Since the collapse of Somalia’s central government in 1991, the country has been experiencing conflict. This collapse was followed up by uprisings against the military dictatorship, ultimately leading to a full-scale civil war. These conditions created widespread human rights abuses, which have only been worsened by the Trump Administration’s cuts to vital USAID programs that supported many people in the region.
The current Somali government is preparing for elections which are set to take place in 2026. The leader, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has been planning on changing the electoral process. These adjustments are being disputed by his political opponents, who claim that he seeks to make these alterations in order to stay in power. These disputes have only increased the levels of conflict and instability being experienced by Somalis. Mohamud’s plans are to get rid of the indirect voting system that relies on clan leaders and allow for universal suffrage.
The unrest is also due to the rise of terrorist groups such as al-Shabaab (“the youth”), a group that originated in the 1980s and 1990s, when an alliance of sharia courts in Somalia, Islamic Courts Union (ICU) tried to reform the Somalian state.
The ICU’s expansion efforts were met with an invasion of Somalia by Ethiopia in 2006, which led to a two year military occupation of Ethiopian forces in Somalia. This increased public discontent and led to the official formation of al-Shabaab.
In the early 2000s, al-Shabaab’s power continued to grow, prompting the UN to approve peacekeeping forces into the region. This was met with an expansion of al-Shabaab, which eventually announced allegiance with al-Qaeda in February 2012. The foreign presence further increased levels of discontent among the Somali people.
The rise of the group has only complicated tensions in Somalia as the region experiences extreme levels of political unrest and al-Shabbab makes it difficult for humanitarian aid to access the Somali people. Since 2022, the government has been increasing its offensive measures against al-Shabaab in order to restore some levels of peace to the region.
All the unrest in Somalia contributes to the human rights crisis the country is currently experiencing, which has only worsened under the cuts to the USAID program. Only a small part of land in Somalia is arable, meaning that many people in the region experience food insecurity. USAID programs were crucial in feeding many Somalis, especially since the U.S. has been sending an average of $450 million a year in humanitarian assistance for the past decade.
The U.S. has been involved in Somalia since the civil unrest of the 1990s, for a variety of geopolitical reasons. In 1993, the United States was famously involved in a battle with al-Shaabab, chronicled in the movie Black Hawk Down. The failure of this operation led to the withdrawal of American troops which only increased instability; however, American aid to the region continued up until President Trump’s recent cuts.
After the U.S. pulled humanitarian aid from the country, funding from other countries has decreased as well. The U.S. served as the largest donor to Somalia followed by Britain , which will further complicate the crisis in Somalia as it is due to cut its funding in March. This is especially concerning since in September, an expert group estimated that 3.4 million Somalis were experiencing “crisis” levels of food insecurity.
According to a 2024 report, more than 552,000 people were internally displaced in Somalia because of floods, droughts, conflict, and food insecurity. The country also struggles with extreme gender inequality and gender-based violence, while the government has not passed bills to address sexual violence or female genital mutilation.
Political instability remains a looming issue for Somalia as the planned electoral reforms will take place in 2026 and will seek to increase democratic participation in the region. However, the arguments between politicians have shifted the focus away from efforts to combat al-Shabaab.
Somalia’s civil conflict is extremely complex as it relates to a number of causes ranging from years of foreign interference from the U.S. , and other nations as well as problems relating to food insecurity, political instability, and regional violence due to terrorism. These problems will likely escalate further with the withdrawal of USAID and other key sources of international aid, as well as the electoral reforms set to take place in 2026.