User:AnomanderDrake/Al-Shabaab (sandbox)

Al-Shabaab (Arabic, "The Youth"), also known as As-Shabaab, Hizbul Shabaab (Arabic, "The Party of Youth"), and the Popular Resistance Movement in the Land of the Two Migrations (PRM) , is an Islamist insurgency group in Somalia. The group is an off-shoot of the Islamic Courts Union, which splintered into several smaller groups after its removal from power by Ethiopian forces in 2006. Al-Shabaab is conducting a guerrilla campaign against the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia and its backers, primarily Ethiopian forces, in the War in Somalia (2006–present). The term Shabaab ("youth") is common in the Islamic world for youth groups, and the present group should not be confused with other more peaceful endeavors.

Origins
...

Political aims and strategy
...

After seizing a town, Al-Shabaab attempts to consolidate its authority. This may be done by undertaking disarmament of local groups, imposing a night-time curfew , and establishing a new local administrative body.

Organisational structure
...

Seizure of Kismayo, August 2008
In August 2008, Al-Shabaab fighters began an offensive to conquer the southern Somali port of Kismayo from pro-government militias led by Barre Adan Shire Hiiraale. Three days of fighting reportedly killed 89 people and injured 207 more. Al-Shabaab took control of the town on 22 August. The fighting is reported to have displaced an estimated 35,000 people. After the withdrawal of Hiiraale's fighters, Al-Shabaab commenced a peaceful disarmament process targeting local armed groups that had been contributing to insecurity in Kismayo.

Targeting of foreign aid workers
...

Designation as a terrorist group
In March 2008, the United States Department of State designated Al-Shabaab a Foreign Terrorist Organization in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. It is also described as a terrorist organization by the Norwegian Police Security Service and the Swedish Security Service.