Tribal alliances: Terrorist Al-Shabaab derive their strength from the state’s fragility

Ahmed Adel

The Al-Shabaab movement seeks to spread its terror – and then extend its influence – in all the Somali states. The movement has worked to coax and attract tribal sheikhs, of whom 159 have so far responded to the election of the federal parliamentarians and regional state parliaments, and they visited the areas under the group’s control to register themselves as elements of the movement.

According to the New Somalia website, tribal elders came from the states of Jubaland, South West Somalia, Hirshabelle and Galmudug, and the extremist movement began to give religious lessons to elders.

Alleged repentance

On July 14, the terrorist movement issued a statement through its Shahid agency, called “Call for Repentance”, in which Somali tribal leaders who participated in the elections of the federal parliament and regional state parliaments were given 45 days to register with the movement’s departments in central and southern Somalia.

The statement claimed that the tribal leaders “signed in disbelief” and that “they must announce their repentance,” pointing out that the registration begins from July 15 to September 1. Al-Shabaab threatened to punish every elder who fails to take advantage of this opportunity.

Southern attacks

According to a report issued in 2018 by the Mogadishu Center for Studies and Research, Al-Shabaab was able to reach southern Somalia and a number of villages and towns that were controlled by the Somali army and African forces. By reaching this strategic area, the movement launched a major offensive against the state of Galmudug. They kidnapped about 70 tribal elders in that state and directed them to their base in central Somalia. In September 2018, elements of the movement assassinated two tribal elders in the city of Afgooye in the Lower Shabelle province in the south of the country.

On July 13, 2013, a report from Global Economist said that the movement was not only receiving funding from Qatar and Turkey, because the main source of funding for the movement was through support to Somali tribes, and these tribes belong to some of the movement’s leaders. The tribes cherish the appropriate climate for trade and livestock breeding and agricultural production, and therefore the movement has a special environment away from the Somali government.

Despite the multiplicity of armed organizations in Somalia, Al-Shabaab remains the largest and most powerful movement in the country.

The state’s fragility equals terrorism’s tenacity

Among the most prominent evidence of Somalia’s fragility as a state, the people of the various Somali states rejected the attempts of the government of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, also known as Farmajo, to intervene in their affairs. The former Somali president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, during a speech at the country’s independence celebrations, warned against the consequences of interventions to influence the results of the elections scheduled in the states of Galmudug and Jubaland. On the other hand, the town of Adado, in the central province of Galguduud, witnessed massive demonstrations against the policies of the president’s government for intervening in the affairs of the regional elections in Galmudug.

Somalia hit

There is an alliance between the terrorist movement and tribal sheikhs, said African affairs researcher Nehal Ahmed, adding that this alliance will push for full control of the reins of government in Somalia.

The relationship between Al-Shabaab and tribal elders was characterized by long periods of turmoil, Ahmed stressed, adding that sometimes there was cooperation between the two sides in order to prevent the abuse of the armed movement, while other times witnessed tensions and wars between the two sides.

She added that Somali society is basically a tribal society, consisting of several tribes in the center, north or south. The tribal dimension contributed to the overthrow of former President Mohamed Siad Barre in the early 1990s due to Barre’s bias of some tribes over other. In Somalia’s civil war from 1990-2006, tribal leaders gradually became warlords and every leader of a tribe imposed his military and economic authority on the area under his control.

Ahmed also pointed out that a number of tribes support President Farmajo, while others support the southern states that reject the central government’s intervention in the internal affairs of the states. Therefore, either side may seek to recruit Al-Shabaab to target and punish the other party.