The Islamic Courts Union was a legal and political organization formed to address the lawlessness that had gripped Somalia since the fall of the Siad Barre regime in 1991 during the Somali Civil War.
Al-Itihaad al-Islami was an Islamist politico-military group in Somalia. Formed in the 1983 through a merger of smaller Islamist groups, the organization was the most powerful Islamic movement in Somalia during the late 80s and early 90s. The organization had the most significant multi clan following of all Islamist factions in the country and professed the aim of creating a Somali Islamic state.
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys (English: Hassan Dahir Aweys (Somali: Xasan Daahir Aweys, is a Somali Islamist political figure. During the regime of Siad Barre, Aweys was a colonel in the Somali National Army and served in the 1977 Ogaden War against Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian occupation of Somalia, also called the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia or the Ethiopian intervention in the Somali Civil War, was an armed conflict in Somalia that lasted from 2006 to 2009. It began when military forces from Ethiopia, supported by the United States, invaded Somalia to depose the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and install the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The conflict continued after the invasion when an anti-Ethiopian insurgency emerged and rapidly escalated. During 2007 and 2008, the insurgency recaptured the majority of territory lost by the ICU. At the start of 2009 Ethiopian troops withdrew from Somalia, but became re-involved several years later to counter the growing strength of Al-Shabaab.
The 2006 Islamic Courts Union offensive is the period in the Somali Civil War that began in May 2006 with the Islamic Courts Union's (ICU) conquest of Mogadishu from the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT) and continued with further ICU expansion in the country. Following the outbreak of the war on December 21, 2006; by December 24, direct Ethiopian intervention in the conflict in support of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was no longer denied by the Ethiopian government. The Eritrean government denied any involvement despite Ethiopian claims to the contrary.
Sheikh Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki was a Somali Islamist leader of al-Itihaad al-Islamiya (AIAI) and later of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU).
Aden Hashi Farah Aero was the military commander of the Al Shabaab. He was from the Ayr sub-clan, part of the Habar Gidir, which is a branch of the Hawiye clan. He was reportedly married to Halima Abdi Issa Yusuf. He was among several militants killed in a U.S. airstrike on 1 May 2008.
The timeline of events in the War in Somalia during 2007 is set out below.
The Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) was political party formed in Eritrea during September 2007 as the successor to the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). It served as the principal political opposition to the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG). The organization would also participate in the 2007 and 2008 years of the insurgency during the Ethiopian intervention in Somalia.
The 2009 timeline of events in the Somalia War (2006–2009) during January 2009 is set out below. From the beginning of February the timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present) is set out following the conclusion of the previous phase of the civil war.
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-Qaeda aligned al-Shabaab militants.
Hizbul Islam, also known as Hizbul Islaami, Hisbi Islam, or Hezb-ul Islam, was a Somali Islamist group formed after four Islamist groups merged to oppose the new Somali government of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed. The four groups were: Hassan Aweys' the ARS-A, Jabhatul Islamiya, Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki's the Mu'askar Ras Kamboni and Muaskar Anole, the Marehan clan's Militia and Harti clan's militia. These groups previously took part in the fighting against the Ethiopian occupation of Somalia.
The Battle of Mogadishu (2009) started in May with an Islamist offensive, when rebels from al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam attacked and captured government bases in the capital of Mogadishu. The fighting soon spread, causing hundreds of casualties, and continued on at various levels of intensity until October. The battle's name usually includes the year, when referenced, in order to distinguish it amongst the nine major Battles of Mogadishu during the decades long Somali Civil War.
A series of battles in Hiraan, Shabeellaha Dhexe and Galgudug, between rebels of al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam and Somali government forces and ICU militants loyal to the government, erupted during spring 2009. The fighting led to al-Shabaab capturing major government strongholds and Ethiopian forces re-entering Somalia and setting up bases in Hiraan. There was a halt in fighting during a government offensive in Mogadishu, which started on May 22.
Muaskar Anole also known as Anoole, Caanole, Mu'askar Anole, Mucaskarka Caanoole, Caanoole Mu'askar, Mucaskarka al-Furqan, al-Furqan Camp or al-Furqan Forces was an Islamist militia in Somalia. The group participated in the 2006–2009 insurgency against Ethiopia and in January 2009 merged with the Asmara based wing of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia, led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, the Ras Kamboni Brigade, led by Sheikh Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki and Jabhatul Islamiya to form Hizbul Islam which became the second most powerful insurgent group in Somalia which continued fighting the TFG and AMISOM peacekeepers, after Ethiopian withdrawal. Little is known about the group.
The Ras Kamboni Brigades also known as the Ras Kamboni Brigade, Muaskar Ras Kamboni or Mu'askar Ras Kamboni was an Islamist insurgent group active in Somalia, which took part in the anti-Ethiopian insurgency and later in the insurgency against the new Transitional Federal Government of Sheikh Sharif Ahmed. It was founded by Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki, who was a commander of the Islamic Courts Union and the commander of its predecessor Itihaad al Islamiyah. In January 2009, after the Ethiopian withdrawal they merged with the Asmara-based wing of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia, led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, Jabhatul Islamiya, led by Sheikh Mohamed Ibrahim Hayle and Muaskar Anole to form Hizbul Islam and continue the war against the TFG. During the 2009 Battle of Mogadishu, where in Hizbul Islam took part, Hassan Turki led a group of fighters from the Ras Kamboni Brigade from Kisimayo to Mogadishu as reinforcements, to join the battle.
The Battle of Wabho was a one-day-long battle fought between the Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a militia loyal to the Somali government and Islamist insurgent groups Hizbul Islam and al-Shabaab over the district of Wabho, located in Central Somalia. According to Mahmutcan Ateş, more than 123 people were killed as a result of the battle, making it one of the bloodiest battles in the Somali Civil War.
The January 2010 Battle of Beledweyne began on January 10, 2010 when Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a forces attacked and captured East Beledweyne which was being held by the Hizbul Islam insurgent group. It was initially reported that TFG forces took part in the offensive however Ahlu Sunna Waljma'a leaders said the government was not helping them during the offensive. Fighting soon spread from the East to the center of the city. It became the first battle in months were al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam groups cooperated against the TFG.
This article contains a timeline of events for the Somali jihadist group al-Shabaab.
This is a 2016 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
ARS-Eritirea 
Ras Kamboni Brigade 
Transitional Federal Government 
Ethiopia 
