Politics of Distraction in Somalia: When Bad Policies Aid Al-Shabaab

Mohammed Hirmoge

The big question is this: how can the government abandon Hiran to Al-Shabaab, destabilize Jubaland, and at the same time turn around to form a new state, North-East?

Somalia’s federal system is fragile. Power is shared-often uneasily-between the central government in Mogadishu and Federal Member States (FMS). Security is patchy, politics is volatile, and cooperation is rare.

In June and July-according to Al Jazeera-government troops lost the strategic villages of Elhareeri, Moqokori, and Tardo in the Hiran region to Al-Shabaab.

In a stark contrast to that, by July, the focus in Mogadishu had shifted to planning and launching military operations in Beled-Hawo in Jubaland, a border town in Gedo region with longstanding disputes between the federal government and Jubaland.

It’s a costly dichotomy, losing ground to Alshabab in one region while picking political fights in another. Alshabaab is only 30 kilometres from the Capital. Is this the practical face of Soomaali heshiis ah, the “Somalis in agreement” policy promoted by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud?

What we are witnessing is not principled statecraft; it is the politics of greed and the intoxication of office.

Airlifting troops to seize towns and villages from one Federal Member State, while allowing Al-Shabaab to retake territory in another-closer to the Capital City, is not a military strategy. It is a reckless political maneuver, driven by short-term calculations, that will prove dangerously counterproductive. We have seen this before, under former President Farmaajo, and again under Hassan Sheikh in Ras Kamboni.

The pattern is depressingly familiar. Use the military for political gain, and let national security slide where it matters most.

When political games take precedence over security, we embolden the enemy. Every village lost to Al-Shabaab is not just lost territory, it’s lost trust, lost lives, and lost momentum in the fight to stabilize Somalia. The group thrives on exploiting political divisions, and every distraction in Mogadishu is a gift to their campaign.

I am sure the international community, too, is paying close attention. Billions of dollars have been spent supporting Somalia’s security forces and stabilizing fragile areas. Yet without political discipline in Mogadishu, these investments will keep bleeding away. It is clear as day that political feuds and settling political scores are undermining security gains.

The government must decide what matters more, lasting security or short-term political advantage. The two are not the same, and history will not treat them equally. If leaders in Mogadishu continue to treat security as a bargaining chip and state formation as a political weapon, the country would remain stuck.

Because in Somalia, every time bad politics wins, the people lose.

By Mohammed Hirmoge