What Is The Story On Terror In Somalia?

Al-Qaeda has some elements operating in Somalia but we seldom hear anything about operations there

. Al-Qaeda usually chooses a place where the national and local governments are weak and have a hard time controlling their territories to operate. They love to operate in remote wilderness areas because this means the absence of credible law enforcement.

One big problem in Somalia is that it is a famine stricken area. This means that Isla mist fighters who choose to hide out there have to find a way to support themselves. They sometimes do so by extorting the local population but in the case of Somalia there is nothing much to extort.

At the present time Islamist fighters seem to have withdrawn from many of their bases there. This is good for the government because it gives them an opportunity to reclaim lost territory but the question is will they be able to hold on to they territory if the fighters decide that they want it back. In my opinion the answer is no. I believe that they should advance on these territories and retake them. They should also attempt to reestablish governmental control over them as much as possible. If they can consolidate their strengths they will be able to maintain control but I believe that is highly doubtful at the present time.

Now that the militants have withdrawn it is easier for government and humanitarian agencies to go in and minister to the citizens who live there. One thing that may be good for the government is that when the citizens start to receive aid they may be more inclined to resist any attempts by terrorists to reclaim the area. It may also increase the degree of loyalty that the civil population has for the government.

Agencies were hesitant to venture out at first because of the perceived threat of returning Islamist fighters but the government is encouraging them to do more. They have the help of African Union so maybe they will be able to make some headway.

The road to recovery is indeed a long one for Somalia. Al-Shabab, which is the name of the faction of al-Qaeda, controlled around a third of the capital until they withdrew recently and probably wouldnt have much of a problem gaining it back. They carried out public amputations and executions, and forcibly recruited children as fighters. They still hold most of southern Somalia, where tens of thousands are estimated to have starved. So you can see that the local civilian populations would probably have no problems seeing them gone.

More than 12 million people in the Horn of Africa are in need of immediate food aid, including nearly half the Somali population. The U.N. says 640,000 children are acutely malnourished in Somalia, where they have declared five famine zones.

I believe that the reason that they terrorists withdrew is because it is just difficult to get resources in the famine stricken area. It is easier to control a small area than it is to control vast empty stretches of barren land. It makes little sense to want to continue to hold on to something that is barren.

Al-Shabab spokesman Ali Mohamed Rage told a local radio station that the forces had made a tactical withdrawal and would soon launch a counter attack.

Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali estimated the militants now have vacated 90 percent of the capital. Ali said the government wants to send more security forces into the new areas vacated by al-Shabab, describing the withdrawal as the "first phase of the new war." Military Ring Express

by: tishbite

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