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Kenya terror attack: What do we know about al Shabaab?

Islamist group al Shabaab originated in Somalia but has carried out attacks in other parts of the African continent.

Al-Qaeda linked al-shabaab recruits walk down a street on March 5, 2012 in the Deniile district of Somalian capital, Mogadishu, following their graduation
Image: Al Shabaab recruits pictured in Mogadishu in 2012
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As more than a dozen people are killed in an attack on a Kenyan hotel, what do we know about the group that claims to be behind it?

Where did the group come from?

Al Shabaab means "The Youth" in Arabic and the group emerged as the radical wing of Somalia's Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which no longer exists.

The union controlled Somalia's capital Mogadishu in 2006 before being defeated by Ethiopian forces (Ethiopia said it was reacting to a threat made against it). As the ICU fled to neighbouring countries, al Shabaab retreated to Somalia's southern region where it regrouped and planned attacks.

Al Shabaab is viewed by the UK as a terrorist organisation and is believed to have up to 8,000 fighters, including many from other African countries and even from the US and Europe.

In 2012 they declared allegiance to al Qaeda.

Kenyan militaries arrive at the scene of an explosion at a hotel complex in Nairobi on January 15, 2019
Image: Kenyan soldiers pictured at the scene of an attack on a Nairobi hotel on Tuesday

What do they believe?

Al Shabaab supports the Wahhabi version of Islam and imposes strict Sharia laws in the areas it controls. They stone women accused of adultery and cut off the hands of thieves. Various types of entertainment are banned, beards cannot be shaved and international humanitarian agencies cannot be co-operated with.

But, perhaps surprisingly, they are concerned about the environment, banning single use plastics and the logging of rare trees in July last year. They did not say how they would enforce the bans.

The group's main aim is to establish an Islamic state in Somalia but they are divided as to how much further afield they should concentrate. They are united, however, in opposition to any kind of western-backed government.

How successful has the group been?

Al Shabaab once controlled Mogadishu and much of the Somali countryside but it has been pushed back in recent years by an African Union-led campaign.

Some experts say the group controls more territory than they have since 2010 but the Somali government insists they are fading fast.

How are they funded?

They have funding from other terrorist groups, state sponsors (Eritrea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Syria and Yemen have all been accused but deny this), and from crimes such as piracy, kidnapping and extortion of local businesses and farmers.

According to US-based Security Council Report, the group earns millions of pounds a year through an illicit trade in charcoal, despite a UN ban on Somali charcoal exports.

Somali women carry weapons during a demonstration organized by the islamist Al-Shabaab group which is fighting the Somali government in Suqa Holaha neighborhood of Mogadishu, on July 5, 2010
Image: Somali women carry weapons during a demonstration organised by al Shabaab in 2010

What have al Shabaab done outside Somalia?

Their first major attack outside Somalia was in 2010 when co-ordinated suicide bombings killed 74 people in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. They said later that this was retaliation for the presence of Ugandan troops in Somalia.

In 2013 they killed 67 people in an attack on a shopping mall in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and two years later 148 people were killed when they attacked a university in the Kenyan city of Garissa. Kenya was also targeted because of the presence of its troops in Somalia.

The worst loss of life, however, was in Somalia, where twin truck bombings in October 2017 killed more than 500 people and injured more than 300. Al Shabaab did not claim to be behind this attack, but are widely suspected to have been.

 The photographs of the Westgate Shopping Centre victims are placed next to burning candles outside the Westgate Shopping Centre on September 28, 2013 in Nairobi, Kenya
Image: In 2013 more than 60 people were killed in an attack by al Shabaab on a shopping centre in Nairobi

What is the rest of Africa doing about it?

In early 2007, the UN Security Council authorised a peacekeeping force in Somalia led by the African Union and Uganda was the first country to send troops. The force of around 20,000 also has contingents from Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti.

This presence is expected to wind down from early this year but there are fears that Somalia's government could be left vulnerable if the African Union forces leave altogether. Although Somalia is inching towards stability, even in many of the areas it controls the government struggles to function fully.

Members of the 17th Battle Group of the Uganda People&#39;s Defense Force (UPDF) serving in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) load an United Nations helicopter outside of AMISOM&#39;s Forward Operating Base Barawe on October 10, 2016
Image: Uganda has been a big contributor to the African Union peacekeeping forces in Somalia

What about Britain?

As of August last year, the British Army had 85 soldiers in Somalia training members of the country's army, a job they have been doing since January 2017.

The Foreign Office advises against travel to almost all of Somalia due to the possibility of attacks from groups such as al Shabaab.