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Al-Shabaab (militant group)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
al-Shabaab
الشباب
Participant in
the War on Terror
the Somali Civil War (2006–2009)
the Somali Civil War (2009–present)
the al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen
the Yemeni Civil War
Islamist insurgency in Mozambique
2006–present
Ideology
Salafi jihadism
Wahhabism
Islamism
Anti-Zionism[1]
Antisemitism[1]
Political position
Far-right
Leaders
Ahmad Umar (2014–present)[2]
Ahmed Godane (2007–14)[3]
Headquarters
Kismayo (2008–12)
Barawe[4] (2012–14)
Area of operations
Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Yemen[5]
Size
4,000–6,000[6] (2014 estimate) 7,000–9,000 (2017 estimate)[7]
Part of
Al-Qaeda
Split from
Islamic Courts Union
Allies
Non-state allies
Boko Haram[8]
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Foreign Mujahedeen
Allied Democratic Forces
Opponent(s)
State opponents
Djibouti
Ethiopia
Kenya
Israel
Somalia
Federal Government
Somaliland
Puntland
Jubaland
ASWJ
Uganda
Yemen
Turkey[9]
United States of America[10]
Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (HSM; Arabic: حركة الشباب المجاهدين, Ḥarakat ash-Shabāb al-Mujāhidīn; Somali: Xarakada Mujaahidiinta Alshabaab, lit. "Mujahideen Youth Movement" or "Movement of Striving Youth"), more commonly known as al-Shabaab (/ælʃəˈbɑːb/; Arabic: الشباب, lit. '"The Youth" or "The Youngsters", but can be translated as "The Guys"'), is a jihadist fundamentalist group based in East Africa. In 2012, it pledged allegiance to the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda.[11] In February 2012, some of the group's leaders quarreled with Al-Qaeda over the union,[12][13] and quickly lost ground.[14] Al-Shabaab's troop strength was estimated at 7,000 to 9,000 militants in 2014.[6] As of 2015, the group has retreated from the major cities, however al-Shabaab still controls large parts of the rural areas.[15]
Al-Shabaab began as the armed wing[16] of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which later splintered into several smaller factions after its defeat in 2006 by Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the TFG's Ethiopian military allies.[17] The group describes itself as waging jihad against "enemies of Islam", and is engaged in combat against the Federal Government of Somalia and the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM). Al-Shabaab has been designated as a terrorist organization by Australia, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.[18][19] As of June 2012, the US State Department has open bounties on several of the group's senior commanders.[20]
In early August 2011, the Transitional Federal Government's troops and their AMISOM allies managed to capture all of Mogadishu from the al-Shabaab militants.[21] An ideological rift within the group's leadership also emerged, and several of the organization's senior commanders were assassinated.[22] Due to its Wahhabi roots, al-Shabaab is hostile to Sufi traditions[23] and has often clashed with the militant Sufi group Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a.[24] The group has also been suspected of having links with Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb and Boko Haram. It attracted some members from western countries, including Samantha Lewthwaite and Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki.
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