# The offensive against al-Shabaab and the Macawisley, 2022–2025 > The 2022–2025 campaign against al-Shabaab: how the Macawisley clan fighters rose, what was retaken, why the second phase stalled, and al-Shabaab's 2025 return. Source page: https://calankii.com/en/history/offensive-against-al-shabaab-2022-2025/ Last checked: 2026-11-12 Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com) ## In short This page tells the story of one campaign: the war the federal government declared on [al-Shabaab](/en/history/al-shabaab/) in 2022, fought by the [Somali National Army](/en/institutions/somali-national-army/), clan fighters and foreign partners, and al-Shabaab's counter-offensive of 2025. It records the acts of each force as the sources describe them. ## Who the Macawisley are *Macawisley* (also written Ma'awisley or Macwiisley) is a name for local clan fighters. It refers to the *macawis*, the sarong many of them wear, as opposed to soldiers' uniforms. [Garowe Online](/en/economy/somali-media-companies/) describes those in [Hiiraan](/en/regions/hiiraan/) as "a grassroots militia" of the Hawadle clan, fighting al-Shabaab in the countryside around Beledweyne ([Garowe Online, 21 May 2025](https://garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/hawadle-clan-militias-left-to-fight-al-shabaab-alone-in-somalia-s-hiiraan-region)). Fighters from other clans in Hiiraan, Middle [Shabelle](/en/economy/farming-and-harvests/) and [Galgaduud](/en/regions/galgaduud/), including the Abgaal and [Gaalje'el](/en/society/gaaljecel/), joined later phases. ## Phase one, August 2022–2023 Daisy Muibu and Yayedior Mbengue, writing in West Point's *CTC Sentinel*, record that the offensive began in August 2022. Federal forces fought alongside the Macawisley and had US and Turkish drone support. An ACLED report of April 2023 counted more than 215 places retaken in the first phase, mostly in [Hirshabelle](/en/states/hirshabelle/) and [Galmudug](/en/states/galmudug/) states ([CTC Sentinel, May 2025](https://ctc.westpoint.edu/somalia-at-a-crossroads-resurgent-insurgents-fragmented-politics-and-the-uncertain-future-of-aussom/)). Among the towns taken was Adan Yabaal in Middle Shabelle, a former al-Shabaab hub, in December 2022 (same source). In January 2023 the government said it would train and equip 24,000 more troops by 2024, mainly with money from the UAE and [Qatar](/en/diaspora/qatar/) ([Paul D. Williams, *CTC Sentinel*, April 2024](https://ctc.westpoint.edu/the-somali-national-army-versus-al-shabaab-a-net-assessment/)). ## The stall, 2023 The second phase, Operation Black Lion, was to move south against al-Shabaab's strongholds in [Jubaland](/en/states/jubaland/) and South West. It was postponed by June 2023. In August 2023 al-Shabaab attacked army positions at Cowsweyne in Galgaduud, causing heavy losses, and the southern Galmudug front collapsed ([CTC Sentinel, May 2025](https://ctc.westpoint.edu/somalia-at-a-crossroads-resurgent-insurgents-fragmented-politics-and-the-uncertain-future-of-aussom/)). Williams reported that more than 1,300 Turkish-trained [Gorgor](/en/institutions/turkey-military-in-somalia/) troops deserted during the offensive and several hundred were killed ([CTC Sentinel, April 2024](https://ctc.westpoint.edu/the-somali-national-army-versus-al-shabaab-a-net-assessment/)). ## Al-Shabaab's return, 2025 Al-Shabaab began its counter-offensive in February 2025, just before Ramadan, mainly in Middle Shabelle. It retook Adan Yabaal on about 16 April 2025, and by mid-May had retaken most of the Middle Shabelle ground lost since 2022. Its fighters fired mortars at the army base in [Afgooye](/en/regions/lower-shabelle/), about 30 km from Mogadishu. On 18 March 2025 a bomb near Mogadishu targeted President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who was unhurt ([CTC Sentinel, May 2025](https://ctc.westpoint.edu/somalia-at-a-crossroads-resurgent-insurgents-fragmented-politics-and-the-uncertain-future-of-aussom/)). See [Hassan Sheikh Mohamud](/en/people/hassan-sheikh-mohamud/) and [The bomb attack on the president's convoy in Mogadishu, 18 March 2025](/en/history/attack-on-president-convoy-mogadishu-2025/). In Hiiraan, Garowe Online reported in May 2025 that the Hawadle fighters were "left to fight al-Shabaab alone" as federal support fell, and local officials said "the government's support has diminished significantly" ([Garowe Online, 21 May 2025](https://garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/hawadle-clan-militias-left-to-fight-al-shabaab-alone-in-somalia-s-hiiraan-region)). Al-Shabaab took Moqokori on 7 July 2025 after months of fighting ([Garowe Online, How al-Shabaab captured Moqokori](https://garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/somalia-how-al-shabaab-captured-moqokori-town-from-govt-forces)). ## Air strikes US air strikes rose sharply in 2025: Stanford's Mapping Militants project counted about 30 between January and May 2025, against 51 in all of 2021–2024 ([Mapping Militant Organizations, Stanford University](https://mappingmilitants.org/profiles/al-shabaab)). Turkey has flown armed drones in support of the army since late 2022 ([CTC Sentinel, April 2024](https://ctc.westpoint.edu/the-somali-national-army-versus-al-shabaab-a-net-assessment/)). ## Who suffered? The sources record harm to civilians in the contested districts. The UN reported that al-Shabaab recruited about 900 children and abducted 663 in 2022 ([CTC Sentinel, April 2024](https://ctc.westpoint.edu/the-somali-national-army-versus-al-shabaab-a-net-assessment/)). For the human side, see [Al-Shabaab: the harm it does and how Somalis respond](/en/society/al-shabaab/). ## Sources differ - **How much ground changed hands.** Government, al-Shabaab and independent counts differ; ACLED's are the most often cited. - **Casualties.** The government and al-Shabaab each publish their own figures, and they differ. ## Read the primary sources yourself - Daisy Muibu and Yayedior Mbengue, "Somalia at a crossroads", *CTC Sentinel* 18:5 (2025): [article](https://ctc.westpoint.edu/somalia-at-a-crossroads-resurgent-insurgents-fragmented-politics-and-the-uncertain-future-of-aussom/). - Paul D. Williams, "The Somali National Army versus al-Shabaab: A net assessment", *CTC Sentinel* 17:4 (2024): [article](https://ctc.westpoint.edu/the-somali-national-army-versus-al-shabaab-a-net-assessment/). --- I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. Fix this page: email hello@calankii.com with the page link and your source.