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144-747: In November 2008, Bulo Marer was reported to have a protected water well. In November 2008, the Islamic militant group Al-Shabaab occupied Bulo Marer. A photo showing al-Shabaab soldiers in Bulo Marer was published in 2008. In January 2013, the French-United States military attempted unsuccessfully to rescue hostages from Al-Shabaab in Bulo Marer. In April 2014, the Tunni clan of Bulo Marer reportedly provided food to Al-Shabaab. In August 2014, Al-Shabaab's media arm, Al-Kataib, broadcast

288-417: A Sufi shrine and its associated graves; asserting that over-embellishing burial sites into shrines is incompatible with Sharia . Al-Shabaab has clashed with the pro- AMISOM Sufi militias of " Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a ". In addition, its statements have expressed anti-Zionist sentiments, and the group claimed that its 2019 DusitD2 complex attack was retaliation against the declaration of Jerusalem as

432-507: A "pragmatic clannism": a willingness to manipulate clan networks and exploit inter-clan politics. By 2009, al-Shabaab started drastically altering its choice of targets and frequency of attacks. The use of kidnappings and bombings in urban areas significantly grew in use. The groups significant support from the Somali diaspora dwindled in response to the usage of terror tactics. In subsequent years, however, al-Shabaab's strong position

576-454: A Cruise" by Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki Al-Shabaab was an early adopter among African insurgents of the Internet , which it uses to distribute its propaganda videos and for various other propaganda functions. Especially in its early years, it used online chatrooms and discussion forums, encouraging foreign fighters and even military commanders to post updates and field public questions about

720-458: A Muslim medieval geographer in the year 1220 describes Mogadishu as the most prominent town on the coast. Yaqut also mentioned Mogadishu as being a town inhabited by Berbers, described as "dark-skinned" and considered ancestors of modern Somalis. By the thirteenth century, Ibn Sa'id described Mogadishu, Merca and Barawa located in the Benadir coast had become Islamic and commercial centers in

864-473: A Somali gathering to send their unmarried daughters to fight jihad with al-Shabaab, which until then had used only male fighters. However, according to International Crisis Group, women rarely participate directly in military decision-making or operations, though they do play important roles in recruitment, intelligence, and explosives smuggling . Al-Shabaab was founded in Las Anod in 2003. During 2003,

1008-584: A bloodless takeover. The putsch was spearheaded by Major General Mohamed Siad Barre , who at the time commanded the army. Alongside Barre, the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) that assumed power after President Sharmarke's assassination was led by Lieutenant Colonel Salaad Gabeyre Kediye and Chief of Police Jama Ali Korshel . Kediye officially held the title of "Father of the Revolution," and Barre shortly afterwards became

1152-476: A consultative shura. It operates several internal departments known as “Makhtab”, including Jabhat (military), Sanaaca (explosives), Da’wa (preaching), Zakat (taxation), Wilayah (local administration), Garsoor (Islamic courts) an intelligence agency known as the Amniyat, and a police force, Jaysh Al-Hisbah. Especially in its early years, al-Shabaab was sometimes characterised by Somali opponents as dominated by

1296-605: A counterattack with coordinated airstrikes, as well as an ambush on the militants from a neighbouring town, forcing them to retreat. The Somali government stated that they killed at least 47 militants and suffered 5 casualties, including two colonels, though al-Shabaab claimed to have killed 59 soldiers. On 2 August, 2024, an attack carried out by al-Shabaab at a beach restaurant in Mogadishu killed at least 37 civilians and injured 212, with 11 in critical condition. Police spokesperson Abdifatah Aden reported that one soldier died in

1440-515: A documentary about the failed January 2013 attack on Bulo Marer by the French-United States military. In August 2014, Somali armed forces and African Union (AU) forces occupied Bulo Marer. Until then, Al-Shabaab had made Bulo Marer one of its key strongholds, robbing travelers and collecting taxes from residents. In April 2016, four civilians were killed when their vehicle was destroyed in Bulo Marer after they failed to follow military stop orders. In March 2019, Al-Shabaab carried out an attack on

1584-618: A dominant force in south and central Somalia, defending large swathes of territory by fighting against the African Union Mission to Somalia and the Federal Government of Somalia , as well as the latter's transitional predecessor . Al-Shabaab gained international prominence due to its recruitment of foreign fighters, including fighters who are from Western countries . Countries including the United States ,

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1728-560: A genuine resistance movement against the Ethiopian military occupation; despite its inclinations towards hardline interpretations of Islam. Though the invasion had fractured the Islamic Courts Union , it galvanized nationalism on which al-Shabaab capitalized, especially for recruitment purposes, with thousands of new recruits drawn to the group. During 2008, al-Shabaab began rapidly expanding and governing territory for

1872-468: A historic ally of Somalia. In October 2017, over 500 people were killed by a truck bombing . In March 2022, al-Shabaab killed over 60 people in a series of attacks . In October 2022, an al-Shabaab double car bombing killed over 120 people. On 14 March, militants attacked and sieged the SYL Hotel in Mogadishu . In July 2024, At least eight people are killed and twenty-one others injured in

2016-499: A king over it, and is a place of great trade in merchandise. Ships come there from the kingdom of Cambay (India) and from Aden with stuffs of all kinds, and with spices. And they carry away from there much gold, ivory, beeswax, and other things upon which they make a profit. In this town there is plenty of meat, wheat, barley, and horses, and much fruit: it is a very rich place. In 1542, the Portuguese commander João de Sepúvelda led

2160-601: A long history, which ranges from the ancient period up until the present, serving as the capital of the Sultanate of Mogadishu in the 9th-13th century, which for many centuries controlled the Indian Ocean gold trade and eventually came under the Ajuran Sultanate in the 13th century which was an important player in the medieval Silk Road maritime trade. Mogadishu enjoyed the height of its prosperity during

2304-508: A media interview shortly after the withdrawal from Mogadishu in August 2011. Al-Shabaab increasingly avoided direct military combat and large battles, in favour of "dictat[ing] the conflict's pace by undertaking smaller ambushes at locations of its own choosing". The group undertook high-profile attacks outside Somalia such as the Westgate shopping mall attack by four militants left 67 dead -

2448-693: A national shura of Islamic clerics, independent of al-Qaeda control. Godane's rival Aweys declared publicly that "Al-Shabaab and al-Qaeda are merely a small part of the larger Islamic group and al-Qaeda's ideology should not be viewed as the sole, righteous path for Islam." In 2013, these internal rifts led to internecine violence as Godane effected what was virtually a purge of his critics. Among those killed were Ibrahim al-Afghani and three other senior commanders, executed in June; and Omar Shafik Hammami , killed in September. Journalist Simon Tisdall viewed

2592-516: A new technocratic government was elected to office, which enacted numerous reforms, especially in the security sector. By August 2011, the new administration and its AMISOM allies had managed to capture all of Mogadishu from the Al-Shabaab militants. Mogadishu has subsequently experienced a period of intense reconstruction spearheaded by the Somali diaspora, the municipal authorities, and Turkey,

