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Al-Shabaab

Al-Shabaab means ‘the youth’ in Arabic. A-Shabaab is the armed militia for the Islamic Courts Union, Somalia’s one-time rulers, that has been fighting the country’s Western-backed government and its allies in a war to impose a strict interpretation of Islamic law. They were formed in 2006 by young men.

By the control over its home territory has shrunk considerably, as a coalition of African Union armed forces, mostly Ugandan, Burundian and Kenyan, has won back large areas of land.

Current Leader

Ahmad Umar, also known as Abu Ubaidah, has been the Emir of al-Shabaab since 2014, after US airstrikes killed the previous emir (Ahmed Abdi Godane). When Umar became advisor to Godane in 2013, he purged al-Shabaab of its foreign fighters, and oversaw all the domestic policies of the group. Umar adheres to takfiri ideology and strives to fulfill Godane’s vision for al-Shabaab. Al-Shabaab still carry out terrorist attacks in Mogadishu, Somalia, despite the presence of thousands of Somalia government as well as African Union troops. They have targeted hotels and resorts as well as Ugandan and Kenyan troops.

Past Leader

Ahmed Abdi Godane (Somali: Axmed Cabdi Godane; Arabic: أحمد عبدي جودان‎; 10 July 1977 – 1 September 2014), also known as Mukhtar Abu Zubair,[2] was the Emir (leader) of Al-Shabaab, an Islamist group based in Somalia with ties to Al Qaeda. Godane, who received training and fought in Afghanistan, was designated by the United States as a terrorist.[3] He succeeded Mukhtar Robow who had held the position for several months after Aden Ayro's death.[4] He was killed in a U.S. drone strike on 1 September 2014 in southern Somalia.[5]

Origins

The organization known as Al-Shabaab originally emerged from the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) movement in Somalia. The ICU began as a loose grouping of Sharia Courts that by 2006 had grown into a powerful Islamic militia which enjoyed control over much of Southern Somalia. Al-Shabaab (literally meaning ‘the youngsters’) was the radical, hardline youth faction within the ICU. The Union of Courts reached the peak of its influence after the 2006 Battle of Mogadishu, defeating the US-backed Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Reconciliation (ARPCT) and gaining sole control over Somalia’s war-torn capital. This victory was significant enough to be a serious concern to the government of neighboring Ethiopia, who backed Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG). Ethiopian troops, with American air support, invaded Somalia to attack the ICU and attempt to establish authority for the TFG. The remnants of the ICU, including Al-Shabaab, were driven from Mogadishu and suffered heavy defeats in the south. More moderate elements within the ICU reconciled with the TFG and entered into an alliance with the government. The surviving Al-Shabaab fighters went into hiding or dispersed into Kenya.

Rise to Prominence

The comprehensive defeat of the Islamists did not destroy Al-Shabaab, although at the start of 2007 the situation looked grim for the group. Undeterred, adherents of the movement began to reorganize and refocus their objectives whilst avoiding any regular combat. Now unconstrained by the need to appease more moderate voices in the ICU, the leaders of Al-Shabaab became more radicalized. Efforts were made to transcend clan loyalties, a factor that has often undermined Somalian national movements, and focus was placed instead on religious ideology as a unifying force. The suicide attacks and active media profile of the group ensured that it became well-known amongst Somalis, helping to swell the ranks of its followers.[ii] The re-emergence of Al-Shabaab was helped in no small part by the continuing Ethiopian occupation of Somalia, which created a fertile environment for recruitment to the Al-Shabaab membership.[iii] For some Somalis, Al-Shabaab was a compelling alternative to the foreign occupiers, who were backed by the US and often indiscriminately attacked civilians. By the end of 2007, Al-Shabaab represented the main armed opposition to the Somalian government, conducting an insurgency through suicide attacks and guerrilla tactics. Al-Shabaab also achieved a good degree of international support and funding, mostly through its powerful media profile and the use of the internet. They affiliated themselves with Al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups, partly in order to portray their struggle in Somalia as part of a global war against the West.

In 2009 Ethiopian forces withdrew from Somalia and were replaced by several thousand Ugandan and Burundian peacekeepers, deployed under the African Union Mission to Somalia (AIMSOM). AIMSOM forces were mostly engaged with guarding the TFG in Mogadishu, providing Al-Shabaab with a power vacuum elsewhere in the country in which to expand.[v] The Islamists achieved arguably their largest success to date with the capture of Baidoa, the interim capital of the TFG.[vi] This also marked the emergence of tensions within the Al-Shabaab leadership. Ahmed Abdi aw Mohamud Godane, a key figure in the leadership, ordered the capture of leading TFG politicians in the city, but his orders were defied by another important figure, Abu Mansoor-Muktar Robow, who granted safe passage to several TFG politicians from his clan.[vii] Al-Shabaab continued the conflict against the TFG and AIMSOM throughout 2010, enjoying greater success when fighting the government forces. Local support for the organization continued to grow, helped in part by the relatively successful law enforcement and justice system introduced in areas governed by Al-Shabaab.[viii] In keeping with its new ambitions to be part of a global jihad movement, Al-Shabaab expanded its focus outside of Somalia’s borders. In July 2010 the group launched its first attack outside of Somalia, targeting Kampala, Uganda with co-ordinated suicide bombings, killing 74.[ix] The attack was claimed to be revenge against Uganda for providing troops to AIMSOM.[x]