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4.3.2. Armed conflict (international or internal)

COMMON ANALYSIS
Last updated: August 2023

Several overlapping armed conflicts within the meaning of Article 15(c) QD take place in Somalia. The main conflicts are outlined below.

  • Al-Shabaab – anti Al-Shabaab armed conflict: The FGS, the FMS, some clan militias, as well as international actors, such as Ethiopia, Kenya, the US, and ATMIS/AMISOM, are all engaged, in various degrees and forms, in the long-standing conflict against Al-Shabaab.
  • The inter and intra-clan rivalries: clan rivalries and competitions over political power, territorial control and scarce resources have resulted in clashes. Within this context, clans often compete against each other, as well as against other actors such as the FGS or the FMS. The existence of clan militias has been reported throughout Somalia, including Puntland and Somaliland. In some cases, clan rivalries have escalated to armed confrontations, therefore taking the form of an armed conflict in the meaning of Article 15(c) QD.
  • Anti-ISS armed conflict: various armed forces, including AFRICOM, the Federal Security Forces, and the Puntland armed forces are engaged in various degrees in an armed conflict against ISS. While ISS is mainly active in Puntland, it carries out attacks also in Mogadishu and elsewhere.
  • Puntland versus Somaliland: Puntland and Somaliland contend over control of areas of the Sool and Sanaag regions - that border the two state administrations - as well as the area of Ayn, part of Togdheer region. Tensions between the two administrations built up along the border areas on various occasions.

Other types of confrontations which do not necessarily develop into armed confrontations are also taking place in Somalia. These include: the FGS versus the FMS, the intra-FMS control and governance dynamics, the FGS versus Somaliland. In some occasions, armed confrontations have been reported.

[Security 2023, 1.2., pp. 20-24]

The section 4.3.4. Indiscriminate violence provides further guidance with regard to the armed conflicts taking place on the territory of Somalia.