Somali militias are putting al-Shabab on the defensive

Clan militias have fought the group before, but it is the first time they have had such extensive military backing, and that support is now encouraging many aggrieved Somalis to join, writes Katharine Houreld

Danab and Gorgor soldiers stand near a former al-Shabab camp in Masjid Ali Guduud, an area recently taken back from al-Shabab control in Somalia (The Washington Post by Malin Fezehai)

A determined but often chaotic uprising by clan militias supported by Somali government troops has forced the al-Shabab militant group, one of al-Qaeda’s wealthiest and strongest global affiliates, onto the back foot, say Somali and US officials.

Political infighting in the Somali government had stymied any military offensive against al-Shabab for the past three years, allowing the group to consolidate its control over parts of Somalia. But after elections were held in May and the new government put its backing behind some of the clans in central Somalia, their militias began to claw back territory, taking over insurgent checkpoints previously used to extort money and bases used to launch attacks.

“What we’re seeing is really large scale combat operations taking place in Somalia and incorporating the clans in a way that we just have not ... seen,” says rear admiral Milton Sands, who heads US Special Operations Command Africa, in an interview. “I’m really optimistic.”