Al-Shabaab (militant group)

Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen simply known as al-Shabaab is a transnational Wahhabi-Salafi Jihadist militant organization. It is involved in the ongoing Somali Civil War, controlling a non-contiguous network of primarily rural areas in southern Somalia that some consider a quasi-state. Since 2011, the group refers to the territory under its control as the Islamic Emirate of Somalia, although it has not formally declared itself as an emirate. Al-Shabaab has invoked takfir to rationalize its terrorist attacks on Somali civilians and civil servants. It is, in a more limited capacity, active elsewhere in East Africa, and has pledged allegiance to the militant organization al-Qaeda. Al-Shabaab has been designated as a terrorist organization by numerous countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, as well as several EAC and EU member-states. The militant group remains subject to international sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, and other jurisdictions.

Formed in the mid-2000s as a youth militia within the wider military wing of the Islamic Courts Union, Al-Shabaab came to prominence during the 2006–2009 Ethiopian invasion and occupation of Somalia, during which it presented itself as a vehicle for the waging of armed resistance against the occupying Ethiopian army. In subsequent years, it gained popular support from Somalis and became a dominant force in south and central Somalia, defending large swathes of territory by fighting against the African Union Mission to Somalia and the Federal Government of Somalia, as well as the latter's transitional predecessor. Al-Shabaab gained international prominence due to its recruitment of foreign fighters.