[1] It began in late January 2009 with the present conflict mainly between the forces of the Federal Government of Somalia assisted by African Union peacekeeping troops and al-Shabaab militants who pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda during 2012.

[62][63] In early 2009, Ethiopian troops withdrew from Somalia and former Islamic Courts Union leader Sharif Ahmed was elected president TFG, marking a new phase of the civil war.

[79] Since then, the al-Shabaab radical Islamists have accused the new TFG President of accepting the secular transitional government and have continued the civil war since he arrived in Mogadishu at the presidential palace in early February 2009.

[citation needed] al-Shabaab leader Sheikh Mukhtar Robow (Abu Mansur) met with Sharif Ahmed for peace talks during his visit to Mogadishu, while Omar Iman rejected the president.

[89] The spokesman for al-Shabaab at the time, Sheikh Mukhtar Robow (Abu Mansur), rebuffed reports from several media outlets that a mutual agreement between him and newly elected president Sharif Ahmed was made.

[92] However, by 1 March, it was clear that no ceasefire would be given, despite President Sharif Ahmed having agreed to proposals for a truce and having offered to accept the implementation of Sharia law but refused to move troops from civilian areas despite the Islamists doing so.

[97] On 19 June, the transitional parliament speaker Sheikh Adan Mohamed Nuur Madobe asked the international community to send foreign troops to Somalia within the following 24 hours.

[101][102] President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed declared a state of emergency by 22 June, as a new round of fighting in Mogadishu left 12 dead and 20 injured with hundreds more fleeing the city.

[116] This led to internal problems within Hizbul Islam as its ARS-A and JABISO factions, which were aligned with al-Shabaab in Hiran and Mogadishu, refused to support the Ras Kamboni Brigades, while Anole remained neutral.

[120] Throughout November 2009, fighting between the two factions continued as the battle lines moved into Southern Somalia, resulting in a decrease in insurgent attacks at Mogadishu targeting government forces (TFG) and their allies (AMISOM).

[145] On 28 September 2012, the Somali National Army assisted by AMISOM troops and Ras Kamboni militia launched an assault on Kismayo, al-Shabaab's last major stronghold.

Then-Captain William Doyle of 10th Special Forces Group, US Army, won the Silver Star for "exposing himself to effective fire so he could ... keep the KDF convoy moving through the valley."

[167] The Military Times also reported that on 26 September a bomb-manufacturing network linked al-Shabaab attacked a small team of US and Somali troops, who were conducting an operation near Kismayo, with small-arms fire.

[170] The New York Times reported that on 4 May 2017, a US Navy SEAL team partnered with Somali National Army forces, carried out a mission on an al-Shabaab-occupied complex around 60 kilometres (40 mi) west of Mogadishu.

[172] The New York Times reported that Defence Department officials said that Somali forces were to have led the operation, with the SEALs hanging back in an advise, assist and accompany role, however Brig.Gen.

Whilst approaching the complex, the militants opened fire and the mission was aborted, Senior chief petty officer Kyle Milliken was killed, 2 other SEALs and an interpreter were wounded.

Captain Jeff Davis said that the mission "resulted in the death of three Shabaab operatives including Moalin Osman Abdi Badil," the group quickly returned to the aircraft that had taken it to the area and was exfilled.

Davis described Badil as an al-Shabaab leader responsible for gathering information on troop movements in order to support attacks on Somali and African Union forces and that he had been linked to the death of several soldiers and at least one civilian.

[195] On 2 March, al-Shabaab publicly killed five people by firing squad for allegedly spying for the United States and Somali intelligence agencies in Jilib, Middle Juba.

[207] On 12 January, al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for a car bomb that killed eight people and wounded another nine outside the Mogadishu International Airport, a facility which hosts the United States Embassy and other diplomatic offices.

[236] On 9 January 2025, Puntland forces carry out drone strikes on Islamic State targets in the Cal Miskaad mountains near Balidhidhin District of Bari, The counterterrorism claimed that they killed several militants.

The endorsement officially lifts the purchase ban on light weapons for a provisional period of one year, but retains certain restrictions on the procurement of heavy arms such as surface-to-air missiles, howitzers and cannons.

[258] At the request of the Somali authorities and AMISOM, the US military in late 2013 also established a small team of advisers in Mogadishu to provide consultative and planning support to the allied forces.

[260][261] In May 2016, it was reported that 70 UK military personnel have arrived in Somalia to counter al-Shabaab as part of a UN peacekeeping mission; ten soldiers will offer medical, engineering and logistical support to AMISOM.

The Pentagon has only acknowledged a small fraction of these operations, announcing 13 ground raids and airstrikes so far in 2016 (three of which took place in September)—up from five in 2015; according to data compiled by New America (a Washington think tank) the strikes have killed about 25 civilians and 200 people suspected of being militants.

At a former Russian fighter jet base in Baledogle, US Marines and private contractors are working to build up a Somali military unit designed to combat al-Shabaab throughout the country.

Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon Spokesman said that "The additional support provided by this authority will help deny al-Shabaab safe havens from which it could attack US citizens or US interests in the region."

[267] On 16 February, Somali MP Mohamud Sayid Adan, former Mogadishu mayor Mohamed Omar Habeeb and local police officer Hassan Dhicisow, were arrested by Ethiopian forces in the town of Dolow in Gedo region.

[303] On 4 May 2020, an East African Express Airways Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia airliner on an air charter flight delivering COVID-19 pandemic relief supplies crashed on approach to Berdale, Somalia, killing all 2 crew and 4 non-revenue passengers on board.

[313][314] Government officials from the Galmudug administration in the north-central Hobyo district also reportedly attempted to use pirate gangs as a bulwark against Islamist insurgents from southern Somalia's conflict zones.