Ethiopia's military in Somalia since 2006

In short

Ethiopia, Somalia's largest neighbour, has had troops in Somalia for most of the period since 2006: as an intervening army in 2006–2009, as part of the AU missions since 2014, and in bilateral deployments along the border. A timeline of all the wars is at Ethiopia and Somalia at war. Earlier wars between the two states are covered in The Ogaden war and The 1982 border war. This page is part of Foreign forces in Somalia.

The 2006 intervention

Wikipedia records reports of Ethiopian armoured vehicles crossing the border from June 2006, an estimated 5,000 Ethiopian troops inside Somalia by 20 July 2006 according to Reuters, and the first clash with Islamic Courts forces at Burhakaba on 9 October 2006. Ethiopia publicly acknowledged on 24 December 2006 that its forces were fighting the Islamic Courts Union (Wikipedia, War in Somalia (2006–2009)). Ethiopian and transitional government forces entered Mogadishu in late December 2006. The Council on Foreign Relations records the view that the intervention helped radicalise al-Shabaab (CFR, Al-Shabaab backgrounder).

Numbers. Ethiopia's government said 4,000 troops; the transitional government spoke of 12,000–15,000; other estimates reached 50,000 (Wikipedia).

Mogadishu, 2007

Insurgent attacks on Ethiopian and government forces began within a week of their arrival in January 2007. In two rounds of fighting, from 29 March to 2 April and from 18 to 26 April 2007, Human Rights Watch found that:

• insurgents fired mortars from populated areas without spotters and executed suspected informers;
• Ethiopian forces carried out area bombardment with BM-21 rockets and artillery, hit hospitals repeatedly, and occupied and looted the al-Hayat and al-Arafat hospitals;
• government forces looted widely, blocked aid and mistreated detainees.

HRW said the parties showed "a wanton disregard for civilian life and property" and that some of the acts, committed with criminal intent, amounted to war crimes. The UN estimated that at least 365,000 people had fled the city by late April 2007 (Human Rights Watch, Shell-Shocked: Civilians under Siege in Mogadishu, August 2007).

Withdrawal. Ethiopian forces withdrew from Mogadishu in January 2009, the month Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was elected president. Wikipedia gives estimates of 16,210–20,000 civilians killed in the war (citing Reuters) and over a million people displaced by November 2007 (Wikipedia). See Islamist movements and transitional governments, 2000 to 2012.

In the AU missions and outside them

Ethiopian forces returned to Somalia in November 2011. On 22 January 2014, at a flag ceremony in Baidoa, 4,395 Ethiopian troops formally joined AMISOM as its sixth contingent, covering Gedo, Bay and Bakool (VOA, January 2014; Hiiraan Online, January 2014). It was later allotted 2,500 troops in AUSSOM. Other Ethiopian troops have served outside the AU missions under bilateral arrangements, for example in Gedo; see Jubaland security forces.

The 2024 crisis and Ankara

On 1 January 2024 Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland on sea access, which Somalia called an attack on its sovereignty. Somalia signed defence agreements with Turkey in February 2024 and Egypt in August 2024; when Egyptian arms arrived, Ethiopia said it could not "stand idle" (The National, 29 August 2024). Turkish mediation produced the Ankara Declaration between Somalia and Ethiopia on 11 December 2024, and Ethiopia remained in AUSSOM (see AUSSOM). In October 2026 Ethiopia was reported to have recently withdrawn some troops from Somalia (Addis Standard via AllAfrica, 27 October 2026).

Sources differ

• Size of the 2006 force. 4,000 (Ethiopian government), 12,000–15,000 (transitional government), up to 50,000 or more (other estimates).
• Civilian deaths in Mogadishu, 2007. HRW cited estimates by local groups and Hawiye elders of 400 to 1,000 killed in the first round of fighting and almost 300 in the second, which it could not verify independently.

Read the primary sources yourself

• Human Rights Watch, Shell-Shocked: Civilians under Siege in Mogadishu (2007): report.
• Council on Foreign Relations, Al-Shabaab backgrounder: page.