Starting in August 2022, the Somali government and allies launched an offensive against al-Shabaab in the Hiran region of Hirshabelle state, successfully recapturing many areas that had been under al-Shabaab control for decades. The offensive was one of the first acts of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's presidency, and coincided with a rebellion against al-Shabaab by Ma'awisley clan militias in June 2022. The offensive eventually expanded to Middle Shabelle and Galguduud regions, marking the most successful Somali government offensive in years.
After the government's success in Hirshabelle, it attempted to capitalize on these gains with a second offensive in southern Somalia's South West State and Jubaland in 2023. This offensive, dubbed Operation Black Lion, did not wield as many successes as the Hirshabelle offensive and reversed some Somali government gains made in the first offensive.
Background
The Somali government has been waging a war against the al-Qaeda affiliated Islamist group Al-Shabaab since 2009, backed by the African Union, United States Africa Command, and Ethiopian and Turkish backers. In 2011, the Somali government was successfully able to weaken the group by dismantling its financial apparatus and clearing Mogadishu of al-Shabaab. However, since 2011, al-Shabaab was able to entrench itself in central and southern Somalia despite attempts by the Somali government to dislodge it and the assassinations of al-Shabaab leadership by AU and AFRICOM.
The Habar Gidir, also known as the Salebaan, is the main sub-clan in Bahdo, Galguduud, and is a sub-clan of the Hawiye. Many Habar Gidir practice a Sufi sect of Islam, in contrast to al-Shabaab's strict Salafi jihadist interpretation. In eastern Hiraan, the Hawadle sub-clan had been tense with al-Shabaab since 2021, when the group blocked off a road connecting Beledweyne to Mogadishu and impeding aid deliveries.
Prelude
In May 2022, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud won election and defeated Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmaajo in the 2022 Somali presidential election. Farmajo's administration was notoriously weak to al-Shabaab, with the group able to infiltrate into government strongholds like Mogadishu and carry out terrorist attacks. Mohamud said upon taking office in August 2022 that fighting al-Shabaab was his top priority, although prior to the August 20 Hayat Hotel attack he supported peace talks.
In June 2022, organized clan militias dubbed Ma'awisley launched a rebellion against al-Shabaab in Hiraan because the jihadists were harshly imposing taxes and demands to conscript local young men into al-Shabaab's ranks. Armed conflict broke out between the Ma'awisley and al-Shabaab in the town of Bahdo, a Habar Gidir stronghold. At least 70 al-Shabaab fighters were killed in the Ma'awisley's defense of the town. Ma'awisley in Hiraan had organized in 2018 to defend against al-Shabaab for this exact same thing, and other Ma'awisley groups had existed since 2014. The Somali government was supportive of the Ma'awisley and funneled them arms, but were unable to do much until August as the Somali government reformed itself.
In July 2022, al-Shabaab invaded Ethiopia, triggering a strong Ethiopian military response. The Ethiopian government began funneling arms to the Hawadle Ma'awisley, and launching airstrikes on al-Shabaab positions in areas dominated by the Hawadle and the Habar Gidir.
Hiraan offensive
The offensive against al-Shabaab began in August 2022. The first joint attack against al-Shabaab occurred on August 7, when Ethiopian forces launched airstrikes against al-Shabaab in the villages of Bagda, Qabno, and Cowmaad in between Mahas and Mataban District. The airstrikes allowed Somali and Ma'awsiley troops, led by Hiraan governor Ali Jeyte Osman, to capture the three villages attacked along with several other smaller hamlets. The United States also launched airstrikes during this campaign, killing at least four militants on August 8. Over the next few days, Somali government forces began rebuilding the villages destroyed in the fighting.
