Addis Abeba – In August 2022, President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud announced that his administration would launch a “total war” against the Al-Qaida-linked militant group Al-Shabaab. The declaration came in the aftermath of a deadly hotel siege in Mogadishu, which left at least 21 people dead and more than 100 wounded. In his address, the president acknowledged the nation’s collective grief, stating that he understood the Somali people were weary of “endless mourning” and the repeated loss of loved ones in terrorist attacks. He urged citizens to brace themselves for a full-scale offensive against what he described as “ruthless terrorists who are hostile to the country’s peace.”
Op-ed: Three Years of Somalia’s ‘Total War’: How Mogadishu’s Al-Shabaab offensive unraveled
