SOMALIA’S AL-­‐SHABAAB: DOWN BUT NOT OUT

August 29, 2013

HSPI  Issue  Brief
22 August  27,  2013
Navan:  Group

Harakat   al-­‐Shabaab   al-­‐Mujahedeen,   meaning   “Mujahedeen  Youth  Movement”  in  Arabic,  is  an  al-­‐ Qa’ida  affiliated   terrorist  organiza:on  that  seeks  to   establish   an   Islamist   state   in   Somalia.   In   its   short   history,  al-­‐Shabaab  has  evolved  from  a  small  militia   group   to   a   formidable   insurgent   force   that   once   controlled  significant  amounts  of   territory.   Extending   beyond   Somalia,   al-­‐Shabaab   has   pursued   a   global   jihadist   agenda   by   launching   terrorist   attacks   in   countries   such   as  Uganda  and   Kenya,   and   soliciting   support   from   the   Somali   diaspora   and   external   extremist  groups.

Following  the  2006-­‐09  Ethiopian  invasion  of   Somalia,   al-­‐Shabaab  rose  to  national  prominence  as  a  symbol   of  resistance  against  Ethiopian  ‘occupiers.’  Filling  the   void  in  the  wake  of  Ethiopia’s  withdrawal  and  the  collapse  of  the  Islamic  Courts  Union,  the  group  rapidly   expanded  becoming  Somalia’s  dominant  governing  entity.1  By  August  2010,  al-­‐Shabaab  controlled  the   majority   of   south   and   central   Somalia,   and   launched   its   first   interna:onal   attack   targeting   Uganda’s   capital  Kampala  with  multiple  suicide  bombings.2

Read the full report here:  Somalia’s Al Shabaab