Hiiraan Online

Mogadishu (HOL) — Switzerland is preparing to deport several Somali nationals to Mogadishu aboard a secret charter flight despite lacking formal authorization from the Somali government, according to the Swiss German-language newspaper WOZ – die Wochenzeitung.

The plan, spearheaded by Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), would see Somali migrants who have refused voluntary return placed on a special flight operated without regular passengers. A confidential SEM memo obtained by WOZ advised Zurich migration officials on August 11 to abandon scheduled-flight deportations and “attempt a special flight once one or two more candidates have refused.”

If carried out, it would be Switzerland’s first known forced return to Somalia in nearly three decades. The Somali government has not confirmed any agreement permitting the operation, and internal Swiss correspondence acknowledges that the issue remains “very sensitive” in Mogadishu.

Switzerland’s caution stems from a 1996 incident when two Zurich police officers accompanying a deportee were arrested in Mogadishu after local forces objected to an unannounced return. The officers were released only after Switzerland paid 20,000 Swiss francs in ransom and repatriated the deportee back to Zurich.

That failed operation has loomed over Swiss migration policy since. Until now, Somalia has consistently resisted accepting forced deportations, citing security and humanitarian concerns. Between 1996 and 2025, only 46 deportations were completed on commercial flights with Somali approval, two of them this September.

Al-Shabaab militants continue to control large areas of the country, and attacks remain frequent, prompting Switzerland’s own foreign ministry to warn against travel to Somalia. Rights advocates argue that forcibly returning rejected asylum seekers to such conditions would breach international law.

Despite these risks, Switzerland has steadily intensified its outreach to Somali authorities. Travel records and official reports reviewed by WOZ show that a Swiss delegation met with Somalia’s Immigration and Citizenship Agency (ICA) in April 2024. At the time, Mogadishu reportedly agreed to allow limited forced returns and promised a new “Return Policy” in 2025 to formalize cooperation.

Three days later, embassy staff from Switzerland’s Nairobi mission met the same officials. Their report concluded that the Somali side was “somewhat open to involuntary return” but made clear that “continued Swiss support” would be expected.

In February 2025, Switzerland appointed Gisela Schluep as Immigration Liaison Officer in Nairobi, overseeing deportations for both Somalia and Eritrea. Under her watch, Swiss authorities invited a six-member Somali delegation to Bern in July, providing advanced document-verification equipment and signing a technical cooperation agreement. A 10-day cybersecurity training session followed in Mogadishu in September.

Somali journalist Abdalle Ahmed Mumin, secretary-general of the Somali Journalists Syndicate, told WOZ that these gestures were part of “Switzerland’s strategy to strengthen its deportation efforts through support for migration infrastructure and border controls.”

Public and political opposition in Somalia remains strong.  Independent news outlets reported that Somalia’s security minister, who recently hosted the Swiss delegation, rejected accepting deportees from Finland and Switzerland, saying conditions in the country were not safe for returnees.

An ousted member of Somalia’s parliament, Abdillahi Hashi Abib, alleged that some European states have carried out deportations to Somalia under secret arrangements. He claimed that Sweden financed projects worth $12 million in exchange for landing four “special flights” since December 2024, an accusation the Somali government denies.

Swiss officials, meanwhile, contend that all deportees facing removal to Somalia are convicted criminals or violent offenders. But human rights group Augenauf has dismissed that claim as “propaganda,” saying most are long-term residents who pose no security risk. The group also confirmed that in July 2025, a Turkish Airlines pilot refused to carry a Somali deportee, halting the removal mid-flight.

The WOZ investigation revealed that Switzerland’s Justice Department issued its own laissez-passer documents, normally produced by the receiving country, to facilitate deportations to Somalia. Legal experts and former SEM officials told the paper they had never encountered this practice before.

In its response, the Swiss department said it issues such papers “when requested by the entry authorities of the destination country.” Somali authorities have not confirmed requesting or accepting them.

Swiss internal figures indicate that 61 Somali nationals currently face deportation orders. If Switzerland proceeds without Somali-issued documentation, analysts warn it could set a precedent for deportations to other states that refuse cooperation, including Eritrea.

The Swiss plan forms part of a wider European pattern in which governments have increasingly tied migration cooperation with Somalia to financial or diplomatic incentives. Recent investigations in Sweden have revealed that Stockholm’s government made payments and redirected aid funds to Mogadishu to accelerate deportations of Somali nationals.

On Tuesday, it was reported that Sweden’s Migration Minister Johan Forssell authorized a secret payment of 5 million kronor (about $517,000) to Somalia’s federal government through the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to facilitate deportations. The money, transferred outside Sweden’s official aid budget, was reportedly used to fund positions inside the Somali Prime Minister’s Office, according to Dagens Nyheter. Swedish opposition parties have called for a parliamentary investigation, describing the transaction as “outright bribe money,” while Forssell defended it as a “migration policy cooperation” aimed at ensuring the return of individuals convicted of serious crimes. The Somali government has denied wrongdoing, calling the allegations “false, misleading, and unfounded,” and insisting that all development cooperation with Sweden follows formal channels through multilateral agencies.

Earlier that month, Swedish Radio’s Ekot detailed a $10 million aid-for-deportation deal between Sweden and Somalia dating back to December 2023, under which funds were redirected into a Somali-Italian development program linked to the Prime Minister’s Office in exchange for accepting deported nationals. The arrangement triggered a year-long dispute between Sweden’s development agency SIDA, the World Bank, and Somali officials over accountability and oversight, culminating in Somalia expelling Sweden’s aid chief in May 2025. After the funds were rerouted through UNDP, deportations resumed.

Those deportations have since increased. In August 2025, Eight Somali nationals had been deported from Sweden and 15 more were awaiting removal. It marked one of the most aggressive enforcement phases in decades. Swedish authorities justified the move as part of new hardline immigration measures introduced under Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, while Somali community leaders in Stockholm warned that returnees faced danger and economic hardship in Somalia.

Together, these cases spotlight how European states, including Sweden, Finland, and now Switzerland, have sought to link development aid and migration cooperation in their dealings with Somalia. Critics argue the practice blurs the line between diplomacy and coercion, effectively using financial leverage to secure compliance from a fragile state still struggling with corruption, conflict, and limited reintegration capacity. Somali officials, meanwhile, continue to insist that all cooperation 
remains transparent and governed by international law.

Somalia’s Immigration and Citizenship Agency signed a cooperation agreement with Switzerland in July 2025 to “enhance border and identity management.” However, officials in Mogadishu did not publicly endorse forced deportations, and the country’s security leadership continues to warn that returnees would face danger upon arrival.

The SEM memo obtained by WOZ concluded with a candid acknowledgment: “The topic is highly sensitive in Somalia.” Nevertheless, it instructed staff to continue preparations for a charter flight once a few more deportees refused voluntary return.

Human rights organizations have condemned the plan as a violation of international protection norms. “Secret flights conducted under restraint are incompatible with due process,” Augenauf said, noting that detainees can be held for up to 18 months before deportation.

If executed, the special flight would mark Switzerland’s first forced deportation to Somalia since 1996 and could trigger significant diplomatic fallout.