Somalia denies owning Berlin building

Somalia’s Federal Government has rejected circulating claims that it owns land in Berlin’s Friedenau district said to house a historic building, with Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Omar Balcad stating on Tuesday that no such property belongs to the state and that Somalia’s embassy in Germany operates from rented premises.

The denial comes amid a wave of unverified social media reports claiming Mogadishu holds valuable real estate in the German capital, a narrative the government says is not the first of its kind. Somalia’s Foreign Ministry has previously pushed back against similarly unsubstantiated claims, warning against the spread of misinformation on social media platforms.

Balcad addressed the reports directly in a post on his X account, stating that the land in question does not belong to Somalia.

“Somalia does not own a building in Berlin, where did this information come from?” Balcad wrote. “Our embassy operates from rented office space. If you have evidence supporting your claim, please present it and help us locate this beautiful building you speak of, or retract these reports.”