Al-Shabaab in East Africa
2004 – 2022

Al-Shabaab in East Africa

With brazen terrorist attacks at home and abroad, the Somalia-based Islamist insurgent group has proved resilient despite strategic setbacks in recent years.

2004
June 2004

Islamic Courts Union Emerges

A Somalia Islamic Courts Union's security agent patrols the streets of Bermuda village in Wagberi district, central Mogadishu
ICU security forces patrol the streets of Mogadishu. Shabelle Media/Reuters

A coalition of eleven sharia courts form the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and name Sharif Sheikh Ahmed its leader.

2004
2004
October 2004

Transitional Federal Government Formed

New elected Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf looks on as the Somali flag is hoisted during a swearing in ceremony in Nairobi, as a military officer salutes.
President Abdullahi Yusuf after a swearing-in ceremony in Nairobi, Kenya. Radu Sigheti/Reuters

Somalia’s internationally backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG), comprising representatives of the country’s largest clans, is formed in exile in Nairobi. Abdullahi Yusuf is elected president of the interim body.

2004
2006
June 2006

Mogadishu Falls

Members of a Somali Islamic Court militia cradle their weapons and raise their fists to celebrate.
Al-Shabaab fighters seize the capital. Shabelle Media/Reuters

Backed by al-Shabaab militants, the ICU wrests control of Mogadishu after clashing with a coalition of warlords.

2006
2006
December 6, 2006

Ethiopia Invades

Ethiopian troops ride on a military truck in Somali's capital Mogadishu.
Ethiopian troops ride on a military truck in Mogadishu. Sahal Abdulle/Reuters

Ethiopia, a majority-Christian nation, invades and takes Mogadishu with little ICU opposition.

2006
2007

A Turning Point for al-Shabaab

Militants of al Shabaab display weapons in front of people on a street in the outskirts of Mogadishu
Al-Shabaab militants display weapons on the outskirts of Mogadishu. Mowlid Abdi/Reuters

Galvanized by the invasion, al-Shabaab transforms into the most powerful Somali guerrilla group, well funded and thousands strong.

2007
2007
January 7, 2007

Transitional Government Enters Mogadishu

Somalian forces loyal to the TFG (Transition Federal Government) patrol the streets in Mogadishu
Somali forces loyal to the Transition Federal Government (TFG) patrol the streets in Mogadishu. Peter Delarue/AFP/Getty Images

The TFG moves into the capital from its interim headquarters in the western city of Baidoa.

2007
2007
February 2007

Regional Peacekeepers Arrive

Ugandan soldiers, part of the first African Union peacekeepers, walk of a plane at Mogadishu airport.
Ugandan soldiers arrive at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu. Shabelle Media/Reuters

The United Nations approves a regional peacekeeping force known by its acronym, AMISOM, to support the TFG in its battle against al-Shabaab.

2007
2008
February 2008

U.S. Designates al-Shabaab Terrorists

Al-Shabab fighters carrying flags and wepons, march on the outskirts of Mogadishu.
Al-Shabaab fighters march on the outskirts of Mogadishu. Mowliid Ibdi/Reuters

The U.S. State Department designates al-Shabaab a foreign terrorist organization, blocking anyone in the United States from providing financial support to the group.

2008
2009
January 13, 2009

Ethiopia Pulls Out

Ethiopian troops withdraw from Somalia after a series of setbacks and are replaced by AMISOM forces. The country redeploys troops to Somalia in 2014, when it becomes a contributor to the regional force.

2009
2010
July 11, 2010

A Transnational Terrorist Threat

Three women mourn during a memorial service for Eritreans killed by bomb attack.
Family members mourn during a memorial service for Eritreans killed in twin bombings in Kampala. Reuters

Al-Shabaab, in its first foreign terrorist attack, carries out multiple suicide bombings in Kampala, Uganda, killing seventy-four people.

2010
2011
August 2011

AMISOM Turns the Corner

Ugandan peacekeepers from African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) sit outside the stadium in southern Mogadishu
AMISOM forces sit outside Mogadishu Stadium. Feisal Omar/Reuters

AMISOM and TFG forces push al-Shabaab out of Mogadishu and other major urban centers after a yearlong offensive.

2011
2011
October 16, 2011

Kenya Marches In

A Kenyan Defence Force soldier is pictured looking through branches.
A member of the Kenyan Defense Force looks out from a military vehicle in Ras Kamboni, Somalia. Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images

Kenya invades southern Somalia in Operation Linda Nchi following kidnappings claimed by the militant group. The country’s forces are integrated into AMISOM in February 2012.

