Al-Shabaab-an Islamic insurgent group in Somalia is now re-emerging and expanding itself as the peace and stability of east African countries go downhill.
Harakat-Al-Shabaab Al-Mujahidin, known worldwide as Al-Shabaab, is a powerful and violent armed group mainly operating in Somalia but also uses its bloody money to carry out deadly attacks in neighboring countries in the East Africa region.
Al-Shabaab’s long-standing links with Al Qaeda also mean an increased terrorist attack and operations in East Africa and beyond, said Endale Nigussie International Relations and Diplomacy lecturer at Civil Service University.
Why is Al-Shabaab re-emerging?
Al-Shabaab, the youth in Arabic, is the largest militant organization based in Somali and also operating in neighboring countries, most notably in Kenya. The absence of Injustice, lack of democracy and good governance, and weak North-South relations are some of the causes for terrorist groups like Al- Shabaab or other extremist groups to gain ground in the world, said an expert.
According to him, the westerners who promote equalities in other parts of the world don’t apply them in their countries. If you take the concept of religion, for instance, they do not respect others’ faith as they are considering their own to be a perfect one. Had the playing ground entertained all interests equally, everybody could have enjoyed the right without associating it with religion, race, and identity.
The absence of justice and inequality opens the door for extremist groups such as Al-Shabaab to emerge and flourish in the womb of a society even if their agenda is advancing political interests than addressing social bottlenecks.
Why does Al-Shabaab target East Africa?
As the East Africa region is a strategic place for trade connecting big continents (Africa, Asia, and Europe), the region badly needs sustainable peace and stability. Due to this reason, Al-Shabaab prefers to operate in the East Africa region, the place where a huge amount of trade exchange has been taking place.
Neo-colonizers who have a special interest in the horn want to sponsor weak governments in order to achieve their hidden desire be it political, economic, or social advantages. They also reward the terrorist group to weaken the state apparatus. This is a catalyst for any terrorist groups to destabilize the region.
Due to local and international pressure, Somalia has not been able to establish a democratic government for years. The western world wants to see the cleavage of Somalia. Even if some changes are observed now, neo-colonizers made Somalia an unstable or failed state for 20 years fulfilling their greedy interest.
The on and off of Al-Shabaab
When there is a strong government in Somalia, Al-Shabaab gets weak and vice versa. In black and white, the terrorist group has no public support as no one gains profit from its deadly attacks.
The westerners are involved in the internal affairs of countries in the horn region especially when they conduct elections and other socio-economic issues. Such an influence elongates the lifetime of Al-Shabaab in Somalia and the horn as well.
Al-Shabaab’s expansion to horn countries
Al-Shabaab has been exerting various efforts to expand to horn countries. However, as it has been expanding to Kenya, it could not do the same in Ethiopia. Ethiopia has a culture of establishing a strong government and managing its internal affairs without interference from others. This may not help it to gain ground in Ethiopia.
If you take the election carried out in Ethiopia, the public has not supported the effort of establishing a puppet government that works for the interest of westerners. They, on the other hand, tried to destabilize the nation using TPLF as a tool.
Here, I am not saying Al-Shabaab has not been trying to expand itself in Ethiopia, but it cannot operate and destroy Ethiopia as it has been doing in Kenya.
Kenya’s government structure is a fertile ground to fulfill the interest of neo-colonizers. There is a high level of foreign interference there. This state of affairs helps Al-Shabaab to easily move inward and outward of Kenya. If you count the number of damages caused by Al-Shabaab, what has happened in Kenya is more than that of Ethiopia.
Even if Kenya is an economically strong country, the enforcement mechanism of the country is not stronger. The case in Ethiopia is totally different as Al-Shabaab comes and goes repeatedly as there is no fertile ground to be incubated. This terrorist group previously worked with terrorist TPLF. However, its chance to interfere in Kenya is more open and wide.
Why did horn countries fail to eliminate the terrorist group?
There are two reasons for this. One is that countries are not effective in managing their internal affairs, ensuring democracy, good governance, and the like. They lack for the capacity to coordinate with the public at large and fight against this rogue group.
The other thing is the interference of foreigners. Al-Shabaab is a wing of Al-Qaeda. This means the group is operating worldwide. As it has its own network with influential people and groups who have a special interest in East Africa, it gains unwavering financial and logistic support. Thus, the response to Al-Shabab requires the concerted effort of all countries in the world. The effort of dismantling the terrorist group will not be successful if the task is left to a given country alone.
The western media is also another factor contributing to the strengthening of the terrorist group. These media outlets provide in-depth coverage of the terrorist attack but do not cover the operation carried out against Al-Shabaab.
The people living in the East African countries should be taken as one community sharing common values, and norms with one another. Unless countries work to strengthen regional organizations like IGAD, independent efforts of countries will never weaken the spread of Al-Shabaab to horn countries.
What should be done?
There is no option better than toiling in unison to make the fight against Al-Shabaab successful. As it is beyond the capacity of horn countries, the international community should provide every support to east African countries and strengthen the move to eliminate Al-Shabaab.
Countries need to take all the necessary measures to conduct a study on the matter. The response should be given as per the progress level of this terrorist group. Otherwise, Al-Shabaab makes changes in its operation and carries out its activities by concealing itself with the public. As it is not connected with a given religion or society, countries need to take multiple measures on socioeconomic and political aspects.
BY GIRMACHEW GASHAW
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 2 JUNE 2022
