🔗 Share this article

Somali Presidential Palace

A substantial information leak in Somalia's e-visa platform may have exposed sensitive details associated with many thousands of applicants, involving United States passport holders, the United States diplomatic mission in the Somali nation has warned.

It said obtained reliable information that "anonymous digital intruders" breached the Federal Government of Somalia's e-visa platform, possibly exposing details concerning approximately 35,000 people.

The leaked documents being shared on the internet contain names, photographs, date of birth information, marriage information, place of residence and email contacts, per a American diplomatic communication published on last Thursday.

"This data breach continues to occur and might reveal any personal data submitted to this platform," the UK has similarly alerted travellers.

"Consider the risks prior to requesting a digital visa necessary for visiting Somalia."

Official Reaction

Federal administration representatives have not commented regarding the incident. However administration officials has moved its visa service from the previous platform evisa.gov.so to the new system etas.gov.so, without offering an official explanation.

"Even though Embassy Mogadishu is unable to confirm if personal information is included in the security incident, travelers who have requested visas through the electronic visa system could be impacted," the official communication stated.

Territorial Consequences

The updated visa process requires every visitor, comprising individuals from the self-declared republic of Somaliland and the partially independent area of Puntland, to seek travel visas online.

Commentators state visitors have encountered extra fees in certain regions, equivalent to repeated fees.

Political Context

Somaliland, that announced sovereignty in 1991, governs itself through independent structures yet hasn't received internationally recognised. Mogadishu authorities maintains that the area continues to belong to its sovereign territory.

The alleged breach exacerbates ongoing disputes concerning Mogadishu and Somaliland administration concerning jurisdiction of aviation space. Although Mogadishu re-established total jurisdiction of its airspace in recent years, Hargeisa administration persistently challenges this agreement.

Ongoing Conflict

The dispute intensified in recent days when Somaliland's President the Somaliland president said the northern territory would refuse Mogadishu's electronic visa and directed that carriers must obtain authorization from Somaliland officials when approaching the region's aviation space.

However leading carriers have chosen not to accept travelers without Somalia's e-visa approval.

On Saturday, Hargeisa's international relations official the foreign minister again insisted that "anyone travelling to the breakaway region will obtain their visa on arrival", saying Mogadishu's digital application process posed risks and alerting that "personal information could be accessed by extremist organizations" due to employing the platform.

Travel Disruptions

The stand-off has resulted in numerous passengers destined for Somaliland stuck in transit hubs due to rejection at check-in for lacking the federal electronic visa.

The northern region's aviation official, Fu'aad Ahmed Nuux, has informed journalistic entities that the regulations - initially declared earlier this year - came into effect on November 10th.

He said airlines that do not comply would be instructed to reroute, and stated several aircraft had been forced to change paths.

Aviation Authority Dispute

Video evidence distributed by the northern region's air transport department reportedly displays regional aviation officials issuing instructions to international pilots - a move applauded locally as an assertion of northern self-governance.

Nevertheless Mogadishu's air transport department asserts it retains exclusive regulatory authority concerning the Mogadishu Flight Information Region (FIR), encompassing the whole nation's airspace. Authorities have instructed every plane to ignore any instructions coming from sources besides Mogadishu.

It warned that failing to comply with Somali and international aviation rules could pose safety risks and cause "major judicial outcomes".