Somalia issues biometric national IDs to citizens returning from Yemen

Somalia's national identification authority has begun enrolling citizens returning from Yemen for biometric ID cards at a reception camp, in partnership with the refugee and displacement commission. About two million Somalis are enrolled, with a target of 15 million by 2029, and the ID is being tied to banking, passports, travel and a planned single platform of about 70 government services due by March 2027. Displacement is here becoming a route into a centralised biometric identity system through which access to services and payments is increasingly channelled.