US EditionSomalia: Al-Shabaab Seizes Key Areas in Hiiraan Region Amid Growing Conflict
TARDO TOWN, HIRAN REGION, SOMALIA, JUL 13 – Al-Shabaab’s capture of Tardo displaces over 12,500 families and threatens supply routes as Somali forces and clan militias prepare a counterattack with 100 soldiers deployed.
- Al-Shabaab insurgents seized the towns of Tardo and Moqokori in Somalia's Hiiraan region on July 14 and July 7, ousting government-allied clan forces.
- The seizures followed two coordinated suicide assaults and resulted from an ongoing insurgency by Al-Shabaab that began in 2007 and aims to overthrow Somalia's government.
- The conflict displaced about 12,500 families from Tardo and Muqokori, while local militia leaders reported being left vulnerable against better-equipped insurgents.
- On July 13, NISA announced that seven Shabaab militants were killed in an airstrike near Buq-Aqable, west of Moqokori, while the US military has conducted more than twenty airstrikes targeting Shabaab forces so far this year.
- The takeover has worsened humanitarian and security challenges in Hiiraan, prompting calls for comprehensive support to help civilians and local forces resist further advances.
16 Articles
16 Articles
Islamic Shebab fighters continue their offensive in central Somalia. Since the beginning of 2025, they have been taking back land north of Mogadishu, the capital, an area from which they had been driven. On Sunday 13 July 2025, they seized the town of Tardo on Sunday in Hiiran province, a crossroads town.
Al Shabaab's Relentless Advance in Somalia: Escalation in Hiiran Region | Science-Environment
Al Shabaab insurgents have captured the important town of Tardo in Somalia's Hiiran region, displacing thousands. The group plans further advances, and Somali forces, along with local clan fighters, are preparing for a counterattack. The offensive has intensified this year, with significant territorial shifts.
Al Shabaab Seizes Strategic Town of Tardo in Somalia, Displacing Thousands - teleSUR English
The militant group Al Shabaab has captured the town of Tardo in Somalia’s central Hiiraan region, dislodging government-allied Macwiisleey clan fighters and triggering the displacement of over 12,500 families, according to Somali military officials and local leaders. Major Mohamed Abdullahi of the Somali National Army described Tardo as a “strategic junction linking several bigger towns,” warning that the insurgents are now advancing toward othe…
The Straits Times
Al Shabaab captures central Somali town, presses on with advance
MOGADISHU - Al Shabaab insurgents have seized the town of Tardo in Somalia's central Hiiran region and are pressing on with an advance that has already displaced thousands, a military official said. Read more at straitstimes.com.
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