2736-559: A new Twitter account by December that year, with an official telling Al Jazeera that, "The aim is to vigorously challenge defamatory reports in the media by presenting an accurate portrayal of the current state of Jihad in Somalia and countering Western, state-sponsored propaganda machines". It has since tweeted, from various accounts, during other attacks; Facebook, too, has had difficulty expeditiously removing graphic al-Shabaab content when it appears on newly created accounts. The group

2880-583: A period of decline and disarray near the end of the Hiraab Imamate . Following a struggle between the two leading figures of each respective quarter ( Shingani and Hamarweyn ) Sultan Yusuf marched into the city with an 8,000 strong army and ruled in favour of the Shingani leader, with the loser fleeing the city. Yusuf would nominate a relative of the deposed chief to lead the Hamarweyn quarter ending

3024-559: A relatively large contingent of foreign fighters ( see § Foreign recruitment ). Rank-and-file members, though sometimes recruited by force, are also attracted by the regular pay that al-Shabaab offers and by its political propaganda . In the past, many young al-Shabaab recruits were drawn from marginalised southern clans, such as the Jareer . Many are children . In February 2012, Fu'ad Qalaf Shongole , an al-Shabaab officer with responsibility for "awareness raising", encouraged

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3168-523: A root after establishment. The 16th century explorer Leo Africanus knew the city as Magadazo (alt. Magadoxo ). The ancient city of Sarapion is believed to have been the predecessor state of Mogadishu. It is mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea , a Greek travel document dating from the first century AD, as one of a series of commercial ports on the Somali littoral. According to

3312-721: A show of force. Al-Shabaab began creating propaganda films early in its campaign against Ethiopian forces, produced by its dedicated media wing, al-Kataib Media Foundation . Since 2009, al-Shabaab's films have become noticeably more "professional", both in their production quality and in their messaging, reportedly with direct support from al-Qaeda's as-Sahab Media Foundation. The early films were distributed primarily, and widely, online, and were primarily used as tools for recruitment, particularly among foreign jihadists. More recent films show al-Shabaab distributing humanitarian aid and participating in other community or religious activities – though others are much more gruesome, displaying

3456-468: A small fleet on an expedition to the Somali coast . During this expedition, he briefly attacked Mogadishu, capturing an Ottoman ship and firing upon the city, which compelled the sultan of Mogadishu to sign a peace treaty with the Portuguese. According to the 16th-century explorer, Leo Africanus indicates that the native inhabitants of the Mogadishu polity were of the same origins as the denizens of

3600-706: A small team of African Union troops, the coalition government also began a counteroffensive in February 2009 to retake control of the southern half of the country. To solidify its control of southern Somalia, the TFG formed an alliance with the Islamic Courts Union, other members of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia , and Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a , a moderate Sufi militia. In November 2010,

3744-753: A sporadic presence, and therefore significant influence, in many places. Nonetheless, by 2016, al-Shabaab was viewed as significantly weakened by the military campaign against it, with earlier losses compounded in 2014–15 by Operation Indian Ocean , a joint endeavour by AMISOM, the Somali government, and the United States. The Somali government claimed in October 2014 that over 700 al-Shabaab militants had surrendered since September, when it had extended an amnesty offer to them. Reports of further senior defections continued into 2015. Moreover, an American drone strike killed Godane on September 1, 2014; he

3888-549: A treaty of peace, friendship, and protection with Filonardi of the Commercial Company of Benadir. The onset of Italian colonial rule occurred in stages, with treaties signed in the 1880s followed by economic engagement between Somali clans and the Commercial Company of Benadir, and then direct governance by the Italian Empire after 1906, British Military Administration of Somalia after World War II and

4032-471: A vast trading network, dominated the regional gold trade, minted its own currency , and left an extensive architectural legacy in present-day southern Somalia. A local city-state which much influence over the hinterland neighbouring coastal towns. For many years Mogadishu functioned as the pre-eminent city in the بلد البربر ( Bilad al Barbar – "Land of the Berbers "), as medieval Arabic-speakers named

4176-471: Is Somali religious nationalism which is incorporated into its Pan-Islamist cause. Patriotic themes warning Somalis of the plots from international NGOs , " Christian Crusaders " ( United States , Ethiopia , AMISOM ) and their collaborators are a regular feature of the movement's propaganda. During the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia , Al-Shabaab positioned itself as a staunch nationalist militia under

4320-605: Is a transnational Salafi Jihadist military and political organization based in Somalia and active elsewhere in East Africa . It is actively involved in the ongoing Somali Civil War and incorporates elements of Somali nationalism into its Islamist cause. Allegiant to the militant pan-Islamist organization al-Qaeda since 2012, it has also forged ties with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb , and al-Qaeda in

4464-843: Is adept in using intricately-structured networks of amplifier accounts, leveraging algorithms and emerging technologies, to disseminate its messages. In territories it holds, al-Shabaab typically maintains "limited but effective" administrative control over resident populations, providing services – such as dispute resolution through Sharia-based courts – which are sometimes compared favourably to those offered in government-held territories. Somalis have been observed to travel out of government-controlled areas into Al-Shabaab territory to settle disputes, particularly involving clan dynamics, lacking trust in official institutions. Al-Shabaab claimed some credit for Somalia's excellent crop yield in early 2010, saying that Somali grain production had flourished due to al-Shabaab's reduction of food imports, and that

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4608-399: Is generally considered to be "resurgent", a situation partly enabled by a reduction in the number of American air strikes, and possibly motivated by competition with Islamic State in Somalia , which has been conducting its own expansionary campaign. On 20 July 2022, al-Shabaab launched an invasion into Ethiopia's Somali Region . Taking advantage of the ongoing Tigray War , the goal of

4752-514: Is most likely derived from a morphology of the Somali words Muuq and Disho which mean "Sight Killer" or "Blinder", possibly referring to the city's blinding beauty. Magh'ad-e shāh ( Persian : مقعد شاه ) is another phrase from which the name of Mogadishu is believed to be derived, meaning "seat of the Shah/merchant Shah" which reflects the city's early Persian influence. The Arabic ' mads ', meaning "hallowed (place)" may also be

4896-651: Is not universal within the group, an ideological fault-line which has sometimes fostered factionalism and internal conflict. Much of al-Shabaab's Somali support base is fiercely nationalist, and sees as its primary goal the establishment of a stable Islamic state inside Somalia, or, more ambitiously, inside so-called Greater Somalia , uniting the ethnic Somali populations of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti. Other domestic supporters are concerned primarily with clan-related and local objectives, and are therefore prone to infighting and shifting alliances. However, these ideological differences can accommodate broad opposition within

5040-439: Is responsible for many high-fatality attacks, including the 2013 Westgate attack , October 2017 Mogadishu bombings and the 2022 Somali Ministry of Education bombings . Apart from its activities in Somalia, the group also operates in neighboring countries, extending its insurgency to Kenya's border regions with its Jaysh Ayman wing and carrying out a major incursion into Ethiopia in 2022. Attendant to its recent resurgence, it

