# Somali Civil War The **Somali Civil War** began when rebel militias overthrew the military ruler Mohamed Siad Barre in January 1991 and then turned on each other. It has passed through three phases: a war among clan warlords in the 1990s, an Islamist takeover and Ethiopian invasion in 2006, and since then an insurgency by [[Al-Shabaab]], al-Qaeda's affiliate, against a federal government that survives with African Union troops and American air power. In late 2026 that government is also fighting over its own legitimacy. > [!note] Related pages > The country is at [[Somalia]], the insurgents at [[Al-Shabaab]] and the breakaway north, which has been largely at peace since the 1990s, at [[Somaliland]]. ## Course of the war | Date | Event | |---|---| | Jan 1991 | Siad Barre, in power since 1969, is overthrown; clan militias fight for Mogadishu | | 1991 | The former British protectorate in the north declares independence as Somaliland | | Dec 1992 | The United States lands troops in Operation Restore Hope to protect famine relief | | Oct 3–4, 1993 | Battle of Mogadishu: two Black Hawk helicopters are shot down, 18 American soldiers and hundreds of Somalis are killed. U.S. forces leave by March 1994 and the UN mission by 1995 | | Jun 2006 | The Islamic Courts Union, an alliance of sharia courts, takes Mogadishu from the warlords | | Dec 2006 | Ethiopia invades with American backing and drives the courts out; their youth militia, Al-Shabaab, begins an insurgency | | 2007 | The African Union deploys a peacekeeping force, which stays under three successive names | | 2010–2012 | A famine kills almost 260,000 people, by a UN-commissioned estimate | | Aug 2011 | African Union and government forces push Al-Shabaab out of Mogadishu | | Feb 2012 | Al-Shabaab formally pledges allegiance to al-Qaeda | | Oct 14, 2017 | A truck bomb in Mogadishu kills more than 500 people, the deadliest attack in the country's history | | Aug 2022 | The government and clan militias open an offensive that retakes territory in central Somalia | | Feb 20, 2025 | Al-Shabaab launches a counteroffensive in the Shabelle regions around the capital | | Mar 2026 | The federal government removes the president of South West State by force; parliament extends its own term and the president's | | Nov 5, 2026 | The Supreme Court rules the president's mandate expired in May and orders elections within 90 days | ## The fronts in 2026 **Against Al-Shabaab.** The group controls much of the rural south and center and is trying to take back what it lost in 2022. Somali and Ugandan troops were reported to have retaken two towns in Lower Shabelle in March 2026. The African Union mission's authorization runs out on December 31, 2026; the likeliest outcome, according to the research group Amani Africa, is one final year. Uganda, whose troops hold Mogadishu and Lower Shabelle, has begun leaving. **Against the Islamic State.** A smaller Islamic State branch holds out in the Golis Mountains of Puntland, in the northeast, and is a regular target of American airstrikes. **Inside the government.** Puntland and Jubaland suspended relations with Mogadishu in 2024. The opposition says parliament's mandate ran out on April 14, 2026 and the president's on May 15. The president relies on a March 2026 constitutional amendment extending both, has set elections for April and May 2027, and dismissed the chief justice the day before the court ruled against him. Amani Africa's assessment is that Al-Shabaab is trying to exploit the crisis. ## Outside hands - **United States:** airstrikes, 88 in 2026 by one November count of Africa Command's register, and backing for the UN office that supplies the African Union mission. Washington told the African Union in 2026 that it would not extend that backing beyond a one-year drawdown. - **[[Ethiopia]]:** invaded in 2006 and has troops in the country today. Bloomberg reported in September 2026 that it planned to withdraw about 3,000 of them as war resumed at home. - **[[Turkey]], [[Egypt]], [[Qatar]] and [[Saudi Arabia]]:** back the federal government. Saudi Arabia signed a military cooperation agreement with Mogadishu on February 9, 2026. - **[[United Arab Emirates]]:** trained forces in Puntland and runs the port of Berbera in Somaliland. Mogadishu cancelled all its agreements with the Emirates on January 12, 2026. The last two entries are one story: the [[Saudi-Emirati Rivalry]] reached Somalia in the winter of 2025–2026. ## Why it's on the map Somalia is one of the least-noticed of the [[Forever Wars]]: American forces have been striking targets there for most of two decades under the 2001 authorization (see [[AUMF]]). It is also the war whose refugees became a fixture of American immigration politics; see [[Somalia]] for that story. ## See Also - [[Somalia]] · [[Al-Shabaab]] · [[Somaliland]] · [[Saudi-Emirati Rivalry]] - [[Al-Qaeda]] · [[Islamic State]] · [[African Union]] · [[Ethiopia]] · [[Turkey]] - [[AUMF]] · [[Drone Warfare and Targeted Killing]] · [[Forever Wars]] · [[War on Terror Timeline]]