Europe's strategy of working with African countries to curb irregular migration is facing a fresh test after Somalia rejected the idea of accepting deportees whose nationality has not been verified, pushing back against growing pressure from the European Union to speed up migrant returns.
The dispute escalated after the Council of the European Union announced temporary restrictions on short-stay Schengen visas for Somali nationals, saying an assessment by the European Commission found Somalia's cooperation on readmitting its citizens staying irregularly in the bloc to be "insufficient."
Mogadishu, however, rejected the characterization.
Speaking during celebrations marking Somalia's 66th Independence Day, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said his government remains willing to receive Somali citizens ordered to leave European countries but would not accept anyone until authorities had confirmed they were genuinely Somali.
"We will not accept people who are not Somali citizens," Mohamud said, framing citizenship verification as a matter of national sovereignty and legal responsibility rather than a refusal to cooperate.