2011
2012
February 2012

Tying the Knot With al-Qaeda

Somalis hold placards as they demonstrate against the Al Shebab Somali rebel group's announcement that they will offically join the Al Qaeda Islamic militant network
Demonstrators in Mogadishu hold posters opposing al-Shabaab’s announcement that it will join the al-Qaeda network. Mohamed Abdiwahab/AFP/Getty Images

Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri announces al-Shabaab’s affiliation with the jihadi network.

2012
2012
October 2012

The Fall of Kismayo

Kenyan soldiers standing in front of airport in Kismayo.
Kenyan forces serving with AMISOM enter the port city of Kismayo. Stuart Price/AFP/Getty Images

Backed by local Somali forces, Kenyan troops sweep into Kismayo, ousting al-Shabaab from its last major stronghold and cutting off a major source of the militant group’s funding.

2012
2013
January 17, 2013

A New Beginning

Hillary Clinton shakes hands with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud at the State Department.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shakes hands with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud at the State Department. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

The United States recognizes the government of Somalia after a hiatus of more than twenty years. “There is still a long way to go and many challenges to confront, but we have seen a new foundation for that better future being laid,” says Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

2013
2013
September 21 – 24, 2013

Terror in Nairobi

A police officer with machine gun hides behind wall in the Westgate Shopping Center, looking for suspects.
A police officer secures an area inside the Westgate Shopping Center, where al-Shabaab gunmen went on a shooting spree. Siegfried Modola/Reuters

In a multiday raid on a Nairobi mall, al-Shabaab militants kill sixty-seven people. It is the deadliest terrorist attack in Kenya in fifteen years.

2013
2013
December 2013

U.S. Deploys Ground Troops

An AMISOM soldier keeps guard on top of an armored vehicle in Mogadishu.
An AMISOM soldier keeps guard on top of an armored vehicle in Mogadishu. Siegfried Modola/Reuters

The U.S. military sends a small team of advisors to Mogadishu to assist AMISOM forces. It is the first U.S. deployment since eighteen soldiers were killed in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu.

2013
2014
September 1, 2014

Al-Shabaab Leader Killed

A photo showing two men sitting and watching a CNN news broadcast showing the face of slain al-Shabab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane.
A news broadcast shows slain al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane. Mohamed Abdiwahab/AFP/Getty Images

Ahmed Diriye, also known as Ahmed Umar Abu Ubaidah, becomes al-Shabaab’s leader after Ahmed Abdi Godane, one of the group’s founders, is killed in a U.S. air strike.

 

2014
2014
October 5, 2014

Port City Liberated

Somali soldiers with machine guns sitting on truck.
Somali forces make their way to Barawe during the second phase of Operation Indian Ocean. Feisal Omar/Reuters

Somali and AMISOM troops retake the southern coastal city of Barawe nearly six years after al-Shabaab gained control of the area.

2014
2015
April 2, 2015

Kenya Again Under Attack

A woman holds another woman who cries after a terrorist attack in Kenya.
Students are evacuated from Garissa University College. Carl de Souza/AFP/Getty Images

Al-Shabaab militants in central Kenya kill 148 people at Garissa University College. The fifteen-hour siege, in which gunmen hold more than seven hundred students hostage, overtakes the 2013 mall raid as the group’s deadliest attack in the country.

2015
2017
February 8, 2017

A Contentious Election

Mohamed Farmaajo addresses lawmakers after winning the presidency.
Mohamed Farmaajo addresses lawmakers after winning the presidency. Feisal Omar/Reuters

Former Prime Minister Mohamed Farmaajo wins the presidency in Somalia. The government hails the election as the final step in its decades-long path toward effective central governance, but international observers criticize the election as corrupt.

2017
2017
October 15, 2017

Mogadishu Bombings

Civilians carry the dead body of an unidentified man from the scene of an explosion in Mogadishu.
Civilians carry the dead body of an unidentified man from the scene of an explosion in Mogadishu. Feisal Omar/Reuters

In Somalia’s deadliest terrorist attack, truck bombings in the capital city kill more than five hundred people and injure three hundred others. Al-Shabaab is widely believed to be behind the attack, though it does not claim responsibility. Two weeks later, Shabaab militants kill at least twenty-nine people during a siege on a hotel in Mogadishu; the dead include senior government and police officials.

