By Ms. Samira Gaid
Somalia (see Figure 1[i])
has been battling the Islamist insurgency Harakat al-Shabaab al Mujahideen
or “Movement of Striving Youth” – more commonly, al-Shabaab – for more than 15
years. The group has evolved from a national insurgency to a formidable
transnational violent Islamist organization that smoothly alternates between
its mainly nationalist objectives and its embraced role as the official al-Qaeda
affiliate in East Africa. It makes extensive use of mass casu...
