Background Information
“One particularly fundamentalist faction within the ICU was al Shabaab, or ‘the Youth.’ Formed in the first few years of the new millennium, the group began as the militant remnant of a previous Somali Islamist organization, al Itihaad al Islamiya (AIAI). AIAI had arisen in the 1980s as a group of Middle Eastern-educated Somali Wahhabis who sought to replace the government of Mohammed Siad Barre with an Islamic state, yet by 2000 only the youngest, most militant members remained. These members, including Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, re-formed into al Shabaab and were incorporated into the ICU as the courts’ radical youth militia. As Aweys’ importance grew within the ICU, he passed leadership of al Shabaab on to one of his followers, Aden Hashi Ayro. “ (
CSIS, 15 July 2011, p. 3)
“The Union of Islamic Courts (ICU) took control of Mogadishu in 2005 and vied with the TFG for power. In 2006, backing the TFG as a counter to the growing influence of the Islamist ICU government, Ethiopia invaded Somalia, pushing rapidly to Mogadishu and toppling the ICU regime.“ (
John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 9 February 2014, p. 12)
“Rivalling the TFG, which commanded little internal support and had made little progress, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), a culmination of Sharia courts and warlords, took control of the southern parts of the country and restored a semblance of order. In 2006, the TFG engaged Ethiopia’s military support to counter the ICU, a move that was generally considered to be unpopular among the public. Stripped of most of their territory, some of the hardline ICU members splintered into factions such as Al-Shabaab.” (
IOM, February 2014, p. 13)
“The TFG [Transitional Federal Government] was formed in late 2004, with a five-year transitional mandate to establish permanent, representative government institutions following national elections scheduled for 2009. A political process to establish peace and stability in the country continued; however, significant problems remained. Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) entered the country in December 2006 at the request of the TFG to combat the Council of Islamic Courts and its associated armed militants, who had captured Mogadishu and were expanding control in south central Somalia.“ (
USDOS, 11 March 2008)
“The most recent phase of the conflict began in December 2006 when Ethiopia intervened militarily to oust the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and support the UN-backed Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG). This intervention, in turn, triggered an insurgency against the Ethiopian and Somali government forces. The armed youth wing of the ICU, Al-Shabaab, emerged as the most powerful armed opposition group in south-central Somalia.” (
HRW, 8 September 2014)
“Originally the small, youth militia arm of a relatively moderate Islamist organization that rose to power in Somalia in early 2006, al Shabaab was radicalized and brought to prominence as a popular Islamist guerilla movement by Ethiopia’s invasion in December of that year. However, since early 2008 al Shabaab has undergone yet another transformation, this time from a largely nationalist organization focused on driving out Ethiopia through conventional military means to a hybrid movement that has increasingly embraced transnational terrorism and attempted to portray itself as part of the al Qaeda-led global war against the West.” (
CSIS, 15 July 2011, p. 1)
Aims and leaders
“By its self-definition as a Sunni Salafi jihadi group, Al-Shabaab tries to emulate in organisation and action the four “rightly guided” caliphs, the al-Rashidun (Abubakar, Omar, Uthman and Ali), that led Islam in the seventh century after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. For Al-Shabaab, as for other Salafi jihadi organisations, many Muslim empires and states that followed the al-Rashidun, have deviated from the right Islamic path. Their response and duty as true believers is to return Muslims to the righteous path under one state (caliphate). Like most modern Salafis, Al- Shabaab is also heavily influenced by the Wahhabist interpretations, and their emphasis on strict scriptural authority (the Quran and Sunna) as the instructions – theological roadmap – for the organisation and structure by which to build such a righteous state.” (
ICG, 26 June 2014, p. 7)
“Die Shabab sind strikt hierarchisch aufgebaut und werden autoritär geführt. Insgesamt ähnelt ihre Struktur stark der von al-Qaida und anderen jihadistischen Organisationen. Dies betrifft die einzelnen Organisationsteile ebenso wie den ausgeprägt bürokratischen Charakter, was vermuten lässt, dass al-Qaida-Personal die Shabab in ihrer Frühphase beraten hat. (
SWP, November 2013, p. 3)
“These members, including Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, re-formed into al Shabaab and were incorporated into the ICU as the courts’ radical youth militia. As Aweys’ importance grew within the ICU, he passed leadership of al Shabaab on to one of his followers, Aden Hashi Ayro. “ (
CSIS, 15 July 2011, p. 3)
“On 05 September 2014 the US Department of Defence announced the death of Ahmed Abdi Godane „Abu Zubayr“. Al-Shabaab's leader had been killed in an US air strike when he met with militia commanders on 01 September 2014. […] Al-Shabaab appointed Sheikh Ahmed Umar „Abu Ubaida“ as Godane's successor. Not much is known about the Sheikh, who is thought to be in his early forties, coming from the area around Kismayo, belonging to the Dir Clan and having joined al-Shabaab in 2006. “ (
BAMF, 8 September 2014, p. 4).
