Maimed in the war between Somalia\u2019s government and al Qaeda\u2019s affiliate al-Shabaab, the patients of De Martino Hospital prefer not to talk about what happened to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody\u2019s afraid,\u201d the hospital\u2019s director, Abdi Ibrahim Jiya, said as he walked through a ward filled with recent arrivals. \u201cIf you complain and are for the government, you\u2019re afraid of the Shabaab. And if you complain and are for the Shabaab, you\u2019re afraid of the government.\u201d<\/p>\n
Such is the balance of fear in Somalia\u2019s capital, a bustling city of three million people where, despite years of international military efforts to stamp out Islamic extremists, security remains elusive and government authority fleeting. In October, Mogadishu was hit by Africa\u2019s deadliest terrorist attack\u2014a truck bombing that killed more than 500 people.<\/p>\n
Outside Mogadishu, things are worse. Al-Shabaab controls roughly 30% of the country\u2019s territory, Somali government officials estimate. Alongside Taliban-held areas of Afghanistan, that is the world\u2019s largest swath of real estate that remains under jihadist sway since the recent demise of Islamic State\u2019s self-proclaimed caliphate in Iraq and Syria.<\/p>\n