Civilians continued to bear the brunt of the devastating conflict. All parties to the conflict continued to commit serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. Floods, erratic rainfall, diseases and persistent conflict caused massive internal displacement and a dire humanitarian crisis, including acute food insecurity. Internally displaced people faced human rights violations and abuses; women and girls were particularly exposed to gender-based and conflict-related sexual violence. The right to freedom of expression was severely restricted and two journalists were killed. Parliament passed a law to prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities. In Somaliland, authorities restricted the right to freedom of expression and media freedom before the delayed presidential elections.
Background
Tensions with Ethiopia escalated following a January memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Ethiopia and Somaliland, in which Somaliland reportedly leased land to Ethiopia for a naval facility on its coast in return for Ethiopia’s recognition of Somaliland’s statehood. Somalia, which considers Somaliland to be part of its territory, accused Ethiopia of encroaching on its sovereignty.
In March, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud signed amendments to the Provisional Constitution.
The continued withdrawal of AU Transitional Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) troops raised concerns about civilian protection. On 1 August the AU Peace and Security Council adopted a strategy for a new mission led by the AU Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia to replace ATMIS. The UN Security Council endorsed the replacement on 27 December.
In June, Somalia was elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for a two-year term, beginning January 2025.
Following November elections, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi replaced Muse Bihi Abdi as President of Somaliland.
Unlawful attacks and killings
Civilians continued to bear the brunt of the ongoing armed conflict between the Somali government, supported by its international allies, and the armed group Al-Shabaab. While large numbers of civilian casualties were reported, there was no accountability for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
The UN Assistance Mission in Somalia reported 854 civilian casualties (295 killed and 559 injured) between January and September. Al-Shabaab was responsible for 65% (560) of all recorded casualties, while the others were attributed to state security forces, clan militias, and international and regional forces.
On 18 March, two strikes with Turkish-made drones, supporting Somali military operations, killed 14 children, five women and four men – all civilians – and injured 11 children, two women and four men in Jaffey farm near Bagdad village in the Lower Shabelle region. All were from the marginalized Gorgaarte clan. Analysis of photographs of the remnants of the munitions revealed that the strikes were conducted with MAM-L glide bombs, which are dropped from TB-2 drones. Neither the Somali nor the Turkish governments investigated the incident and the affected civilians did not receive truth, justice or reparations.1
On 14 March, Al-Shabaab attacked the SYL Hotel in the capital, Mogadishu, with two vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices. Four people were killed and 20 others injured.
On 2 August, another complex attack claimed by Al-Shabaab, which included a suicide bombing, killed more than 30 people in Mogadishu’s Lido beach area. Nearly 250 civilians were injured, including two UN national staff.
Right to food
Floods, erratic rainfall, diseases and the ongoing conflict created a dire humanitarian crisis. The UN Somalia 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan indicated that 6.9 million people needed humanitarian assistance. Acute food insecurity persisted and, according to analysis from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, at least 4 million people faced crisis or emergency food insecurity, and an estimated 1.6 million children aged between six and 59 months faced acute malnutrition. The UN classified Somalia as being among the least developed countries. Al-Shabaab continued to restrict humanitarian access in areas under their control, compounding the crisis.
Internally displaced people’s rights
Internally displaced people continued to face significant human rights violations and abuses. More than 552,000 were internally displaced due to floods, drought, conflict and food insecurity. According to the UN, nearly 200,000 people – most of whom were already internally displaced – were forcibly evicted nationwide between January and December. Women and children, who faced risks of gender-based violence, sexual exploitation and evictions, constituted more than 80% of the displaced population.
Sexual and gender-based violence
Gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence against women and girls, continued. Between January and September, the UN reported 13 incidents of conflict-related sexual violence affecting 32 women and girls. In one incident, two members of the Somali National Army serving in the military police unit allegedly raped two sisters aged 15 and 16 years on 26 February. Two incidents were related to alleged forced marriages, one perpetrated by an Al-Shabaab member and the other by a soldier, both in Jubbaland state. Of the 32 survivors, 16 were internally displaced women.
The federal parliament failed to pass bills on sexual offences and female genital mutilation.
Freedom of expression
The right to freedom of expression, including freedom of the media, was restricted. Two journalists were killed; one of them, Amun Abdullahi Mohamed, by gunmen believed to have links to Al-Shabaab. Other journalists were attacked by security forces and subjected to threats, harassment, intimidation, beatings, arbitrary arrests and prosecution.
Media advocacy and press freedom organizations opposed the appointment of nine people to the new National Media Council on grounds that the selection process and the composition of the Council were not in line with the 2020 Media Law, and that the council was not independent of the government. The appointment of the members, who were proposed by the Ministry of Information, was approved by the federal cabinet on 14 March. The establishment of the council, which oversees legal compliance, among other things, had been pending since 2016.
On 22 July, police officers arrested AliNur Salad, founder and chief executive of the privately owned Dawan Media. He was detained at Waberi district police station in Mogadishu for one night and then transferred to Mogadishu Central Prison. His arrest was connected to social media posts in which he suggested that the security forces were vulnerable to Al-Shabaab attacks because of their use of the drug khat. On 23 July, AliNur Salad was charged, without a lawyer present, before the Banadir Regional Court. He was granted bail on 27 July but faced charges under the penal code including “offending the honour or prestige of the head of state”, “committing obscene acts”, “distributing obscene publications and performances”, “insult”, and “criminal defamation”, as well as restrictions on travel and speaking to the media.
Rights of people with disabilities
On 31 July, the federal parliament passed a law prohibiting discrimination against persons with disabilities in all areas of public and private life and eliminating barriers towards the full enjoyment of their rights and inclusion in society.
Somaliland
Freedom of expression
Somaliland authorities continued to restrict freedom of expression, particularly in the period up to the delayed presidential elections. They arrested and prosecuted journalists, politicians and other government critics.
On 6 January, Somaliland intelligence officers raided the offices of MM Somali TV in Hargeisa, the Somaliland capital, interrupting a live debate about the controversial Ethiopia/Somaliland MOU (see Background). They arrested the MM Somali TV chair, Mohamed Abdi Sheikh (also known as “Ilig”), Ilyas Abdinasir, a technician, and Mohamed Abdi Abdullahi, a reporter. They also confiscated equipment, including computers, cameras and live broadcasting equipment. Mohamed Abdi Abdullahi and Ilyas Abdinasir were released on 9 January without charge, but Mohamed Abdi Sheikh remained in detention until 20 February when he was released by the Maroodi Jeh Regional Court in Hargeisa.
On 2 September, Somaliland police arrested Mohamed Abiib, an outspoken opposition MP, and detained him in Mandera Prison. Before his arrest, the Somaliland attorney general had requested the House of Representatives of Somaliland to strip Mohamed Abiib of his parliamentary immunity, a request which parliament voted against. The attorney general had accused him of meeting officials from Somalia and Djibouti and of criticizing Somaliland’s involvement in the 2023 conflict in Las Anod (a city in Somaliland’s Sool region). He was released on 29 September following a Somaliland Constitutional Supreme Court ruling, which deemed his detention illegal.