5184-478: Is the capital and most populous city of Somalia . The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has an estimated urban population of 2,610,483. Mogadishu is located in the coastal Banaadir region on the Indian Ocean, which, unlike other Somali regions, is considered a municipality rather than a maamul goboleed (federal state). Mogadishu has

5328-644: Is traditionally inhabited by four clans. These are the Moorshe, Iskashato, DhabarWeyne, and the Bandawow. Moorshe is regarded the oldest group in Mogadishu and is considered to be a sub-clan of Ajuran who established one of the most powerful medieval kingdoms in Africa, the Ajuran Sultanate . The Gibil Madow (Dark Skins) faction of the Benadiri are said to hail from the Somali clan groups from inland which make up

5472-458: The 2011 Eastern Africa drought , which lasted until early 2012, al-Shabaab announced in July 2011 that it had withdrawn its restrictions on international humanitarian workers. The group also adapted its propaganda strategy to accommodate the changing circumstances. In some cases, group members employed humanitarian aid as a recruitment tool, using relief supplies as bribes and as an incentive to join

5616-772: The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) base. In May 2023, Al-Shabaab attacked a base manned by Ugandan troops of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) in Bulo Marer. The Somalia government said 30 people were killed in the attack. Al-Shabaab said it killed 137 soldiers. Uganda's president announced that 54 people were killed. Al-Shabaab (militant group) [REDACTED]   Iran (denied) [REDACTED]   Qatar (denied) Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen ( Arabic : حركة الشباب المجاهدين , romanized :  Ḥarakat ash-Shabāb al-Mujāhidīn , lit. Youth Mujahideen Movement), commonly known as al-Shabaab ,

5760-494: The BBC . Presenters broadcast in Somali, Arabic, Swahili and English. In April 2010, al-Shabaab banned BBC and Voice of America broadcasts on Somali radio, objecting to what they alleged was Christian propaganda. Also in 2010, and prior to its expulsion from Mogadishu the following year, al-Shabaab launched a television news channel, al-Kataib News. The group has also been known to conduct military parades in its territories, as

5904-621: The Battle of Ras Kamboni , raged, TFG President and founder Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed , a former colonel in the Somali Army, entered Mogadishu for the first time since being elected to office. The government then relocated to Villa Somalia in Mogadishu from its interim location in Baidoa , marking the first time since the fall of the Barre regime in 1991 that the federal government controlled most of

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6048-608: The Hawiye clan, which is one of the largest clans in Somalia . Hawiye remain influential in the group, and, according to a 2018 analysis by the Somali Hiraal Institute, five of the ten members of the executive shura council were Hawiye, as were about 94 of the top 220 officials. However, al-Shabaab is attached to an ethos of anti-clannism, and has therefore tried to appeal to minority groups and to ensure ethnic and clan diversity among its leadership. It incorporates

6192-571: The Indian Ocean . He said the local people in the Benadir coast and the interior were predominantly inhabited by Somalis with a minority of Arab, Persian and Indian merchants living in the coastal towns. Ibn al-Mujawir mentions the Banu Majid who fled the Mundhiriya region in Yemen in the year 1159 and settled in Mogadishu and also traders from the port towns of Abyan and Haram. Mogadishu

6336-440: The Islamic Courts Union (ICU), an Islamist organization, assumed control of much of the southern part of the country and imposed sharia law. The new Transitional Federal Government (TFG), established two years earlier, sought to establish its authority. With the assistance of Ethiopian troops , AMISOM peacekeepers and air support by the United States, it drove out the rival ICU and solidified its rule. On 8 January 2007, as

6480-520: The Ottoman Empire , and with the import of firearms such as muskets and cannons . Most were Muslims, although a few adhered to pre-Islamic beliefs ; there were also some Orthodox Tewahedo Christians further inland. Mogadishu itself was a wealthy, and well-built city-state, which maintained commercial trade with kingdoms across the world. The metropolis city was surrounded by walled stone fortifications. The Ajuran Sultanate collapsed in

6624-514: The Periplus , maritime trade already connected peoples in the Mogadishu area with other communities along the Indian Ocean. During ancient times Mogadishu was part of the Somali city-states that engaged in a lucrative trade network connecting Somali merchants with Phoenicia , Ptolemic Egypt , Greece, Parthian Persia , Sabaeans , Nabataea and the Roman Empire . Somali sailors used

6768-517: The Somali diaspora ; and it has made prolific and innovative use of Twitter since late 2011, although its first accounts were active as early as 2009. Online engagement with al-Shabaab surged during Operation Linda Nchi, the Kenyan offensive of 2011–12, when al-Shabaab used Twitter, under the handle @HSMPress, to urge Somalis to take up arms against the Kenyan forces and to portray its own military losses as tactical retreats. In an extreme example of

6912-586: The State of Somaliland , and the Trust Territory of Somalia (the former Italian Somaliland) followed suit five days later. On 1 July 1960, the two territories united to form the Somali Republic, with Mogadishu serving as the nation's capital. A government was formed by Abdullahi Issa and other members of the trusteeship and protectorate governments, with Haji Bashir Ismail Yusuf as President of

7056-505: The Trust Territory of Somaliland administered by Italy in the 1950s. This was followed by independence in 1960, the Somali Democratic Republic era during Siad Barre 's presidency (1969–1991). The three-decade long Somali Civil War afterwards devastated the city. As of the late 2010s and 2020s, a period of major reconstruction commenced. The origins of the name Mogadishu (Muqdisho) have many theories but it

7200-541: The United Kingdom , and the United Arab Emirates have designated it as a terrorist organization , and the United States has militarily intervened in order to fight against the group. Between 2011 and 2013, a coalition of African Union forces, led by the Somali government, wrested a significant amount of territory from al-Shabaab, including the capital city, Mogadishu . During the same period,

7344-491: The United Nations (UN) Security Council in early February 2022 estimated that al-Shabaab's fighting force had grown to between 7,000 and 12,000 fighters. In late 2022, President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohammed stated the faction had around 15,000 to 18,000 fighters. The group is led an executive tanfid council of 7 to 14 members - a configuration also seen in equivalent organisations such as al-Qaeda, supported by

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7488-622: The United Nations Operation in Somalia II several gun battles took place in Mogadishu between Somali factions, volunteers and peacekeepers . Among these was the Battle of Mogadishu of 1993 , a US apprehension of two high-ranking lieutenants of the Somali National Alliance . The UN soldiers withdrew altogether from the country on 3 March 1995, having incurred more significant casualties. In 2006,

7632-751: The West Edmonton Mall in Alberta , Canada, and the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota . Send me a cruise like Maa'lam Adam al Ansari And send me a couple of tons like Zarqawi And send me a drone like Abu Layth al Libi And Special Forces like Saleh Ali Nabhan . Send me all four and send me much much more I pray for that on my way to heavens door Send me four and send me more, that what I implore An amazing martyrdom I strive for and adore. – Chorus to "Send Me

