The Somali military earlier received several M48 and M60 tanks. The military took possession of the tanks at dockside. Earlier, an American drone attack killed two senior Al Shabaab technical experts. Abdullahi Osman Mohamed/Engineer Ismail, and Abdikarim Mohamed Hersi/Qoorleex. Ismail oversaw the acquisition of explosives and bomb design. Qoorleex handled propaganda operations in Somalia.
Somalia hasn’t changed much during the last few years. In 2025, the UN continued to maintain a peacekeeping force in Somalia. U.S. drones and warplanes continue to attack Islamic terrorist operations in various areas of Somalia. Islamic terrorist group Al Shabaab continues to be active. Piracy has returned to waters off the Somali coast. Al Shabaab and militia violence continues against government officials.
Governments don’t function well in Somalia, but criminal organizations are another matter. The largest criminal organization in Somalia is al Shabaab. Given Somalia's history, that shouldn't surprise anyone.
Britain and Italy administered Somalia from 1884 to 1960 and, after much effort, imposed more peace, prosperity, and unity than the region had ever known. That lasted until about two decades after independence, and then the usual bad habits began tearing Somalia apart again. The tribal/clan rivalries kept the pot boiling, and even the rise of a clean government party backfired and turned into another warlord group called al-Shabaab. That caused even more Somalis to flee their homeland and led to even more problems as Somali refugees throughout Africa and worldwide misbehaved in the nations that took them in. While doing that, Somalis acquired a reputation for organized violence and criminal behavior as well as entrepreneurial success. This led to a current decision by the United States to deport Somali refugees who were caught defrauding social service agencies of nearly $10 billion.
Despite relative peace and prosperity, Somalia had not made that more permanent by holding national elections by 2025. Instead, most Somali factions agreed to rely on a system in which clan elders met and worked out agreements. Somalia has long been a failed state, and, after over a decade of peacekeeping, massive foreign aid, and visible progress, corruption and tribalism continue to block economic progress.
Al Shabaab, a local Islamic radical group, was defeated and driven from cities and towns in 2011 but is still around. So are traditional clan violence, organized crime, and banditry. All these are ancient Somali traditions, and al-Shabaab survives by reverting to that and becoming a major criminal organization in some parts of the country. Extortion, smuggling, ransoms, and so on have sustained the Islamic terror group. One of the most lucrative sources of plunder is the elected Somali government, propped up by foreign aid, most of which gets stolen. Despite all that, Somalia is still a failed state that defies every attempt at nation-building. The situation is worse than it appears because Somalia was never a country, but a collection of clans and tribes that fight each other constantly over economic, land, and water issues.
The country remains an economic and political mess, a black hole on the map. Not much hope in sight. Local leaders have little enthusiasm for a national government, but they welcome foreign aid because they can take it without risking another clan feud. Piracy has returned and so has political violence. Somalia smolders as it always has, and little has changed, though some aspects have worsened.
Meanwhile, al Shabaab still has strong popular support. Most Somalis oppose Islamic terrorism, but up to 20 percent support or tolerate groups like al Shabaab. The main reason for the support is desperation for a solution to the poverty, corruption, factionalism, and chaos that make Somalia such a dangerous place to live in. Overcoming those ancient traditions is the main obstacle to peace, and there is no quick solution. Al Shabaab survives because its leaders concentrate on finances and pay its bills.
The piracy problem stems from chaos in Somalia on the Red Sea coast and in Yemen on the western coast. In Somalia, Al Shabaab Islamic terrorists and smugglers turned pirates have been attacking shipping there for over a decade. Worldwide, attacks on cargo ships and occasional tankers remain a problem. Many ships have been boarded and crews robbed. There are also attempts to kidnap crew members and hold them for ransom.
Hostages are used to seize control of the ship and move it elsewhere. Pirates rarely have any knowledge or experience operating these ships. Kidnapped crews are taken ashore and held until a ransom is paid. In December 2023, a large cargo ship was hijacked and taken to Somalia. This was the first hijacking since 2017.
As recently as 2018, piracy was still a problem off the Somali coast, just not the kind that creates headlines in the international mass media. The pirates adapted, and in 2017 there were nine pirate attacks off the Somali coast, up from two in 2016. This was notable because worldwide pirate activity hit a 22-year low, with 188 attacks in 2017, mostly far from Somalia, in places like the west coast of Africa and Southeast Asia. Those 188 attacks caused $7 billion in damage, with ships and their owners absorbing 80 percent. Higher insurance rates and operating costs were the biggest added expenses. That is an issue off Somalia, where higher insurance costs remain a problem and are worsening because warships have been ineffective at defending against them.
Back in 2011, there were 327 attacks off the Somali coast. The solution was an international anti-piracy effort that continues. But shipping companies still must pay higher insurance rates for ships operating in the danger zone, which extends far into the Indian Ocean. By the end of 2017, maritime insurance companies had real reason to worry. In November 2017, for the first time since 2014, the international anti-piracy patrol arrested six Somali pirates who were caught firing on and trying to board ships off the Somali coast.
Peacekeepers and Western special operations forces are now returning. Since East African nations suffer from the disrupted trade, they are sending more of their soldiers to help reduce the mayhem and attacks on shipping emanating from Somalia
Major suppliers of foreign aid restored suspended aid programs. The United States ordered several hundred special operations and other troops to return to Somalia. American Special Forces and SEAL operators were again training and advising their Somali counterparts. American troops in Somalia also collected intelligence and monitored the situation.
This continued from a major American special operations base in neighboring Djibouti as well as the use of American drones, also based in Djibouti, to search for Islamic terrorists and carry out airstrikes when the opportunity presented itself. After a year or so of indecision by the Americans, the U.S. resumed regular air strikes against al-Shabaab and other groups interfering with aid shipments or the new Somali government. This led to several hundred drone airstrikes that killed thousands of al-Shabaab and other Islamic terrorist group members.
James F Dunnigan