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| Africa Horn |
| Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabaab has been advancing its positions in Somalia, reversing territorial gains |
| 2026-05-19 |
Text: The Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabaab has been advancing its positions in Somalia for more than a year now and has reversed most of the territorial gains made by the Somali Federal Government during its 2022–2023 counteroffensive.. Al-Shabaab's launched its massive "Operation Ramadan" in February last year and have been on the move ever since, recapturing vast portions of south-central Somalia and now control around 30% of Somalia’s territory. By establishing a dominant strategic triangle in central Somalia (across Moqokori, Tardo, and Buq-Aqable), Al-Shabaab has effectively re-linked its northern and southern support zones for the first time in years, allowing them to sever government supply routes. They are also getting closer to Mogadishu and have captured several villages and key choke points within 40 to 50 kilometers of the capital city. They can now disrupt arterial roads and easily launch vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) into the city center. In late 2025, an Al-Shabaab suicide squad successfully stormed a branch of the National Intelligence and Security Agency in Mogadishu, demonstrating their ability to hit heavily fortified strongholds of the federal government. The Mogadishu government’s military forces have also been weakened recently due to the forced departure of UAE’s military instructors under Saudi pressure as Saudi Arabia weaponized its direct financial aid to the Mogadishu government by conditioning budget support on Somalia cutting ties with Abu Dhabi. On January 12th this year, the Somali government passed a resolution annulling all security, defense and maritime agreements with the UAE. This decision applied retroactively to federal institutions and all regional member states, ordering the immediate termination of UAE operations at the Gordon military camp as well as major commercial port hubs in Berbera, Bosaso and Kismayo. The UAE opened the General Gordon Military Training Camp in May 2015 as part of a multimillion-dollar commitment to rebuild the Somali National Army and launch tactical counter-offensives against Al-Shabaab. The camp serves as the premier installation for recruiting and screening elite cadets for the Somali National Army. Cadets undergo foundational assessment at General Gordon before being deployed to international partner installations in Uganda and Ethiopia for advanced tactical training, subsequently returning to the base as active-duty units. More at the link |
| Posted by:badanov |