Somali President says he survived six assassination bid

[Deeq A.]

MOGADISHU, Somalia – Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has revealed that he has survived six assassination attempts by the al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab militant group since first taking office in 2012, including a recent attempt in March 2025 amid an intensified government offensive against the insurgents.

Speaking in an interview at the presidential palace, Villa Somalia, in Mogadishu, President Mohamud recounted the latest attack on March 18, 2025. He said his convoy was targeted with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) as he was preparing to travel to the HirShabelle region to join government forces fighting Al-Shabaab on the front lines.

“Their plan was to stop me and my delegation from reaching the front line to support our troops in battle, but they failed,” President Mohamud said, confirming the attack was aimed at preventing him from participating directly in the military campaign.

Now, in his second term (2012–2017 and 2022–present), the President emphasized that Al-Shabaab has made his assassination a top priority ever since his initial election.

Despite the ongoing security challenges and admitted setbacks, President Mohamud expressed his resolve to keep pressing the fight into Al-Shabaab strongholds, vowing to defeat the group entirely. He described a strategy that goes beyond military action alone.

A multi-front war against extremism

“We have intensified the fight against Al-Shabaab on two fronts – ideological and financial,” the President explained, outlining the government’s multi-pronged approach.

On the ideological front, the government has enlisted the help of over 300 respected Islamic scholars who are publicly challenging Al-Shabaab’s extremist narrative. These scholars argue that the group distorts Islamic teachings to justify violence, especially against fellow Somalis.

“The scholars have condemned the group, and as a result, people are starting to distance themselves,” President Mohamud said. The government is also using local television to raise public awareness about Al-Shabaab’s actions, stressing that the killing of innocent civilians goes against the teachings of Islam and the Quran.

He pointed to the devastating truck bombing in Mogadishu on October 14, 2018, which killed more than 800 people, as a painful example of Al-Shabaab’s brutality against the Somali people.

At the same time, the government is working to dismantle Al-Shabaab’s financial networks. The group depends heavily on extortion, forcing citizens and businesses in areas under its control to pay money to fund its operations. President Mohamud said that efforts are underway to shut down these revenue streams.

“We have blocked many of their bank accounts and also cut off the mobile money platforms they used to collect funds,” he said, describing measures to weaken the group’s financial lifeline.

The President insisted that Al-Shabaab’s capabilities have been significantly reduced since his second term in 2022, reaffirming his government’s commitment to the fight despite ongoing hurdles.

Beyond the immediate battle against terrorism, President Mohamud also spoke about the country’s broader state-building efforts. These include pushing forward plans for “one person, one vote” elections – a shift away from Somalia’s complex clan-based indirect voting system toward universal suffrage, seen as a key step in strengthening democratic institutions.

Al-Shabaab has been waging an insurgency to overthrow Somalia’s internationally-backed government and impose strict Islamic law since 2007. While the group still controls large areas of rural territory, it continues to carry out deadly attacks on civilians, government officials, and security forces across the country – a constant reminder of the challenging and complex fight President Mohamud’s administration continues to face.