Somalia: Al-Shabaab Attacks Surge in Mogadishu Over CCTV Installation Mandate

MOGADISHU, Somalia - While CCTVs are meant to improve security surveillance by tracking criminal activities, the Al-Shabab militants are increasingly targeting those using them, leading to several unnecessary deaths within Somalia over the last few months.

Somalia's government had instructed business owners to install CCTVs as a measure to combat crime, but the Al-Shabaab is against the implementation of this idea, causing a massive crackdown against innocent civilians who have complied with the directive.

For almost two months, ACLED, an organization that has been tracking the crimes, says of the 37 fatalities recorded within Mogadishu, almost 40% were linked to retaliation from Al-Shabaab on people who had installed CCTVs, especially within Yaqshid and Heliwa districts.

"Al-Shabaab is sending a brutal message: cooperate with the authorities, and you become a target," said Hassan Ali, a Mogadishu-based security analyst.

According to police reports, four business owners were gunned down in late October in the Misaanka Dhuhusha areas with two civilians also killed in Sakuus. The business owners are now in limbo — they are lost whether to follow government or Al-Shabaab directives.

Launched in 2023, the government's surveillance initiative aims to curb Al-Shabaab's influence by exposing its extortion networks and operational movements. The group reportedly collects monthly "taxes" from businesses, funneling funds into their insurgency.

"We're caught between the government's orders and the militants' threats," said a shop owner who requested anonymity. "Our livelihoods and lives are at stake."

Despite the antagonism by Al-Shabab militants, the Somali security forces have made significant gains in the fight against Al-Shabaab, liberating several strategic towns in the process. Most regions in central and southern Somalia are now under the Somali National Army.

Recently, Gen. Yusuf Rage, the Chief of Defence Forces of Somalia National Army, pledged to intensify the fight against Al-Shabaab. This comes amid the ongoing withdrawal of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) forces as the peacekeeping mission is restructured in Somalia.

"These operations demonstrate our growing capability to dismantle Al-Shabaab's networks," General Rageh said.

GAROWE ONLINE