Within the framework of his implementation of his electoral promises, President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud worked after his accession to power to achieve the difficult equation in Somali security, as he sought to eliminate or reduce the threats of the terrorist Al-Shabaab movement on the one hand, and to call for the flow of foreign investment and development in the Somali state, which is in a state of crisis. On the other hand, the economic deterioration since the country fell into the circle of multiple crises during the last three decades.
Al-Shabaab, in an attempt to survive and prove its presence on the ground, escalated its operations and bloody attacks that went beyond the conflict with the security and military forces to reach civilians, especially Somali government officials and public facilities, and resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries, and parts of Somali cities turned into a battlefield, prompting the Somali president To pledge in his first statement addressed to the nation in August 2022 to launch an all-out war to eliminate Al-Shabaab.
Multidimensional strategy:
The Somali president adopted a multidimensional strategy, which he announced in September 2022 to eliminate Al-Shabaab, as this strategy includes extensive military and security tasks for the Somali forces with the support of the African Union Mission in the country, as well as American support, especially after the United States announced in May ) 2022 The redeployment of US soldiers to Somalia, as well as many civilian militias and farmers. In implementing this strategy, the Somali government relies on the support of the Somali clans, and the government seeks the help of tribal militias in central and southern Somalia, and has provided them with huge quantities of weapons and equipment.
In addition to the intellectual and religious dimensions by reformulating the religious discourse in a way that limits extremist ideology, and media restrictions on the movement, especially by monitoring social networks, and establishing a new television channel for this purpose, as well as curtailing the economic capabilities of the movement, which enjoys self-financing through many local sources, including The illegal trade in coal and the taxes it imposes on the population in the areas it controls. According to a report published by the Hiral Institute, which specializes in security affairs, at the end of October 2022, Al-Shabaab militants collect about $15 million a month, and more than half of the amount comes from the capital, Mogadishu. The report stated that fear and the real threat to the lives of citizens is the only motive that makes them pay money to the Al-Shabaab movement.
US forces have also targeted members of the movement in recent months. The US Africa Command announced in a statement in January that a US military strike killed about 30 Al-Shabaab militants near the town of Jalad in central Somalia, which witnessed fierce fighting. between the Somali army and terrorists.
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