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The offensive against al-Shabaab and the Macawisley, 2022–2025
In August 2022 the federal government, clan fighters known as Macawisley and the army opened the largest campaign against al-Shabaab in a decade, starting in Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle. ACLED counted more than 215 places retaken in the first phase. A second phase was postponed in 2023, and from February 2025 al-Shabaab took back most of the Middle Shabelle ground it had lost, including Adan Yabaal and, in July, Moqokori.
In short
This page tells the story of one campaign: the war the federal government declared on al-Shabaab in 2022, fought by the 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 describes those in Hiiraan as "a grassroots militia" of the Hawadle clan, fighting al-Shabaab in the countryside around Beledweyne (Garowe Online, 21 May 2025). Fighters from other clans in Hiiraan, Middle Shabelle and Galgaduud, including the Abgaal and Gaalje'el, 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 and Galmudug states (CTC Sentinel, May 2025).
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 (Paul D. Williams, CTC Sentinel, April 2024).
The stall, 2023
The second phase, Operation Black Lion, was to move south against al-Shabaab's strongholds in 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). Williams reported that more than 1,300 Turkish-trained Gorgor troops deserted during the offensive and several hundred were killed (CTC Sentinel, April 2024).
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, 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). See Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and The bomb attack on the president's convoy in Mogadishu, 18 March 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). Al-Shabaab took Moqokori on 7 July 2025 after months of fighting (Garowe Online, How al-Shabaab captured Moqokori).
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). Turkey has flown armed drones in support of the army since late 2022 (CTC Sentinel, April 2024).
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). For the human side, see Al-Shabaab: the harm it does and how Somalis respond.
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
Sources
- Garowe Online, 21 May 2025 · garoweonline.com
- CTC Sentinel, May 2025 · ctc.westpoint.edu
- Paul D. Williams, CTC Sentinel, April 2024 · ctc.westpoint.edu
- Garowe Online, How al-Shabaab captured Moqokori · garoweonline.com
- Mapping Militant Organizations, Stanford University · mappingmilitants.org
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Where it happened
- Gaalkacyo (Galkayo) and MudugMudug is a region of central Somalia with about 1.5 million people, split between Puntland in the north and Galmudug in the south.
- Jowhar (Johar) and Middle ShabelleMiddle Shabelle is the farming region along the Shabelle river north of Mogadishu, with Jowhar as its capital and about 1 to 1.26 million people.
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.