New York (Somalia Today) — The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted Resolution 2806 (2025), extending the mandate of the panel monitoring sanctions on Al-Shabaab until late 2026.
However, the consensus vote masked deep divisions over the insurgency’s widening reach and the best way to confront its “transactional” alliance with Yemeni rebels.
All 15 members voted in favor of the measure, which authorizes naval inspections to enforce an arms embargo on the militant group, as well as a ban on charcoal exports and controls on improvised explosive device (IED) components, until November 30, 2026.
The Council also renewed the mandate for the Panel of Experts, which investigates compliance and illicit financing, until December 31, 2026.
While the renewal preserves a critical tool to isolate Al-Shabaab, the session highlighted a shifting security landscape in the Horn of Africa.
Major powers warned that the insurgency is no longer just a Somali problem but part of a trans-regional trafficking network spanning the Gulf of Aden.
Yemen connection
Diplomats from the United States and Britain used the session to sound the alarm on Al-Shabaab’s deepening logistical ties with the Houthis in Yemen.
“We remain concerned by the growing ties between Al-Shabaab and the Houthis, including the use of the Red Sea smuggling routes,” said Ambassador Jennifer Locetta, the US alternative representative.
Locetta noted that Washington was “disappointed” the resolution did not include specific language condemning the training of Al-Shabaab fighters in Yemen.
According to the Panel of Experts’ 2025 findings, the relationship has evolved from simple smuggling into a pragmatic military alliance.
Al-Shabaab provides the Houthis with established illicit networks into East Africa in exchange for advanced weaponry—including drones and surface-to-air missiles—and technical training.
Britain, the Council’s penholder on Somalia, urged closer coordination between the Al-Shabaab sanctions committee and the Yemen sanctions committee to close these loopholes.
Western diplomats fear Houthi-supplied technology could erode the air superiority that Somali and partner forces currently enjoy.
‘Mandate creep’
Intense negotiations led by the “A3 Plus” bloc—African members Algeria, Sierra Leone, and Somalia, alongside Guyana—resulted in the absence of stronger language on Yemen.
Somalia, which currently holds a seat on the Council, successfully argued that the sanctions regime must remain strictly focused on Al-Shabaab rather than broadening into a regional policing instrument.
China and Russia backed this position, warning against expanding the committee’s remit.
“The committee is established against Al-Shabaab, and should be focused on Al-Shabaab and not on other armed groups in the region,” the Chinese mission stated after the vote, cautioning against “mandate creep.”
For Mogadishu, the priority was protecting its own security autonomy.
The government argues that as it ramps up its offensive, international restrictions must not inadvertently hamper the rebuilding of the Somali National Army (SNA) or blur the lines between state and non-state actors.
‘Degrade’ strategy
The diplomatic renewal comes as federal forces intensify kinetic operations on the ground, aiming to break the insurgency’s economic and military backbone before the new sanctions timeline expires.
Since late 2024, the SNA has stepped up air operations in the central provinces, supported by local clan militias and international partners.
Last month, the government reported that 220 precision airstrikes had been conducted since February, killing 868 militants—figures that Somalia Today could not independently verify.
James Kariuki, Britain’s deputy UN ambassador, said the renewed sanctions package complements this pressure.
He described the measures as a tool to “degrade” Al-Shabaab by constraining its access to weapons and finance, while laying out a “responsible pathway” toward future adjustments of the arms embargo.
AUSSOM Transition
The vote is also the first major Council decision on Somalia since the launch of the AUSSOM mission (African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia).
AUSSOM, which officially replaced the long-running ATMIS mission on January 1, 2025, operates with a leaner force of approximately 11,000 personnel.
Its mandate focuses on holding liberated territory and preparing Somali forces to assume full security responsibility by December 2029.
The challenge for the Council is ensuring the sanctions regime supports this fragile transition.
With international troops drawing down, officials must prevent Al-Shabaab from rearming through its Yemeni connections and exploiting security vacuums in newly recovered areas.
Despite the unanimous adoption, the US recorded a formal reservation regarding “preambular paragraph 8” of the text, with Locetta advocating for stronger language on ending “all forms of sexual violence” in conflict.
Other sanctions measures, including travel bans, asset freezes, and the general arms embargo on non-state actors, remain open-ended.
The Council included a provision to review the mandate again before late 2026, keeping the door open to adjust measures if the security situation on the ground shifts further.
