Strategic Thinking on East Africa

GILAD SHILOACH The Islamic State claimed responsibility for a terror attack in Somalia—its first-ever attack in the East African nation. In an official statement circulated by the group’s supporters on Twitter and Telegram, ISIS said its fighters detonated a car bomb targeting forces belonging to the African Union Forces—peacekeeping troops—on the outskirts of the capital […]

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From West Point’s Combatting Terrorism Center Author(s): Christopher Anzalone Abstract: In the face of major territorial, military, and economic setbacks, the Somali insurgent-jihadi group al-Shabaab has proven remarkably resilient thanks to pragmatic decision-making and skilled tactical maneuvering. With strong interpersonal ties and a capable internal security network, the group’s senior leadership continues to maintain overall […]

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Militant Groups Compete for Notoriety in East Africa By JEFFREY GETTLEMANAPRIL 12, 2016 Members of the Kenya Defense Forces carried the coffins of soldiers killed during an attack by the Shabab on a military base in western Somalia. CreditThomas Mukoya/Reuters NAIROBI, Kenya — Apparently there is no brotherly love among East Africa’s Islamist militants. This […]

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By Abdi Guled | AP April 11 at 9:56 AM MOGADISHU, Somalia — A car bomb exploded on Monday outside restaurant packed with lunchtime customers in the Somali capital of Mogadishu killing at least five people, including school children, said witnesses. After the blast, a young girl was crying outside the restaurant screaming “where is my sister?” […]

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Foreign Policy One year after al-Shabab killed 147 people in cold blood, the Kenyan government has turned its back on the university where it happened. BY NANJALA NYABOLA GARISSA, Kenya — At approximately 5:00 a.m. on April 2, 2015, Sister Evelyn Ingoshe heard what sounded like a series of pops coming from the distance outside […]

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World This is a critical year for the troubled African nation. Charlotte Alfred REUTERS/TOBIN JONES/AU-UN IST PHOTO/HANDOUT A Somali soldier patrols a town captured from al Shabab. The Islamist militant group is trying to disrupt Somalia’s political transition in 2016. Every week, The WorldPost asks an expert to shed light on a topic driving headlines around […]

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From Brookings Institution Editors’ Note: Al-Shabab’s operational capacities and intimidation power have grown in the past year, writes Vanda Felbab-Brown. Many of Kenya’s counterterrorism policies have been counterproductive, and counterinsurgency efforts by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have at best stagnated. This piece was originally published by The Cipher Brief. April 2 marked one […]

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Al-Shabab is waging an armed insurgency in Somalia The US military says it has targeted a vehicle carrying three al-Shabab militants in a drone strike in Somalia. A Pentagon spokesman named the main target as Hassan Ali Dhoore, accused of organising recent bomb attacks in which US personnel were killed. US officials say they are […]

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Publication: Terrorism Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 1 By: Sunguta West Abdirahim Mohammed Abdullahi (source: YouTube) Al-Shabaab, the Somalia-based Islamist militant organization, is still actively recruiting from neighboring Kenya even as the group suffers major setbacks in southern Somalia. Underpinning the group’s notable success in recruitment is the radicalization and indoctrination of young men in order to […]

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Matt Bryden at CSIS The 2013 Somali Compact agreed between the Somali Federal Government and international donors set ambitious deadlines for the delivery of a new constitution, electoral laws, and national elections, all by late 2016. Since then, optimism that Somalia’s perpetual transition might be ended has been undermined by the familiar themes of missed […]

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