Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Welcome! Log in to stay connected and make the most of your experience.

Input clean

AMISOM: A Decade into the Fight Against Al Shabaab

<p>Ruins in Mogadishu after a truck bombing.</p>

The multinational peacekeeping force known as AMISOM has been losing the momentum in its battle against al Shabaab in Somalia, as evidenced by the massive Oct. 14th truck bomb that killed more than 350 people in the capital Mogadishu. While AMISOM – the African Union Mission in Somalia – was initially successful in rooting out the group from southern Somalia, it can’t address the root cause that has given al Shabaab purchase on the population: a weak Somali central government that is still unable to provide services or security to its people.

  • Somalia’s struggle with Islamist insurgencies dates back to the early 1990s when the country broke out into civil war.
  • Al Shabaab, meaning “the youth,” was formed in 2006, was designated by the U.S. State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in March 2008, and officially pledged allegiance to al Qaeda in 2012.

AMISOM has been spearheading the campaign against al Shabaab since its establishment in January 2007. A regional peacekeeping mission comprised of forces from Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, AMISOM was initially granted a six-month mandate by the UN and the African Union’s Peace and Security Council to provide stability in Somalia and support the country’s national reconciliation government.

Keep reading...Show less
Access all of The Cipher Brief’s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+ Member.

Related Articles

How Trump Can Be the Winning President in Ukraine

“To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special [...] More

Report for Friday, July 11, 2025

8:40 America/New York Friday, July 11 [...] More

Dead Drop: July 11

IN THIS WEEK'S EDITION: (Yet) another Russian leader who falls out with Putin, has a really bad week; Reports emerge about Iran's low-budget [...] More

As Nukes Spread, Robust Missile Defenses Must Rise

OPINION — More countries aspire to be nuclear-weapons states, and we should prepare for this eventuality. That’s why the Golden Dome missile defense [...] More

Mission CIA: Mapping Beijing’s Path to War

Mission CIA: Mapping Beijing’s Path to War

Taiwan has launched its largest annual military exercise ever - amid growing concern that China is on the cusp of launching a military invasion. Many [...] More

Report for Thursday, July 10, 2025

8:40 America/New York Thursday, July 10 [...] More

Rekindling Memories of the Fuji Fire

Rekindling Memories of the Fuji Fire

In October1979, the most powerful cyclone in recorded history, raced across the Pacific and set in motion circumstances that caused a horrendous fire [...] More

Doing Battle in the Gray Zone

Doing Battle in the Gray Zone

Subscriber+Members are invited to join us on Wednesday, July 23 at 1:00p ET for an exclusive virtual conversation on gray zone operations led by [...] More

Report for Wednesday, July 9, 2025

9:12 America/New Wednesday, July 9 [...] More