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Al-Shabab: an examination of Somali piracy and its links to terrorism
 Armed pirates stand over French hostages aboard the yacht 'Tanit' April 11. French special forces stormed the yacht held by pirates in an assault in which one hostage was killed and four others freed. (French MoD photo) |
Al-Shabab (a.k.a. “The Party of Youth”) is an extremist splinter group of Somali jihadists that formed after the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia in 2006 and the subsequent establishment of a Somali transitional government. It is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) by the U.S. Department of State, the Norwegian Police Security Service, and the Swedish Security Service.
Western attention was recently focused on al-Shabab when in April Somali pirates seized a U.S. commercial ship in the Indian Ocean. The standoff ended Apr. 12 when U.S. Navy snipers killed three of the pirates and freed the captain of the U.S. ship, Richard Phillips.
And although no link has been established between this incident and al-Shabab or any terrorist group, a recent report in Jane’s Defence Weekly identified definite financial links between Somali pirates and al-Shabab. Specifically, the pirates in Kismayu often coordinate with al-Shabab, although al-Shabab members themselves apparently do not play any active role in acts of piracy.
 A Somali al-Shabab fighter stands guard during a public flogging, Dec. 13. (Reuters/Ismail Taxta) |
According to David Shinn, an adjunct professor at the Elliot School of International Affairs at Washington University, al-Shabab requires some pirates to pay a protection fee of 5 to 10 percent of any ransom money collected. Additionally, if al-Shabab helps to train the pirates, it might receive 20 percent. Al-Shabab’s share can be as high as 50 percent if it finances the operation.
Shinn says there is increasing evidence that the pirates are assisting al-Shabab with arms smuggling and are also developing an independent maritime force to smuggle foreign jihadist fighters and “special weapons” into Somalia.
Several senior national security officials told the Washington Post that al-Shabab's rapid expansion, ties between its leaders and Al-Qaeda, and the presence of U.S. and European-born fighters in its camps have raised the question of whether a pre-emptive strike is warranted.
"There is increasing concern about what terrorists operating in Somalia might do", a U.S. counterterrorism official said. Additionally, al-Shabab camps have graduated hundreds of fighters.
Law enforcement and intelligence organisations have said that at least 20 men have left the U.S. for Somalia in recent years to train and fight with al-Shabab against the Somali government and occupying Ethiopian military forces. In February, a naturalised U.S. citizen, 27-year-old Shirwa Ahmed of Minneapolis, Minnesota killed himself and many others in a suicide bombing in Somalia.
Reader Comments
Poverty is to blame for most of the evils in Somalia. People have lots of time on their hand and no hope in sight; it was bound to happen, desparate times call for desperate measures. If all those men were educated and busy in their jobs, none of this would have happened. Regardeless of whom are these pirates helping or associated with, they are the product of destitution. If the international community didn't get together to come up with solutions to help poor countries, we would be facing even bigger trouble.