World Conflicts
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Somalia conflict (al-Shabaab, IS-Somalia)

Active High intensity Internationalized intrastate Africa 1 Dec 2006 to present

Somali federal forces, the African Union mission AUSSOM and US airstrikes confront the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab across central and southern Somalia, while Puntland forces fight Islamic State-Somalia in the north-east. In 2026 al-Shabaab stepped up attacks in Lower Shabelle, and AUSSOM's future is uncertain after the US withdrew support for its UN logistics funding.

Conflict zones

Click a shape for details and sources

Zones, lines of contact and strike arcs are approximate and illustrative, drawn from public reporting. They are not authoritative; click a shape for its sources. Borders from Natural Earth, with Crimea shown as part of Ukraine in line with UN General Assembly resolution 68/262.

Key facts

People in need of humanitarian aid (2026)
At least 4.8 million
UNICEF Somalia Appeal 2026 as of 1 Jan 2026
US airstrikes in Somalia, 2026
68 by 22 June (about 125 in 2025)
Stars and Stripes as of 22 Jun 2026
al-Shabaab attacks in Lower Shabelle, Jun-Aug 2026
Up about 60% vs Jan-May
Critical Threats, Africa File August 13, 2026 as of 13 Aug 2026
Attacks in Mogadishu since 2023 (government claim)
Down nearly 87%
Dawan Africa as of 29 Sep 2026
Reported fatalities, last 4 weeks (ACLED)
687
ACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026
Deaths in 2026, 2 Jan to 28 Sep 2026 (UCDP)
3,035 best estimate (3,025–3,480)
UCDP GED Candidate 26.0.9 as of 28 Sep 2026

Human cost

Fatalities
7.3K–7.4Krange across 2 sources
Killed in 2026 so far (UCDP)
3K
  • 3,035 estimatedUCDP GED Candidate 26.0.9 as of 28 Sep 2026UCDP best estimate, events 2 Jan to 28 Sep 2026; low 3,025, high 3,480
People displaced
3.5M
All forcibly displaced, country-wide (UNHCR)
4.5M
Recorded events, last 30 days
378

Parties and actors

  • Somali National Army (Federal Government of Somalia) State armed forces · aligned with Government coalition
  • AU Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) Regional peace support mission · aligned with Government coalition
  • US Africa Command (AFRICOM) Foreign state armed forces (airstrikes) · aligned with Government coalition
  • Puntland security forces Regional state armed forces · aligned with Against IS-Somalia
  • al-Shabaab Non-state armed group (al-Qaeda affiliate)
  • Islamic State-Somalia (ISS) Non-state armed group

Parties are listed factually by name and role. Inclusion does not imply any judgement.

Negotiations

Negotiations hub

No negotiation track is currently tracked for this conflict.

