From farmers to fighters – how a new Somali militia has risen against al Shabaab

Published

3 years ago

October 13, 2022

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Deep in the Buloburde bush in the Hiiraan region of central Somalia, there’s a ragtag regiment gathering around a missile launcher.

Huddled tightly with their ears pressed against a small black phone, they receive intelligence and feed it back to the troops positioning the launcher.

The Ma’awisley militia is made up of farmers turned fighters and is in the front line of the battle for Somalia’s stability. It is the new weapon of choice in the 16-year effort to eradicate al Shabaab, the terrorist group linked to al Qaeda.

This war is one without a conventional front line. Instead, there are territories around the country where al Shabaab entrench themselves in the community and frequently launch attacks.

Now, these communities are rising up against them.

“We are fighting for the right cause, for the people, for this nation and for the faith until Somalia is peaceful,” says Ma’awisley commander Ali Shiri in Bal’ad – another hotspot just an hour outside the capital Mogadishu.

Primarily, they are protecting their families and farms. The lands they have long harvested are now parched by prolonged drought and stalked by al Shabaab fighters seeking money and food.

“They are bothering the community. We are farmers and they keep coming back to collect taxes from us. That is what made us fight,” says Ali.

‘Total war against al Shabaab’ top of the president’s agenda

This new push comes with a new administration, adamant to rid the country of insurgents. In May, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud came into power and weeks later, a 30-hour siege of the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu ended with the killing of 20 people. In response to the massacre, he declared a “total war against al Shabaab”.

President Mohamud has survived two al Shabaab assassination attempts and his nephew was killed by the terror group in 2015. This is his second term as president and the fight against al Shabaab continues to be at the top of his agenda.

Today, some of the fiercest battles are taking place in his home region of Hiraan where his government is steadily recruiting farmers to fight, a task made easier by the harsh climate conditions.

“We are facing the worst drought here in Hiraan. There’s been no rain and now we have an extra issue – war,” says the governor of Hiraan and army veteran Ali Jeyte.

He has been fighting alongside the Ma’awisley for the past four months and says: “We are their leaders and we have told them what’s good for them and they accept it.”

The Ma’awisley are named after the bright wrap-around skirts they wear to work on their farm. Today, these same skirts are wrapped around military fatigues and adorned with rows of new brass bullets supplied by the state. On their backs are rusty weapons bought on the black market.

Fortified by ground support from the Somali National Army and heavy artillery provided by the African Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), they are engaged in an all-out offensive in the battle of Hiraan.

“Around 300 to 400 militia men are surrounding al Shabaab at the moment,” says Abdelsalam Mualim Mohamed, the Ma’awisley militia commander in Bulobarde.

Using their intelligence, ATMIS Djiboutian force commander Colonel Hassan Djama Farah prepares his men to launch the missiles. The first strike hits near the target and they fire another.

When the dust settles, the soldiers pack their guns on to the back of their trucks and the Ma’awisley once again blend into the bushes.

‘Bombs are their weapon of choice’, hitting morale as well as injuring soldiers

The government claims to have killed 200 al Shabaab fighters in the past few days alone and says that many have surrendered.

These numbers are difficult to verify in a war that has been characterised by conflicting information from both sides. The government has recently tightened laws restricting local reporting on the terrorist group and suspended some of their social media accounts. Many Somali journalists complain that that is media censorship.

In this ever-changing climate, al Shabaab is constantly changing its tactics.

“We train on them, they train on us,” says Brigadier General Keith Katunji. He’s the commander of ATMIS Ugandan troops and has been stationed in Somalia on and off since 2010.

His sector is Lower Shabelle, home to Mogadishu and where close to half of the country’s population live.

“The improvised explosive devices (IEDs) or bombs are al Shabaab’s weapon of choice. They know we supply our bases by road so they concentrate on putting IEDs on the road and that affects us psychologically,” he says.

