Stabilizing Recently Recovered Territories from al-Shabaab

The Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) has been involved in an offense against al-Shabaab since August 2022. The offensive war against al-Shabaab started organically by community militias known as Ma’awisley who were fed up with al-Shabaab’s extorsion, terror attacks, killings and forcibly recruiting children and youth in their war. This is the first time that the Somali National Army (SNA), and local communities like Ma’awisley are fighting against al-Shabaab collectively coupled with United States and Turkey aerial drones.

SGEM has organized its Forum for Solutions on this topic, entitled ‘Stabilizing Recently Recovered Territories from al-Shabaab’ which was held on November 25, 2023. The panelists included regional leaders, religious scholar/traditional elder and topic experts including Abdi Dahir Gure, Minister of Interior and Local Governance for Hirshabelle Federal Member State; Ubah Dhiblawe, Minister of Women and Human Rights Development for Galmudug Federal Member State; Sultan Abdisalam Qorane, Senior University Lecturer, Islamic Scholar and Expert on Counter Terrorism; and Duniyo Mohamed Ali, Executive Director of Somali Women Education Centre.

The forum provided an informative discussion on the overall status of the offensive against al-Shabaab in the national and regional levels, its challenges, and the ongoing stabilizing efforts in the Federal Member States (FMSs). Leaders from theFMSs identified the role that their ministries are playing, the challenges that  women and their families are facing, and the role women are playing in the overall efforts. Other panelists further highlighted the role that the civil society including women organizations and groups, traditional elder and religious leaders are playing in the offensive, and stabilizing the territories that are recently liberated from al-Shabaab.

Somali women play a significant role in supporting the offensive war against al-Shabaab. Women are members of the SNA and Ma’awisley militias, but most of their support comes as humanitarian, taking care of the injured, preparing and providing ration for the armed forces, fundraising from diaspora communities, providing encouragement and moral support, and conducting civic education for the citizens in the newly liberated areas.

Some of the key accomplishments highlighted include the liberation of 52,000 KM2 area from al-Shabaab including 126 districts, and villages in which 57 villages were operation centers created by al-Shabaab, and are currently in the hands of the government. Despite the significant progress make in the offensive against al-Shabaab, there are also some challenges including Somali National Army (SNA) stopping the fighting and restarting which gives al-Shabaab an opportunity to regroup and plan attacks against the SNA and the communities that are part of the offensive. In addition, the liberated areas face many challenges including lack of education and health care centers since some of these areas were under al-Shabaab control for the past 15 years. Lack of stabilization and development efforts for the newly liberated areas is another challenge. Women also face some specific challenges as they are excluded from the planning and stabilization efforts. This causes their views and specific needs are missing from the planning process, and as a result from the implementation of projects and services.

Some of the key recommendations are:

• Enhanced collaboration and coordination between the FGS and the FMSs on all the aspects of the fight with al-Shabaab.
• The FGS and the SNA to continue the offensive without any breaks or stoppage.
• To increase the engagement of local community members in the areas to be liberated.
• The business community, Somali diaspora, and the public in Somalia should be encouraged to provide more support for the offensive, and the stabilization and development efforts of the liberated areas, particularly of rebuilding and rehabilitating schools, hospitals, and Maternal and Child Health (MCH) centers.
• The government and civil society should provide more civic education and engagement for the residents of the newly liberated areas, and
• The Federal Government of Somalia in collaboration with the Federal Member States should build local governance for the newly liberated districts.