Somalia, located on the Horn of Africa, remains a perilous hotspot for terrorism, with Islamic State and al Qaeda affiliates continuing to wreak havoc. According to the latest data from Human Rights Watch, hundreds of individuals lost their lives in 2024 due to assaults by jihadists or conflicts between various clans and tribes.

Traveling through Somalia often involves navigating armed roadblocks where both militant groups and government forces demand bribes. Corruption and lawlessness are pervasive problems that the nation’s citizens face daily.

On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump criticized Somalia, remarking, “It’s just a people walking around killing each other.” He further commented, “Is Somalia considered by many to be the worst country on Earth? I don’t know… I haven’t been there. I won’t be there anytime soon. I hope.”

Despite these challenges, life persists in this strategically important region, which boasts Africa’s longest coastline. This was highlighted in Mogadishu, Somalia, on August 20, 2025. (Image credit: Emirhan Turker/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Under the Trump administration, the U.S. Africa Command has dramatically increased airstrikes against terrorists in Somalia this year, with the number of operations soaring more than tenfold compared to those conducted under President Biden in 2024. On November 25, U.S. and Somali forces targeted ISIS-Somalia militants in the Puntland region using drones and ten MH-60 helicopters. Just days later, on November 28, U.S. forces launched strikes against al Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabab fighters in southern Somalia near Kismayo.

Somalia’s Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs reports that over 99% of the country’s population adheres to Sunni Islam.

“Al-Shabab continues to hold significant territory in southern and central Somalia,” Bill Roggio told Fox News Digital. Roggio is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and editor of FDD’s Long War Journal. He added, “While the exact amount has not been disclosed, in 2019 the AFRICOM commander reported that Shabab controlled about 25% of Somalia. Security has worsened since then, and Shabab undoubtedly controls more ground than it did in 2019. In areas Shabab controls, it subjects civilians to taxes and its harsh version of Sharia, or Islamic law, and it recruits, indoctrinates and trains young men to wage jihad.”

Soldiers of the Somalia National Army (SNA) walk near the frontlines at Sabiid, one of the towns they have liberated from the al Qaeda-linked militants, al-Shabaab, in Somalia’s lower-Shabelle region on Nov. 11, 2025. (Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images)

But on the ground, Fox News Digital found life to be complicated. “In Somalia, it all depends on where you are,” Mogadishu resident Samatar Talliye told Fox News Digital. He added, “The country is big, and the experiences are very different. Mogadishu is relatively safe, and it is a big city with millions of people. Business is booming, the housing market is insane, and new projects are started every day.”

Abdisamad Artan Ahmed, who also lives in Mogadishu, recently told Reuters, “We have seen and heard what the U.S. has said about Somalia on social media, but the truth is that Somalia is currently one of the safest countries in East Africa. Whether in Mogadishu or other regions, Somalia is secure and stable. This is the best and safest time for the country.”

But Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported there are still occasional terror attacks in the capital city. In August last year, HRW stated al-Shabab “attacked a beach restaurant, killing 37 civilians and injuring over 200.”

A view shows smoke rising following a car bomb explosion at Somalia’s education ministry in Mogadishu, Somalia October 29, 2022, in this picture obtained from social media.  (Abdihalim Bashir/Reuters)

There are “tangible signs of improvement in aspects of daily life in Somalia, particularly in Mogadishu,” Anna Mahjar-Barducci, project director at the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) told Fox News Digital. “However, progress is uneven: rural and southern regions face ongoing al-Shabab threats.”

“Violence and danger is mostly in places where the government has not reached,” Talliye said, adding there are “pockets in Jubaland, South West State, Hirshabbele and Galmadug. The state governments are weak and mostly only control a couple of the big towns, unlike Puntland and Somaliland that control the majority of their state.”

Mahjar-Barducci emphasized, “Overall safety remains precarious, with persistent al-Shabab attacks, displacement, and weak policing. These insights paint a picture of cautious normalcy in urban hubs contrasted with checkpoint-heavy, militant-influenced routines elsewhere.”

“Corruption is widespread in many government offices, and obtaining services often requires paying extra fees,” Mahjar-Barducci continued. “Bribery is common across various public services. In Somalia, authority is often concentrated in the hands of the governor, mayor or district officers, and, at times, anyone who is armed.”

Officers with Somalia’s anti-terror police search vehicles and motorists at a pop-up checkpoint created to find weapons and bomb components on a road on April 21, 2025, in central Mogadishu, Somalia. There are concerns of a jihadist resurgence in Somalia amid growing attacks by the militant group al-Shabab, which has been fighting the government for nearly 20 years and controls swathes of the southern and central parts of the country. (Ed Ram/Getty Images)

Al-Shabab’s fundraising tentacles are a cancer growing in every area of Somali society. The European Union’s Agency for Asylum recently stated, “the U.N. Panel of experts on Somalia, in its latest report from 2024, indicates that al-Shabab’s overall financial income for 2023 exceeded $150 million.”

The report continues, “Among others, al-Shabab relies on the following sources of revenue: checkpoints, forced charitable or alms contributions, direct extortion of business, taxation of imports into ports, kidnappings for ransom, taxation of farm produce, livestock selling, water and irrigation resources, vehicles registration fees, operating licences fee, as well as property and business ventures in Somalia. Everything and anything is potentially a source of income.”

In Somalia, you don’t have to intentionally fund al-Shabab, it just happens. “Nobody has to ‘mean’ to fund al-Shabab,” former State Department counterterrorism analyst Tricia Bacon told Minnesota’s Kare 11 News on Nov. 26. “But that’s sort of the cost of doing business in Somalia, because the government has been so ineffective at protecting people from al-Shabab’s extortion that, you know, you don’t really have a choice of whether or not to pay.”

Talliye admitted, “Government corruption is visible and painful, but people are used to complete chaos.” Chaos that arguably started when civil war broke out in 1991. Fox News correspondent Eric Shawn was on assignment in Mogadishu the following year.

“The country was ruled by warlords,” he told Fox News Digital. “There was mass starvation and no government; it was ruled at the end of an AK-47.”

“There was gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades being launched every night. The country had devolved into anarchy and total uncertainty. There was no electricity, and basic human conditions were barbaric. The result was a horrific spectacle of a human catastrophe that was man-made and totally unnecessary and so unfortunate for the innocent civilians who had to endure a hardship that was beyond comprehension.”

Officers with Somalia’s anti-terror police search vehicles and motorists at a pop-up check point created to find weapons and bomb components on a road on April 21, 2025, in central Mogadishu, Somalia. There are concerns of a jihadist resurgence in Somalia amid growing attacks by the militant group Al-Shabaab, which has been fighting the government for nearly 20 years and controls swathes of the southern and central parts of the country.  (Ed Ram/Getty Images)

For many Somalis, more than 30 years on, freedom is still only a dream. It means, Mahjar-Barducci said, “living without fear — being able to move freely, work safely, and care for their families. It includes safety from checkpoints and clan tensions, speaking openly, running a business without intimidation and sending children to school without worry. Western audiences often misunderstand Somalia as being entirely lawless or a failed state, overlooking the resilience of its people, strong community networks, and gradual improvements in security, governance, and business opportunities.”

Talliye reflected, “People are scared of al-Shabab, and the hope is the long and painful journey towards one man, one vote. People only believe things will change when politicians are held responsible by the people.”