7776-521: The 14th and 15th centuries and was during the early modern period considered the wealthiest city on the East African coast, as well as the center of a thriving textile industry. In the 17th century, Mogadishu and parts of southern Somalia fell under the Hiraab Imamate . In the 19th century, it came under the Sultanate of the Geledi 's sphere of influence. In 1894, the Somali chief had signed

7920-496: The 16th century, Duarte Barbosa noted that many ships from the Kingdom of Cambaya sailed to Mogadishu with cloths and spices for which they in return received gold , wax and ivory . Barbosa also highlighted the abundance of meat, wheat, barley, horses, and fruit on the coastal markets, which generated enormous wealth for the merchants. Mogadishu, the center of a thriving weaving industry known as toob benadir (specialized for

8064-768: The 17th century due to heavy taxation against their subjects, which started a rebellion. The ex-subjects became a new wave of Somali migrants, the Abgaal , moved both into the Shebelle River basin and Mogadishu. A new political elite led by Abgaal Yaquub imams , with ties to the new leaders in the interior, moved into the Shangani District of the city. Remnants of the Ajuran lived in the other key-quarters of Hamar Weyne District . Ajuran merchants began to look for new linkages and regional trade opportunities since

8208-535: The Abgaal had commandeered the existing trading networks. By the 17th century, the Hiraab Imamate was a powerful kingdom that ruled large parts of southern and central Somalia. It successfully revolted against the Ajuran Sultanate and established an independent rule for at least two centuries from the seventeen hundreds and onwards. By the late 19th century, the Imamate began to decline due to internal problems,

8352-624: The American Central Intelligence Agency began covert operations targeting the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) by backing anti-ICU Somali warlords with the aim of preventing the formation of a ' Taliban like' state in Somalia that could provide haven to Al-Qaeda . In 2005 Mogadishu was hit by a significant wave of unexplained assassinations and disappearances. The Islamic Courts claimed that covert US government operations and warlords were targeting high ranking ICU officials. According to C. Barnes & H. Hassan, "It

8496-489: The Arabian Peninsula . Formed in the mid-2000s as a youth militia within the wider military wing of the Islamic Courts Union , al-Shabaab came to prominence during the 2006–2009 Ethiopian invasion and occupation of Somalia , during which it presented itself as a vehicle for the waging of armed resistance against the occupying Ethiopian army. In subsequent years, it gained popular support from Somalis and became

8640-532: The August 2010 Ramadan offensive – the inauguration of the Battle of Mogadishu – which resulted in heavy al-Shabaab losses. By August 2011, al-Shabaab had announced a "strategic withdrawal" from Mogadishu , although, from outlying districts, it continued to exert influence in the city and to launch deadly guerrilla attacks against AMISOM and the TFG. In October and November 2011, Kenya and Ethiopia – partnering with local militias – launched offensives against al-Shabaab strongholds: Kenya's Operation Linda Nchi on

8784-537: The ENDF and Somali Region security forces began to reassert control. A battalion of around 500 al-Shabaab fighters succeeded in evading the Ethiopian army and reached its main target, the Bale Mountains . In August 2022, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declared "total war" against Al Shabaab during a televised address after the group carried out a deadly hotel attack in Mogadishu and also announced that

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8928-495: The Ethiopian military rallied many Somalis to support the organization, and over the following two years al-Shabaab became battle hardened as it participated in the insurgency. In this period, the group laid the foundation for an enduring insurgency in Somalia, establishing networks and territorial bases concentrated in the rural south-central regions. The African Union reported Al-Shabaab was about 2,000 fighters strong during 2008. A critical juncture in transformation of Al-Shabaab

9072-581: The Hiraab Imam to acquiesce to the decision. Omani and later Zanzibari officials were mere representatives of the Sultan to collect customs and needed the fort for their own security rather than control of the city. The Fort of Garessa was eventually constructed in 1870. The Sultan of Zanzibar later leased and then sold the infrastructure that he had built to the Italians, but not the land itself, which

9216-554: The Imamate also faced challenges from Imperialist kingdoms, the Zanzibari Sultan from the coast and Geledi Sultanate , and Hobyo Sultanate from the interior from both directions. The Sultanate of Geledi and the Omani Empire vied over who would be the superior power on the Benadir Coast, with Sultan Yusuf Mahamud ultimately being the dominant force with the Omanis having a nominal presence and Said bin Sultan even paying tribute to him in order to keep Omani representatives in Mogadishu. Mogadishu under Abgaal control had been in

9360-465: The Islamic Muqawwama (resistance coalition) of the Islamic Courts Union , taking the most hardline stance against the invading "Christian crusaders". After the collapse of the ICU in 2007, Al-Shabaab launched its own independent insurgency, gaining popular support from Somalis for defending the country from American imperialism and foreign occupation. Al-Qaeda began enhancing its co-operation and support to Al-Shabaab during this period, which enabled

9504-409: The Islamic Courts Union but also to the older al-Ittihad al-Islamiya , a group founded on the tenets of Salafism and opposition to clannism . Many early al-Shabaab leaders had also been trained as mujahideen in Afghanistan and Syria . According to the International Crisis Group , Salafism has been a core unifying principle of al-Shabaab, although this principle is not interpreted uniformly by

9648-427: The KDF, al-Shabaab tweeted that the KDF "boys are a grotesque parody of an army! [Al-Shabaab] can outpace ur world-class runners by far. Indeed, they 'Run like a Kenyan'". Showing uncharacteristic levity, al-Shabaab also suggested by Tweet that it meet a UN official for "a caramel macchiato ". Most of al-Shabaab's Tweets are in English, suggesting that they are intended for a foreign audience. In 2011, officials in

9792-587: The Kitab Al-Zunuj, which has been discredited by modern scholars as unreliable and unhistorical. More importantly, it contradicts oral, ancient written sources and archaeological evidence on the pre-existing civilizations and communities that flourished on the Somali coast, and to which were the forefathers of Mogadishu and other coastal cities. Thus, the Persian and Arab founding "myths" are regarded as an outdated false colonialist reflection on Africans ability to create their own sophisticated states. It has now been widely accepted that there were already communities on

9936-409: The Mogadishu-based new regime's foreign policy placed an emphasis on Somalia's traditional and religious links with the Arab world , eventually joining the Arab League in 1974. After fallout from the unsuccessful Ogaden campaign of the late 1970s, the Barre administration began arresting government and military officials under suspicion of participation in the 1978 coup d'état attempt . Most of

10080-400: The Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) group of Islamist rebels participated in peace talks in Djibouti brokered by the UN. The conference ended with a signed agreement calling for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops in exchange for the cessation of armed confrontation. Parliament was subsequently expanded to 550 seats to accommodate ARS members, which then elected a new president. With the help of

10224-439: The September 2013 Westgate shopping mall shooting in Nairobi , Kenya as a reflection of the internal power struggle, with Godane's hardline globalist faction seeking to exert its authority. From mid-to-late 2011, and into 2012, al-Shabaab faced an increasing number of defections. It was not the first such wave of defections: in particular, in late 2009, after the Ethiopian departure from Somalia, several leaders had defected to