Main events in previous years
“2009 zogen sich die äthiopischen Truppen aus Somalia zurück. Der gemäßigte Islamist Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed wurde neuer Präsident der Übergangsregierung, die von der extremistischen al-Shabaab-Miliz bekämpft wurde. Al-Shabaab war zwar als Jugendorganisation der 'Union islamischer Gerichte' tätig, wurde aber nach deren Zerschlagung durch die äthiopischen Truppen eine eigenständige Organisation. Bis Ende 2010 übernahm al-Shabaab in weiten Teilen Süd- und Zentralsomalias wieder die Kontrolle. Die Übergangsregierung wurde unter dem Schutz der AMISOM-Mission auf Teile Mogadischus zurückgedrängt.
Ab Februar 2011 intensivierten die Truppen der Übergangsregierung und die AMISOM-Truppen den Kampf gegen die al-Shabaab-Miliz, die sich im August 2011 aus Mogadischu zurückziehen mussten und im Sommer auch in anderen Teilen des Landes unter Druck gerieten. Nach mehreren Überfällen und Entführungen von ausländischen Staatsbürgern aus Kenia durch somalische Milizen marschierten im Oktober 2011 kenianische Truppen im Süden Somalias ein.“ (
AI, Dezember 2011)
„The Kenyan government says it sent troops to Somalia to fight al-Shabab, whom it blames for the recent kidnappings of tourists and aid workers.“ (
BBC, 28 October 2011)
“Seit Äthiopiens Rückzug unterstützten Truppen der Afrikanischen Union (AMISOM) aus Uganda und Burundi die Übergangsregierung. Ab 2011 erhöhten sie den militärischen Druck auf die Shabab und ab Oktober 2011 kamen ihnen kenia-nische Truppen zu Hilfe, die von Süden her vorrückten. Die Shabab mussten sich im August 2011 aus der Hauptstadt Mogadi-schu zurückziehen und verloren im Spät-sommer 2012 auch Kismayo.“ (
SWP, November 2013, p. 3)
“While AMISOM and Somali forces continued to control major population strongholds, al-Shabaab continued to control large sections of rural areas in south-central Somalia, including areas in the Juba, Shabelle, Bay, and Bakol regions. Al-Shabaab also continued to operate in northern Somalia along the Golis Mountains and within the federal state of Puntland’s larger urban areas.” (
USDOS, 30 April 2014)
Chronology of Events
For a chronology from January 2012 to April 2013, see the following archived version of this featured topic:
www.ecoi.net/en/document/249666.
For a chronology from January 2013 to August 2014, see the following archived version of this featured topic:
www.ecoi.net/en/document/288574.
