Latest Articles about Somalia
Overseeing al-Shabaab’s Kenyan Resurgence: The Ascendance of Jaysh al-Ayman Commander Abdifatah Abubakar Abdi
Al-Shabaab attacks are on the rise in Kenya. From concerns about threats to the recent Kenyan elections to stepped-up attacks in Kenya’s coastal Lamu county, this uptick in activity has authorities across the region concerned (see Terrorism Monitor, June 16, 2017; see Terrorism Monitor, February... MORE
The Resurgence of al-Shabaab
As al-Shabaab continues to lose leaders to U.S. airstrikes and territory to troops with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), analysts have contemplated the possible defeat of the Somalia-based militant group. Indeed, Somali President Mohammed Abdullahi Farmajo stressed this possibility at a conference in... MORE
How Kenya’s Failure to Contain an Islamist Insurgency is Threatening Regional Prosperity
Life in parts of Kenya’s traditionally Muslim coastal region has become a nightmare of beheadings and midnight raids by masked assailants, compounded by the ineptitude of local security forces. In Lamu County, a historic center of Swahili culture, growing ethnic and religious tensions have proved... MORE
Resisting the Purge of Foreign Fighters: Maalim Salman’s Struggle for Survival in al-Shabaab
The al-Shabaab terrorist attack on the upscale Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi in 2013 sent a shockwave through the Kenyan security establishment and instilled fear in Kenyan citizens. Widely covered in both the domestic and international press, the attack left 67 people dead and nearly... MORE
The Defection of Shaykh Mukhtar Robow: Where Does This Leave al-Shabaab?
Shaykh Mukhtar Robow (a.k.a. Abu Mansur), a former spokesman and top commander of al-Qaeda’s East Africa affiliate al-Shabaab, is the latest militant leader to defect to the Somali government. In a move that comes months after the United States quietly dropped the $5 million bounty... MORE
Briefs
Iraq: Political Differences and Outside Influences As Iraq moves into the next stage of its campaign against Islamic State (IS), political rivalries, sectarian divisions and the outside influence of regional players are conspiring to hamper efforts to tackle the terrorist group. Backed by air strikes,... MORE
Reclaiming Lost Ground in Somalia: The Enduring Threat of al-Shabaab
Over the last 12 months, al-Shabaab has markedly increased the tempo and sophistication of its attacks on a range of soft and hard targets in Somalia, the semi-autonomous region of Puntland and in southeast Kenya. The al-Qaeda affiliate is re-taking territory it once controlled in... MORE
Yemen: A Dangerous Regional Arms Bazaar
Yemen is the second most heavily armed country in the world after the United States. Before the current civil war began, there were an estimated 54 guns for every 100 residents. [1] Now, the number of small and medium arms in the country is far... MORE
Somalia’s Militant Spin-Doctor: A Look at al-Shabaab Military Operations Spokesman Sheikh Abdiasis abu Musab
Despite losing major ground — or maybe in response to recent losses — Somalia’s Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, better known as al-Shabaab, has increasingly used propaganda to inspire fighters and gain support for its insurgency in southern Somalia. Senior leaders of al-Shabaab, al-Qaeda’s affiliate in East... MORE
