Wikipedia reports Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (“Movement of Warrior Youth”), more commonly known as al-Shabaab (“The Youth” or “The Lads”) is an Islamist insurgency group in the ongoing war in Somalia. As of summer 2010 the group is said to control most of the southern and central parts of Somalia, including “a large swath” of the capital, Mogadishu, where it is said to have imposed its own “harsh” form of Sharia law. Estimates of al-Shabaab’s strength, as of December 2008, vary between 3,000 to 7,000. Some moderate Somali paramilitary groups, or Sufis such as Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a are opposed to this radical Wahabi movement.
Recently Al Shabaab launched a major assault on Mogadishu but does not appear to have taken any new territory in the city, as their forces were repelled by both the government-allied Islamist militia Ahlu Sunnah Waljamaah (ASWJ), as well as a counterattack by African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) peacekeepers. However, the offensive indicates an increase in the scope of attacks by the jihadist Al Shabaab in the Somali capital.
According to stratfor.com fighting appears to have quieted down as of now, but is likely to resume. While an AMISOM spokesman denied Aug. 24 the reports that reinforcements had begun to arrive, he also vowed that they were still on their way, and that AMISOM would “tell the world” when they got there. Al Shabaab is likely to respond by demonstrating its strength in targeting multiple areas of Mogadishu. It also means that plans to relocate Somali parliamentarians and United Nations offices from Nairobi to Mogadishu will likely be set back.
The struggle for Somalia continues