The following chronology contains events in reverse chronological order starting in April 2014:
DECEMBER 2014
“A soldier in Somalia has avenged the killing of his wife by shooting dead five women related to militant Islamists, an official has said. […] Al-Shabab gunmen killed his wife and another female soldier in the small south-western town of Tiyeglow on Tuesday night, the official said.” (
BBC, 10 December 2014)
“Four people were killed and nine wounded in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Wednesday when a suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a UN convoy, police and rebels said. […] Somalia's Al-Qaeda-affiliated Shebab rebels, who are fighting to overthrow the country's internationally-backed government, said in a statement that their fighters had ‘targeted a convoy of foreign mercenaries and their apostate allies.’” (
AFP, 3 December 2014)
NOVEMBER 2014
“An engineer working with a Turkish company was killed on Thursday in a bomb attack in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, police said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, although Al-Qaeda-affiliated Shebab rebels have been blamed for a string of killings targeting politicians, returning diaspora and anyone linked to foreign companies or the internationally-backed government.” (
AFP, 27 November 2014)
OCTOBER 2014
“At least one person was killed and several others wounded on Saturday in a car bombing outside a hotel in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, officials said. […] There was no immediate claim of responsibility, although similar attacks have been carried out in the past by Somalia's Al-Qaeda-affiliated Shebab rebels, who are fighting to overthrow the country's internationally-backed government.” (
AFP, 25 October 2014)
“An Islamic court has stoned a teenager to death in southern Somalia [in Dharuro village in Somalia's Lower Shabelle region] after convicting him of raping a woman, a pro-Islamist news site reports. […] Somalia's militant Islamist group al-Shabab implements a strict version of Islamic law in areas it controls.” (
BBC, 22 October 2014)
“London-based Somali Channel Television’s Mogadishu bureau chief, Abdirizak Jama Elmi is in a serious condition in the city’s Madina Hospital after gunmen shot him several times outside his home in the district of Howlawadag at around midday on 12 October. […] The head of the National Intelligence and Security Agency, Gen. Abdirahman Mohamed Turyare, visited Abdirizak Jama Elmi in hospital and promised a thorough investigation into the shooting, suggesting that Al-Shabaab were to blame.” (
AFP, 14 October 2014)
“Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said Monday that a car bomb which killed at least 13 people the day before was an act of ‘desperation’ by Islamist Shebab insurgents. […] The Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents have not claimed responsibility for the attack, but the fighters have stepped up guerrilla attacks in the capital and elsewhere in the country after being chased from key cities by African Union-led troops.” (
AFP, 13 October 2014)
“Somali military commanders Monday celebrated the capture of the last major port held by Islamist Shebab insurgents, as the government secured control of the town for the first time in over two decades. ‘Al-Shebab are no longer in Barawe,’ military commander Abdirisak Khalif Elmi told hundreds of residents Monday, calling on citizens to support the government.” (
AFP, 6 October 2014)
“Troops in northern Somalia have battled al-Shabab Islamist militants for the Galgala mountains, with both sides claiming to have won. […] Abdiweli Hirsi Abdille, the information minister of Somalia's north-eastern region of Puntland, told the BBC that troops had captured the Galgala region in an early morning offensive. […] An al-Shabab official, who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity, said that after fierce fighting they had fought off the assault, killing 20 soldiers, including the commander of the operation.“ (
BBC, 1 October 2014)
SEPTEMBER 2014
“Taking its fight against the Islamist militia Al-Shabaab to the airwaves, Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) has been arresting journalists and closing news media since 2 September, when it issued a ban on national media coverage of all Al-Shabaab activities.“ (
RSF, 11 September 2014)
