GNV News, December 19, 2025

From December 15 to 16, 2025, the U.S. military, together with the Federal Government of Somalia, carried out airstrikes in northern Somalia, it announced. As of December 18, 2025, U.S. airstrikes in Somalia in 2025 had been conducted 116 times. This figure is nearly twice the previous record of 63 in 2019 and more than eleven times the 2024 total, would amount to. The U.S. military has not disclosed information about civilian harm from these airstrikes, but a report states that at least 11 civilians were killed in a single strike.

In addition, about half of the airstrikes carried out in 2025 targeted an Islamic State (IS)-affiliated group operating in northern Somalia, but a significant number have also been conducted against the armed group al-Shabaab, which exercises de facto control over many areas in southern Somalia. Al-Shabaab is an armed group known to have ties to al-Qaeda, but it has been reported to provide certain administrative services, such as security and justice, in areas under its influence in exchange for taxation. Among al-Shabaab’s “policies” are some aimed at economic self-reliance and environmental protection; although their scale and quality are insufficient, some assess its governance as more efficient than that of the federal government based in the capital, Mogadishu.

Meanwhile, ahead of the presidential selection scheduled for 2026, the incumbent president is attempting to change the system in ways favorable to himself, and tensions are rising with influential figures who oppose this. The federal government has been weakened by political instability and rampant bribery and corruption, potentially making it more difficult to focus on countering al-Shabaab. Indeed, on December 18, 2025, the strategic stronghold of Nur Dugul, which had been under federal control, was seized by al-Shabaab after heavy fighting.

Learn more about Somalia → “Somalia: Aiming for Stability”

Learn more about the independent “state” within Somalia → “Where is Somaliland headed?”

The Somali port city of Kismayo, located about 50 kilometers from the sites that were bombed(Photo:Abdishukrih / Wikimedia Commons [CC BY-SA 4.0])