Somalia renews U.S.-backed fight against militants

— U.S.-backed airstrikes and recently expanded ground operations have shifted momentum in Somalia’s long-running war against the Al Qaeda-linked Shabab militant group, the government says, touting successes in the fight such as efforts to reclaim territory from the extremists and the targeting of the group’s leadership and bomb-making network.

- By Omar FaRuK

The turn comes at a pivotal moment: African Union peacekeeping forces are gradually drawing down and Somalia is assuming greater responsibility for its own security, nearly two decades after Shabab emerged as a dominant insurgent force.

Here is a look at what has changed and what remains uncertain in the conflict.

How Somalia got here

Shabab emerged in the mid-2000s as the armed wing of the now-outlawed Islamic Courts Union coalition before aligning itself with Al Qaeda. At its peak, it controlled much of southern and central Somalia, including parts of Mogadishu, the country’s capital.

African Union troops pushed Shabab out of Mogadishu in 201, but the group adapted, reverting to guerrilla warfare, suicide bombings and targeted assassinations. It continues to raise millions of dollars annually through taxation and extortion, according to U. N. monitors.

The United States has carried out airstrikes in Somalia for more than a decade.

In 2020, during his first term in office, President Trump ordered most U.S. troops withdrawn. In 2022, President Biden approved the redeployment of U.S. forces to Somalia, restoring a more sustained advisory and counterterrorism presence.

Retaking territory from Shabab

Authorities say Somali troops have retaken areas in the regions of Lower Shabelle, Hiiraan, Middle Shabelle and parts of Jubbaland that had been under the militants’ control for years.

Omar Ali Abdi, Somalia’s state minister for defense, told the Associated Press that locations in Lower Shabelle, including Jilib Marka, Gendershe and Dhanaane, which had long served as Shabab strongholds, are now in military hands.