“A suicide car bomber has killed 12 people in an attack aimed at African Union (AU) troops in Somalia, an official has said. A car laden with explosives was rammed into an AU convoy travelling south-west of the capital, Mogadishu, said local governor Adukadir Mohamed Sidi. The militant Islamist group al-Shabab said it was behind the attack. It had earlier vowed to avenge the killing of its leader Ahmed Abdi Godane last week.” (
BBC, 8 September 2014)
“The leader of the Somali Islamist group al-Shabab, Ahmed Abdi Godane, was killed following a US attack earlier this week, the Pentagon has said.” (
BBC, 5 September 2014)
AUGUST 2014
“Somalia's Shebab rebels carried out a major car bomb and gun attack against an intelligence headquarters in central Mogadishu on Sunday, leaving at least seven militants and four others dead. […] On Saturday the AU mission in Somalia (AMISOM) said it had captured the town of Bulomarer, some 160 kilometres (100 miles) southwest of Mogadishu, as part of what it has called ‘Operation Indian Ocean’.“ (
AFP, 31 August 2014)
“A Somali MP has been assassinated in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu - the fifth parliamentarian to be killed this year. Aden Madeer was shot when he left a mosque in the city after Friday prayers, witnesses said. The Islamist militant group al-Shabab told the BBC it carried out the assassination.” (
BBC, 1 August 2014)
JULY 2014
“Militant Islamists in Somalia have shot dead a Muslim woman for refusing to wear a veil, her relatives say. Ruqiya Farah Yarow was killed outside her hut near the southern Somali town of Hosingow by gunmen belonging to the al-Shabab group, they say. […] An al-Shabab spokesman denied the group had killed the woman.” (
BBC, 30 July 2014)
“Popular Somali musician and member of parliament Saado Ali Warsame has been shot dead by Islamist militants. She was killed along with a civil servant in a drive-by shooting in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. A spokesman for the Islamist al-Shabab group, Abdulaziz Abu Musab, told the BBC that she was targeted for her politics and not her music.“ (
BBC, 23 July 2014)
“Six people were killed in a southern Somali port town on Saturday after a suicide bomber targeted the house of a prominent anti-Shebab militia leader, the intended victim said. ‘The explosion occurred soon after I entered the house,’ tribal leader Iftin Hassan Basto said in a statement. ‘My security guards saw a man who tried to infiltrate them and when they confronted him he blew himself up.’ Basto added that six people, including a child, were killed and seven others injured. The attack took place in the town of Kismayo, a former stronghold of Somalia's Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab.” (
AFP, 19 July 2014)
“Somalia's police and intelligence chiefs have been sacked following militant Islamist group al-Shabab's assault on the presidential palace, a government minister has said. Three of the attackers were killed and a fourth captured, the minister added. Al-Shabab fighters entered the compound in the capital, Mogadishu, on Tuesday before being driven out by African Union (AU) and government forces. This was the second assault on the heavily fortified compound this year.” (
BBC, 9 July 2014)
“A suicide car bomb has killed at least four people near Somalia's parliament, police and Somali media say. […] One report quoted al-Shabab militants praising the ‘sacrificial attack’. An attack by the rebels on the building in May left at least 10 people dead.” (
BBC, 5 July 2014)
JUNE 2014
“At least two people were killed when a bomb exploded on Monday in a busy market in Somalia's capital Mogadishu at the start of Islam's holy month of Ramadan, police said. […] There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Somalia's Al-Qaeda linked Shebab have carried out a string of similar bombings, and have vowed to increase attacks during the fasting month of Ramadan.” (
AFP, 30 June 2014)
“Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab commandos on Thursday attacked an African Union military base in central Somalia dressed in stolen government army uniforms, killing at least two soldiers from Djibouti, the AU force said. The Shebab said their gunmen stormed the compound of a hotel where Djiboutian troops with the AU force were based in the town of Bulla Burde, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of the capital Mogadishu, their spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab told AFP.” (
AFP, 26 June 2014)
