Al-Shabaab is Resurging in Somalia
Bottom Line Up Front Al-Shabaab, the al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group in Somalia, is resurging again and demonstrating the ability to launch attacks with impunity. Since […] More
Somalia
Perpetual War in Somalia
Bottom Line Up Front On April 10, President Trump signed an extension of the emergency order authorizing the continuation of U.S. military operations in […] More
Civilian Casualties and the Struggle for Transparency
Bottom Line Up Front A partially declassified study of U.S. military operations demonstrates the difficulty in accurately counting and mitigating civilian casualties. Disparities exist […] More
Hotel Attack in Nairobi Demonstrates Regional Threat Posed by Al-Shabab
Bottom Line Up Front On January 15, Somali terrorist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for an attack on a hotel frequented by Western civilians in […] More
The Latest
The United States at War in Somalia
Bottom Line Up Front On December 17, the U.S. reported that it had conducted six airstrikes in Somalia, killing 62 militants from the al-Qaeda-linked […] More
AMISOM: A Decade into the Fight Against Al Shabaab
The multinational peacekeeping force known as AMISOM has been losing the momentum in its battle against al Shabaab in Somalia, as evidenced by the massive […] More
The Widespread Disdain for Somalia’s Government
Despite international efforts to combat the terrorist group, al Shabaab remains a dangerous adversary capable of inflicting mass casualties, as demonstrated by Saturday’s truck bomb […] More
Nation Building or Targeted Killings: Tough Choices for U.S. in Somalia
The truck bomb that devastated the Somali capital of Mogadishu and killed more than 320 people on Saturday was the deadliest terrorist attack in Somalia’s […] More
Long-Term Solutions vs. Short-Term Revenge
On Saturday, a truck bomb struck the Somali capital of Mogadishu killing more than 320 people and injuring more than 500 others. While no group […] More
Hundreds Dead in Mogadishu Blast — What Does it Mean for U.S.?
One of Somalia’s worst-ever terrorist attacks may have been spurred in part by a stepped up U.S. counterterrorism campaign against al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab, which […] More
Natural Security Series: Global Security and Illegal Fishing in Somalia
On March 13, desperate Somali fishermen hijacked the tanker Aris-13 off the coast of Puntland, in the northeast part of the country. This was the […] More
Al Shabaab: A Persistent Threat
With al Shabaab orchestrating deadly attacks on a near-weekly basis, the terrorist group continues to pose a significant threat to regional stability in the Horn […] More
Limited Options
The Cipher brief spoke with Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, CEO of Valens Global and a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, about the growing […] More
Flexing Some Muscle
Having carried out several attacks in the last couple of months, al Shabaab remains a “very high” threat to security in Somalia and surrounding countries, […] More
Al-Shabaab Building in Advance of Somali Elections
The run-up to Somali elections, slated to begin in less than a month, has Somalia watchers concerned that the terrorist group al-Shabaab will seize the […] More
Kenya’s Battle with al-Shabaab
One year after the April 2015 attack that left 148 people dead at a university in Garissa, Kenya, a combination of forces is strengthening the […] More
The Role of Private Security
Terrorism has emerged as a global threat to security. We might not be able to fully grasp the complexity of the matter until we look […] More
Little to Gloat About
April 2 marked one year since the Somali terrorist group al-Shabaab attacked the Garissa University in Kenya and killed 148 people, galvanizing Kenya to intensify […] More
Combatting the Al Shabaab Threat
The lack of good governance and the spread of terrorism seem to go hand in hand. That is quite apparent in East Africa. Just last […] More