More villages were cleared by Somali forces on August 14, just southeast of Beledweyne and south of Mataban. US drone strikes aided in this localized offensive, with SNA fighters killing 14 militants and drone strikes killing 13. Between August 15 and 17, at least three more villages were cleared between Beledweyne and Halgan. Somali officials said that 17 militants were killed in the operation. On August 22, Turkish-trained Gorgor Special Forces cleared al-Shabaab from Coomad village, north of Mataban. Gorgor commanders said that at least 60 militants were killed. More villages were captured by the SNA without a fight on August 24.
On August 16, the Somali National Army (SNA) announced that it had fully secured the road connecting Beledweyne and Mataban, in Hiraan region. The SNA said that seven soldiers were killed during the operations to secure the road. That same day, al-Shabaab announced that they killed two Somali soldiers and wounded one in an ambush on an SNA convoy traveling between Teedan and Qodqod in Beledweyne district.
Al-Shabaab launched an ambush on Ma'awisley in the village of El Adde, west of Beledweyne. Villagers said that the ambush killed seven people, although the side of the deceased is unknown.
Hayat Hotel attack
On August 19, al-Shabaab attacked the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu in response to the government campaign in Hiraan. The battle for the hotel lasted for nearly 30 hours, killing 22 civilians and injuring upwards of 117 more. The attack on the hotel was the first attack by al-Shabaab on Mogadishu since President Mohamud's inauguration, and the largest siege of a hotel that the group had undertaken. Mohamud released a televised statement after the attack declaring "total war" on al-Shabaab, and urging all Somalis to unite to defeat the group. The new prime minister Hamza Abdi Barre, echoed these statements, calling al-Shabaab "children of hell".
After the Hayat Hotel attack, the Somali government strengthened its commitment to fight al-Shabaab in Hiraan. By September 2022, the Somali offensive in Hiraan had picked up pace in the triangle between Mahas, Mataban, and Beledweyne. That same month, al-Shabaab was forced to vacate its strongholds of Adan Yabaal and Cadale in Hirshabelle. These bases were the dominant areas where al-Shabaab attacked ATMIS forces in the region. Somali forces did not recapture Adan Yabaal and Cadale until December. The Somali government said that by late September, almost all of Hiraan and Galguduud were under Somali government control, although this was not entirely accurate. International Crisis Group assessed that by October, all of Hiraan east of the Shabelle river had been liberated from al-Shabaab.
Amplification of Hiraan offensive
On September 3, al-Shabaab fighters killed at least 20 civilians in Hiraan. On September 6, al-Shabaab claimed to have killed 50 Ma'awisley members in Mahas district. The following day, the SNA announced that a number of villages were recaptured from al-Shabaab in Mahas. Gorgor forces ambushed an al-Shabaab base in the Daarow mountains on September 9, killing six militants. Two days later, Somali forces liberated the villages of Haro Lugoole and Fiidow in southern Hiraan near Jalalaqsi.
By September 16, the SNA had cleared several villages east of Buloburde and was attempting to recapture Yasooman northeast of Buloburde. The Somali government said that between 30 and 43 militants were killed, and five SNA soldiers were wounded. This death toll was revised to 75 militants killed by September 19. Ma'awisley militants beheaded several captured al-Shabaab fighters near Yasooman during the battle for the city.
Al-Shabaab also assassinated three elders and the son of an elder in Buqda by a roadside IED on September 16. The group blamed the killings on a US drone strike, but the US did not report any drone strike activity. Three days later, al-Shabaab announced that anyone working against the group a target for retaliatory attacks, and called the Ma'awisley infidels.
On September 18, a US airstrike targeting al-Shabaab killed 27 militants and no civilians, and was reported by the US on September 21. The airstrike was part of a wider effort to aid the SNA and Ma'awisley in recapturing the road between Buloberde and Yasooman. The SNA said that over 100 al-Shabaab fighters were killed in the battle for this road.