“Kenyan fighter jets have bombed the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group in Somalia, killing more than 80 of its fighters, the African Union (AU) force in Somalia has said. The assault on the villages of Anole and Kuday was part of an effort to ‘liberate’ Somalia from al-Shabab's grip, the AU added. Witnesses said a third area along the Kenya-Somalia border was also bombed.” (
BBC, 23 June 2014)
“Somalia's al-Shabab militants have rounded up around 100 women and ordered them to comply with a strict Islamic dress code or risk being whipped. The women were arrested in Buale, about 300km (185 miles) south-west of the capital, Mogadishu.” (
BBC, 13 June 2014)
“At least 74 people were killed in fighting near Somalia's border with Ethiopia on Sunday, according to officials and witnesses. Somali and Ethiopian forces attacked the bases of Al-Shebab islamists near the south-western town of Ato.” (
All Africa, 3 June 2014)
MAY 2014
“Islamist militants from the al-Shabab movement have attacked the Somali parliament in Mogadishu, leaving at least 10 people dead.” (
BBC, 24 May 2014)
“A Somali politician was wounded Monday in a bomb blast in the latest in a string of attacks in the war ravaged capital Mogadishu, a local official said. […] The politician, former city commissioner Farah Dahir Jimale, was rushed to hospital. One passerby was also wounded. No group claimed immediate responsibility, but Somalia's Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab rebels carry out regular attacks, and have vowed to topple the internationally-backed government.” (
AFP, 19 May 2014)
“A special UN military force to protect aid workers deployed for the first time in the war-ravaged Somali capital Sunday, amid a wave of attacks blamed on Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents. The 400-strong ‘defensive’ guard force of Ugandan troops, based at the heavily fortified Mogadishu airport, is ‘mandated to protect UN staff and installations’ in the capital. Despite the government's insistence that it has improved security, the Shebab continue to carry out bombings - including targeting aid workers - in their bid to overthrow Somalia's internationally backed but fragile leadership.” (
AFP, 18 May 2014)
“At least five people were killed on Monday in a huge explosion targeting a senior official in the southern Somali town of Baidoa, police said. ‘The target was a pick-up truck transporting a senior local official,’ police spokesman Mohamed Moalim Abdirahman said. ‘He escaped the attack, but two of his security guards were killed along with three civilians.’ […] No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Shebab have carried out a string of bombings and vowed to overthrow the war-torn country's internationally-backed but fragile government.” (
AFP, 12 May 2014)
“At least six people have been killed in a bomb explosion in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. Islamist militant group al-Shabab said it carried out the attack, targeting the vehicle of a prominent former government official, who was killed.” (
BBC, 3 May 2014)
“At least seven people were killed Saturday, among them a prominent Somali official, in a bomb attack by Islamist militants in the centre of the capital Mogadishu, officials said. Security sources said they believed a bomb was attached to a car being driven by Abdikafi Hilowle, a police official and former secretary for the city's administration, and detonated remotely. Other officials said the blast may have been from a roadside bomb. Somalia's Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab rebels said they carried out the attack, branding Hilowle ‘an enemy of Allah’ and accusing him of working with foreign intelligence services.” (
AFP, 3 May 2014)
APRIL 2014
“Somalia's Al-Qaeda linked Shebab said they had assassinated a lawmaker on Tuesday, the second such killing in 24 hours and the latest in a series of attacks in the war-ravaged capital of Mogadishu. Abdiaziz Isak was shot ‘several times and he died instantly,’ police officer Mohamed Dalane said, close to where the politician was killed in the city's Madina district.” (
AFP, 22 April 2014)
“A Somali MP has been killed by a car bomb in the capital, Mogadishu, officials say. Islamist group al-Shabab told Reuters news agency it was behind the attack on MP Isak Mohamed Rino. Another MP, Mohamed Ali, was wounded in the blast, which comes as the government hosts a security conference.” (
BBC, 21 April 2014)
“Two Kenyan aid workers have been found ‘lost and disorientated’ in Somalia after being kidnapped by al-Shabab in 2011, the military says. Daniel Njuguna and James Kiarie are now in hospital in the Somali town of Dhobley, the army says.” (
BBC, 11 April 2014)