10368-660: The Somali Transitional Federal Government , as the Ethiopian-led war segued into the next phase of the protracted Somali Civil War . By 2009–10, al-Shabaab controlled most of central and southern Somalia (south of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland ), and it had formed administrative structures to govern territories under its control. It had particular success building relationships with local leaders in order to build cross-clan coalitions, combining its principled anti-clannism with

10512-559: The Somali National Assembly, Aden Abdullah Osman Daar as President of the Somali Republic , and Abdirashid Ali Shermarke as Prime Minister (later to become president from 1967 to 1969). On 20 July 1961 and through a popular referendum , the people of Somalia ratified a new constitution , which was first drafted in 1960. In 1967, Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal became Prime Minister, a position to which he

10656-516: The Somali coast with ethnic Somali leadership, to whom the Arab and Persian families had to ask for permission to settle in their cities. It also seems the local Somalis retained their political and numerical superiority on the coast while the Muslim immigrants would go through an assimilation process by adopting the local language and culture. Mogadishu along with Zeila and other Somali coastal cities

10800-421: The Somali coast. Following his visit to the city, the 12th-century Syrian historian Yaqut al-Hamawi (a former slave of Greek origin) wrote a global history of many places he visited Mogadishu and called it the richest and most powerful city in the region and was an Islamic center across the Indian Ocean . During his travels, ibn Sa'id al-Maghribi (1213–1286) noted that Mogadishu city had already become

10944-459: The Somali government, citing complaints about al-Shabaab's use of suicide attacks and executions; its "false interpretations of Islam"; and its use of extortion and attitude towards foreign humanitarian aid. Such defections were viewed as strategically important to al-Shabaab's adversaries, not only for their propaganda use but because former militants could provide intelligence about al-Shabaab's combat strategy. However, according to AMISOM and

11088-544: The Somali government, the volume of defections in the period around 2012 was unprecedented, and indicated that al-Shabaab's cohesion and authority were deteriorating: in June 2012, the government said that around 500 al-Shabaab militants had already defected to it, and that more were doing so every day. Al-Shabaab brutalities, which alienated local populations, were again cited as central in motivating defections. On September 5 and September 22, 2012, two large contingents of al-Shabaab fighters – around 200 each time – surrendered to

11232-585: The Somalia military as well. On 20 September 2022, as the military operation progressed, a statement was released by the Somali Ministry of Information which revealed that President Sheikh would not offer any other option than surrender for al-Shabaab members. On 29 October, 2022, al-Shabaab took responsibility for a twin car bombing that occurred in Mogadishu targeting the Ministry of Education . The attacks killed 121 people and injured 333, making it

11376-562: The Somalia military had regained territory from al Shabaab in the central Galmudug state and Southwest state. By September 2022 Somali and ATMIS offensive operations against al-Shabaab, with U.S. support, would escalate to the highest point in five years. The operation, which is considered a combined Somali-ATMIS offensive, began in August 2022 and, with assistance from U.S. airstrikes, has been focused on disrupting al-Shabaab activity in Somalia's central Hiraan region. Other Al Shabaab-controlled areas in southern Somalia have been targeted by

11520-495: The United States, and others – are viewed by al-Shabaab as part of a wider American-sponsored war against Islam . For instance, al-Shabaab denounced the 2006 Ethiopian invasion of Somalia as a "Zionist-Crusader aggression", in which the United States "unleashed its ‘hunting dogs’ in Ethiopia and Kenya" by deploying "the world's crusader forces" to counter the rise of the Islamic Courts Union . However, this globalist framework

11664-455: The United States, where Twitter is based, said they were considering having the account closed, but had legal and free speech concerns. Chirchir himself tweeted that such a move would be counterproductive, as "al-Shabaab needs to be engaged positively, and Twitter is the only avenue." Nonetheless, in January 2013, Twitter suspended al-Shabaab's English-language account. Observers guessed that

11808-473: The account to claim responsibility for an unsuccessful ambush of a convoy carrying Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud , and to warn that, "next time, you won't be as lucky". Al-Shabaab relaunched its English-language Twitter account once again on September 11, 2013. Two weeks later, the group gained notoriety for live-tweeting the 2013 Westgate shopping mall attack, "justifying the attack, creating fictional threats, providing news on hostages and mocking

11952-488: The ancient Somali maritime vessel known as the beden to transport their cargo. The founding ethnicity of Mogadishu and its subsequent sultanate has been a topic of intrigue in Somali Studies . Ioan Lewis and Enrico Cerulli believed that the city was founded and ruled by a council of Arab and Persian families. However, the reference I.M Lewis and Cerulli received traces back to one 19th century text called

12096-672: The assault, one attacker blew himself up, three were killed by security forces, and one was captured. Later that August, more than 20 people were killed in a bombing in a Mogadishu tea shop. Although al-Shabaab has disseminated its propaganda by various media, the bulk of its engagement with Somalis in rural areas is either face-to-face or by radio broadcast. Face-to-face, the group holds seminars on Islamic jurisprudence and community meetings on such matters such as grain and livestock distribution. It operates its own radio station, Radio Andalus, mainly operated using relay stations and other equipment seized from private radio stations, including

12240-414: The attack but was suspected of involvement. In December 2019, another suicide truck bomb marked the beginning of a series of al-Shabaab attacks on the capital city, which continued into 2022. Al-Shabaab also targeted American military personnel in an attack on a Kenyan base in January 2020, and in July 2022 launched an unusually bold, though short-lived, incursion into Ethiopian territory . By 2020,

12384-571: The bomber, and in March another laptop bomb exploded during screening. Reacting to apparent advances in the group’s bomb-making capabilities, the UN Security Council later prohibited the transfer of bomb components to Somalia. The group has also developed a strategy of maintaining a "semi-territorial presence" in key regions and parts of key cities: while it no longer had exclusive and military authority over substantial territory, it retained

12528-604: The capital of Israel. In 2017, observers estimated that al-Shabaab comprised between 7,000 and 9,000 fighters. In 2018, the Council of Foreign Relations and United States military revised this figure downwards, estimating 3,000 to 6,000 and 4,000 to 6,000 respectively. Reflecting an apparent al-Shabaab resurgence, the United States Africa Command estimated 5,000 to 10,000 fighters two years later, in 2020. Most recently, an expert report submitted to

12672-513: The city's population of 50,000 residents. Mogadishu remained the capital of Italian Somaliland throughout the latter polity's existence. In World War II it was captured by British forces in February 1941. After World War II Mogadishu was made the capital of the Trust Territory of Somaliland , an Italian administered fiduciary political entity under the UNO mandate, for ten years (1950–1960). British Somaliland became independent on 26 June 1960 as

