For nearly five years, Somalia’s Gedo region has been mired in a political and security crisis, largely driven by former President Farmaajo’s power struggle with Jubaland state leader Ahmed Madoobe. The conflict turned Gedo into a militarized battleground and proxy war zone, drawing in federal forces and international actors like Kenya and Ethiopia. The deployment of non-statutory federal troops and interference in local governance heightened clan tensions, weakened regional cohesion, and created a power vacuum exploited by Al-Shabaab. Ordinary civilians, already facing climate shocks and poor infrastructure, were the hardest hit living in camps with minimal aid or protection.