MOGADISHU – The defense system safeguarding Mogadishu from potential militant threats is a blend of machine gunners mounted on pick-up trucks and civilian-dressed youth stationed at various checkpoints across Somalia’s capital.

Leading the charge is Abdikani Ali Mohamed, a youthful-looking colonel whose influence has significantly increased as Somalia’s government intensifies efforts to dismantle al-Shabab’s extensive networks.

Mohamed’s team maintains such a high level of vigilance that even the sight of an armored vehicle—often a symbol of high status—raises suspicion if it hasn’t been seen at a checkpoint recently.

“We’ve realized that al-Shabab is constantly adapting,” Mohamed explained. “Their strategies evolve with each attack, becoming more sophisticated and complex.”

Since his election in 2022, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has launched a “total war” against the militants. These insurgents, who have long opposed his tenuous administration, have been responsible for countless casualties. The president aims to confront al-Shabab not only on the battlefield but also by disrupting their financial resources and diminishing their influence among the Somali populace.

‘Ring of steel’

Somalia has been without a properly functional central government since the overthrow by warlords of the dictator Siad Barre in 1991.

Authorities have said that the effort to stop al-Shabab — an operation backed by African Union peacekeepers and military advisers from countries such as Egypt and Turkey — must be led by intelligence gatherers, putting the National Intelligence and Security Agency, or NISA, at the center of the unwieldy security apparatus trying to keep the federal government operational.

The last major attack by al-Shabab came in August 2024 and killed dozens at the city’s Lido beach, although there have been ambitious plots like the failed attempt to assassinate the president in March and a prison attack in October.

Security officials claim success because of the rarity these days of major attacks in Mogadishu by al-Shabab, which is fighting to impose Islamic law in the Horn of Africa nation. The group has ties to al-Qaida.

A “ring of steel” around Mogadishu makes it harder for al-Shabab to penetrate the city, said Abdi Guled, a Somali who is an independent analyst of the Horn. “The integration of high-tech surveillance and improved intelligence sharing has disrupted several cells, but this remains a tactical success.”

Attacks by al-Shabab typically involve improvised explosive devices hidden in cars and detonated at strategic locations, especially the gates of popular hotels and government buildings. The most powerful bombings have killed hundreds of civilians at a time.

‘We are at war’

Hotels, restaurants, and other places frequented by government officials are now shielded by concrete barriers, while the presidency and most embassies are ensconced in a fortified zone near the airport, whose security is Mohamed’s responsibility.

“For us we are at war,” Mohamed said, describing his work after inspecting checkpoints in Mogadishu, where security measures now also mandate shop owners to install security cameras. “This is a battle that is going to be back and forth — and one we are winning currently.”

Facing military pressure, including occasional U.S. airstrikes, al-Shabab has retreated to areas of southern and central Somalia that suit its guerrilla tactics.

Beyond Mogadishu, the conflict “has shifted from a rapid offensive to a grinding war of attrition” as al-Shabab fighters retreat under pressure to resupply and then ambush government troops and their allies in remote towns, according to Guled.

In parts of Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region – the country’s food basket and now also a battleground in the fight with al-Shabab – confrontations between government troops and the militants have become more frequent in recent months.

There are mixed results for government troops in towns like Bariire, the control of which has shifted multiple times in the past year.

As the holy month of Ramadan came to a close in March, al Shabab fighters overran Bariire, torching homes and forcing people to flee.

Daynab Mukhtar Aden, a 65-year-old mother of six, told The Associated Press that she walked 40 kilometers (24 miles) from Bariire a settlement for the displaced near Mogadishu.

“If we had stayed we would have been killed,” said Aden, a tea vendor who works under a tree next to the shell of what used to be her house. She returned to Bariire only after government troops retook the city and declared it – yet again – liberated.

“I came back because we were told the government will help us rebuild and keep us safe,” she said.

Recent successive victories

But the fighting had left a trail of carnage. Al-Shabab fighters were blamed for destroying bridges and effectively impeding easy access to three towns served by the Shabelle River.

“The enemy fighters (al-Shabab) are sophisticated and skilled in their tactics, which constantly presents new challenges,” said Lt. Col. Abdirahim Mohammed Munye of the Somali military, citing successive victories against al-Shabab in Bariire and the nearby areas of Sabid-Anole and Awdheegle. “However, with the help of Allah, we hope to gain the upper hand and liberate our country.”

Munye pointed out that degrading al-Shabab in Lower Shabelle — and reclaiming towns like Bariire — is key to securing Mogadishu, where residents see the heavy security presence as reassuring.

There are construction sites across Mogadishu, a city of just under 3 million people. Cafes and ice cream parlors are sprouting, and at night the neon lights come on in the main thoroughfares, emitting the kind of life that Mogadishu’s senior residents hope for.

“Insecurity has been one of our biggest challenges,” said Hajji Abuker Osman, a retiree who regularly comes to have coffee in downtown Mogadishu. “It has really improved now.”

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Njehia reported from Bariire, Somalia.