U.S. Praise in Bosaso, Local Anger in Sanaag: A Test of Counter‑ISIS Strategy in Somalia
BOSASO, Somalia — In a carefully choreographed visit this past weekend, senior U.S. officials flew into Puntland State’s bustling port city of Bosaso to laud the region’s role in combating Islamic State fighters and protecting Somalia’s northern maritime approaches. The delegation — led by Ambassador Richard Riley and including Major General Claude Tudor and the head of U.S. special operations in East Africa, Colonel Benander — met with Puntland State President Said Abdullahi Deni and commanders of the elite Hillaac Operation.
- Advertisement -
The message from the Americans was clear: Puntland State is a frontline partner in a fight that Washington says has implications far beyond Somalia’s borders. “This is not just a Somali problem,” a U.S. statement conveyed through Puntland State channels said. “Terrorist networks here threaten the Horn of Africa and the United States alike.”
Security cooperation on display
In Bosaso’s governor’s compound, officials emphasized cooperation on training, intelligence-sharing and maritime security. Hillaac, a locally recruited counter‑terrorism unit, was singled out for praise; the unit operates in the Cal‑Miskaad mountains, a rugged area where remnants of ISIS-linked fighters have taken shelter for years.
For Puntland State’s leadership, the visit was both symbolic and practical: a public affirmation of the authority of a semi-autonomous regional government that has long sought international recognition and support to secure its coastline and trade routes. Bosaso is a commercial hub — a place where dhows and freighters, camel caravans and oil tankers share space — and Puntland State’s ability to keep those lanes open is a prized asset, regionally and to foreign navies.
But a strike in Sanaag casts a shadow
Yet the cordial optics of Bosaso were undercut by a raw, local grievance: days before the U.S. delegation arrived, an American airstrike in the Sanaag region killed Abdullahi Omar Abdi, a traditional elder accused by U.S. officials of facilitating arms transfers to militants. Washington has described him as a weapons facilitator tied to extremist groups; the Somali and Puntland State presidencies said the visit did not publicly address the strike.
In Sanaag, however, the elder’s death sparked grief and anger. Residents and clan elders in the area, where loyalties and narratives run through extended family networks, said Abdi had been a respected figure. “He was a man who took part in our disputes and sought to settle them,” said a Sanaag resident who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal. “We have questions about why he was targeted and what evidence was used.”
The strike underscores a persistent dilemma in counter‑terrorism work across the Sahel and the Horn: targeted operations can remove dangerous actors but also alienate local communities when transparency is limited and the victims are figures with social standing in their regions.
Between tactical gains and strategic risks
U.S. military strikes in Somalia have increased and evolved over the last two decades, relying heavily on special operations and airpower rather than large-scale deployments. That model can produce quick tactical results. But in societies where local elders and clan leaders are central to governance, the removal of a traditional leader without clear, publicly available evidence risks fuelling grievances that militants can exploit.
“If you take someone who mediates quarrels and the community believes you did it without justification, you risk tipping the balance toward instability,” said a Horn of Africa analyst in Nairobi. “Counter‑terrorism operations cannot be a substitute for political engagement and local legitimacy.”
Puntland State’s leaders are themselves navigating a delicate balance: they welcome foreign support that bolsters their security forces and maritime patrols, yet they must answer to their constituencies when foreign actions — whether strikes or drone operations — bring casualties or appear to violate local sovereignty.
Regional politics complicate the picture
The Sanaag region is also politically sensitive. Parts of it are claimed by both Puntland State and the self‑declared Republic of North Western State of Somalia, and the area has been the scene of recurrent skirmishes and shifting loyalties. In such a contested environment, an airstrike can reverberate far beyond its immediate target, feeding narratives of external interference or of one side being favored over another.
For the United States, the Bosaso trip was a chance to underscore long‑term commitments: training, capacity building for units like Hillaac, and maritime security cooperation that addresses piracy, illegal fishing and transnational crime. Those are legitimate, tangible concerns for local economies and for international shipping lanes. But building sustainable peace requires more than partnerships with security forces; it needs political reconciliation, development investment and accountable governance — areas where donors and governments often fall short.
Questions for the next phase
As Washington and regional leaders deepen ties, several questions loom. How will U.S. forces ensure that kinetic operations are matched by efforts to document and explain their legal basis to affected communities? Can Puntland State translate security gains into political legitimacy that reaches clan elders and ordinary citizens? And how will the federal government in Mogadishu be engaged to avoid fragmentation of authority that militants can exploit?
There is also a broader, global conversation unfolding: in counter‑terrorism operations from the Sahel to Southeast Asia, the balance of force and diplomacy is being tested. Recent experience suggests that tactical victories against small extremist cells can be transient if underlying grievances — economic marginalization, disputed land rights, opaque power structures — are not addressed.
For many in Bosaso the message from the visiting Americans was welcome. “We need partners to keep our ports and seas safe,” said a merchant who offloads containers at the busy harbor. Yet across the mountains in Sanaag, the airstrike’s aftermath remains a bitter reminder that security operations carry human and political costs. How those costs are acknowledged and managed will shape whether counter‑ISIS efforts here contribute to lasting stability or sow seeds of future conflict.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