“Three years after Al-Shabab insurgents withdrew from the city, security in Mogadishu remains a serious problem for residents and aid workers, with threats from Al-Shabab incursions, criminals and militia.” (
IRIN, 9 April 2014)
SOURCES: (all links accessed at 19 December 2014)
- AFP - Agence France-Presse: Somali lawmaker shot dead, second in 24 hours, 22 April 2014 (published by ReliefWeb)
http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/somali-lawmaker-shot-dead-second-24-hours
- AFP - Agence France-Presse: Somali official among seven killed in Mogadishu bombing, 3 May 2014 (published by ReliefWeb)
http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/somali-official-among-seven-killed-mogadishu-bombing
- AFP - Agence France-Presse: Five killed in Somalia bombing: police, 12 May 2014 (published by ReliefWeb)
http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/five-killed-somalia-bombing-police
- AFP - Agence France-Presse: UN troops deploy in Somali capital to defend staff, 18 May 2014 (published by ReliefWeb)
http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/un-troops-deploy-somali-capital-defend-staff
- AFP - Agence France-Presse: Bombing in Somali capital wounds politician: local official, 19 May 2014 (published by ReliefWeb)
http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/bombing-somali-capital-wounds-politician-local-official
- AFP - Agence France-Presse: Shebab fighters attack African Union base in Somalia, 26 June 2014
http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/shebab-fighters-attack-african-union-base-somalia
- AFP - Agence France-Presse: At least two killed in Somali capital market bomb, 30 June 2014 (published by ReliefWeb)
http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/least-two-killed-somali-capital-market-bomb-police
- AFP - Agence France-Presse: Suicide bomber kills six in attack on anti-Shebab leader, 19 July 2014 (published by ReliefWeb)
http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/suicide-bomber-kills-six-attack-anti-shebab-leader
- AFP - Agence France-Presse: Shebab rebels in car bomb, gun attack on Somalia intelligence HQ, 30 August 2014 (published by ReliefWeb)
http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/troops-liberate-islamist-stronghold-somalia-offensive
- AFP - Agence France-Presse: Somali troops secure key port after capture from Shebab, 6 October 2014 (published by ReliefWeb)
http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/somali-troops-secure-key-port-after-capture-shebab
- AFP - Agence France-Presse: Car bomb attack kills four in Somali capital: police, 13 October 2014 (published by ReliefWeb)
http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/car-bomb-attack-kills-four-somali-capital-police
- AFP - Agence France-Presse: At least one dead in car bomb attack in Somali capital: police, 25 October 2014 (published by ReliefWeb)
http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/least-one-dead-car-bomb-attack-somali-capital-police
- AFP - Agence France-Presse: One killed in Somalia bombing: police, 27 November 2014 (published by ReliefWeb)
http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/one-killed-somalia-bombing-police
- AFP - Agence France-Presse: Four killed in suicide attack on UN convoy in Somali capital: police, 3 December 2014 (published by ReliefWeb)
http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/four-killed-suicide-attack-un-convoy-somali-capital-police
- AI – Amnesty International: Clans, Warlords und Rebellen, December 2011
http://www.amnesty.de/journal/2011/dezember/clans-warlords-und-rebellen
- AllAfrica: At Least 74 Dead in Somali/Ethiopian Clash With Al-Shebab, 3 June 2014 (published by ReliefWeb)
http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/least-74-dead-somaliethiopian-clash-al-shebab
- BAMF - Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Germany): Briefing Notes vom 08.09.2014, 8 September 2014 (available on ecoi.net)
http://www.ecoi.net/file_upload/4232_1411724385_deutschland-bundesamt-fuer-migration-und-fluechtlinge-briefing-notes-08-09-2014-englisch.pdf
- BBC News: Are Kenyans seeking a buffer zone in Somalia?, 28 October 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-africa-15499534
- BBC News: Kenyan aid workers 'free' from Somalia's al-Shabab, 11 April 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-26987157
- BBC News: Somali MP Isak Mohamed Rino killed by Mogadishu car bomb, 21 April 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-27102639
