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Somali Presidential Palace

A substantial security compromise in the Federal Republic of Somalia's electronic visa system could have revealed personal information belonging to numerous thousands of travelers, involving United States passport holders, the US embassy in the Somali nation has cautioned.

The embassy reported gathered trustworthy accounts that "unknown cyber attackers" breached the Federal Government of Somalia's digital visa application portal, possibly exposing details concerning roughly 35,000 individuals.

The leaked documents circulating online contain full names, images, dates of birth, marriage information, place of residence and email information, per a US embassy statement issued on last Thursday.

"This data breach remains active and could expose any personal data provided to this platform," British authorities has also warned visitors.

"Evaluate the dangers prior to requesting a digital visa required for entry into the Federal Republic."

Official Reaction

Government officials have not issued statements regarding the incident. But the government has shifted visa processing from the original e-visa website to etas.gov.so, without providing an official explanation.

"Although the US Embassy in Mogadishu cannot verify whether applicant details is part of the breach, individuals who have applied for a Somali e-visa could be impacted," the official communication said.

Territorial Consequences

The updated visa process necessitates each person traveling, comprising individuals from the self-declared republic of Somaliland and the partially independent area of the autonomous state, to apply for entry visas via electronic platforms.

Critics say travellers have faced additional charges in specific areas, amounting to repeated fees.

Geopolitical Background

The self-declared republic, that announced sovereignty in the early nineties, manages its territory through independent structures but has not been global recognition. Mogadishu authorities insists that this territory still constitutes its sovereign territory.

The claimed security incident adds to ongoing disputes between central government and Somaliland administration concerning jurisdiction of national air territory. While Somalia restored complete authority of its airspace in the past decade, Hargeisa administration persistently challenges the current system.

Recent Escalation

The disagreement intensified in recent days as Hargeisa's chief executive the regional leader stated the northern territory would refuse the federal e-visa system and directed that aviation companies need to acquire authorization from Somaliland officials prior to accessing its airspace.

Nevertheless leading carriers have refused to board passengers without Somalia's e-visa approval.

In the latest development, the northern region's top diplomat Abdirahman Dahir Aadan again insisted that "every person entering Somaliland will obtain entry permission on arrival", saying Somalia's e-visa system was not safe and cautioning that "people's data could be accessed by the hands of extremist groups" as a result of using it.

Travel Disruptions

The stand-off has left some travellers destined for Hargeisa unable to board flights after being denied boarding for lacking Mogadishu's digital permit.

Hargeisa's air transport representative, the transport official, has informed media outlets that the regulations - originally publicized previously - were implemented on the tenth of November.

Officials declared airlines that do not comply would be instructed to divert, and stated numerous flights were previously redirected.

Jurisdictional Battle

Recorded material published by the northern region's air transport department seems to demonstrate local air-traffic controllers issuing instructions to international pilots - a move celebrated domestically as a confirmation of northern self-governance.

However the federal aviation regulator maintains it retains sole administrative and legal control over the Mogadishu Flight Information Region (Flight Information Region), which covers all territorial skies. Officials have directed every plane to disregard any instructions provided by sources besides federal authorities.

Officials cautioned that failing to comply with federal and global flight regulations could create security threats and result in "significant legal repercussions".