Somalis stuck between al-Shabaab, street gangs

Ahmed Adel

Somalia witnesses a state of security turmoil, as a result of the terrorist operations carried out by al-Shabaab movement.

The federal government finds itself, meanwhile, in a critical situation.

The number of criminal gangs is also on the increase. These gangs tamper with the security of the Somali capital. They terrorize residents in the capital.

Tough conditions

With the growth of terrorism and the increase in gang activity, Somalis – especially the residents of Mogadishu – have been facing difficult living conditions lately.

These people are stuck between high commodity prices, which have hit their pockets, and rampant unemployment which stands as a barrier in the face of Somali youth.

Some of those affected by these successive crises are fed up with poor living conditions.

They have turned to theft and a life of crime to meet their needs.

Drought crisis

The drought crisis has affected Somalis so negatively, exhausting the pastoral population in rural areas and forcing them to travel to the capital in search of a decent living.

Refugee camps are hotbeds of criminality and the possession of contraband, amid security neglect.

These conditions have produced gangs, known in Somali circles as ‘Eyal Wiru’, whose goal is robbery and murder.

The numbers of these gangs are not known. However, Somali police confirmed that these numbers are increasing.

Hip-hop

Some may put hip-hop songs that have spread in recent years among Somali youth as a major reason for the emergence of this phenomenon.

Most of these gangs call for flaunting power, authority and lawlessness.

The gangs often attack districts in the capital, in particular, taking advantage of the lack of security there.

Eyal Wiru

The governor of Banaadir, in south-eastern Somalia, Yusuf Hussein Jimale, who holds the post of mayor of Somali capital Mogadishu, came out to warn of the emergence of street gangs, known as ‘Eyal Wiru’, as a phenomenon.

Jimale warned of the possibility of these gangs becoming a security threat no less serious than the extremist al-Shabaab movement.

Jimale said the gangs and al-Shabaab all come from the same origin.

He called for nipping these gangs in the bud before they open the door for a security situation that extends beyond the capital.

The mayor’s warnings are seen as an indication of the worsening harms of these gangs.

They also augur a situation getting out of the control of the federal government in Somalia.