Trend: events and reported fatalities by month

Events per month Reported fatalities per month
0 0 250 500 500 1K 750 1.5K 1K 2KNov 2021: 236 events, 195 reported fatalitiesDec 2021: 275 events, 222 reported fatalitiesJan 2022: 255 events, 405 reported fatalities2022Feb 2022: 224 events, 332 reported fatalitiesMar 2022: 184 events, 452 reported fatalitiesApr 2022: 304 events, 236 reported fatalitiesMay 2022: 253 events, 271 reported fatalitiesJun 2022: 225 events, 271 reported fatalitiesJul 2022: 251 events, 487 reported fatalitiesAug 2022: 313 events, 439 reported fatalitiesSep 2022: 306 events, 928 reported fatalitiesOct 2022: 295 events, 1,254 reported fatalitiesNov 2022: 249 events, 879 reported fatalitiesDec 2022: 308 events, 749 reported fatalitiesJan 2023: 294 events, 778 reported fatalities2023Feb 2023: 301 events, 1,248 reported fatalitiesMar 2023: 211 events, 581 reported fatalitiesApr 2023: 262 events, 565 reported fatalitiesMay 2023: 218 events, 631 reported fatalitiesJun 2023: 235 events, 492 reported fatalitiesJul 2023: 337 events, 1,011 reported fatalitiesAug 2023: 256 events, 984 reported fatalitiesSep 2023: 351 events, 1,621 reported fatalitiesOct 2023: 215 events, 302 reported fatalitiesNov 2023: 179 events, 176 reported fatalitiesDec 2023: 296 events, 725 reported fatalitiesJan 2024: 196 events, 392 reported fatalities2024Feb 2024: 233 events, 407 reported fatalitiesMar 2024: 282 events, 673 reported fatalitiesApr 2024: 184 events, 564 reported fatalitiesMay 2024: 179 events, 274 reported fatalitiesJun 2024: 238 events, 571 reported fatalitiesJul 2024: 231 events, 704 reported fatalitiesAug 2024: 261 events, 335 reported fatalitiesSep 2024: 240 events, 325 reported fatalitiesOct 2024: 249 events, 481 reported fatalitiesNov 2024: 278 events, 499 reported fatalitiesDec 2024: 226 events, 353 reported fatalitiesJan 2025: 227 events, 472 reported fatalities2025Feb 2025: 329 events, 1,224 reported fatalitiesMar 2025: 378 events, 1,568 reported fatalitiesApr 2025: 211 events, 791 reported fatalitiesMay 2025: 308 events, 839 reported fatalitiesJun 2025: 371 events, 773 reported fatalitiesJul 2025: 419 events, 791 reported fatalitiesAug 2025: 494 events, 917 reported fatalitiesSep 2025: 396 events, 558 reported fatalitiesOct 2025: 400 events, 464 reported fatalitiesNov 2025: 488 events, 749 reported fatalitiesDec 2025: 368 events, 592 reported fatalitiesJan 2026: 452 events, 931 reported fatalities2026Feb 2026: 386 events, 693 reported fatalitiesMar 2026: 387 events, 554 reported fatalitiesApr 2026: 382 events, 559 reported fatalitiesMay 2026: 403 events, 617 reported fatalitiesJun 2026: 418 events, 342 reported fatalitiesJul 2026: 446 events, 430 reported fatalitiesAug 2026: 577 events, 672 reported fatalitiesSep 2026: 371 events, 254 reported fatalitiesOct 2026: 378 events, 687 reported fatalities
reportedACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026 Political violence events only (battles, explosions/remote violence, violence against civilians).
Show data table
MonthEventsFatalities
Oct 2026378687
Sep 2026371254
Aug 2026577672
Jul 2026446430
Jun 2026418342
May 2026403617
Apr 2026382559
Mar 2026387554
Feb 2026386693
Jan 2026452931
Dec 2025368592
Nov 2025488749
Oct 2025400464
Sep 2025396558
Aug 2025494917
Jul 2025419791
Jun 2025371773
May 2025308839
Apr 2025211791
Mar 20253781,568
Feb 20253291,224
Jan 2025227472
Dec 2024226353
Nov 2024278499
Oct 2024249481
Sep 2024240325
Aug 2024261335
Jul 2024231704
Jun 2024238571
May 2024179274
Apr 2024184564
Mar 2024282673
Feb 2024233407
Jan 2024196392
Dec 2023296725
Nov 2023179176
Oct 2023215302
Sep 20233511,621
Aug 2023256984
Jul 20233371,011
Jun 2023235492
May 2023218631
Apr 2023262565
Mar 2023211581
Feb 20233011,248
Jan 2023294778
Dec 2022308749
Nov 2022249879
Oct 20222951,254
Sep 2022306928
Aug 2022313439
Jul 2022251487
Jun 2022225271
May 2022253271
Apr 2022304236
Mar 2022184452
Feb 2022224332
Jan 2022255405
Dec 2021275222
Nov 2021236195

Events by type

Battles Explosions / remote violence Violence against civilians
0 250 500 750 1K 20222023202420252026
reportedACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026

Most affected provinces

  1. Lower Shabelle 1,313 events · 1,296 fatalities
  2. Bari 556 events · 434 fatalities
  3. Lower Juba 553 events · 1,212 fatalities
  4. Bay 517 events · 1,104 fatalities
  5. Middle Shabelle 445 events · 819 fatalities
  6. Hiraan 359 events · 655 fatalities
  7. Banadir 300 events · 147 fatalities
  8. Galgaduud 241 events · 199 fatalities
reportedACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026 Last 12 months, political violence events.

Sources and further reading

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