War in Somalia: Transitional Federal Government forces attacked the last stronghold of the Islamic Courts Union in the town of Jilib.

The Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, also known as the Ethiopian occupation of Somalia or the Ethiopian intervention in the Somali Civil War, was an armed conflict that lasted from late 2006 to early 2009. It began when military forces from Ethiopia, supported by the United States, invaded Somalia to depose the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and install the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The conflict continued after the invasion when an anti-Ethiopian insurgency emerged and rapidly escalated. During 2007 and 2008, the insurgency recaptured the majority of territory lost by the ICU.

The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was internationally recognized as a provisional government of the Somalia from 14 October 2004 until 20 August 2012. It was established in Nairobi, Kenya, following the Transitional National Government (TNG), and formed part of an internationally backed peace process aimed at restoring state institutions after the collapse of the Somali Democratic Republic in 1991. The TFG operated under the Transitional Federal Charter and represented the 14th attempt to establish a central government since the outbreak of civil war.

The Battle of Jilib took place on the last day of 2006 during the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia. It was fought when Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) troops and Transitional Federal Government (TFG) militia launched an offensive on the town of Jilib, held by the Islamic Courts Union (ICU).

The Islamic Courts Union was a legal and political organization founded by Mogadishu-based Sharia courts during the early 2000s to combat the lawlessness stemming from the Somali Civil War. By mid-to-late 2006, the Islamic Courts had expanded their influence to become the de facto government in most of southern and central Somalia, succeeding in creating the first semblance of a state since 1991.