2022 al-Shabaab invasion of Ethiopia | |||||||
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Part of the Ethiopian–Somali conflict, the Somali Civil War (2009–present), Ethiopian civil conflict (2018–present) and the spillover of the Tigray War | |||||||
![]() Al-Shabaab fighters inside a Liyu Police base on the 21st July 2022 | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Units involved | |||||||
| Several units,[8] including the "Ethiopian Front"[3] | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Unclear | |||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
800+ killed, 100 captured (Ethiopian claim)[11][13] | |||||||
On 20 July 2022, the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab launched an invasion[14] from Somalia into Ethiopia's Somali Region. Taking advantage of the ongoing Tigray War, the goal of the operation was to establish a presence for the group within southern Ethiopia.[2]
The incursion began with over a thousand Al-Shabaab fighters staging diversionary attacks on four Ethiopian-Somali border towns in order to allow a force of 500 to 800 fighters to penetrate the Ethiopian security zone and advance into the region.[9][15] During the initial days of fighting, Al-Shabaab primarily fought against the Somali Region's security forces.[12] Further cross-border attacks continued in the following days, while Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) carried out counter-offensives in response.[1]
Al-Shabaab forces advanced 150 kilometers into the Ogaden.[15] After two weeks of intense clashes and airstrikes, the ENDF and Somali Region security forces began to reassert control. A battalion of around 500 al-Shabaab fighters succeeded in evading the Ethiopian army and reached its main target, the Bale Mountains.[2] Several weeks after the operation was over, clashes continued to break out in border regions.[1]
Al-Shabaab was able to successfully establish a presence in Bale following the incursion and created several training camps.[2] It is the largest attack by al-Shabaab in Ethiopian territory to date.[8]
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was invoked but never defined (see the help page).In July a force of 500-800 al-Shabab fighters penetrated a security zone maintained by Ethiopia, then crossed 150km into that country with the aim of setting up a base in the Bale mountains.
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