Robert Duncan
09/10/2010
4:40 pm
As of the 23 of August, in Mogadishu, Somalia, a city infamous within the American psyche for the 1993 incident that led to the deaths of many of America’s most highly trained soldiers, al-Shabaab has declared a “new massive war” in protest of a UN- supported government. In the week of the 23rd of August alone, there were more than 80 people killed or injured in the area that is known as Puntland. Al-Shabaab is an islamist insurgency that is rumored to be affiliated with the now widely known terror organization al-Qaida. The organization (Al-Shabaab) has expanded its borders rapidly, taking almost half of Somalia within the last two years. Al- Shabaab attempts to distance itself from other insurgencies within Puntland despite leaders in other insurgencies pledging their allegiance. The government has announced casualties that extend beyond it’s borders, with an August 21st attack by al- Shabaab leaving 3 Pakistanis, 2 Indians, 2 Afghans, and an Algerian dead.
As a small, single-nation terrorist group, al- Shabaab has gained a lot of recognition from many UN countries as a dangerous terrorist organization, being accepted in the US, Australia, Britain, Canada, Norway, and Sweden as a threat to the area. It is rumored that the Islamic extremist group may not have as much support as it has seemed to have, though, if they don’t, their opponents can’t tell. The group is now in conflict with the Transitional Federal Government, and the African Union Mission to Somalia, and neither can seem to dislodge the terror organization from the area. If the two combined forces cannot drive al- Shabaab from Somalia, then the UN may have a real problem on it’s hands. Al- Shabaab has declared it’s war against the UN, among other organizations that bring relief aid to the area, though the UN has not made a drastic change in policy due to this announcement.
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