Somalia

Background reviewed 2026-10-23 · Background as of 2026-10

Background

Somalia has had no fully functioning central government for much of the period since 1991. The armed group al-Shabaab, affiliated with al-Qaeda, has fought the federal government since the late 2000s and controls or contests large rural areas in the south and centre.

A government offensive in 2022 regained territory, but al-Shabaab recovered ground in 2025. An African Union mission (AUSSOM) replaced the previous mission at the start of 2025. Disputes between the federal government and some federal member states over the electoral model have led to a political crisis in 2026, including clashes in Mogadishu.

History

Somalia was formed in 1960 from the union of former British and Italian territories. Siad Barre’s military government, in power from 1969, collapsed in 1991, leaving the country without a functioning central government. In the north-west, Somaliland declared independence in 1991, which no UN member state recognised for decades, and Puntland in the north-east became a self-governing state in 1998.

A UN-backed intervention in the early 1990s was followed by years of clan-based conflict. The Islamic Courts Union briefly controlled Mogadishu in 2006 before being removed with Ethiopian military support; al-Shabaab emerged from its youth wing. An African Union mission has supported the federal government since 2007, and the federal system established in 2012 shares power between Mogadishu and member states.

Main parties

Federal Government of Somalia — Somali National Army and allied clan militias.
al-Shabaab — Armed group affiliated with al-Qaeda.
Islamic State Somalia — Smaller group based mainly in Puntland’s mountains.
AUSSOM — African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia, since January 2025.

Key dates

1991-01 — The government of Siad Barre collapses; civil war follows.
2007-03 — The African Union mission AMISOM deploys.
2011-08 — Al-Shabaab withdraws from most of Mogadishu.
2017-10-14 — A truck bombing in Mogadishu becomes the deadliest attack in Somalia’s history.
2022-04 — AMISOM is replaced by the African Union Transition Mission (ATMIS).
2025-01-01 — The African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission (AUSSOM) begins.
2026 — Electoral disputes deepen into a political crisis, with clashes in Mogadishu.

Humanitarian situation

Recurring droughts and floods, conflict and displacement leave millions of Somalis in need of assistance. Somalia has one of the largest internally displaced populations in Africa, many of them living in informal settlements around cities.

How to read reports about Somalia

Somaliland, in the north-west, declared independence in 1991 and is administered separately; events there are labelled with the place name as reported.

Recent events

Loading…