[Garowe] A few months after a video of al-Shabaab
...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
leader Ahmed Omar alias Abu Ubaydah leaked to the public, an audio recording of him also resurfaced, despite the fact that his whereabouts remain mysterious, even with ongoing search led by Americans and other security stakeholders.
Abu Ubaydah took charge of the al-Qaeda linked group in 2015 months after the death of Ahmed Godan, the group's leader who was killed in a US-sponsored Arclight airstrike
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 ...KABOOM! ...
. The group, which seeks to topple the fragile UN-backed Somalia administration, controls large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia.
In January, al-Shabaab deliberately leaked a video of the group leader issuing instructions to a number of fighters, a move which coincided with the first anniversary of the Manda Airfield raid in Kenya in 2020, which left three Americans including a serviceman dead.
And in the latest audio which was posted by al-Shabaab allied media outlets, the group leader attempts to compare the war they are engaged into that of Mohammed Abdulle Hassan Sayyid, the 20th century patriotic and religious warrior who fought against British and Italian colonialists.
The speech marks a century since Sayyid’s struggle ended, he said, adding that the al-Shabaab is committed to continuing carrying on with his "legacy" in the fight against "imperialists". The exact date and location of the recording could not be established.
Since 2007, the bully boyz have been wreaking havoc within the country and beyond the borders, necessitating the current peacekeeping mission in Somalia by a contingent of troops from a section of African countries. The team is working closely with Somali National Army [SNA] in the fight against the murderous Moslems.
But Christopher Anzalone, a research assistant professor, opines that it's not the first time the group is trying to relate its mission with that of Sayyid, adding that such messages were relayed through radio interviews during the reign of Ahmed Godan.
"Al-Shabaab's domestic and external media has sought to tie the modern group with Sayyid Hassan's Dervishes multiple times in the past including in audio messages and krazed killer radio interviews with the late amir Ahmed Godane," he argues.
"Al-Shabaab, ignoring their Sufi backgrounds, has also invoked other famous historical Sunni Sufi Moslem 'mujahid' figures including Imam Shamil of the Caucasus, Sudan'sMahdi' Muhammad Ahmad, and Libya'sUmar al-Mukhtar, privileging one aspect of their identities," notes Anzalone.
THE US WARNS AIRCRAFT ATTACKS BY AL-SHABAAB
The audio emerges as the al-Shabaab war continues to wreak havoc across East Africa, with neighboring Kenya being a major target. The US Federal Aviation Authority [FAA] now warns that the bully boyz could be targeting aircraft in the Kenyan airspace.
While al-Shabaab has never attacked aircraft in Kenya, the US notes, intelligence reports indicate that the group is in the process. The warning comes months after Nairobi declined a request by Washington to be launching missiles against al-Shabaab from Kenyan soil.
The US Africa Command withdrew troops from Somalia in January 2021 and most of them were redeployed elsewhere in East Africa, with reports indicating that some came to Kenya while others went to Djibouti. The move was highly condemned in Somalia.
Al-Shabaab has predominantly targeted Northern Frontier Districts [Wajir, Mandera, and Garissa] of Kenya with some small-scale raids along the coastal strip of Lamu. Early this year, Mandera Governor Ali Roba claimed the al-Shabaab controls 50 percent of the county's landmass, a claim which was disputed by Nairobi.
The air routes covered by the FAA warning include those connecting Nairobi and Far Eastern countries like Dubai [UAE], India, and China, among other destinations serviced by major airlines. Planes plying the routes overpass eastern Kenya counties such as Garissa and exit into neighboring Somalia.
"The Kesom [FIR] to Mogdu [FIR], which is covered by the warning is a shorter and direct route from Nairobi to Far Eastern countries hence the reason airlines prefer it," an aviation consultant told the Business Daily on condition of anonymity.
Whereas airlines can choose alternative routes, they often opt for the shortest ones. "The alternative route is Nairobi (FIR), Addis (FIR) and Djibouti (FIR). It’s a longer route hence more fuel is used, meaning more costs," the expert added.
AIRWARS REPORT, 2021
With spirited efforts to degrade the terror group, US Africa Command, the African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
Mission in Somalia [AMISOM] and the Somali National Army have intensified the onslaught against al-Shabaab across Shebelle and Jubba regions, significantly weakening the group.
For instance, the team managed to liberate Janaale, a town situated in Lower Shebelle in March 2020, and since then, a number of high-ranking al-Shabaab bully boyz have been killed in dronezaps launched by the US Africa Command.
A report by the Airwars group indicates that since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the airstrikes targeting civilians especially in Somalia have drastically reduced by 75 percent, an indication that civilian fatalities significantly reduced.
In Somalia, the report highlights the contrast between the US military operations under Donald Trump
...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party...
and his two predecessors. Under Trump, there were 276 strikes or ground operations, 205 of which were officially confirmed while between George Bush and Barack Obama
If you like your coverage you can keep it ...
, there were 67 confirmed and alleged actions.
According to the report by Airwars, in four years of Trump, US actions had resulted in a minimum alleged 134 to 174 civilian deaths, compared to 59 to 157 claimed fatalities in ten years of Bush and Obama. AFRICOM acknowledged one civilian death 5 injuries in separate strikes in 2020.
Despite the US Africa Command exit from Somalia, the military still wages airstrikes against the bully boyz from undefined locations, with at least 10 airstrikes conducted this year.
AFRICOM started tabling quarterly reports on civilian assessment in May 2020, following complaints by civil societies in Somalia. 
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