The village of Booco was captured by Somali government forces for the first time in 13 years on September 20. On September 21, clashes broke out between Somali special forces and al-Shabaab in the town of Somotaro near Buloberde after al-Shabaab shelled Somali positions in Booco, two miles away. In these clashes, al-Shabaab claimed to have killed the regional commanders of the US-trained Danab forces and the Gorgor forces, alongside 40 other soldiers. The Somali government said that eight soldiers were killed. Other villages along the Shabelle river were captured bloodlessly that same day, but al-Shabaab claimed to have killed two in an IED explosion.
The SNA said on September 25 that it had liberated 15 villages in Hiraan, Galguduud and Bay regions, and that at least 30 al-Shabaab fighters were killed in the battle for two villages in Hiraan. On September 27, Somali forces captured Buqda and cleared the town of al-Shabaab, killing 11 militants. The battle of Buqda had been ongoing since September 15. Fighting broke out in Qohle, near Buloberde, on September 29 between al-Shabaab and the SNA and Ma'awisley allies. Al-Shabaab claimed that 20 SNA and allies were killed, while the SNA said that 40 militants were killed and the attack was repulsed.
By the end of September, Somali and Ma'awisley forces had recaptured at least 40 settlements in Hiraan region and six in Galguduud.
On October 3, al-Shabaab bombed Hirshabelle State government buildings in Beledweyne, killing at least 40 civilians and state officials, and injuring 100 more. al-Shabaab also claimed that the bombings killed six Djiboutian ATMIS soldiers. That same day, al-Shabaab re-entered and claimed control over twelve villages vacated by the SNA following a dispute between two SNA commanders. A day later, SNA forces claimed to re-capture Yasooman, which they had first seized on September 20 but were forced to vacate on October 1 with other villages.
Battle of Jicibow and Battles of Yasooman and Beero Yabaal
The largest battle of the Hiraan offensive was at Jicibow on October 9. Somali Army, Ma'awisley, and Djiboutian ATMIS forces, redeployed from Yasooman and Buloberde, took part in the operation to seize the al-Shabaab controlled city. Al-Shabaab forces had prepared for the attack, having gathered in the area to cut off the road between Buloberde and Beledweyne and recapture villages around Buloberde. On October 11, the SNA claimed that the coalition had killed at least 250 al-Shabaab militants and captured 10 since the start of the battle on October 9. Al-Shabaab's commander for Hiraan, Rakhib Mohamed Hassan, was killed during the battle.
The redeployment of troops from Yasooman and Buloberde, while it allowed SNA forces to recapture Jicibow, also allowed security gaps for al-Shabaab to penetrate, which they did on October 12. Yasooman and Beero Yabaal were attacked by al-Shabaab, with the group saying it captured three SNA bases and killed 117 SNA and Ma'awisley forces. The SNA said that 50 al-Shabaab were killed, the attacks were repelled, and only three SNA soldiers died. A day later, SNA forces from the 21st Division in Galmudug and Ma'awisley reinforcements from the Ayr clan redeployed to Yasooman, implying that the government did not lose control of Yasooman during the al-Shabaab attack.
Consolidation of gains
Al-Shabaab continued to expand violent attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure in response to government successes. On October 19, al-Shabaab deployed three VBIEDs in Buloberde, Jalalaqsi, and Beledweyne. The first bomb damaged a bridge, the second was caught by SNA soldiers before the bomber could detonate, and the third was caught before the driver could even move it.
On October 23, SNA and allied forces recaptured Qorfo in Hiraan, a major al-Shabaab stronghold, where the SNA claimed to kill 20 militants. In fighting in Moqokori, near Buloberde, the SNA claimed to have killed al-Shabaab's finance director for Hiraan, Sirad Omar Ga'al. American drones attacked al-Shabaab militants during their assault on SNA forces near Moqokori, with AFRICOM saying two militants and no civilians were killed.
Government and clan forces continued operations to clean out al-Shabaab in villages near Buloberde and Beledweyne in mid-November. A Ma'awisley ambush against al-Shabaab on November 18 in the village of Mabah killed 20 jihadists. An al-Shabaab attempt to capture the village of Burdaar was foiled by the SNA on November 11.