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, 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 is responsible for many high-fatality attacks, including the 2013 Westgate attack and the October 2017 Mogadishu bombings. Apart from its activities in Somalia, the group also operates in neighboring countries, extending its insurgency to Kenya's border regions and carrying out a major incursion into Ethiopia in 2022. Attendant to its recent resurgence, it was estimated to have increased its combat strength to between 7,000 and 18,000 fighters during 2022.[27][16]
^"Considering Political Engagement with Al-Shabaab in Somalia". Crisis Group. June 21, 2022. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2022. Somalia's neighbours are threatened by Al-Shabaab's blending of irredentist Greater Somalia rhetoric with Islamist ideology ...
^Muibu, Daisy (October 11, 2022). "What drives Al-Shabaab in Somalia: foreign forces out, Sharia law in and overthrow the government". The Conversation. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023. Al-Shabaab's outspokenness against foreign forces resonated with deep-rooted Somali hostility against Ethiopia and broader nationalist narratives that existed.. Ultimately, this served as an incredible recruitment tool.
^"S/2023/95". United Nations Security Council. Archived from the original on February 25, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
Fraser-Rahim, Muhammad (July 17, 2020). "In Somalia, Iran Is Replicating Russia's Afghan Strategy". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Somali military officials maintain that Iran has been running secret operations to undermine the United States in Somalia, providing sophisticated weapons, improvised explosive devices, mortars, and chemicals used to make bombs. The military officials allege that Iran and its proxies are complicit in al-Shabab attacks on the U.S. military, Somali forces, and the African Union Mission in Somalia
"The Growing Relationship between Iran and al-Shabab Movement in Somalia: Motives and Potential Consequences". Emirates Policy Center. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2020. For Iran, working with non-State actors such as Al-Shabaab and the Houthis is an essential part of its foreign policy, aimed at expanding its geopolitical influence throughout the region. Tehran has developed an unspoken alliance with Al-Shabaab with the aim of creating a covert intelligence network that will allow it to achieve its goals and support its interests in the Middle East and Africa.
Bashir, Hamdi (October 7, 2020). "The Future of the Role of Iran's Quds Force in Africa". Emirates Policy Center. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. The Quds Force has been working with agents and allies, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah and Somalia's Al-Shabaab, which are thought to have recently established relations with the Quds Force.
Fraser-Rahim, Muhammad (July 17, 2020). "In Somalia, Iran Is Replicating Russia's Afghan Strategy". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Somali police and finance ministry officials claim the Quds Force uses these networks to smuggle Iranian oil into Somalia and then sell cheap oil across Africa to subvert U.S. sanctions, with some of the proceeds used to support militants in Yemen and Somalia
Ahmed, Guled (February 9, 2021). "As Farmaajo digs in with Qatari backing, Somalia's election crisis grows worse". Middle East Institute. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Qatar has allegedly used al-Shabab to target groups it has identified as opposing its interests, including Somali politicians critical of Doha's role in the country and outside actors like the United Arab Emirates
Yüksel, Engin; Tekineş, Haşim (August 26, 2021). "Turkish-Qatari approaches to conflict and crisis across the region". Clingendael. Archived from the original on August 26, 2021. Qatari individuals and government representatives are reported to have been in regular contact with Al-Qaeda and its affiliates in Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Yemen in order to exert geopolitical influence
Houreld, Katharine (November 10, 2021). "Iranian-supplied arms smuggled from Yemen into Somalia, study says". Reuters. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Guns supplied by Iran to its Houthi allies in Yemen are being smuggled across the Gulf of Aden to Somalia, according to a Geneva-based think tank, where al Qaeda-linked al Shabab insurgents are battling a weak and divided government.
Redondo, Raúl (July 20, 2020). "Iran allies with Al-Shabaab in Somalia to distribute arms to Houthi rebels". Atalayar. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023. Iran has established links with the jihadist group Al-Shabaab in Somalia to attack United States and other international forces in the African country and the region and to supply arms to Houthi rebels in Yemen
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