The war in Somalia, 2009 to now

In short

After Ethiopian troops left in January 2009 (see the war in Somalia, 2006–2009), the fighting did not stop. Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam fought the Transitional Federal Government of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and the African Union force, AMISOM.

In 2023 a UN panel of experts wrote that al-Shabaab "remains the most immediate threat to the peace, security and stability of Somalia" and that its "ability to carry out complex, asymmetric attacks in Somalia remains undiminished" (UN Panel of Experts, S/2023/724, summary).

This page gives the main stages. Each links to a fuller page.

2009–2010: the battle for Mogadishu

From the UN Secretary-General's reports:

• May to July 2009. After failed attacks in May and June, al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam "reinforced their ranks with militia from outside Mogadishu and foreign fighters". In fighting that peaked on 12 July 2009 they "came within 300 metres of the presidential palace (Villa Somalia)". Government forces and AMISOM pushed them back (S/2009/503, para. 14).
• A divided city. In September 2009 "disparate militia still controlled most neighbourhoods in Mogadishu", with "an estimated 20 to 50 fatalities per week" (same source, para. 15).
• 17 September 2009. Two vehicle bombs in stolen UN vehicles hit the AMISOM headquarters at the airport, killing at least 21 people, 17 of them AU soldiers (same source, para. 16). See Mogadishu attacks, 2009–2013.
• 11 July 2010. Suicide attacks in Kampala, Uganda, during the World Cup final killed "over 70 people". Al-Shabaab claimed them, the first time it had struck outside Somalia (S/2010/447, para. 6).
• Hospitals. The World Health Organization counted about 1,600 civilian casualties admitted to Mogadishu's two main hospitals between 20 March and 11 July 2010, including almost 400 children under five (same source, para. 22).
• Hizbul Islam was "severely weakened" after the Ras Kamboni group broke with it in May 2010 (same source, para. 14).

2011: withdrawal from Mogadishu and famine

• 20 July 2011. The UN declared famine in southern Bakool and Lower Shabelle. On 3 August it extended it to parts of Middle Shabelle, the Afgooye corridor and camps for displaced people in Mogadishu (S/2011/549, para. 21).
• 6 August 2011. "Following months of intense military operations by the Transitional Federal Government forces, supported by AMISOM troops, Al-Shabaab withdrew on 6 August from positions it had held in Mogadishu for nearly two years" (same source, para. 9).
• The famine's toll. A study by the UN's food security unit (FSNAU) and FEWS NET estimated that "famine and severe food insecurity in Somalia claimed the lives of about 258,000 people between October 2010 and April 2012, including 133,000 children under 5" (FSNAU, technical release, May 2013).
• Late 2011. "The combined operations of Kenyan military and Ethiopian troops working with forces allied with the Transitional Federal Government" gained ground outside Mogadishu, including Beledweyne on 31 December 2011 (S/2012/74, para. 8). The Kenyan contingent later joined AMISOM (S/2012/643, para. 29).

2012: the towns change hands

• May 2012. Government and AU forces took Afgooye and Afmadow, after earlier gains in Bay, Bakool and Hiiraan (S/2012/643, para. 25).
• Setbacks. When allied forces left Ceel Buur in June 2012, al-Shabaab regained southern Galgaduud (same source, para. 26).
• AMISOM's size. By August 2012 AMISOM was close to its authorised strength of 17,731 uniformed personnel (same source, para. 29).
• Marka and Kismayo. Their capture by AMISOM and Somali forces in late 2012 were "the most significant territorial gains" of the period (S/2013/69, para. 12). See the battles for Kismayo, 2006–2012.
• A new government. The transition ended in August and September 2012. See the 2012 presidential election.

2013–2021: an insurgency in the countryside

• Bombings. Al-Shabaab kept up attacks in the capital. The deadliest was the truck bomb at Zoobe junction on 14 October 2017, which killed at least 512 people. See the Mogadishu bombings, 2017–2022.
• Explosives. The UN panel noted that improvised explosive device casualties had peaked in 2017, at 2,294 (S/2023/724, note 14).
• Islamic State. A faction loyal to the Islamic State formed in Puntland. See Islamic State in Somalia.
• The AU mission. AMISOM became ATMIS on 1 April 2022, with a plan to hand security to Somali forces.

2022 to now: the offensive and after

• August 2022. The federal government, the army and clan fighters known as Macawisley opened the largest campaign against al-Shabaab in a decade, in Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle. See the offensive against al-Shabaab, 2022–2025 and Macawisley.
• 2023. The UN panel found that the offensive had "dented Al-Shabaab's ability to govern" in retaken areas, while the group "still controls significant areas of central and southern Somalia" (S/2023/724, summary and para. 8).
• 1 January 2025. AUSSOM replaced ATMIS.
• 2025. From February al-Shabaab retook most of the Middle Shabelle ground it had lost, including Adan Yabaal and, in July, Moqokori (see the offensive against al-Shabaab).

For a year-by-year list of political events, see the timeline, 2012 to 2026. For foreign troops, see foreign forces in Somalia.

Who suffered?

• People of Mogadishu, in years of street fighting, shelling and bombings: "20 to 50 fatalities per week" in late 2009 (S/2009/503) and 1,600 hospital admissions in under four months of 2010 (S/2010/447).
• People in the famine areas, about 258,000 dead from October 2010 to April 2012, more than half of them children under five (FSNAU).
• Victims of bombings, in Mogadishu and in Kampala in 2010 (S/2010/447).
• AU and Somali soldiers, including 17 AU soldiers killed at their headquarters on 17 September 2009 (S/2009/503).

Sources differ

• What to call it. Wikipedia and other works call this period the Somali Civil War (2009–present). UN reports describe it as fighting between the government, its allies and AMISOM on one side and al-Shabaab on the other.
• Who controls what. Government and al-Shabaab claims of territory differ. In 2023 the UN panel noted that al-Shabaab released videos of celebrations in nine regions "purportedly under the group's control" (S/2023/724, para. 8).

Read the primary sources yourself

• UN Secretary-General, reports on Somalia: S/2009/503, PDF; S/2010/447, PDF; S/2011/549, PDF; S/2012/74, PDF; S/2012/643, PDF; S/2013/69, PDF.
• UN Panel of Experts on Somalia, final report, S/2023/724 (2 October 2023): PDF.
• FSNAU and FEWS NET, Mortality among populations of southern and central Somalia affected by severe food insecurity and famine during 2010–2012 (May 2013): PDF.