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Latest Articles about Somalia
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Briefs
Somalia: Ramping up Action on al-Shabaab Somalia’s recently elected president has declared “war” on al-Shabaab and offered an amnesty to militants who lay down their weapons, backing his rhetoric with an overhaul of the country’s security establishment aimed at strengthening efforts to defeat the group.... MORE
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Al-Shabaab Plays on Aid Distribution Role to Win Over Desperate Somalis
With a severe drought unfolding across Somalia, al-Shabaab militants have turned to distributing food aid in the country’s southern battlegrounds in a new strategy aimed at bringing locals on side. Two consecutive seasons of poor rainfall has led to livestock deaths and crop failure, forcing... MORE
Shaykh Hassan Yakub Ali: The Powerful al-Shabaab Waali of Galmudug
In February, Shakyh Hassan Yakub Ali became the first al-Shabaab militant leader to issue threats against Somalia’s new president, Mohammed Abdullahi Mohammed. Ali warned that the al-Qaeda affiliate in East Africa would carry out sustained attacks throughout the four-year term of President Mohammed (a.k.a. Farmajo).... MORE
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Briefs
Somalia: One Step Closer to Defeating al-Shabaab In the build up to his election as Somalia’s president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed announced he would invite al-Shabaab for a “sit down and discussion” (Twitter, January, 28). His rhetoric toward the group since then has been less welcoming.... MORE
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Al-Shabaab: Why Somalia’s al-Qaeda Affiliate Wants Puntland
In contrast to the abundance of forecasts that predicted the weakening and eventual demise of al-Shabaab, the al-Qaeda affiliated group is resurgent in many parts of Somalia. This resurgence is particularly notable in Puntland, a semi-autonomous part of northern Somalia where al-Shabaab has for a... MORE
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Briefs
SOMALIA: PRO-IS FIGHTERS EXPLOIT CLAN LOYALTIES Islamic State-linked (IS) militants took over the port town of Qandala in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region early on October 26, apparently facing little resistance (Shabelle News, October 26). Qandala is a strategic target, a hub for smuggled weapons brought... MORE
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Kenya Struggles to Combat Al-Shabaab’s Cross-Border Attacks
Al-Shabaab has increased attacks in areas near the Kenyan border in recent months, as local and international military action pushes the al-Qaeda affiliated group out of its hideouts in southern Somalia. Analysts believe the militants now have bases in the north and northeastern regions of... MORE
Ramadhan Kioko: A Look at the Pickpocket Turned Al-Shabaab Militant
About eight years ago, a time of peak al-Shabaab recruitment in Kenya, Ramadhan Kioko, then a notorious pick-pocket, vanished from the streets of Majengo, a slum in the city of Nairobi. This marked the beginning of Kioko’s transition from petty thief to hardened al-Shabaab militant.... MORE
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East Africa’s Emerging IS Leader: Who Is Shaykh Abdulqadir Mumin?
In the mountains of northern Somalia, Shaykh Abdulqadir Mumin, a former al-Shabaab ideologue, is an up-and-coming leader of the emerging Islamic State (IS) cell in East Africa. Reports indicate that Mumin, who is believed to be in his late 50s, was born in Puntland, a... MORE