Al-Shabaab (Mozambique)

Al-Shabaab
Leaders	Abu Yasir Hassan Bonomade Machude Omar (alias Ibn Omar) †[1] Farido Selemane Arune[1]
Dates of operation	2015–present
Headquarters	Mbau (2020–2021)
Active regions	Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique
Ideology	Sunni Islamism Salafism Salafi jihadism
Size	160–200 (2024)[1]
Part of	Islamic State's Central Africa Province
Opponents	Mozambique
Battles and wars	Insurgency in Cabo Delgado

Al-Shabaab (Arabic: الشباب, lit. 'The Youth'), also known as Ansar al-Sunna (Arabic: أنصار السنة, transl.  'Supporters of the Tradition') or Ahlu Sunna Wal Jammah, is an Islamist militant group active in Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique. Since October 2017, it has waged an insurgency in the region, seeking to undermine the secular FRELIMO government and establish an Islamic state. It has occasionally captured territory from the government and has been accused of committing atrocities against civilians.

Although al-Shabaab's precise historical origins are not clear, the group has been militarily active since 2015. Its membership primarily comprises poor young Mozambicans and immigrants from other East African countries, but it has dwindled – to an estimated 300 to 1,000 troops – due to counteroffensives which have been waged by the Mozambican government and allied peacekeeping troops. Since 2019, Islamic State (IS) has formally claimed al-Shabaab as an affiliate under IS – Central Africa Province. However, it is not clear if pro-IS sentiment is universal within al-Shabaab, and, despite evidence of some contact and cooperation, the group is still functionally autonomous from IS. As a result of its IS affiliation, al-Shabaab was designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States in 2021.