Together, we shall defeat terrorism, secure and empower our people

Terrorism remains an international challenge that we face daily. In Somalia, we have been confronting al-Shabaab, one of al-Qaeda’s most well-resourced and violent affiliates, for nearly 15 years.

This is a long time, but terrorism is complex and terrorists are ever-evolving. Who would have thought that terrorists would be so evil as to radicalise children to blow themselves up when their parents expect them to be going to school?

This is a new era of depravity on the part of terrorists like al-Shabaab and we can only defeat them with renewed joint international partnership and a firm commitment to rooting them out of our societies.

In Somalia, we are taking the war to al-Shabaab in every locality they once felt comfortable operating from within our country. The recent military successes against the group are inspired by the grassroots community-led uprising against their criminality and cruelty, which is supporting the efforts of the Somali security forces and the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), which are making clear gains on the ground. 

In addition, many of the senior criminals and murderers (I refuse to associate the word leaders with terrorists), have either been killed, surrendered or are on the run. The situation has truly changed, and it is the terrorists who are finally on the back foot and seeking to escape from our forces and the brave and resilient Somali people that have said enough to their murdering, extortion, forced marriages, poisoning of drinking wells and kidnapping, to name but a few heinous crimes.

Dangerous perceptions 

There are two dangerous perceptions that confuse the fight against al-Shabaab in the dominant global narratives, which can undermine our collective efforts to defeat them. Al-Shabaab is neither Somali nor Muslim. They are a dangerous globally organised criminal terrorist group, nothing more.

While the Somali people and government are on the front line combatting international terrorism, the war against terror remains international. Al-Shabaab is not a Somali terrorist organisation. They are made up of fighters from across the world, especially the immediate region, and they have and continue to actively recruit members on this basis globally using their networks and digital capabilities.

Another fact is that the group has global sympathisers and supporters who share the ambitions to spread terror and evil in line with al-Shabaab’s distorted view of Islam, which is unique only to their own madness because the beautiful religion of Islam would never allow the killing, subjugation and extortion of innocent people even in times of war.

It would also never allow the poisoning of wells in the most vulnerable communities across Somalia at the height of a drought.

Degrading policy 

Defeating al-Shabaab and all other terrorist organisations is the only solution to long-term peace, security and progress and prosperity for Somalia, the wider region, and the world. Yet, to achieve this, we must build on the key lessons we learnt from the previous containment and degrading policy that was employed in the fight against the group on the ground for over a decade. 

Both policies were useful for the immediate short-term objectives at the time, but they can never lead to a comprehensive defeat of terrorism anywhere alone.

In Somalia, we have embarked on a new policy direction in which we will connect the security efforts with a new assault on al-Shabaab’s illicit financing and false ideology. 

This holistic approach is already starting to disable and dismantle the terror group’s operations and giving faith to our people that their misery and madness will soon be history.

International partnerships are crucial to the fight against global terrorism. We are grateful to Somalia’s partners in this fight for the future peace and stability of not just Somalia but the Horn of Africa, the wider African continent, and the world. What we need now is to further build on this by collaborating even more closely in information sharing, joint intelligence exercises, de-radicalisation education, and high-value targeted operations. 

In addition to this, especially those partner nations with whom Somali shares a border and strong people-to-people ties, denial of free movement of persons, capital and logistics will be crucial.

Terrorists have hurt all of us year after year and they continue to threaten our people, nations and way of life with their violence and bankrupt criminal ideologies. 

Going forward, with our collective efforts against them, I am confident we can achieve a more secure and prosperous world in which our governments can focus on the things that truly matter for our people’s development like building strong economies, creating jobs and investing in public services. 

Dr Mohamud is the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia.