Al-Shabaab | |
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حركة الشباب المجاهدين | |
| |
Founder | Aden Ayro † (2006–2008) |
Leaders |
|
Dates of operation | August 2006–present |
Headquarters | |
Active regions | |
Ideology | |
Size |
|
Part of | Al-Qaeda |
Allies | State allies
Qatar (denied)[19] |
Opponents | State opponents
Australia |
Battles and wars | Somali Civil War |
Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (Arabic: حركة الشباب المجاهدين, romanized: Ḥarakat ash-Shabāb al-Mujāhidīn), commonly known as al-Shabaab,[note 2] is a Sunni Islamist military and political organization based in Somalia and active elsewhere in East Africa. It is actively involved in the ongoing Somali Civil War and incorporates elements of Somali nationalism into its Islamist cause. Allegiant to the militant pan-Islamist organization al-Qaeda since 2012, it has also been suspected of forging ties with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
Formed in the mid-2000s as a youth militia within the wider military wing of the Islamic Courts Union, al-Shabaab came to prominence during the 2006–2009 Ethiopian invasion and occupation of Somalia, during which it presented itself as a vehicle for the waging of armed resistance against the occupying Ethiopian army. In subsequent years, it gained popular support from Somalis and became a dominant force in south and central Somalia, defending large swathes of territory by fighting against the African Union Mission to Somalia and the Federal Government of Somalia, as well as the latter's transitional predecessor. Al-Shabaab gained international prominence due to its recruitment of foreign fighters, including fighters who are from Western countries. Countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates have designated it as a terrorist organization, and the United States has militarily intervened in order to fight against the group.
Between 2011 and 2013, a coalition which mostly consisted of East African forces, led by the Somali government, wrested a significant amount of territory from al-Shabaab, including the capital city, Mogadishu. During the same period, the group was plagued by internal conflicts over its leadership and ideological direction, which intensified when, in February 2012, al-Shabaab's leadership pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda. It suffered further military losses in 2014, as a result of Operation Indian Ocean, and the killing of its emir, Ahmed Abdi Godane, in an American drone strike, as well as the killing of other leaders. For several years thereafter, al-Shabaab retreated from the major cities, but it remained influential in many rural areas, and it prioritized guerrilla and terror attacks over territorial acquisitions. It is responsible for many high-fatality attacks, including the 2013 Westgate shopping mall attack and the October 2017 Mogadishu bombings. Apart from its activities in Somalia, the group also operates in other East African countries, extending its insurgency to Kenya's border regions and carrying out an incursion into Ethiopia in late July 2022. Attendant to its recent resurgence, it was estimated to have increased its combat strength to between 7,000 and 18,000 fighters during 2022.[27][28]
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Somalia's neighbours are threatened by Al-Shabaab's blending of irredentist Greater Somalia rhetoric with Islamist ideology ...
Al-Shabaab's outspokenness against foreign forces resonated with deep-rooted Somali hostility against Ethiopia and broader nationalist narratives that existed.. Ultimately, this served as an incredible recruitment tool.
President Mohamud says the group has 15,000 to 18,000 fighters
Somali military officials maintain that Iran has been running secret operations to undermine the United States in Somalia, providing sophisticated weapons, improvised explosive devices, mortars, and chemicals used to make bombs. The military officials allege that Iran and its proxies are complicit in al-Shabab attacks on the U.S. military, Somali forces, and the African Union Mission in Somalia
For Iran, working with non-State actors such as Al-Shabaab and the Houthis is an essential part of its foreign policy, aimed at expanding its geopolitical influence throughout the region. Tehran has developed an unspoken alliance with Al-Shabaab with the aim of creating a covert intelligence network that will allow it to achieve its goals and support its interests in the Middle East and Africa.
The Quds Force has been working with agents and allies, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah and Somalia's Al-Shabaab, which are thought to have recently established relations with the Quds Force.
Somali police and finance ministry officials claim the Quds Force uses these networks to smuggle Iranian oil into Somalia and then sell cheap oil across Africa to subvert U.S. sanctions, with some of the proceeds used to support militants in Yemen and Somalia
Qatar has allegedly used al-Shabab to target groups it has identified as opposing its interests, including Somali politicians critical of Doha's role in the country and outside actors like the United Arab Emirates
Qatar's cultivation of African Islamists, principally Somalia's al-Shabab insurgents, has similarly troubled the United States, which has accused the movement of providing a haven for al-Qaeda militants involved in attacks against Americans
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Qatari individuals and government representatives are reported to have been in regular contact with Al-Qaeda and its affiliates in Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Yemen in order to exert geopolitical influence
Guns supplied by Iran to its Houthi allies in Yemen are being smuggled across the Gulf of Aden to Somalia, according to a Geneva-based think tank, where al Qaeda-linked al Shabab insurgents are battling a weak and divided government.
Iran has established links with the jihadist group Al-Shabaab in Somalia to attack United States and other international forces in the African country and the region and to supply arms to Houthi rebels in Yemen
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