12816-522: The corpses of beheaded members alleged to have been spies. Propaganda films are also occasionally used to attempt to mobilise jihadi activity abroad: in October 2013, one film encouraged British jihadists to follow the example set by Lee Rigby's killers , while a February 2015 film called (without effect) for attacks on shopping malls in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, including

12960-487: The country and distributed, wherever possible, through local relief workers. Insurgents routinely attack and murder them, too; forty-two have been killed in the past two years alone. In 2009, Godane imposed an al-Shabaab ban on the UN World Food Programme and Western agencies in Somalia. The ban was opposed by other senior members, including Robow and Aweys, but Godane overruled them. In response to

13104-464: The country. Following this defeat, the Islamic Courts Union splintered into factions. Some of the more radical elements, including a youth milita within the courts military wing known as al-Shabaab , regrouped to continue their insurgency against the TFG and oppose the Ethiopian military 's presence in Somalia. Throughout 2007 and 2008, al-Shabaab scored military victories, seizing control of key towns and ports in both central and southern Somalia. At

13248-406: The country. Mogadishu saw its first major outbreak of violence during the 14 July 1989 riots , during the crackdown Barres forces killed approximately 400 civilians. The July 1989 riots resulted in a large exodus of foreigners from the city and intensification of opposition towards the regime. This incident and other events over the following months led to the outbreak of the civil war in 1991,

13392-621: The deadliest at the time since 2017. On 26 May, 2023, Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for an attack that reportedly killed 137 soldiers in the Buulo Mareer base, just 75 mi (121 km) south-west of the capital Mogadishu. Meanwhile, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni stated that the number is closer to 54 African Union peacekeepers stationed in Somalia. Al-Shabaab launched an attack on El Dher district on 8 June, 2024. Militants attacked two military bases using car bombs and then overran at least one of them. The army then launched

13536-617: The deadliest attack in Kenya since the 1998 US embassy bombings in Nairobi .  That death-toll was exceeded two years later in the Garissa University College attack in which 148 people were killed in an attack targeting Christian students. Furthermore, two sophisticated attempts to target airliners were observed in 2016. In February a device in a laptop bag that had passed screening was detonated mid-flight, killing only

13680-451: The dispute. Sultan Yusuf is even referred to as the governor of Mogadishu in some sources, highlighting the power he exerted over the city. Despite the Somali political decline, trade with Geledi Sultanate flourished during Geledi Sultan Ahmed Yusuf 's reign. British explorer John Kirk visited the region in 1873 and noted a variety of things. Roughly 20 large dhows were docked in both Mogadishu and Merka filled with grain produced from

13824-491: The end of 2008, the group had captured Baidoa but not Mogadishu. By January 2009, al-Shabaab and other militias had managed to force the Ethiopian troops to retreat, leaving behind an under-equipped African Union peacekeeping force to assist the Transitional Federal Government's troops. Between 31 May and 9 June 2008, representatives of Somalia's federal government and the moderate Alliance for

13968-533: The farms of the Geledi in the interior. Kirk met the Imam Mahmood who reigned over Mogadishu. The Shabelle river itself was referred to as the 'Geledi river' by Kirk, perhaps in respect of the volume of produce that the Sultanate output. In Barawa there was little grain instead a large quantity of ivory and skins which had already been loaded onto ships destined for Zanzibar . The Geledi Sultans were at

14112-445: The first time. According to Cocodia, "Al-Shabaab from an objective standpoint is the response of an unlawfully deposed regime employing all means possible to reclaim the authority that was wrenched from it." In the initial years, many Somalis perceived Al-Shabaab as disciplined, orderly, and fair, which earned the group significant legitimacy. However, this perception was later lost due to their arbitrary rulings. Heavy handed tactics by

14256-479: The government coalition in Afmadow and Garsale respectively. Another wave of defections and desertions followed Godane's 2013 purges – Aweys, for example, fled the group in mid-2013. Following its territorial losses, al-Shabaab reverted to the tactics of asymmetric warfare , launching guerrilla attacks on AMISOM and government positions and territories. Southern commander Aweys had announced this new strategy in

14400-600: The group out of necessity. Complaints made against the group include its attacks on aid workers. According to journalist Jon Lee Anderson : The number of people in Somalia who are dependent on international food aid has tripled since 2007, to an estimated 3.6 million. But there is no permanent foreign expatriate presence in southern Somalia, because the Shabaab has declared war on the UN and on Western non-governmental organizations. International relief supplies are flown or shipped into

14544-592: The group to common adversaries – notably opposition to external intervention in Somalia, often publicly expressed in quasi- Qutbist terms; and opposition to the internationally recognised Somali government , which, lacking a basis in religious ( Sharia ) law, is seen to lack legitimacy. Al-Shabaab hardliners broadly adhere to a Takfiri interpretation of the principle of al-wala' wal-bara' ( lit.   ' loyalty and disavowal ' ), insofar as it prescribes dissociation from non-Muslims and those perceived as apostates . A major component of Al-Shabaab's ideology

14688-533: The group was plagued by internal conflicts over its leadership and ideological direction, which intensified when, in February 2012, al-Shabaab's leadership pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda. It suffered further military losses in 2014, as a result of Operation Indian Ocean , and the killing of its emir , Ahmed Abdi Godane . Several years thereafter, al-Shabaab retreated from the major cities, but it remained influential in many rural areas, and it prioritized guerrilla and terror attacks over territorial acquisitions. It

14832-455: The group's authoritarian style of governance, and use of violence, were causing the group to lose public support. Some suggested that these leadership missteps were the result of Godane's lack of clan roots, which they said led him to undervalue the lives both of civilians and of al-Shabaab fighters. These criticisms became intertwined with a broader and pre-existing dispute over the increasingly globalist flavour of al-Shabaab's ideology – Godane

14976-441: The group's members and leaders. In particular, al-Shabaab officially and generally advocates a form of Salafi jihadism with transnational aims, linking Somali nationalist and local grievances to the plight of Muslims worldwide. Academics have also noted the influence of non-Salafi Islamic movements in Somalia on al-Shabaab. Following its pan-Islamist political outlook, incursions into Somalia by Ethiopia – and later by Kenya,

15120-532: The group's strategy of semi-territorialism allowed it operate freely in much of rural Somalia, with its primary base in the Jubba River Valley, although air strikes against its leaders continued; and it has recently won military successes against the government. It had also expanded its operations in Puntland, prompting a military offensive by Puntland forces in 2021. As of July 2022, al-Shabaab

15264-433: The groups expansion. The withdrawal of Ethiopian troops in January 2009 significantly diminished the public support that al-Shabaab had previously enjoyed as a resistance faction. However, this move came too late to have a substantial impact on the group's transformation into a formidable oppositional force. Having made important territorial gains from mid-2008, al-Shabaab increasingly focused its attention on opposition to

15408-613: The head of the SRC. The SRC subsequently renamed the country the Somali Democratic Republic , arrested members of the former civilian government, banned political parties, dissolved the parliament and the Supreme Court, and suspended the constitution. The revolutionary army established large-scale public works programmes, including the Mogadishu Stadium . In addition to a nationalization programme of industry and land,

