Who holds power, 2012 to now
The French raid on Bulo Marer, January 2013
In the early hours of 12 January 2013 French commandos of the DGSE intelligence service raided Bulo Marer, about 110 km south of Mogadishu, to free Denis Allex, a French agent held by al-Shabaab since July 2009. The raid did not free him. France said two of its soldiers and the hostage were killed; Somali officials and al-Shabaab gave differing tolls of fighters and civilians. Al-Shabaab announced on 16 January that it had executed Allex. Somalia's federal government condemned the raid as unilateral.
In short
Bulo Marer (Buulo Mareer) is a town in Lower Shabelle that was held by al-Shabaab in 2013. This page records the French attempt to rescue a hostage there, as the sources report it. Other foreign forces are covered in Foreign forces in Somalia.
The kidnapping, 2009
Denis Allex and a colleague, Marc Aubrière, both French agents, were kidnapped by al-Shabaab in Mogadishu in July 2009. Aubrière escaped a month later (Al Jazeera, 13 January 2013).
The raid, 12 January 2013
France's DGSE intelligence service launched the raid with helicopters. Ahmed Omar Mohamed, a regional official in Lower Shabelle, said: "Helicopters attacked al-Shabaab at 2.00am local time this morning." Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said: "All indications are (that Allex was) killed by his captors," and blamed the "intransigence of the terrorists". President François Hollande said the operation "confirms France's determination not to give in to the blackmail of terrorists." Al-Shabaab said Allex was alive and far from the fighting, that it held a wounded French soldier, and that French helicopters had bombed indiscriminately (Al Jazeera, 2013).
Wikipedia records that about 50 DGSE commandos took part; that US surveillance flights from Djibouti had helped locate Allex; and that President Barack Obama told Congress that US aircraft entered Somali airspace in limited support of the raid but did not use weapons (Wikipedia, Bulo Marer hostage rescue attempt). See Naval missions off Somalia for Camp Lemonnier.
Allex's death and the reactions
On 16 January 2013 al-Shabaab announced that it had "reached a unanimous decision" to execute Allex and that he had been executed, saying France had "voluntarily signed Allex's death warrant" by attempting the rescue. French officials maintained that he had been killed during the raid (Bill Roggio, Long War Journal, January 2013). On 13 January the federal government condemned the operation as unilateral, carried out without the knowledge or consent of the Somali authorities (Wikipedia).
Sources differ
- French dead. Le Drian first spoke of two soldiers killed; Al Jazeera reported one killed and one missing the next day; Wikipedia records two killed and a third believed killed.
- Civilian dead. Two, according to a Somali official; more than 10, according to al-Shabaab's spokesman Ali Mahmoud Rage (Al Jazeera); at least eight in Wikipedia's count. Wikipedia also reports an account from a DGSE officer, and a larger claim by the journalist Vincent Nouzille, that commandos killed civilians during the approach.
- Al-Shabaab dead. About 17 (Al Jazeera).
- When Allex died. During the raid (France); after it (al-Shabaab).
Read the primary sources yourself
Sources
- Al Jazeera, 13 January 2013 · aljazeera.com
- Wikipedia, Bulo Marer hostage rescue attempt · en.wikipedia.org
- Bill Roggio, Long War Journal, January 2013 · longwarjournal.org
Toosoo!
Calankii is made by Toosoo, which works for one united, prosperous Somalia.
Can you help with The French raid on Bulo Marer, January 2013? Tell us what you can give.
I want to help with this
Same era
- Australia18,401 people of Somali ancestry and 8,101 born in Somalia lived in Australia at the 2021 Census, more than half in Victoria. History, work, issues.
- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada2,845 people of Somali origin lived in Calgary at the 2021 Census, plus 890 in Brooks. How they came, who serves them and what they face.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
Keep reading
- The 2012 Somali presidential electionThe 2012 presidential election: the end of the transition, the 275 MPs chosen by elders, the vote of 10 September, bribery claims, and the new government.
- The 2016 Somali parliamentary electionSomalia's 2016 indirect parliamentary election: the elders and electoral colleges, the new Upper House, the 4.5 formula, malpractice and re-runs, women's seats, and the result.
- The 2017 Somali presidential electionThe 2016–2017 election: delegates and the new two-house Parliament, the vote of 8 February 2017 at the airport, Farmaajo's win, bribery claims and the cost.
- The 2017 Somaliland presidential electionSomaliland's 2017 presidential vote: the delays, the iris-scan register, the three candidates, results, the social media ban, the Burao shootings and the dispute.
- The 2021 Somaliland parliamentary and local electionsSomaliland's joint parliamentary and local council elections of 31 May 2021: the delay since 2005, the results, the opposition majority, women, and what observers found.
- The war in Somalia, 2009 to nowThe war since 2009: al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam against the government and AU troops, the 2011 Mogadishu withdrawal and famine, Kismayo, the 2022 offensive and 2025.