Located on the Horn of Africa, Somalia remains one of the most dangerous terrorist havens in the world as the Islamic State and Al Qaeda terror groups continue to murder and extort the country’s population. In the latest figures, Human Rights Watch says hundreds of people will have been killed by 2024, either at the hands of jihadists or in conflicts between the country’s clans and tribes.
Somalis face armed roadblocks in many areas, where terrorists or government forces extort money, and lawlessness and corruption are a daily occurrence.
President Donald Trump lashed out again at Somalia on Wednesday, saying, “It’s just people walking around killing each other.” He added: “So Somalia is considered by many to be the worst country in the world? I don’t know, … I haven’t been there. I won’t be there anytime soon. I hope so.”
US dramatically escalates airstrikes in SOMALIA as TRUMP admin targets ISIS and AL QAEDA terrorists
Daily life continues in the heart of the Horn of Africa as it turns heads with Africa’s longest coastline and its strategic location in Mogadishu, Somalia on August 20, 2025. (Emirhan Turker/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Trump administration, through the US Africa Command, has increased the number of airstrikes against terrorists in Somalia more than tenfold so far this year, compared to missions carried out in 2024 under President Biden. On November 25, ISIS-Somalia terrorists in the Puntland region were attacked by US and Somali forces, reportedly using drones and ten MH-60 helicopters. On November 28, US forces attacked terrorists from Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabab in the south of the country, near Kismayo.
Somalia’s Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs states that more than 99% of the population is Sunni Muslim.
Somali National Army (SNA) soldiers walk along the front lines at Sabiid, one of the towns they liberated from Al Qaeda-linked militants, Al-Shabaab, in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region on November 11, 2025. (Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images)
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Abdisamad Artan Ahmed, who also lives in Mogadishu, recently told Reuters: “We have seen and heard what the US has said about Somalia on social media, but the truth is that Somalia is currently one of the safest countries in East Africa. Whether in Mogadishu or in other regions, Somalia is safe and stable. This is the best and safest time for the country.”
But Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that terrorist attacks still occur occasionally in the capital. In August last year, HRW stated that al-Shabab “attacked a beach restaurant, killing 37 civilians and wounding more than 200.”
A view shows smoke rising after a car bomb explosion at the Somali Ministry of Education in Mogadishu, Somalia on October 29, 2022, in this photo obtained from social media. (Abdihalim Bashir/Reuters)
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“Violence and danger are mainly in places where the government has not yet reached,” Talliye said, adding that there are “pockets in Jubaland, South West State, Hirshabbele and Galmadug. The state governments are weak and usually control only a few of the major cities, unlike Puntland and Somaliland which control most of their state.”
Mahjar-Barducci highlighted: “Overall security remains precarious, with continued al-Shabab attacks, displacement and weak policing. These insights paint a picture of tentative normalcy in urban hubs, contrasting with checkpoints and militant-influenced routines elsewhere.”
“Corruption is widespread in many government offices, and obtaining services often requires paying additional fees,” Mahjar-Barducci continued. “Bribery is common in various public services. In Somalia, authority is often concentrated in the hands of the governor, mayor or district officials, and sometimes anyone who is armed.”
Somali Anti-Terror Police officers search vehicles and motorists at a pop-up checkpoint set up to find weapons and bomb parts on a road on April 21, 2025, in central Mogadishu, Somalia. There are concerns about a resurgence of jihadism in Somalia amid increasing attacks from the militant group al-Shabab, which has been fighting the government for almost two decades and controls parts of the southern and central parts of the country. (Ed Ram/Getty Images)
Al-Shabab’s fundraising tentacles are a cancer growing in all levels of Somali society. The European Union Asylum Agency recently stated: “The UN Panel of Experts on Somalia indicates in its latest report from 2024 that Al-Shabab’s total financial income for 2023 exceeded US$150 million.”
The report continues: “Al-Shabab depends on the following sources of income, among others: checkpoints, forced charity or alms contributions, direct extortion of companies, taxation of imports at ports, kidnappings for ransom, taxation of agricultural products, sales of livestock, water and irrigation resources, vehicle registration fees, operating permit fees, as well as property and business ventures in Somalia. Anything and everything is potentially a source of income.”
In Somalia, you don’t have to deliberately fund Al-Shabab; it just happens. “No one has to ‘target’ al-Shabab to fund al-Shabab,” former State Department analyst Tricia Bacon told Kare 11 News in Minnesota on Nov. 26. “But that’s kind of the cost of doing business in Somalia, because the government has been so ineffective at protecting people from al-Shabab’s extortion that you don’t really have a choice whether to pay or not.”
“Gunshots and rocket-propelled grenades were fired every night. The country had fallen into anarchy and total uncertainty. There was no electricity and human conditions were barbaric. The result was a horrific spectacle of a human catastrophe that was man-made and totally unnecessary and so unfortunate for the innocent civilians who had to endure a hardship beyond comprehension.”
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Somali Anti-Terror Police officers search vehicles and motorists at a pop-up checkpoint set up to find weapons and bomb parts on a road on April 21, 2025, in central Mogadishu, Somalia. There are concerns about a resurgence of jihadism in Somalia amid increasing attacks from the militant group Al-Shabaab, which has been fighting the government for almost two decades and controls parts of the southern and central parts of the country. (Ed Ram/Getty Images)
For many Somalis, more than thirty years later, freedom is still just a dream. It means, says Mahjar-Barducci, “living without fear – being able to move freely, work safely and provide for their families. It includes safety from checkpoints and clan tensions, speaking openly, running a business without intimidation and sending children to school without worry. Western audiences often misunderstand Somalia as completely lawless or a failed state, overlooking the resilience of its people, strong community networks and gradual improvements in security, governance and business opportunities.”
Talliye said: “People fear Al-Shabab, and the hope is the long and painful journey to one man, one vote. People only believe that things will change if politicians are held accountable by the people.”