15552-489: The height of its territorial control it implemented a system of aid agency regulation, taxation and surveillance. Where agencies are allowed to operate, this is often due to the desire of al-Shabaab to coopt and materially and politically benefit from the provision of aid and services. Senior aid agency representatives often strongly rejected claims that they talked with al-Shabaab, while aid workers working in al-Shabaab-controlled areas often reported they directly negotiated with

15696-598: The height of their power. They dominated the East African ivory trade, and also held sway over the Jubba and Shebelle valleys in the hinterland. The Omani Sultans' authority in Mogadishu, however, was largely nominal (existing by name only). When Imam Azzan bin Qais of Oman sought to build a fort in the city, he was thus obligated to request permission from Sultan Ahmed Yusuf the real power broker who in turn convinced

15840-587: The hospitality of the people of Mogadishu and how locals would put travellers up in their home to help the local economy. Battuta added that the city was ruled by a Somali sultan , Abu Bakr ibn Shaikh 'Umar, He noted that Sultan Abu Bakr had dark skin complexion and spoke in his native tongue (Somali) but was also fluent in Arabic. The Sultan also had a retinue of viziers , legal experts, commanders, royal eunuchs , and other officials at his beck and call. Ibn Khaldun (1332 to 1406) noted in his book that Mogadishu

15984-466: The identification of ancient Sarapion with the city that would later be known as Mogadishu. When Ibn Battuta visited the Sultanate in the 14th century, he identified the Sultan as being of Barbara origin, an ancient term to describe the ancestors of the Somali people . According to Ross E. Dunn neither Mogadishu, or any other city on the coast could be considered alien enclaves of Arabs or Persians, but were in-fact African towns. Yaqut al-Hamawi ,

16128-606: The latter in late 2011, al-Shabaab photos purportedly showed several dozen AMISOM casualties – but, according to an African Union spokesperson, in fact showed al-Shabaab's own casualties dressed in their adversaries' uniforms. What received most attention, however, were tweets al-Shabaab posted mocking the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and sparring with Major Emmanuel Chirchir, then the KDF's official spokesman. Responding to Chirchir's claim that Kismayo had been captured by

16272-497: The leadership of Ahmed Abdi Godane , who was publicly named the group's emir in December 2007. As a severe drought afflicted the region, critics, generally associated with the leadership of Hassan Dahir Aweys and Mukhtar Robow , opposed al-Shabaab's response to the resulting famine, particularly its obstruction of foreign humanitarian aid to populations in its territories ( see below ). More broadly, they argued that

16416-473: The leading Islamic centre in the region. By the time of the Tangier -born traveller ibn Battuta 's appearance on the coastline of Somalia in 1331, the city was at the zenith of its prosperity. He described Mogadishu as "an exceedingly large city" with many rich merchants, which was famous for its high quality fabric that it exported to Mamluk Sultanate -ruled Egypt , among other places. He also describes

16560-470: The majority of Benadiris with a small minority being Gibil Cads (Light Skins) which descend from Muslim immigrants. The Mogadishu Sultanate was a medieval Somali sultanate centered in southern Somalia . It rose as one of the pre-eminent powers in the Horn of Africa under the rule of Fakhr ad-Din before becoming part of the expanding Ajuran Empire in the 13th century. The Mogadishu Sultanate maintained

16704-473: The markets in Egypt and Syria ), together with Merca and Barawa also served as transit stops for Swahili merchants from Mombasa and Malindi and for the gold trade from Kilwa . Jewish merchants from Ormus also brought their Indian textile and fruit to the Somali coast in exchange for grain and wood. Duarte Barbosa , the famous Portuguese traveller, wrote about Mogadishu (c 1517–1518): It has

16848-405: The militants, whose numbers had decreased due to casualties and defections. Group members dismissed the UN declaration of famine in various regions as grossly exaggerated and banned various organizations from providing aid to those regions. In response, in August 2011, Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali announced the establishment of a new 300-man security force, which, assisted by AMISOM,

16992-500: The movement to establish itself as the strongest military power in Southern Somalia. Al-Shabaab regards Somalia's Federal Government as an illegitimate " apostate " entity backed by foreign invaders. The group has persecuted those individuals belonging to Somalia's small Christian minority ; whom it accused of aiding the agenda of foreign " Crusaders " to " convert Somalis to Christianity ". In 2009, Al-Shabaab destroyed

17136-548: The northern people of Zeila the capital of Adal Sultanate . They were generally tall with an olive skin complexion, some darker. They would wear traditional rich white silk wrapped around their bodies and have Islamic turbans, and coastal people only wore sarongs and wrote in Arabic as a lingua franca . Their weaponry consisted of traditional Somali weapons such as swords , daggers , spears , battle axe , and bow and arrows . However, they received assistance from its close ally,

17280-426: The operation was to establish a presence for the group within southern Ethiopia . The incursion began with over a thousand Al-Shabaab fighters staging diversionary attacks on four Ethiopian-Somali border towns in order to allow a force of 500 to 800 fighters to penetrate the Ethiopian security zone and advance into the region, who then advanced 150 km into the region. After two weeks of intense clashes and airstrikes,

17424-428: The people who had allegedly helped plot the putsch were summarily executed. However, several officials escaped abroad and started to form dissident groups dedicated to ousting Barre's regime by force. By the late 1980s, Barre's regime had become increasingly unpopular. The authorities became ever more totalitarian , and resistance movements , encouraged by Ethiopia's communist Derg administration, sprang up across

17568-411: The police and military response". The account, which then had 15,000 or more followers , was retweeted several million times before it was shut down by Twitter. And after @HSMPress was deleted, the live updates continued from other, new accounts: over the course of the attack, which lasted several days, at least eight different al-Shabaab-affiliated Twitter accounts were active. Al-Shabaab had opened

17712-429: The policy had redistributed income to poor, rural Somali farmers. However, the group has also allegedly committed widespread human rights abuses against populations in its territories, including through a brutal interpretation and application of Islamic jurisprudence on hudud . Despite routinely expelling, attacking, and harassing aid workers, al-Shabaab permits some agencies to work in areas under its control. At

17856-506: The site was closed in 2009, it has distributed its press releases and videos using other sympathetic websites, or, more commonly, using social media networks. Indeed, although al-Shabaab spokesmen occasionally grant interviews to "carefully selected" local and foreign journalists, social media networks have provided an important channel for interaction with the press, as well as for disseminating information and building support. Al-Shabaab has used Facebook , particularly to communicate with

18000-622: The south near the capital, such as Janale and the Villaggio duca degli Abruzzi (present-day Jowhar ). In the 1930s, new buildings and avenues were built. A 114 km (71 mi) narrow-gauge railway was laid from Mogadishu to Jowhar. An asphalt road, the Strada Imperiale , was also constructed and intended to link Mogadishu to Addis Ababa . In 1940, the Italo-Somali population numbered 22,000, accounting for over 44% of

