On May 15, Somalia completed its election process, selecting Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the new president. Sheikh previously served as president of Somalia from 2012 until 2017 and defeated the incumbent Farmajo in a long-awaited and contentious election.
Shabaab claims it killed 173 Burundian troops in a large-scale assault on a military base in southern Somalia. Neither the African Union nor Burundi has commented on Shabaab’s casualty numbers.
Shabaab again highlights operations from its urban assassination unit in Mogadishu. In doing so, it places these killings in the context of the wider global jihad.
Shabaab attempted to kill Somalia’s police chief in yet another suicide bombing in the Somali capital.
Host Bill Roggio is joined by two Long War Journal regulars, Caleb Weiss and Andrew Tobin, to give listeners an update on what’s happening on the ground in Africa from the Sahel — including that more than 400 Malians have been slaughtered in under one month — to “elections” and Shabaab attacks in Somalia.
The dual suicide bombings targeting an election site in central Somalia comes just one day after a brazen attack on a large military base in Mogadishu.
One week after a series of suicide bombings in Mogadishu, the US conducts its first drone strike against al-Shabaab since August 2021.
Shabaab launched near simultaneous assaults across 5 areas of Mogadishu and its suburbs, showing the group’s continued strength as Somalia preps for its upcoming presidential election.