It’s the injuries sustained from these bombs that affect his soldiers’ morale, but still they take on the daily task of painstakingly clearing a major road linking Mogadishu to central Somalia, a critical artery supplying the country with food and fuel.

The Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) finds five to six improvised explosive devices on the 150-mile road every day, searching it inch by inch.

Lush farms become drought-ravaged lands as food security destroyed

“The United Nations and the government are trying to supply foodstuff so we have to do this kind of operation. You have to go and pacify the area where food will be dumped and give people hope,” says the brigadier.

Four failed rainy seasons have destroyed food security across the country and forecasts suggest there is unlikely to bring the moisture needed to replenish agricultural land.

Lower Shabelle is technically the most fertile part of Somalia. But from above, formerly lush farms have become drought-ravaged lands. Now littered with planted bombs instead of fields of crops.

Just under seven million people are at risk of starvation – close to half of the country’s population.

“A hungry man is an angry man,’ adds brigadier Katunji.

This anger is building amongst the Ma’awisley who are not just facing drought.

“When it is harvest time, al Shabaab comes and says we have to pay – these are the challenges we are facing,” says commander Ali Shiri in Bal’ad, a city in Middle Shabelle where another offensive is underway.

Bal’ad is close to al-Shabaab’s former capital Basra and where the terror group would hold Sharia courts to settle issues like land disputes.

For Bal’ad’s mayor Qaasim Furdug this fight is deeply personal. He lost his leg in 2010 in Mogadishu in a battle against al Shabaab and insists the war against them continues.

A fight that rural communities – once terrorised into silence – are now at the forefront.

‘Either farm as a free man or die – we are facing bullets’

“People thought al Shabaab were on the right path but now they have become aware that al Shabaab are the true enemy,” says mayor Furdug.

“So everyone decided to either farm as a free man or die. We are facing bullets. We are facing our enemy.”

The Mayor is greeted by Ma’awisley fighters as he leaves his office. They are taking a break before heading back out to confront al Shabaab.

These battles are breaking out all across the country as the government pushes to reclaim territory – another symptom of Somalia’s increasingly uninhabitable environment.

“We can’t farm and as farmers, we are ready to defend our land and people,” says Ma’awisley fighter Abdi Mahmoud Hussein in Bal’ad town.

At least half of the seven million Somalis affected by the drought are estimated to live in the al Shabaab-controlled territory, a curse many believe goes hand in hand.

“There is a lack of rain and wherever al Shabaab goes, drought follows,” Abdi adds.

World

Why do so many from around the world try to cross the English Channel?

Published

2 hours ago

July 9, 2025

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Why do so many from around the world try to cross the English Channel?

While the politicians talk, so many people come from around the world to try to get across the Channel on small boats. But why?

Why make such a perilous crossing to try to get to a country that seems to be getting increasingly hostile to asylum seekers?

As the British and French leaders meet, with small boats at the forefront of their agenda, we came to northern France to get some answers.

It is not a new question, but it is peppered with fresh relevance.

Over the course of a morning spent around a migrant camp in Dunkirk, we meet migrants from Gaza, Iraq, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sri Lanka and beyond.

Some are fearful, waving us away; some are happy to talk. Very few are comfortable to be filmed.

All but one man – who says he’s come to the wrong place and actually wants to claim asylum in Paris – are intent on reaching Britain.

They see the calm seas, feel the light winds – perfect conditions for small boat crossings.

John has come here from South Sudan. He tells me he’s now 18 years old. He left his war-torn home nation just before his 16th birthday. He feels that reaching Britain is his destiny.

“England is my dream country,” he says. “It has been my dream since I was at school. It’s the country that colonised us and when I get there, I will feel like I am home.

“In England, they can give me an opportunity to succeed or to do whatever I need to do in my life. I feel like I am an English child, who was born in Africa.”

He says he would like to make a career in England, either as a journalist or in human resources, and, like many others we meet, is at pains to insist he will work hard.

