| Awdheegle and Bariire attacks | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Somali Civil War (2009–present) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Somalia |  al-Shabaab | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 48 (per al-Shabaab and US) 14 killed (per Somalia) | 76 killed, 10 captured (per Somalia) | ||||||
On April 2, 2021, Al-Shabaab militants simultaneously attacked Somali National Army bases in Awdheegle and Bariire, Lower Shabelle, killing forty-eight soldiers and dozens of al-Shabaab fighters. Somali forces were able to repulse both attacks.
The Somali National Army (SNA) bases in Awdheegle and Bariire were built to protect several bridges that transported supplies to and from those cities and Mogadishu. [1] The guards at the bases were also tasked with preventing suicide bombings. [1] Awdheegle is a city on the outskirts of Mogadishu, and Bariire is in Lower Shabelle. While both cities are controlled by the SNA, much of the rural land surrounding the area is controlled or heavily under the influence of al-Shabaab. [2]
The attacks began at 4 a.m. local time and occurred simultaneously in Awdheegle and Bariire. [1] [3] al-Shabaab drove suicide car bombs into the bases before launching infantry attacks on them. [1] Lower Shabelle governor Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur Siidi stated that al-Shabaab began firing mortars on the villages of Saniid and Anole near Bariire, along with shelling the outskirts of Janaale. [1] Sabiid, Anole, and Janaale were all under SNA control at the time of the attacks. [1]
Somali soldiers were able to defend Awdheegle from the jihadists, but fighting in Bariire expanded into the town. Al-Shabaab claimed to have captured Bariire and the military base, although a Somali official stated that Bariire came under more pressure after al-Shabaab's loss at Awdheegle. [1] Somali National Television claimed that the attacks on both Awdheegle and Bariire were repulsed, although Somali security forces later stated that the base at Bariire was recaptured later. [4] [1] Somali general Mohamed Tahlil Bihi stated that nine soldiers were killed and eleven injured although by April 6, military spokesman Odowaa Yusuf Rageh stated 14 Somali soldiers were killed. [5]
Bihi stated that 76 al-Shabaab fighters were killed and ten others had been captured, and al-Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Musab stated that 47 Somali soldiers were killed. al-Musab did not give a death toll for al-Shabaab fighters. [5] The United States Department of State later stated at least 48 Somali soldiers had been killed. [3]
Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble visited wounded soldiers from the Awdheegle and Bariire attacks on April 6 at a military hospital in Mogadishu. He congratulated the soldiers for their bravery. [5] Somali state media also said that operations were underway that same day to chase remaining al-Shabaab militants from the areas around Awdheegle, and that the Somali military was currently looking for the perpetrators of the Bariire attack. [6]
Lower Shabelle is an administrative region (gobol) in southern Somalia.
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was a Multinational force formed by the African Union. The operation deployed to Somalia soon after the Islamic Courts Union was deposed by troops from Ethiopia during a large scale invasion in late 2006. The missions primary objective was to maintain the regime change between the ICU and the newly installed Transitional Federal Government, implement a national security plan and train the TFG security forces. As part of its duties, AMISOM later supported the Federal Government of Somalia in its war against Al-Shabaab. AMISOM was the most deadly peacekeeping operation in the post-war era.
The Somali Civil War (2009–present) is the ongoing phase of the Somali Civil War which is concentrated in southern and central Somalia. It began in late January 2009 with the present conflict mainly between the forces of the Federal Government of Somalia assisted by African Union peacekeeping troops and al-Shabaab militants who pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda during 2012.
The Battle of Mogadishu (2010–11) began on 23 August 2010 when al-Shabaab insurgents began attacking government and African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) positions in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab began its offensive after its spokesman said the group was declaring a "massive war" on troops sent by AMISOM, describing its 6,000 peacekeepers as "invaders". In December 2010 the number of AMISOM troops was increased to 8,000 and later to 9,000. The battle's name usually includes the years, when referenced, in order to distinguish it amongst the nine major Battles of Mogadishu during the decades long Somali Civil War.
This is a 2012 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
The Battle of Kismayo was an offensive led by the Kenya Defence Forces, under the codename Operation Sledge Hammer, to seize the port city of Kismayo, Somalia, from Al-Shabaab from 28 September 2012. Members of the Raskamboni movement militia were part of the amphibious force.
This is a 2014 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
Operation Indian Ocean was a joint military operation between the Somali military, AMISOM and the United States military against the Al-Shabaab militant group aimed at eliminating the remaining insurgent-held areas in southern Somalia. It officially began in August 2014.
This is a 2015 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
The Golweyn ambush by al-Shabaab militants against an AMISOM convoy took place on 30 July 2017. Resulting in the death of several Ugandan soldiers, the attack seriously disrupted the control of pro-government forces over the Lower Shebelle region in Somalia, eventually leading to the fall of the strategically significant town of Leego to al-Shabaab.
This is a 2016 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
Since the early 2000s, the United States has provided military support to the Transitional Federal Government and the Federal Government of Somalia in conflicts. U.S. military actions in Somalia date back to the 1990s; however, following the September 11th attacks, military action was justified as counterterrorism. The Obama and Trump administrations conducted drone and fighter aircraft strikes, advisory missions, and training; provided intelligence; and attacked al-Shabaab militants. Two U.S. special operations personnel, two contractors, one US Army soldier, and a CIA paramilitary officer have died during operations in Somalia.
This is a 2018 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
On 1 April 2018, Al-Shabaab fighters attacked an AMISOM base in Bulo Marer in the Lower Shebelle region of Somalia.
Events in the year 2023 in Somalia.
On October 7, 2022, Somali Army troops repulsed an Al-Shabaab attack on a military base near Balad, Somalia. In the skirmish, nineteen al-Shabaab members were reportedly killed.
The battle of Buulo Mareer took place on 26 May 2023, when Al-Shabaab fighters stormed an African Union military camp manned by Ugandan forces in the town of Bulo Marer, Lower Shabelle, Somalia.
Events in the year 2024 in Somalia.
This is a 2024 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).