ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 12 (GO WORLD) — Jihan Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, daughter of Somalia’s former president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and Jihan Abdullahi Hassan, a senior presidential defence adviser, met African Union security chief Bankole Adeoye to discuss Somali military operations and the country’s security transition.
Adeoye said in a post on X that the two officials briefed him on operations by the Somali National Army against extremist groups and efforts by the federal government to assume greater security responsibilities.
He reaffirmed the African Union’s support for Somalia’s federal government.
Jihan Hassan was appointed a presidential foreign-affairs adviser in 2023. Jihan Abdullahi, a former director general of the Ministry of Defence, was appointed senior defence adviser in March 2025.
GO World has separately established a clan connection between Jihan Abdullahi and Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
Their growing roles within the presidency come after the departure of former National Security Adviser Hussein Moalim Mohamud, also known as Hussein Sheikh Ali, who resigned in July 2025 following disagreements within the presidential administration.
GO World understands that Hussein faced pressure from within the president’s advisory circle, including from the two Jihans, before his departure. The precise extent of their involvement has not been independently established.
Hussein was formally succeeded in August 2025 by Ambassador Awes Hagi Yusuf Ahmed, while Jihan Abdullahi continued serving in her separate defence advisory role.
The meeting comes amid a constitutional dispute following a Supreme Court ruling that Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s presidential mandate has expired, a position contested by his administration.
The AU official did not announce any new agreement or additional security commitments following the meeting.
GO WORLD | Somalia News Desk
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