Will Somalia win the war against al-Shabab ?

The delayed presidential election in Somalia comes at a tense time and could spiral into widespread violence unless more is done to address the root causes of violence.

The United States has been engaged militarily in Somalia since 2007. Its efforts have been primarily focused on its counterterrorism campaign against al-Shabaab. 

Earlier this year, the United States ended its military presence in the country, but its airstrikes continued at an alarming rate until the Biden administration stopped all airstrikes this year.

U.S. defense and intelligence officials have long considered the Somalia-based al-Shabab one of the gravest threats emanating from Africa. 

However, since January 20, the United States has not launched a single airstrike against al-Shabab in Somalia, after seven strikes were conducted from January 1 to 19.

But last month, president Joe Biden has made a special request to the Pentagon to consider deploying troops to Somalia.

After leaving Somalia in December, U.S. forces are “commuting to work” from other parts of Africa and Europe to combat the rising terrorist threat in Somalia and across the region and share their experiences in dealing with violence and cooperate in dealing with emerging threats.

The United States military has handed over armored vehicles to Somali National Army (SNA) who has been leading operations against al-Shabab militants in Central and Sothern Somalia.

SNA chief Odawa Yousef thanked US officials for their support in the war against terrorism. These vehicles will be used by SNA in the fight against terrorist, state media reported.

In recent years, the threat of terrorist groups like Boko Haram and al-Shabab has increased, and criminal networks have become more brazen and prominent.