Al-Shabaab (militant group)
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.
Not to be confused with Al-Shabaab (Mozambique).Al-Shabaab
- Leader: Ahmad Diriye (2014–present)
- Former leader: Ahmed Godane † (2008–2014)
- Deputy leader: Abukar Ali Adan[1][2]
August 2006–present
- 7,000–12,000 (2023 UN estimate)[15]
- 15,000–18,000 (2022 estimate per Pres. Hassan Sheikh)[16]
State allies
Qatar (denied)[19]
Non-State allies
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
Hamas (since October 7, 2023)[20]
Houthis (sometimes)[21]
Formed in the mid-2000s as part of the Islamic Courts Union, al-Shabaab came to prominence during the 2006–2009 Somalia War, 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.[28][29]
Name[edit]
Al-Shabaab is also known as Ash-Shabaab, Hizb al-Shabaab ("Party of the Youth"),[30] Al Osra Army in Somalia (Arabic: جيش العسرة في الصومال)[31][32] and as the Popular Resistance Movement in the Land of the Two Migrations (PRM) (Arabic: حركة المقاومة الشعبية في بلاد الهجرتين).[33] The term al-Shabaab means "the youth" in Arabic. It also refers to itself as the Islamic Emirate of Somalia since 2011.[34]
Relationship with other militant groups[edit]
Hizbul Islam[edit]
Between 2010 and 2012, Hizbul Islam, a smaller group of Somali militants,[201] was merged with al-Shabaab: after suffering military defeats against al-Shabaab in southern towns, Hizbul Islam was officially absorbed by its former rival in December 2010.[202][203] However, on September 24, 2012, Hizbul Islam announced that it would split from al-Shabaab, claiming the union had only ever been nominal and that the factions' political philosophies had differed irreconcilably. Hizbul Islam said that it welcomed "negotiations with all groups for the interest of Somalia", and added that al-Shabaab had been considerably "weakened" in recent years.[204][205]
Al-Qaeda[edit]
Before 2012, al-Qaeda and al-Shabaab had what academic Daniel Byman calls an "on-again, off-again" relationship, though both groups praised each other online in 2008.[206][207] During this early period, al-Shabaab occasionally harboured al-Qaeda leaders in Somalia, in exchange for their technical assistance.[206][208] In September 2009, in a video entitled "At Your Service Osama", al-Shabaab publicly declared allegiance to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden – but this reflected an "unrequited courtship", largely ignored by al-Qaeda.[209] However, after bin Laden's death and replacement by Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Shabaab became an official al-Qaeda affiliate in February 2012. In a fifteen-minute video message released on February 9, al-Shabaab leader Godane pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda and al-Zawahiri on behalf of al-Shabaab.[210][211] Al-Zawahiri confirmed the alliance,[209] which he said would "please the believers and disturb the disbelievers" and "support the jihadi unity against the Zio-Crusader campaign and their assistants amongst the treacherous agent rulers."[212] The announcement was met with internal opposition among some factions of al-Shabaab .
By late 2012, the groups cooperated closely in various arenas, especially indoctrination and training, both in basic infantry skills and in advanced explosives and assassination – after the merger, a corps of al-Qaeda-trained militants moved to Somalia to train members of al-Shabaab.[206] However, al-Shabaab remained "largely independent".[206] Similarly, although al-Shabaab has publicly exploited the al-Qaeda "brand", echoing al-Qaeda ideology in its recruitment videos,[206] it is unclear whether the alliance has affected al-Shabaab's behaviour and aims on the ground.[60] A 2021 statistical analysis suggests that it has not significantly affected al-Shabaab's military strategy.[213] While an al-Shabaab commander has claimed that the group will bring jihad first to East Africa "and afterward, with God's will, to America",[214] an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies argues that the group is far more interested in establishing a fundamentalist government inside Somalia than in carrying out attacks in the West.[215]
AQAP, AQIM and Boko Haram[edit]
In June 2012, General Carter Ham of the U.S. Army said that al-Shabaab, al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and the Nigeria-based Boko Haram were attempting to coordinate their activities, including in funding, training, and explosives.[215] In 2011, Boko Haram's first suicide bomb attack had been preceded by a public statement warning that "our jihadists have arrived in Nigeria from Somalia where they received real training on warfare from our brethren who made that country ungovernable", which analysts understood as an allusion to cooperation with al-Shabaab.[208][216] However, in the view of some observers, most consequential are al-Shabaab's links to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).[217][218] AQAP is based in Yemen, which has longstanding ties to Somalia, and analyst Katherine Zimmerman told the U.S. Congress that AQAP "almost certainly provided the equipment or the expertise" for al-Shabaab's 2016 laptop bomb.[217]
International response[edit]
Terrorist designation[edit]
The following countries have officially listed al-Shabaab as a terrorist organization: