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1 1 (July 27, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govemin0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con res&on I Res drib mu I le lived ha 3rch Service since 1914 Updated July 27, 2023 Somalia Somalia has been plagued by instability and humanitarian crises for decades. After the authoritarian Siad Barre regime fell in 1991, the country was characterized for years as a failed state. The formation of a federal government in 2012 was a turning point, and with international support, Somalia has made progress including battlefield gains since 2022. Among considerable challenges on its path toward stability, however, is a long-running Islamist insurgency led by Al Shabaab, which U.S. officials term Al Qaeda's largest and wealthiest affiliate. A catastrophic drought, Somalia's longest on record, has exacerbated the country's problems, fueling displacement and widespread acute food insecurity. The United States plays a key role in Somalia, as a major security partner and the largest humanitarian donor. The United States has conducted episodic strikes against terrorist targets there since 2003 and has provided support to Somali and African Union (AU) forces fighting Al Shabaab since 2007. Roughly 450 U.S. military personnel are deployed in Somalia to advise and assist Somali and AU forces; U.S. officials say they are not directly engaged in combat operations. Additional U.S. personnel support counterterrorism operations from neighboring countries. From Failed to Fragile Stat In 2013, the United States officially recognized the Somali government for the first time in 22 years. The decision highlighted tenuous improvements, both in terms of political developments and advances against Al Shabaab. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) followed suit, making Somalia eligible for technical assistance and policy advice. The United Kingdom (UK) was the first Western country to reopen its embassy there, followed by China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and most East African countries. In 2016, the United States sent its first ambassador to Somalia in decades and reestablished a permanent diplomatic presence in Mogadishu in late 2018. International donors have expanded their engagement in the past decade, seeking to help Somalia foster economic growth; expand infrastructure and access to services; improve governance and rule of law; and build resilience to drought. With support from donors, an AU stabilization force, and other security partners, Somalia is now described by UN officials as a fragile state, rather than a failed one. Political and clan rivalries, corruption, and contradictory visions for sharing power still complicate the way forward. Somalia, which has not held direct one-person one-vote elections in decades, has held indirect elections since 2012. Elections in 2017 resulted in a peaceful transfer of power, but an electoral impasse in 2021 sparked fighting in the capital and fueled fears of civil war. When presidential elections were ultimately held in May 2022, former President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (2012-2017), defeated his successor, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, aka Farmajo, and returned to office. Figure I. Somalia Facts Source: CRS map. Data from CIA and IMF reference databases. Security Challenges Somalis face substantial challenges in stabilizing and securing the Somali state. Military offensives by AU and allied Somali, Kenyan, and Ethiopian forces in 2011-2012 pushed Al Shabaab out of Mogadishu and other major southern cities and ports and reduced its access to revenue. Subsequent offensives reclaimed additional ground. Al Shabaab has proven resilient, however. It still controls parts of the country and reportedly earns revenue of up to $150 million annually through illicit taxes and mafia- style extortion, including in Mogadishu and other government-held areas. UN monitors say the group's ability to carry out complex asymmetric attacks is undiminished. Al Shabaab conducts frequent attacks in Mogadishu, likely seeking to undermine confidence in the government and its security measures. In 2017, a truck bombing there killed over 500 people. A suicide bomber killed the city's mayor in 2019. In late 2022, the group killed over 120 people in car bombings outside the education ministry. Al Shabaab periodically fires mortars at the heavily guarded Mogadishu International Airport complex (where many diplomatic facilities and residences are located, including the U.S. embassy); gunmen briefly breached the perimeter in 2022. The AU mission, which first deployed to Somalia in 2007, has been described as the deadliest peace operation in modern history. Known as AMISOM until 2022, when it was renamed ATMIS, the mission has served primarily as a counterinsurgency force. Al Shabaab has killed hundreds of troops in complex assaults on its forward bases. The AU does not report casualty figures, but per a senior AU official over 3,500 AU troops have been killed since 2007. Beyond Somalia, Al Shabaab has conducted terrorist attacks in Kenya, Uganda, and Djibouti. In mid-2022, an estimated 2,000 fighters launched an offensive deep into Ethiopia, where hundreds reportedly remain. For more on the group, see CRS In Focus IF10170, Al Shabaab.

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