2017
2017
November 21, 2017

U.S. Escalates Strikes

More than one hundred people suspected of being militants affiliated with al-Shabaab are killed in a single U.S. air strike northwest of Mogadishu, according to the Pentagon. The strike is one of more than 275 in Somalia authorized by the Trump administration.

2017
2017
September 30, 2017

AMISOM Looks Toward Drawdown

Burundian soldiers board a UN plane at Bujumbura International Airport to replace AMISOM troops in Somalia.
Burundian soldiers board a UN plane at Bujumbura International Airport to replace AMISOM troops in Somalia. Renovat Ndabashinze/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The UN Security Council approves the withdrawal of a thousand AMISOM troops by the end of 2017, the first time it cuts troop numbers in Somalia, as part of a transition of security responsibilities to the Somali government. Less than a year later, it votes to delay further reductions until 2019.

2017
2019
January 15, 2019

Attack on Kenya Hotel

Rescuers and journalists evacuate an injured man from the Dusit hotel compound in Nairobi, Kenya.
Rescuers and journalists evacuate an injured man from the Dusit hotel compound in Nairobi, Kenya. Njeri Mwangi/Reuters

Al-Shabaab claims responsibility for a deadly siege at a Nairobi luxury hotel complex. At least fourteen people are killed and hundreds of civilians trapped during the hours-long standoff between gunmen and security forces.

2019
2019
October 2, 2019

U.S. Embassy Reopens

Beachgoers watch a military plane landing at Mogadishu’s airport.
Beachgoers watch a military plane landing at Mogadishu’s airport, where the U.S. embassy was reopened in 2019. Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images

After a twenty-eight-year gap, Washington reopens its embassy in Mogadishu. That same day, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announces nearly $260 million in new humanitarian assistance for the country.

2019
20192020
December 28, 2019 – January 8, 2020

Deadly Attacks Signal Resurgence

A Somali police officer walks past wreckage at the scene of a car bombing in Mogadishu on December 28, 2019.
A Somali police officer walks past wreckage at the scene of a car bombing in Mogadishu in December 2019. Feisal Omar/Reuters

Al-Shabaab claims it was behind several attacks in the Somali capital and northern Kenya around the start of the new year. The first, a suicide truck bombing in Mogadishu, kills 82 people and injures close to 150 others. Soon after, the group attacks a Kenyan military base that houses U.S. troops, killing three U.S. personnel; and a car bombing near the Somali parliament building kills four people.

20192020
20212022

A Protracted Leadership Crisis

People hold posters during a protest against Farmaajo in Mogadishu.
People hold posters during a protest against Farmaajo in Mogadishu on April 25, 2021. AFP/Getty Images

The COVID-19 pandemic and disagreements among political leaders cause repeated delays to Somalia’s parliamentary and indirect presidential elections, leaving President Farmaajo in power despite his term expiring in February 2021. The crisis lasts for more than a year and sets back counterinsurgency efforts. On May 15, 2022, former President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is declared winner after three rounds of voting by legislators, and he assumes office a week later.

20212022
2022
April 1, 2022

AMISOM Becomes ATMIS

The African Union, UN Security Council, and Somali government replace AMISOM with a transition mission known as ATMIS that is set to hand over security responsibilities to Somali forces at the end of 2024. The move comes after years of postponing the drawdown, though ATMIS’s mandate is largely the same as AMISOM’s.

2022
2022

Incursion Into Ethiopia

Hundreds of al-Shabaab fighters cross the border into eastern Ethiopia while the country is embroiled in a civil conflict. Ethiopian forces eventually push back the militants and claim to kill hundreds within the group’s ranks, while al-Shabaab says it killed several dozen Ethiopian soldiers. It is considered al-Shabaab’s biggest operation inside Ethiopia, and despite retreating, it remains active in the border region.

2022
2022
October 29, 2022

Bombings Target Education Ministry

Damage outside the education ministry is seen after car bombings targeted the building..
Damage outside the education ministry is seen after car bombings targeted the building on October 29, 2022. Hassan Ali Elmi/AFP/Getty Images

Double car bombings outside the education ministry in Mogadishu kill at least 120 people and injure 300 others. Al-Shabaab claims responsibility for the attack, which comes amid a major counterinsurgency campaign by the new Somali government.

2022