The boat crossing is waved away as little more than an inconvenience – a trifle compared with the previous hardships of his journey towards Britain.

We meet a group of men who have all travelled from Gaza, intent on starting new lives in Britain and then bringing their families over to join them.

One man, who left Gaza two years ago, tells me that his son has since been shot in the leg “but there is no hospital for him to go to”.

Next to him, a man called Abdullah says he entered Europe through Greece and stayed there for months on end, but was told the Greek authorities would never allow him to bring over his family.

Britain, he thinks, will be more accommodating. “Gaza is being destroyed – we need help,” he says.

A man from Eritrea tells us he is escaping a failing country and has friends in Britain – he plans to become a bicycle courier in either London or Manchester.

He can’t stay in France, he says, because he doesn’t speak French. The English language is presented as a huge draw for many of the people we talk to, just as it had been during similar conversations over the course of many years.

I ask many of these people why they don’t want to stay in France, or another safe European country.

Some repeat that they cannot speak the language and feel ostracised. Another says that he tried, and failed, to get a residency permit in both France and Belgium.

But this is also, clearly, a flawed survey. Last year, five times as many people sought asylum in France as in Britain.

And French critics have long insisted that Britain, a country without a European-style ID card system, makes itself attractive to migrants who can “disappear”.

A young man from Iraq, with absolutely perfect English, comes for a chat. He oozes confidence and a certain amount of mischief.

It has taken him only seven days to get from Iraq to Dunkirk; when I ask how he has made the trip so quickly, he shrugs. “Money talks”.

He looks around him. “Let me tell you – all of these people you see around you will be getting to Britain and the first job they get will be in the black market, so they won’t be paying any tax.

“Back in the day in Britain, they used to welcome immigrants very well, but these days I don’t think they want to, because there’s too many of them coming by boat. Every day it’s about seven or 800 people. That’s too many people.”

“But,” I ask, “if those people are a problem – then what makes you different? Aren’t you a problem too?”

He shakes his head emphatically. “I know that I’m a very good guy. And I won’t be a problem. I’ll only stay in Britain for a few years and then I’ll leave again.”

A man from Sri Lanka says he “will feel safe” when he gets to Britain; a tall, smiling man from Ethiopia echoes the sentiment: “We are not safe in our home country so we have come all this way,” he says. “We want to work, to be part of Britain.”

Emmanuel is another from South Sudan – thoughtful and eloquent. He left his country five years ago – “at the start of COVID” – and has not seen his children in all that time. His aim is to start a new life in Britain, and then to bring his family to join him.

He is a trained electrical engineer, but says he could also work as a lorry driver. He is adamant that Britain has a responsibility to the people of its former colony.

“The British came to my country – colonising, killing, raping,” he said. “And we didn’t complain. We let it happen.

“I am not the problem. I won’t fight anyone; I want to work. And if I break the laws – if any immigrant breaks the laws – then fine, deport them.

“I know it won’t be easy – some people won’t like me, some people will. But England is my dream.”

World

Trump applying ‘heavy pressure’ on Netanyahu to end war in Gaza

Published

11 hours ago

July 9, 2025

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Trump applying 'heavy pressure' on Netanyahu to end war in Gaza

US President Donald Trump is putting “heavy” pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza, two sources close to the ceasefire negotiations have told Sky News.

One US source said: “The US pressure on Israel has begun, and tonight it will be heavy.”

The source, who is not authorised to speak publicly, was referring to the White House dinner on Monday night between Trump and Netanyahu.

A second Middle Eastern diplomatic source agreed that the American pressure on Israel would be intense.

Netanyahu arrived in Washington DC in the early hours of Monday morning and held meetings on Monday with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state and national security adviser.

The Israeli prime minister plans to be in Washington until Thursday with meetings on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

Trump has made clear his desire to bring the Gaza conflict to an end.

However, he has never articulated how a lasting peace, which would satisfy both the Israelis and Palestinians, could be achieved.

