Violence against civilians is a strategy to create fear among the locals in order to smooth forced recruitment.
- Professor of International Relations, Norwegian University of Life Sciences
After its battlefield defeat, it’s unclear if the Islamic State in Somalia retains the ability to extort money from the business community.
The possibilities for a large presence of al-Shabaab fighters in Ethiopia are limited.
Al-Shabaab has grown rich and retained influence over much of Somalia.
Regional rivalries have functioned as oxygen, allowing the rebel group to survive and grow.
The decision to redeploy in Somalia represents a renewed emphasis on the old rivalry with Russia.
By withdrawing its troops from Somalia, Kenya could be doing more harm than good.
Declining US involvement in The Horn would leave a vacuum that others can fill.
Links between groups within the Kivu province and the Islamic state are not new.
The absence of a strong government in Mali
allows jihadists to enter new areas and flourish.
Drones are a tool to manage the threat of al-Shabaab, but there’s no way they’ll defeat the group entirely.
Kenya has done a great deal to prevent and manage terror attacks but there are still many problems that need to be addressed.
There have been positive changes in Ethiopia but major challenges, including ethnic tensions, remain.
Containing Al-Shabaab in Kenya doesn’t directly reduce the group’s standing inside Somalia.
Al Shabaab is facing stress under increased pressure from the government and the regional states. But it should also be noted that predictions of its collapse have come and gone before
On December 2, 2014, gunmen from the militant Islamist group al-Shabaab crept into a labourers’ camp in Mandera in Kenya and killed 36 people. In the same all-too-familiar modus operandi seen in the same…
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