Somali forces and African Union troops seize strategic Awdheegle district from Al-Shabaab

Somali, Ugandan forces take Awdheegle in fresh push against al‑Shabaab

Somali troops backed by Ugandan peacekeepers say they have seized control of Awdheegle, a strategic farming town on the Shabelle River about 80 kilometers southwest of Mogadishu, in the latest phase of a stepped-up offensive against al‑Shabaab. The Ministry of Defense announced Saturday that the capture is a milestone in “Silent Storm,” a multi‑stage campaign to dismantle the militant group’s foothold across southern Somalia.

In the hours after the announcement, Somali forces launched clearance operations in and around the district, searching for hidden explosives, weapons caches, and retreating fighters. There was no immediate word on casualties among government forces. Officials said al‑Shabaab militants were killed in the fighting and others fled; the claims could not be independently verified.

The push followed a pre‑dawn sweep on Friday in the same district, where joint forces overran fortified positions and a network of tunnels in the villages of Shaamgare and Raqayle. The discovery of underground passages is a reminder of al‑Shabaab’s evolving tactics—digging in below ground to evade air surveillance and extend battles in terrain that has long favored the insurgents.

Why Awdheegle matters

To Somalis, Awdheegle is not just a dot on the map; it sits at the heart of the fertile “banana belt” that once helped feed and finance the country. The Shabelle River bends through fields of sesame and maize, and in better times, flatbed trucks ferried produce from here to markets in Mogadishu and beyond. It’s precisely the kind of place al‑Shabaab has taxed and controlled to fund its 17‑year insurgency—levying “zakat” at farm gates and checkpoints, coercing payments from traders, and using the riverine cover to stage attacks.

For the Somali government, holding Awdheegle is about more than a flag-raising. Control over this corridor helps secure supply routes to Mogadishu and nearby towns, reduces the insurgents’ revenue, and could entice displaced farmers back to their land. A Somali proverb says “Nabad iyo caano”—with peace comes milk. In Lower Shabelle, the equation is literal: security brings produce to market, incomes to households, and meals to tables in a country where millions still rely on humanitarian assistance.

A changed mission, familiar risks

The operation underscores how the African Union’s role in Somalia is evolving. Ugandan troops on the ground now operate under the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), the successor to the African Union Transition Mission (ATMIS), which has been drawing down. Under AUSSOM, African troops are expected to shift further toward mentoring, logistics, and enablers as Somali forces take the lead.

That handover—long a benchmark of sovereignty—also raises uncomfortable questions. Can Somali forces not only capture towns but hold them, police them, and govern them? In past offensives, al‑Shabaab lost ground only to reappear once troops moved on and civilian administration lagged. In Awdheegle and elsewhere, success will hinge on whether local police deploy quickly, courts function, and a district administration can collect revenue openly rather than ceding the space to the insurgents’ shadow system.

Inside “Silent Storm”

Officials describe “Silent Storm” as a multi‑phase drive targeting al‑Shabaab strongholds in the south, complementing earlier operations in central regions that reclaimed towns along the main north–south axis. In Lower Shabelle, the geography is unforgiving: irrigation canals and bush conceal IEDs, while narrow farm tracks turn into choke points. Even a single roadside bomb can close the road from Awdheegle to the capital, roiling food prices within hours in Mogadishu’s teeming Bakara Market.

Friday’s tunnel finds in Shaamgare and Raqayle point to an entrenched insurgency able to invest in underground defenses. Similar tunnel networks have been uncovered elsewhere in Somalia and across insurgencies from Gaza to the Sahel—a global pattern that reflects the cat‑and‑mouse struggle between drones in the sky and fighters seeking sanctuary below.

Human stakes beyond the front lines

What happens in Awdheegle will ripple beyond military communiqués. Farmers will weigh whether to bring oxen back to plowed fields or keep them hidden from the taxman. Traders will decide if it’s safe to bundle tomatoes and sesame into lorries for the dawn convoy to Mogadishu. Parents will watch the roads, asking whether a school that reopened today will still be open next week. For a generation of Somalis who have known mostly conflict, the promise of normalcy is often measured not in speeches but in whether the price of a kilo of rice falls on Saturday morning.

And for international partners—from the African Union to the European Union and the United States—Awdheegle is a test of whether years of training, equipment, and air support can translate into enduring security. It’s also a test of how quickly civilian ministries can follow the military lead with stabilization funds: repairing culverts, reopening clinics, and paying teachers. Without that, the security gains risk fraying, as they have in other contested breadbaskets worldwide, from northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado to parts of Burkina Faso’s river valleys.

What to watch next

• Holding and governance: Will Somali police and administrators arrive quickly to prevent a governance vacuum? The speed of that deployment has been the Achilles’ heel of past campaigns.
• Road security: Can the main tracks linking Awdheegle to Mogadishu and nearby towns stay open, allowing food and farm inputs to move? Sustained convoy security will be a key indicator.
• IED threat: Clearance teams now face the painstaking task of finding booby traps and mines. Their success will determine how fast civilians can safely return.
• Insurgent retaliation: Al‑Shabaab often counters losses with asymmetric attacks, including in the capital. Urban security alerts may rise in the coming days.
• Transition metrics: As AUSSOM beds in, look for clearer timelines and public benchmarks for the mission’s support role—and for how Somali forces will be sustained financially.

Somalia’s war with al‑Shabaab has stretched across nearly two decades and multiple political eras. Today’s news from Awdheegle is a reminder that progress, when it comes, tends to be incremental—won village by village, canal by canal. If Silent Storm can secure not just a district but the rhythms of ordinary life that flow through it, the offensive will have earned its name. If not, Awdheegle risks joining the list of places captured on paper but contested in reality.

For now, the plumes of dust from armored pickups are the visible sign of change. The quieter measure will be whether, in a week’s time, a farmer can send his harvest to market without paying the insurgents, and whether he dares to believe that the road will still be open tomorrow.

By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.