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Recently Kenya has Unexpectedly seen a various wave of Jihadist Group attacks from what so-called the Somalian Jihadist of Al Shabaab. Which endangered and killed more than14 people were in a luxury hotel complex. This incident surprised and frightened the Kenyan people as well as the government. This extremist attacks led to rising so many questions among Kenyan public opinion about targeting Kenya’s security and national surveillance which opens the door for Kenyan national security challenge to prevent this terrorist armed groups or to failed as Nigerian government did to end Boko Haram’s movement in Northern Nigeria.
Yet, this area where took place of Bombing and attacking was in the west of Nairobi, the direction to many banks, embassies, and governmental offices zones, with the Australian high commission, placed just down the road. Also, a University of Nairobi dormitory is nearby; several students were displaced and evacuated as security officials set foot in the scene. As fear and panic spread throughout Kenya, entire national Media started questioning what, how and why happened this incident which took place in well secured and more controlled area? Basically, at the first observation, there was vast disorientation in whether the outbreak was an armed attack or a suspected terrorist attack. So far Kenya has already been the target of various deadly attacks carried out by the Somali extremist’s group al-Shabaab. The group is considered one of the most dreadful terrorist group in Africa.
The Origin of Al Shabaab Group and Its Functionalism Role
With the original creation of the Islamist group Al Shabaab in 2006 by Young men up to now still located and controlled Southern Somalia. This Jihadist group became the most dreadful terrorist group in Africa. According to Al Shabaab, the group’s key mission is to fight against the ‘West’ and they stand against anything that is affiliated with the western civilization or western ideology hence its name Al Shabaab, which literally means “The Youth” or “Mujahedeen Youth Movement” that Western civilization and education is fully in a sin. The Islamist group also opposed the creation of schools and seeks to enforce Sharia law over entire Somalia territory. Al Shabaab has not taken too long to attack openly the West especially the Americans. In several audio messages, the leader of the group frightened to attack the interests of the Americans by destroying the oil and military facilities in the south of the country. Additionally, this Jihadist group has engaged in a longstanding uprising to enforce its strict and radical version of Islamic law on Somalia and, though it has been forced out of main cities, controls much of the chaotic failed state’s southern and central provincial areas. In October 2017, an al-Shabaab Group truck explosive killed more than 500 people in Mogadishu, the capital. So far the group has been associated with al-Qaeda since 2012 when its last leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, promised “obedience” to his fellow Ayman al-Zawahiri in 2012. Gobdane was afterward murdered in a US drone strike and al-Shabaab is now guided and functioned by Ahmad Umar, also named as Abu Ubaidah. He got between 7,000 and 9,000 boots among them children at his power. The Islamist group is also estimated to have connects to al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb and Boko Haram in Nigeria and Algeria accordingly.
The Al Shabaab Group and Kenya’s Scenario Attacks
In the last year, which took place in a town around 100 kilometers far from the frontier with Somalia, in which shooter crashed down into a university in the early morning and murdered more than140 students and several security guards, has completely shacked Kenya. Across the country, families, and relatives started the bleak task of identifying the corpse of the innocent victims and burying their dead. It was a dreadful incident has been happening across Kenya.
Indeed, Al-Shabaab Group has been the goal of an extreme attack of American airstrikes. These have exposed important victims and massacred many governmental leaders. This current Nairobi attack is only a sign first and last to the airstrikes. They are dispatching a message that the US strikes have not deprived them as the US military and several media have claimed. But some observers and experts have raised the question of the full influence of the unexpected attack and its indications for the upcoming of Kenya. The fundamental panic and terror is that the Extremist al-Shabaab Groups could increasingly open up the religious divisions within this East African state that was once seen as an control of stability and process development in a unstable and rebellious region, with the final aim of imitating the victory of the Nigerian terrorist Group Boko Haram , which has controlled over Northern territory in Nigeria and forced the set of Sharia law.
Due to this, another point regarding Al Shabaab militia issue is the impact of public opinion in Kenya. The Kenyan boots are deployed in Somalia as an element of multinational cooperation to combat al-Shabaab group. Basically, The Nairobi attack took place on the third anniversary of a vast strike on a Kenyan base in Somalia by militants in which several Kenyan soldiers may have died. According to Rashid Abdi, a Nairobi-based expert on al-Shabaab with the NGO International Crisis Group, point out: ” the terror group’s propaganda frequently highlighted the Kenyan presence in Somalia, but pointed out that international links meant there was a wider agenda driving the extremists too “.Hence, If the Kenyans boots withdrew it would cut out a big [ why] why an al-Shabaab group like to attack Kenya but if you have a group like al-Shabaab which is the element of a universal jihad activity then they would still come up with another reason. They notice Kenya with its large western existence and omnipresence as a stronghold of West Africa, The Jihadist group got few contacts and personal links in Kenya itself, In general managing logistic tools and advocating recruits management process. Yet Militia members are frequently trained and brought in from Somalia.
Al Shabaab Against US Foreign Policy involvement in Somalia
As internationally labeled Somalia “Failed State” could bring into account some questions about the benefits and outcomes achieved from the anarchical state under the doctrine of so-called the US National Interests in Africa. Washington’s main interest in Somalia is to put an end to the country from becoming a source for terrorist groups to plan attacks on the United States ground and undermine the Horn of Africa, where long-term conflicts among Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia issue. In current years, The U.S. representatives have been very cautious on going into cooperation and collusion between militant Islamist groups in the region, including Boko Haram, Al Shabaab, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and al-Qaeda in the Middle East. The American government also stay concerned about the Extremist group’s capabilities to recruit new members of the Somali Diaspora existing in the United States soil. Al-Shabaab organization has influenced and invited several American members to engage fighting in Somalia.
The American policy has fully depended on intermediary agent forces in Somalia to combat Al-Shabaab group and has hired proxy special contractors to assist some of them, according to the American Newsmedia. By 2007, Washington has financed and equipped hundreds of millions of dollars to prepare and supply AMISOM and recognized Somali security forces, but it issued in late 2017 it was stopping financial aid to most Somali units over corruption issues. In April of that year, President Donald J. Trump gave orders the first deployment of regular U.S. boots to the country since 1994, participating in a small unit of counterterrorism advisors already there. Defense agents’ mention some five hundred U.S. personnel are now located in Somalian area. At the same time, the United Nations Security Council called the African Union to take command a peacekeeping force in Somalia borders as well as the capital Mogadishu, which is known by its abbreviation, AMISOM, in early 2007. Its main task was to promote stability among civilians and safeguard the country’s transitional government, which was established in 2004 but had just regained to power in Mogadishu. Uganda was the prior African country to deploy soldiers into Somalia under AMISOM, and it sustains the vast unconditional in the regional force, at more than six thousand troops. Other military boots come from Kenya, Burundi, Ethiopia, and Djibouti. In number, AMISOM covers approximately twenty thousand troops.
To conclude, Al-Shabaab Islamist Group has been in difficult dilemma internally so far, facing a big loss in term of recruiting new volunteers to join the group, a lack of financial support, and overseas funds. The organization is ongoing by divergent disagreement and suffers tremendous competition from the Islamic State (ISIS). Though, Al Shabaab is becoming one of the dreadful regional armed groups in the African continent.
