Somalia

Years of insufficient rainfall across Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia have caused the worst drought in 40 years and conditions akin to famine in the hardest-hit areas, aid groups say. An unprecedented four failed rainy seasons has killed millions of livestock, destroyed crops and forced 1.1 million people from their homes in search of food and water.

Somalia’s government this week announced plans to crack down on so-called shadow courts run by the Islamist militant group al-Shabab. The country’s interior minister acknowledged that many Somalis go to the militants for justice because Somalia’s legal system is too weak.

Uganda President Yoweri Museveni and his Somali counterpart Hassan Sheikh Mohamud want the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to lift an arms embargo on the Horn of Africa country to build the capacity to manage its security mandate.

Due to drought and lack of livelihood support, people living in eight areas of the country could be experiencing famine by September. “We cannot wait for famine to be declared; we must act now to safeguard livelihoods and lives,” Rein Paulsen, Director of the FAO Office of Emergencies and Resilience said, following a recent visit to the country.

Somalia’s Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre has named the country’s new cabinet, choosing former al-Shabab spokesperson Muktar Robow as a minister, a move that could either help strengthen the fight against the insurgency or provoke clan clashes.

A local Somali official has welcomed a plan by Ethiopia's Somali state to create a buffer zone along the border inside Somalia to fight militant group al-Shabab. The plan was announced Thursday, a week after hundreds of Somali militants launched a cross-border attack that Ethiopian authorities say they repelled.

Somali officials say two explosions Wednesday in the Lower Shabelle region killed at least 20 people, including the mayor of the region's capital. Islamist militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack.

Following the adoption by the Council in April 2021 of an assistance measure taking the form of a general programme for support to the African Union in 2022-2024 under the European Peace Facility (EPF), the Political and Security Committee today approved additional support for the military component of the African Union Mission in Somalia/African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (AMISOM/ATMIS). … The EU is the largest direct contributor to AMISOM/ATMIS … .

Climate change and its security implications are placing considerable pressures on peacebuilding efforts in Somalia. The country is currently experiencing its worst drought in over four decades, with an unprecedented fourth consecutive failed rainy season recently concluded in May 2022.

The war with Al-Shabaab’s Islamist insurgency has dragged on for fifteen years. As it reviews its options, Somalia’s new government should look into what room there might be for dialogue with the group. The alternative is more fighting with no end in sight.