al-shabab
Sneak Preview Screening: Warriors From the North + Q&A
Young Muslims are travelling from Europe to fight in countries such as Syria and Somalia, lured by groups like Al-Shabaab and the Islamic State (IS). Warriors From the North follows a cohort of young Al-Shabaab sympathisers in Denmark and Sweden. Directors Nasib Farah and Søren Steen Jespersen approach the subject from multiple perspectives, speaking with current Al-Shabaab members, young men who have left the group and the family of one young man who left his life behind to join Al-Shabaab.
Famine and Conflict in Somalia: What can bring relief?
Caught between political instability, conflict and violence, whilst famine and drought destroy the people and the land, there is seemingly little that can be done to bring relief to this failed state. Aid agencies are being criticised for not acting sooner and making provisions for prevention, as the famine and drought in the Horn of Africa were deemed “predictable.” Does the international system need to step up their efforts and produce a coordinated response? And what lessons can we learn for the future about prevention rather than cure?
Join us at the Frontline club with an expert panel to discuss the role of the international system, and what more can be done to bring relief to this war torn famine stricken country.
Al Shabab Rallies Troops for Mogadishu Defense
Al Shabab. AP photo. by DAVID AXE On Friday Sheikh Moqtar Robow Abumansor, a top military leader in Somali Islamic group Al Shabab, declared war against the U.S.- and U.N.-backed Transitional Federal Government and the African Union peacekeeping force in Mogadishu. This at a time when the TFG and peacekeepers are clearly planning for a […]
Somalia’s Best Chance of Peace
Funny how things work out. Two years ago Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was on the run from an Ethiopian assault that had snatched Mogadishu from the Islamists who ran the city peacefully for six months. America had given its tacit support to the strike, fearing that Somalia was about to become a haven for al […]
Mogadishu Redux
Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, is the focus of the country’s downward spiral. The constant threat from all sides means that travel around the city is always to run a gauntlet, everyone’s senses heightened from the fear and adrenaline as one watches for ambushes or Iraq-style IEDs. Very few journalists have visited Somalia in recent months on […]
Leaving Nairobi…but going elsewhere
Have decided to cancel my second trip to Somalia as the situation there has become too difficult to work. About 3 days ago the senior Shabab spokesman said that their group would start specifically targetting foreigners (i.e. white guys, not Ethiopians) in town, and I didn’t really fancy shelling out several thousand US dollars to […]
Ayrow: UPDATE 2
UPDATE 2: Al-Shabab official website has issued a statement on the death of Ayrow in Somali. “Airplanes of the enemy of Allah”, the text reads, have caused the “martyrdom of the mujahid and leader” Aden Ayrow as well as Sheikh Muhiyuddin Mohammad Omar (former Health Minister for the Islamic Courts). The statement said that a […]
Al-Shabab Leader Killed
Just a short note to confirm that Al-Shabab’s leader does seem to have died in an explosion (one presumes a missile) in Dhusa Mareb, central Somalia. Al-Shabab spokesperson held and press conference over the phone this morning with local radio stations in which they vowed they would retaliate against the attack. It makes working in […]