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Africa Horn
ISIS-linked militants in Somalia sighted as they swear allegiance to new Emir
2022-12-06
[Garowe] Photos of small groups of ISIS-linked bandidos Lions of Islam paying allegiance to the new core Emir have emerged, with the group now saying they seek to expand their scope of operations in the country.

ISIS's Somalia branch has strained to make an impact in the country with their activities getting thwarted by the Puntland
...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion...
 Security forces who have managed to block the bandidos Lions of Islam in the Bari mountains from advancing.

The bandidos Lions of Islam are mainly located in Puntland where they have been training and at times waging mild attacks. In fact, they have been facing al-Shabaab
...... al-Qaeda's tentacle in East Africa...
 whom they have been at loggerheads over dominance and supremacy.

Photos posted by the group showed very small groups showing a number of the bandidos Lions of Islam pledging allegiance [bay'a] on camera to the new ISIS Core amir, Abu al-Hussein al-Qurashi. Interestingly, there was no sighting of Abdiqadir Mu'min [Abd al-Qadir Mu'min], the leader of the group.

It is not clear whether factions have started emerging in the ISIS-Somalia, but such claims cannot be dismissed given the modus operandi of the krazed killer groups across the world. In most cases, top leadership experiences divisions over management and execution of action plans.

Their al-Shabaab counterparts are currently facing power struggles with the head of Amniyat Intelligence wing and finance Mahad Karate strategizing on toppling the current leader Abu Ubaidah who is believed to be struggling with an undisclosed illness.

Insiders say Mahad Karate is having serious differences with Abu Ubaidah over the allocation of resources within the group which is dominant in central and southern Somalia. This comes as the government of Somalia and the US are blocking al-Shabaab's revenue sources.

The government is also fighting the groups by shaping ideological courses by preaching against violent mostly peaceful extremism by involving holy mans.

To make this effective, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has co-opted former deputy leader Mukhtar Robow into government as Religious Affairs and Endowment Minister.
Posted by:trailing wife

#2  Once the South Sudanese got independence from the Muslim north, they promptly fell to fighting among themselves, with just about as dire results, as far as I can tell.

I have no opinion on Somalia, except that at some point size does matter — a nation that is too small cannot sustain the various functions necessary to survive in a harsh world.
Posted by: trailing wife   2022-12-06 23:07  

#1  For years the Western colonial powers with USA backing fought every attempt to rationalize colonial borders. The OAU followed suit. This made it hard on Southern Sudanese who sought to escape an oppressive Islamic government located in Khartoum. It has stymied the reorganization of the former Belgian Congo, and it has impeded the division of Somalia that should have allowed the north (the former British Somaliland) to cede from the Somali union. Southern Somalia is a basket case. There is hope for the north, but USA policy doesn't see it that way.
Posted by: Slavising Unineting5672   2022-12-06 10:59  

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