In August, Somalia’s prime minister Hamza Abdi Barre held a town hall meeting in the Somali capital Mogadishu to mark the two-year anniversary of the formation of his cabinet.
Naturally, one of the hot-button issues raised at the event was the offensive against al-Shabab, which was launched in the fall of 2022.
“Today, we are not just defending our cities; we are pushing back against al-Shabab in their own territories,” Abdi Barre declared, adding that some 215 villages and towns have been recaptured by government forces.
Indeed, the Somali government has made significant gains in its war on al-Shabab – but the divisive tactics it has used have not only undermined its war effort but also worsened instability in the country, perpetuating bloodshed rather than stemming it.
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The government offensive against al Shabab was announced shortly after the group’s attack on a hotel in Mogadishu in August 2022 that left 21 people dead.
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One of the strategies the government adopted was to arm tribal militias who would fight alongside the Somali army. In the beginning, these militias played a key role in the military campaign that drove al-Shabab out of large swaths of territory in the Hirshabelle and Galmudug states.
While the use and empowerment of tribal militiamen – also known as “macawisley” – was initially applauded by Somalia’s international partners due to the territorial gains made, it divided Somali society even more.
This is because the government armed and provided financial support specifically to militias from President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s clan and others close to him.
This was not only short sighted but detrimental to efforts to establish social cohesion in the country. Somalis are a deeply divided society, with old grievances predating the civil war.
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Trust is non-existent between different segments of the population. By prioritising certain clans over others under the pretext of combatting al-Shabab, the president alienated many communities and turned neighbours, friends and countrymen against one another.
With al-Shabab pushed out of many areas in Somalia’s Galmudug and Hirshabelle states, clan[1]based violence saw an uptick.
The newly armed tribal militias started terrorising the same civilian population that they were entrusted with liberating. Settling old scores linked to territorial disputes and control over grazing land and water resources have become a common occurrence.
Banditry is also wide-spread and illegal roadblocks where people are extorted in order to pass have become a common sight.—Al Jazeera
