Faisal Abbas 
Al -Shabab, loyal to al -Qaeda, launched extensive attacks on the Central Shabili region for the first time after being expelled from most of the regions and towns of this region in 2023, after the government military campaign launched by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud in August 2022, in implementation of the promises he made during his election campaign to curb the movement and liberate the country from its grip. The recent “youth” attacks were coordinated and planned, and targeted several strategic towns in the center of the country, to reach the city of Aden, which was the main stronghold of the movement.
Hundreds of “Youth” militants were able to cross and control these towns in different periods after the withdrawal of the Somali forces and local tribes militias, before the movement retreated as a result of the air strikes that targeted its leaders, killing many field leaders and hundreds of militants, according to government sources. According to the Somali News Agency, the security forces carried out a military operation in the Bousseri area, and were able to neutralize 29 gunmen from Al -Shabaab last Friday. The Somali forces also raided the Jambuloul area in the Lower Shubili region, and killed 12 “youth” militants, noting that the Somali army continued to pursue the remnants of the movement.
Omar Farah: The movement is trying to benefit from the month of Ramadan to march its elements to carry out deadly attacks
The Somali army announced, in a statement published by the Somali News Agency (Souna), yesterday, Saturday, that it would confront an attempt to attack the youth movement in the Central Shabili region. He said that he “tackled an attempt to attack a terrorist carried out by the youth militias, as he tried to attack military sites of the armed forces in the city of Uitaghli in the Lower Shabili province, and in the vicinity of the Porsha Sheikh in the Central Shabili region,” stressing that “the terrorists suffered heavy losses during the confrontations, as a large number of militia members were eliminated.” The agency stated that “the national forces carried out, last night (Friday), a precise military operation that targeted a gathering of terrorist militia militias in the Labo Gros area in the Central Shabili region, where the site was completely destroyed and all the elements in it were eliminated.”
Somali Minister of Defense Abdel Qader Mohamed Nour said in a brief statement broadcast by the local media last Thursday, that extensive military operations are underwent by the Somali army against “youth”, and that the air strikes targeted the remnants of the movement’s militants in separate areas of the Lower and Central Shibli regions, including the town of Ayel Baad and the village of Ali Ali Ahmed and the town of Ayel Jars, along with the Jambulbul region in the province of Shabili, as well as targeting the raids in which the raids were hidden Movement elements. He pointed out that these air strikes led to the liquidation of nearly 150 militants of the movement. Nour explained that the Somali government sent instructions to the local population in those areas not to approach the areas of the “youth” remnants for fear of air strikes, and the government used local radio stations and tribal sheikhs to warn the population and villagers to move away from the areas where the confrontations take place in the middle of the country.
This comes after the Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Berri announced last Monday that the federal government is in the process of launching a large -scale military operation against “youth” during the month of Ramadan. This process comes within the framework of the government’s ongoing efforts to stop the “youth” attacks and restore the lands it controls in southern and central Somalia. The Prime Minister, especially tribes, scholars, and intellectuals, called for supporting government forces in their battle against the movement. He also stressed the importance of not falling into the trap of misleading propaganda and false news promoted by “youth”, stressing that the government will take strict measures to prevent any attempts aimed at destabilizing and security in the country. He pointed to the existence of those who described them as local enemies and opponents who seek to strike the unity of the Somali people, and to deny it to benefit from their natural resources. He stressed the importance of overcoming these challenges to ensure a more stable and prosperous future for the country.
According to observers, the “youth” attacks on the center of the country did not succeed, but the movement was subjected to new military setbacks after its militants retreated and hundreds of its elements lost due to the intensification of the battles in the battlefields on the one hand, and the intensity of the air strikes targeting their vehicles and their military movements on the other hand, which thwarted their plans to re -spread again in the center of the country, in order to raise the military pressure on the rest of its elements in the province After losing the largest city in this region the past two years.
Al -Shabab is trying to review its strength
On the goal of the “youth” attacks, the Somali journalist Omar Farah said, in an interview with “Al -Arabi Al -Jadeed”, that the movement is trying to benefit from the month of Ramadan to march its elements to carry out deadly attacks and intensify its military attacks, reviewing its strength and its ability to destabilize the areas of the center and south, but this escalation is not new, but rather an attempt to establish its existence and confirm that it is still a field player despite the pressure Continuous security and military. Farah added that the decline in the Somali army and its withdrawal from some towns at the beginning of the “youth” attacks cannot be considered a security breakthrough, but rather is part of the open war between the Somali army and the “youth” fighters, and the army proved its steadfastness in confronting the recent attack, as government forces managed to regain control of the targeted areas in the Central Shabili province, which reflects the readiness and vigilance of the security services in the face of threats.
Hassan Muhammad Al -Hajj: The situation needs more integrated security strategies and international support
Regarding whether the army was able to thwart the movement’s plans, Farah said that the movement was seeking to threaten the inhabited areas and restore its influence in the center of the country, but this dream was not achieved and did not succeed in weighting the fight against its favor, and these battles have not yet been decided, explaining that after a month of confrontations between the Somali army and the movement’s militants, this reflects that the “youth” was unable to extract control over new areas.
According to a report of the Global Terrorism Index 2025, the military operations led by the Somali government came with positive security results and reduced the pace of “youth” attacks by 25%, as the number of victims of the movement’s attacks in Somalia fell from 512 in 2023, to 387 in 2024, after the deployment of units of the security forces in the outskirts of Mogadishu, and the reduction of suicide attacks that were carried out by cars The bombing that falls huge numbers of victims, in addition to the fight against security cells that were carrying out assassinations against merchants, politicians and tribal elders in Mogadishu.
America warns of “youth” attacks
The “youth” attacks on the center of Somalia were recently locally and regionally, according to which the American embassy in Mogadishu sent security warnings for its citizens of the possibility of suicide attacks in the capital that could target gatherings and government offices, as well as Mogadishu Airport. Despite the security efforts made by the Somali government backed by the African forces, the movement was launching violent attacks and targeting rural areas and areas suffering from weak security control by government agencies.
In this context, security researcher Hassan Mohamed Al -Hajj said, in an interview with Al -Arabi Al -Jadeed, that the performance of the government security services in the face of “youth” was characterized by challenges and difficulties, and although the government carried out some military operations against the movement, its performance was criticized by some observers, due to the limited government forces in some areas, the lack of coordination between the army and the local tribal militia Cities.
Al -Hajj pointed out that the government was unable to completely eliminate the movement’s threats despite some military successes. The youth movement is still able to launch attacks and occupy small areas, which reflects its strength in some areas. But he added that the government was able to reduce the movement of the movement’s control in some sensitive areas, and to intensify the efforts to combat terrorism, but the challenge still exists in the face of “youth” in Somalia, and the situation needs more integrated security strategies, greater international support, and an improvement in the economic and social conditions that can limit the growing armed groups fighting the Somali government.