18144-457: The southern front, while Ethiopia approached from the west. The group lost territory to both armies, notably losing Baidoa to Ethiopia in February 2012 and losing the port city (and revenue hub) of Kismayo to Kenya in October 2012. Military pressures on the group were sustained into 2013. Some al-Shabaab members viewed the 2010 Ramadan offensive as disastrously ill-conceived, and subsequent territorial losses galvanised internal opposition to

18288-413: The state of the jihad. Particularly prominent was American-born Omar Shafik Hammami, also known as Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki , who for many years kept a video blog about his life in al-Shabaab and who, from 2009, also created and posted raps about jihad. Al-Shabaab also had an official website, which carried official statements and news – including sundry edicts and threats – and religious guidance. Since

18432-404: The suspension was a response to the account having issued death threats against Kenyan hostages and against French spy Denis Allex , followed in the latter case by confirmation that the execution had taken place. A new English-language account, opened in February 2013, was closed in September. This suspension also followed an apparent violation of Twitter's rules: al-Shabaab had recently used

18576-457: The time Al-Shabaab was about six hundred fighters strong. The invasion resulted in the deaths of many Islamic Courts Union affiliates, leaving a vacuum for the small group of several hundred youth that served as the ICU's Shabaab militia to gain prominence. During the military occupation the group garnered popular support from across many segments of Somali society, as al-Shabaab was widely viewed as

18720-479: The toppling of Barre's government, and the disbandment of the Somali National Army . Many of the opposition groups began competing for influence in the power vacuum that followed the ouster of Barre's regime. Armed factions led by United Somali Congress commanders General Mohamed Farah Aidid and Ali Mahdi Mohamed , in particular, clashed as each sought to exert authority over the capital. During

18864-487: The war against the CIA-backed Somali warlord alliance in Mogadishu in early to mid-2006, distinguishing themselves within the ICU's military wing. Among the ICU's political wing, Al Shabaab secured 9 seats in the 97-member Shura Council and 3 seats in the 18-member Executive Council. Al-Shabaab rose to prominence and radicalized following the full scale Ethiopian invasion of Somalia during December 2006. At

19008-532: Was Somali owned. In 1905, Italy made Mogadishu the capital of the newly established Italian Somaliland . The Italians subsequently spelled the name of the city as Mogadiscio . After World War I , the surrounding territory came under Italian control with some resistance. Thousands of Italians and other people from the Italian empire began to settle in Mogadishu and founded small manufacturing companies across Somalia. They also developed some agricultural areas in

19152-496: Was a massive metropolis . He also claimed that the city was very populous with many wealthy merchants . This period gave birth to notable figures like Abd al-Aziz of Mogadishu who was described as the governor and island chief of Maldives by ibn Battuta. After him is named the Abdul-Aziz Mosque of Mogadishu, which survived for centuries. The island's appellation "Madagascar" is not of local origin but rather

19296-639: Was among the faction which viewed Somalia as only one battleground of global jihad. Godane's announcement in February 2012 of a merger with al-Qaeda ( see § Al-Qaeda ) thus also met opposition. Other senior al-Shabaab members met at a conference in Baidabo, and outlined a policy programme which diverged from Godane's: they rejected Godane's proposal to change the group's name to al-Qaeda in East Africa, and resolved to focus on domestic issues rather than global jihad. They also resolved to establish

19440-474: Was appointed by Shermarke. On 15 October 1969, while paying a visit to the northern town of Las Anod , Somalia's then President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke was assassinated by one of his own bodyguards. His assassination was quickly followed by a military coup d'état on 21 October 1969 (the day after his funeral), in which the Somali Army seized power without encountering armed opposition — essentially

19584-534: Was estimated to have increased its combat strength to between 7,000 and 18,000 fighters during 2022. Al-Shabaab is also known as Ash-Shabaab , Hizb al-Shabaab ("Party of the Youth"), Al Osra Army in Somalia ( Arabic : جيش العسرة في الصومال). The term al-Shabaab means "the youth" in Arabic. It also refers to itself as the Islamic Emirate of Somalia since 2011. Although it is unclear when al-Shabaab

19728-497: Was formed, it is understood to have originated as a youth militia within the military wing of the Islamic Courts Union , an umbrella group which provided de facto governance in much of Somalia until the country was invaded by Ethiopia in December 2006. In 2007–08, al-Shabaab established itself as an independent actor, gaining prominence as a vehicle of armed resistance against the Ethiopian military occupation . Many of its early leaders and members previously belonged not only to

19872-437: Was founded upon an indigenous network involving hinterland trade and that happened even before significant Arab migrations or trade with the Somali coast. That goes back approximately four thousand years and are supported by archaeological and textual evidences. This is corroborated by the first century AD Greek document the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea , detailing multiple prosperous port cities in ancient Somalia, as well as

20016-506: Was in this context that a military force known as Al-Shabaab (‘the Youth’) emerged, related to but seemingly autonomous of the broad based Courts movement." Contrary to many reports, Al-Shabaab was neither the armed wing of the Islamic Courts Union nor its most important military component. Al-Shabaab fighters operated as the youth wing of the Courts' militia and gained a fierce reputation during

20160-542: Was popularized in the Middle Ages by Europeans. The name Madageiscar was first recorded in the memoirs of 13th-century Venetian explorer Marco Polo as a corrupted transliteration of the name Mogadishu, the famous port with which Polo had confused the island. Vasco da Gama , who passed by Mogadishu in the 15th century, noted that it was a large city with houses of four or five storeys high and large palaces in its centre and many mosques with cylindrical minarets. In

20304-403: Was significantly weakened, as – in the context of a famine in the region and, simultaneously, a military offensive against the group – the group experienced territorial and strategic setbacks in the military arena; an internal struggle over the group's direction and leadership; and, in response to both, a wave of high-profile defections . The group's military fortunes turned with the failure of

20448-534: Was succeeded as al-Shabaab leader by Ahmad Umar Abu Ubaidah , who took office the same week. Other senior members were killed in armed clashes or by American drone strikes in 2014 and 2015. According to some reports, since Godane's death, the group has placed less weight on global jihad than on local grievances. In October 2017, more than 500 people were killed by a suicide truck bombing in Mogadishu , including many children, provoking domestic and international outrage. Al-Shabaab did not claim responsibility for

20592-476: Was tasked with protecting aid convoys from al-Shabaab and with securing IDP camps while relief was being distributed. Although fighting disrupted aid delivery in some areas, humanitarian access to al-Shabaab-controlled areas improved, and a scaling up of relief operations in mid-November prompted the UN to downgrade the humanitarian situation in several regions from famine to emergency levels. Mogadishu Mogadishu , locally known as Xamar or Hamar ,

20736-415: Was the assassination of the groups military leader Aden Hashi Ayro in an American airstrike during May 2008. It resulted in several significant developments for Al-Shabaab, most prominently the accession of Ahmed Godane to leadership of the organization. Godane moved Al-Shabaab in a far more violent direction, alienating many fighters and civilian supporters. The assassination of Ayro did nothing to prevent

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