His varying comments about ownership of Gaza, moving Palestinians out of the territory and permanent resettlement, have presented a confusing policy.

Situation for Palestinians worse than ever

Over the coming days, we will see the extent to which Trump demands that Netanyahu accepts the current Gaza ceasefire deal, even if it falls short of Israel’s war aims – the elimination of Hamas.

The strategic objective to permanently remove Hamas seems always to have been impossible. Hamas as an entity was the extreme consequence of the Israeli occupation.

The Palestinians’ challenge has not gone away, and the situation for Palestinians now is worse than it has ever been in Gaza and also the West Bank. It is not clear how Trump plans to square that circle.

Trump’s oft-repeated desire to “stop the killing” is sincere. Those close to him often emphasise this. He is also looking to cement his legacy as a peacemaker. He genuinely craves the Nobel Peace Prize.

In this context, the complexities of conflicts – in Ukraine or Gaza – are often of secondary importance to the president.

If Netanyahu can be persuaded to end the war, what would he need?

The hostages back – for sure. That would require agreement from Hamas. They would only agree to this if they have guarantees on Gaza’s future and their own future. More circles to square.

Was White House dinner a key moment?

The Monday night dinner could have been a key moment for the Middle East. Two powerful men in the Blue Room of the White House, deciding the direction of the region.

Will it be seen as the moment the region was remoulded? But to whose benefit?

Trump is a dealmaker with an eye on the prize. But Netanyahu is a political master; they don’t call him “the magician” for nothing.

Trump makes decisions instinctively. He can shift position quickly and often listens to the last person in the room. Right now – that person is Netanyahu.

Gaza is one part of a jigsaw of challenges, which could become opportunities.

Diplomatic normalisation between Israel and the Arab world is a prize for Trump and could genuinely secure him the Nobel Peace Prize.

But without the Gaza piece, the jigsaw is incomplete.

World

IDF presence in Gaza ‘only issue’ still to be resolved in push for Israel-Hamas ceasefire, Sky News understands

Published

11 hours ago

July 9, 2025

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IDF presence in Gaza 'only issue' still to be resolved in push for Israel-Hamas ceasefire, Sky News understands

Only one issue remains unresolved in the push to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, according to Sky sources.

Intense negotiations are taking place in Qatar in parallel with key talks in Washington between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Two sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations have told Sky News that disagreement between Israel and Hamas remains on the status and presence of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) inside Gaza.

The two sides have bridged significant differences on several other issues, including the process of delivering humanitarian aid and Hamas’s demand that the US guarantees to ensure Israel doesn’t unilaterally resume the war when the ceasefire expires in 60 days.

On the issue of humanitarian aid, Sky News understands that a third party that neither Hamas nor Israel has control over will be used in areas from which the IDF withdraws.

This means that the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) – jointly run by an American organisation and Israel – will not be able to operate anywhere where the IDF is not deployed. It will limit GHF expansion plans.

It is believed the United Nations or other recognised humanitarian organisations will adopt a greater role.

On the issue of a US guarantee to prevent Israel restarting the war, Sky News understands that a message was passed to Hamas by Dr Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian American who has emerged as a key back channel in the negotiations.

The message appears to have been enough to convince Hamas that President Trump will prevent Israel from restarting the conflict.

However, there is no sense from any of the developments over the course of the past day about what the future of Gaza looks like longer-term.

Final challenge is huge

The last remaining disagreement is, predictably, the trickiest to bridge.

Israel’s central war aim, beyond the return of the hostages, is the total elimination of Hamas as a military and political organisation. The withdrawal of the IDF, partial or total, could allow Hamas to regroup.

One way to overcome this would be to provide wider guarantees of clear deliverable pathways to a viable future for Palestinians.

But there is no sense from the negotiations of any longer-term commitments on this issue.

Two key blocks have been resolved over the past 24 hours but the final challenge is huge.

The conflict in Gaza erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Some 20 hostages are believed to remain alive in Gaza.

Israel has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.