In the most recent of a 16-year fight to destroy the al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group al Shabaab, a new militia of Somalian farmers has joined the frontline of the battle for Somalia’s stability.
A disorganized regiment is assembling around a missile launcher in the Buloburde jungle in the Hiiraan region of central Somalia.
They gather intelligence and relay it to the troops deploying the launcher while huddled closely with their ears pushed against a little black phone.
From farmers to combatants, the Ma’awisley militia is at the forefront of the battle for Somalia’s stability. It is the new weapon of choice in the 16-year campaign to eliminate al Shabaab, the al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist organization.
This conflict has no conventional front line. Instead, there are regions around the country where al-Shabaab has established itself and often launches assaults.
Currently, these communities are rebelling against them.
“We are fighting for the right cause, for the people, for this nation, and our faith until Somalia is at peace,” says Ma’awisley commander Ali Shiri in Bal’ad, another hotspot less than an hour from the city, Mogadishu.
They are mostly concerned with defending their families and crops. Al Shabaab fighters in search of money and food have parched the grounds they had long farmed, which are also parched by a prolonged drought.
They are a nuisance to the community. We are farmers, and the tax collectors keep returning to collect from us. That is why we fought,” explains Ali.
President’s priority is “total war” against al Shabaab.
This fresh drive is the result of a new administration that is determined to rid the nation of insurgents. In May, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took office, and weeks later, a 30-hour siege of the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu resulted in the deaths of twenty individuals. He proclaimed absolute war against al Shabaab in response to the massacre.
President Mohamud has survived two assassination attempts by al Shabaab, and his nephew was murdered by the terrorist organization in 2015. This is his second tenure as president, and he continues to prioritize the fight against al Shabaab.
Today, some of the worst clashes are occurring in his region of Hiraan, where his government is rapidly enlisting farmers to fight, a task made easier by the tough climate.
“Hiraan is experiencing the worst drought on record. Ali Jeyte, the governor of Hiraan and a veteran of the armed forces, remarks, “There has been no precipitation, and now we have a new problem: war.”
He has fought alongside the Ma’awisley for the past four months and adds, “We are their leaders, and we have informed them what is best for them, and they embrace it.”
The Ma’awisley received their name from the colorful wraparound skirts they wear to work on their land. Today, the identical skirts are wrapped around military fatigues and ornamented with rows of state-supplied fresh brass bullets. On their backs are rusted, black market-purchased guns.
They are conducting an all-out onslaught in the fight against Hiraan, bolstered by the Somali National Army’s ground assistance and the African Transition Mission in Somalia’s heavy artillery.
“Approximately 300 to 400 militiamen are currently surrounding al Shabaab,” said Abdelsalam Mualim Mohamed, commander of the Ma’awisley militia in Bulobarde.
Colonel Hassan Djama Farah, leader of the ATMIS force in Djibouti, prepares his men to launch the missiles by utilizing their intelligence. They fire a second shot once the initial attack lands near the target.
When the dust settles, the troops load their weapons onto the back of their trucks, and the Ma’awisley re-emerge from the bushes.
“Bombs are their preferred weapon,” demoralizing and wounding soldiers.
The government asserts that 200 al-Shabaab fighters have been eliminated in the past three days alone and that many have surrendered.
In a confrontation characterized by contradictory information from both sides, it is impossible to verify these data. Recently, the government has tightened restrictions on local coverage of the terrorist organization and suspended some of its social media accounts. Numerous Somali journalists argue that this constitutes media censorship.
In this context of continual change, al Shabaab is always modifying its methods.
Brigadier General Keith Katunji explains, “We train on them, and they train on us.” He has been the commander of Ugandan ATMIS troops stationed in Somalia intermittently since 2010.
Lower Shabelle, where Mogadishu and about half of the country’s people reside, is his sector.
“Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) or explosives are the preferred weapons of al Shabaab. They are aware that we feed our bases by road, so they concentrate on planting IEDs on the roads, which has a psychological effect on us, he explains.
The morale of his soldiers is affected by the casualties inflicted by these bombings, yet they nonetheless undertake the daily work of clearing a key road connecting Mogadishu to central Somalia, a vital artery supplying the country with food and gasoline.
Every day, the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) detects five to six improvised explosive devices (IEDs) while searching the 150-mile route inch by inch.
As a result of the destruction of food security, verdant farms become parched, drought-ravaged landscapes.
“The United Nations and the government are attempting to provide food, thus this type of activity is necessary. You must go to the location where food will be thrown and bring people optimism, the brigadier instructs.
Four failed rainy seasons have decimated the nation’s food security, and estimates indicate that the next rainy season may not bring enough moisture to rebuild agricultural land.
Lower Shabelle is technically Somalia’s most fertile region. From above, though, formerly verdant farms have become parched, drought-ravaged countryside. Instead of acres of crops, the land is now strewn with bombs.
Just under seven million people, or over half of the country’s population, are at risk of hunger.
“A hungry man is an angry man,’ adds brigadier Kanji.
This wrath is growing among the Ma’awisley, who are experiencing more than simply drought.
“When harvest time arrives, al Shabaab comes and demands payment – these are the issues we face,” says commander Ali Shiri in Bal’ad, a city in Middle Shabelle where another offensive is underway.
Bal’ad is close to al-former Shabaab’s stronghold, Basra, and is where the terrorist organization held Sharia courts to resolve property disputes.
For the mayor of Bal’ad, Qaasim Furdug, this conflict is extremely personal. He lost his leg in combat against al Shabaab in Mogadishu in 2010 and insists that the war against them continues.
A battle in which rural people, previously terrorized into silence, are now leading the charge.
“Farm as a free man or die – we are surrounded by gunfire”
“People believed al-Shabaab was on the correct road, but now they realize that al-Shabaab is the ultimate adversary,” explains mayor Furdug.
“Therefore, everyone chooses to either cultivate like a free man or perish. We are in the line of fire. We face our adversary.”
As he exits his office, Ma’awisley fighters welcome the mayor. They are having a rest before returning to battle al Shabaab.
As the government attempts to regain territory, these battles are erupting throughout the country – another indicator of Somalia’s increasingly inhospitable environment.
“As farmers, we are prepared to defend our land and people,” says Ma’awisley fighter Abdi Mahmoud Hussein in the village of Bal’ad.
At least half of the seven million Somalis afflicted by the drought are believed to reside in al-Shabaab-controlled territory, a calamity that, according to many, goes hand-in-hand with the drought.
Abdi says, “there is a shortage of precipitation, and wherever al Shabaab goes, dryness follows.”