- BBC News: Somalia unrest: Deadly blast in Mogadishu, 3 May 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-27268938
- BBC News: Somalia parliament attacked by al-Shabab in Mogadishu, 24 May 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-27554498
- BBC News: Somalia's al-Shabab militants impose dress code, 13 June 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-27829343
- BBC News: Kenya 'bombs al-Shabab bases' in Somalia, 23 June 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-27976201
- BBC News: Somalia parliament suicide car bomb kills four, 5 July 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28174402
- BBC News: Somali security chiefs sacked after al-Shabab attack, 9 July 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28226709
- BBC News: Somali musician and MP Saado Ali Warsame shot dead, 23 July 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28446489
- BBC News: Somali woman killed for not wearing veil, relatives say, 30 July 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28564984
- BBC News: Somali MP shot dead outside mosque by al-Shabab, 1 August 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28614601
- BBC News: US confirms al-Shabab leader Ahmed Godane killed, 5 September 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-29086800
- BBC News: Somalia car bomb suicide attack 'kills 12', 8 September 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-29113637
- BBC News: Somalia battles al-Shabab for Galgala mountains, 1 October 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-29444355
- BBC News: Somali al-Shabab court 'stones teenager to death', 22 October 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-29724577
- BBC News: Somalia crisis: Al-Shabab and army 'kill women', 10 December 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30411893
- CSIS - Center for Strategic and International Studies: Al Shabaab, 15 July 2011
http://csis.org/files/publication/110715_Wise_AlShabaab_AQAM%20Futures%20Case%20Study_WEB.pdf
- HRW - Human Rights Watch: "The Power These Men Have Over Us"; Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by African Union Forces in Somalia, 8 September 2014 (available on ecoi.net)
http://www.ecoi.net/file_upload/1788_1410181069_somalia0914-forupload.pdf
- ICG - International Crisis Group: Al-Shabaab – It Will Be a Long War, 26 June 2014 (available on ecoi.net)
http://www.ecoi.net/file_upload/1002_1403878048_b099-somalia-al-shabaab-it-will-be-a-long-war.pdf
- IOM - International Organization for Migration: Dimensions of Crisis on Migration in Somalia, February 2014
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Dimensions-of-Crisis-on-Migration-in-Somalia.pdf
- IRIN - Integrated Regional Information Network: Security downturn in Mogadishu, 9 April 2014 (available on ecoi.net)
http://www.ecoi.net/local_link/273579/389331_en.html
- Jamestown Foundation: Somalia’s al-Shabaab Movement Turns on Itself; Terrorism Monitor Volume: 11 Issue: 16, 9 August 2013 (available on ecoi.net)
http://www.ecoi.net/local_link/257204/369239_en.html
- John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine: Internal and External Displacement among Populations of Southern and Central Somalia Affected by Severe Food Insecurity and Famine during 2010-2012, 9 February 2014 (published by ReliefWeb)
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Somali%20Displacement%20Report_FINAL_9Feb2014.pdf
- RSF - Reporters Sans Frontières: Somalia - Security agency arrests journalists, closes radio stations after banning coverage of Al-Shabaab, 11 September 2014 (available on ecoi.net)
http://www.ecoi.net/local_link/286171/403852_en.html
- RSF - Reporters Sans Frontières: Somalia - TV journalist badly wounded in targeted shooting, 14 October 2014 (available on ecoi.net)
http://www.ecoi.net/local_link/288294/408302_en.html
- SWP - Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik: Regionaler Jihad in Ostafrika, November 2013
http://www.swp-berlin.org/fileadmin/contents/products/aktuell/2013A67_sbg.pdf
- USDOS - US Department of State: Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007, 11 March 2008
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100504.htm
- USDOS - US Department of State: Country Report on Terrorism 2013 - Chapter 2 - Somalia, 30 April 2014 (available on ecoi.net)
http://www.ecoi.net/local_link/275199/391112_en.html
- USDOS - US Department of State: 2013 International Religious Freedom Report - Somalia, 28 July 2014 (available on ecoi.net)
http://www.ecoi.net/local_link/281999/399094_en.html