SUMMARY

Ma'awisley was formed in 2018 by nomadic herders living in the Adan Yabal district of Middle Shabelle region, in opposition to the presence of Al-Shabaab in their territories and to defend themselves. Al-Shabaab was mistreating the civilians, imposing zakat to the locals, and forcefully recruiting the local youth to fight alongside Al-Shabaab.

Under the leadership of Hibad Ali Dasar, nomadic herders mobilized themselves and declared war against Al-Shabaab. The first reported fighting between Al-Shabaab and Ma'awisley was on 29 September 2018, which subsequently led to the death of Hibad Ali Dasar. Soon after the fighting, in October 2018, the government of Somalia announced that the Somali National Army (SNA) was going to provide military support to Ma'awisley group in their war against Al-Shabaab.

Initially, the conflict was concentrated in the Middle Shabelle region. However, over time the fighting spilled over to Hiran and Lower Shabelle regions.

The non-state conflict between Al-Shabaab and Ma'awisley is first included in UCDP data in 2019. In October of that year, fighting between the two groups had resulted over 25 battle-related deaths.