadists armed with guns and explosives storm an ATMIS base, triggering a fierce firefight killing 30 soldiers and wounding another 22 Burundi peacekeepers, according to a high-ranking Burundian military officer. A dozen soldiers were also declared missing. This was the first-ever attack on ATMIS since taking over AMISOM on 31 March. 7 May – Government officials ask the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to extend its financial support program to the country, worth nearly $400 million, by three months to 17 August, according to the head of the IMF's country mission. This comes as the deadline for the IMF's funding cutoff on 17 May draws nearer, and will only continue if presidential elections are concluded by this date. 9 May – The US Agency for International Development (USAID) announces a new $6.8 million initiative called the Stabilization Through Education Program (STEP) to increase access to education in communities affected by conflict and rehabilitating more than 200 damaged classrooms and related school infrastructure. 11 May – Four people are killed, including two police officers and many wounded in a suicide bombing at a checkpoint near Mogadishu Airport. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack. 11–20 May – US General and Commander of the US Africa Command Stephen Townsend visits many civilian and military leaders in primarily East African nations including Somalia and Somaliland. The trip concludes with his visit to Somalia, where he discussed the US Security agenda in the region and "satisfaction with the polls" of the presidential election on 15 May. 12 May – The price of AK-47's in gun markets dramatically rise ahead of the upcoming presidential election on 15 May. 14 May – A curfew is set in place in Mogadishu from 9 pm to 6 am tomorrow ahead of tomorrow's presidential elections. 15 May The Presidential elections, after 142 days of delay, concluded with the election of former president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, head of the Union for Peace and Development Party (UPD). The voting was broadcast live on state TV, where Mohamud received 212 electoral votes and President Mohamed only 109. Mohamud is immediately sworn in, promising his new government would be inclusive and acknowledge previous mistakes including corruption. Supporters of the new President Mohamud defy the curfew in Mogadishu to cheer and fire guns in the streets in celebration of the election's outcome. 16 May US President Joe Biden approves a request by The Pentagon to redeploy "under 500" US troops to the nation to counter al-Shabaab terrorists, according to a senior administration official. This reverses a decision by former US President Donald Trump to withdraw all US troops from the country in December 2020. Former President Mohamed concedes defeat and congratulates new President Mohamud, urging support for the incoming administration in a Twitter post. The United States, Ethiopia and China all congratulate President Mohamud on his election.