Jan. 30, 2009: Somali parliamentarians in neighboring Djibouti elect Sharif Ahmed as the new president of Somalia. He imposes sharia law, or Islamic law, in a bid to weaken support for Al Shabab. Shabab takes the majority of Mogadishu, and retains control over most of southern Somalia.

Mowlid Abdi/Reuters/File
Somali Islamist militants hold their weapons as they ride on a pick-up truck on the outskirts of the Somali capital Mogadishu, in this February 2009 file photo.