Al-Shabaab

Al Shabaab, or “the youth”, was formed out of the militant wing of the former Somali Council of Islamic Courts. Its primary objective is the establishment of an Islamist state in the Horn of Africa based on Sharia law and the elimination of secular and foreign influence, including through violent means.

Also listed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs on 21 August 2009 under section 15(1) of the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 (CotUNA), pursuant to Australia's obligations under UNSC resolution 1373 (2001), see Consolidated List entry 1131.

Location: Somalia.

Al Shabaab is an organized but shifting Islamist group dedicated to establishing a Somali caliphate, waging war against the enemies of Islam, and removing all foreign forces and Western influence from Somalia. Although primarily active within Somalia, Al Shabaab has carried out mass-casualty attacks against civilians and military forces in countries that are considered hostile by the group, including Kenya and Ethiopia over the past two decades. It is the strongest, best organized, financed, and armed military group in Somalia, controlling the largest stretch of territory in southern Somalia. Al Shabaab has carried out suicide bombings and attacks using land mines and remote-controlled roadside bombs, as well as targeted assassinations against Ethiopian and Somali security forces, other government officials, journalists, and civil society leaders. It has also carried out suicide bombings in Uganda in retaliation for the presence of Ugandan peacekeeping forces in Somalia. In October 2017, Al Shabaab detonated two vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices in Mogadishu, killing 512 people and injuring 312 others. In December 2019, Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for a bombing at a busy intersection on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia, killing at least 78 people and injuring at least 51. In October 2022, Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for detonating two Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices minutes apart near a busy Mogadishu intersection where the Ministry of Education building was located. The attack levelled buildings and burnt dozens of cars, killing at least 100 people were killed, and wounding an additional 300. The group is believed to be closely linked with Al Qaida and formally pledged allegiance to Usama bin Laden and his terrorist network.

According to an article published by the British Broadcasting Corporation on 22 Feb 2009, Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for a suicide car bomb attack on an African Union military base in Mogadishu. According to the article, the African Union confirmed that 11 African Union peacekeepers were killed and 15 others were hurt.

According to an article published by Voice of America on 10 Jul 2009, Al-Shabaab was involved in an attack on Somali government forces in May 2009. According to an article posted on the website of the Council on Foreign Relations authored on 27 Feb 2009, Al-Shabaab has waged an insurgency against Somalia’s transitional government and its Ethiopian supporters since 2006. Al-Shabaab killed eleven Burundian soldiers in the deadliest attack on AU peacekeepers since their deployment and states that Al-Shabaab engaged in heavy fighting that killed at least fifteen people in Mogadishu.

The United Nations Security Council’s Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Somalia, dated 20 Jul 2009, contained the following paragraphs involving the activities of al-Shabaab in Somalia: Insurgent groups, such as Al-Shabaab, are alleged to be extorting money from private companies and recruiting young people to join the fight against the Government in Mogadishu, including child soldiers. Al-Shabaab has confirmed the presence of foreign fighters within its ranks and has stated openly that it is working with Al-Qaeda in Mogadishu to remove the Government of Somalia. The foreign fighters, many of whom reportedly originate from Pakistan and Afghanistan, appear to be well trained and battle-tested. They have been observed wearing hoods and directing offensive operations against Government forces in Mogadishu and neighbouring regions. Al-Shabaab has intensified its strategy to coerce and intimidate the Somali population, as reflected in the carefully selected high gain assassinations and arrests of clan elders, several of whom have been murdered. On 19 Jun 2009, Omar Hashi Aden, the Minister of National Security, was killed in a large-scale suicide car bomb in Beletwyne. Over 30 other people were killed in the attack, which was strongly condemned by the international community and a broad cross-section of Somali society.

According to an article published by Reuters on 14 Jul 2009, Al-Shabaab militants made gains in 2009 in guerrilla-style attacks on Somali and African Union forces.

According to the Statement by the Chairman of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 751 (1992) concerning Somalia to the Security Council delivered on 29 Jul 2009, both Al-Shabaab and Hisb’ul Islam publicly and repeatedly claimed responsibility for the attacks by their forces on the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and AMISOM. Al-Shabaab had also claimed responsibility for the killing of TFG officials, and on 19 Jul 2009 had raided and shut down the field offices of UNOPS, UNDSS and UNDP in the Bay and Bakool regions, in violation of paragraph 8 (c) of resolution 1844 (2008). Al-Shabaab has also repeatedly obstructed access to, or distribution of humanitarian assistance in Somalia.

According to the Dec 2008 report from the UN Security Council Somalia Monitoring Group (2008/769), Al-Shabaab is responsible for a variety of attacks within Somalia over the last several years, including: the reported killing and beheading of a Somali driver working for the World Food Programme in Sep 2008, the bombing of a market in Puntland that killed 20 and wounded over 100 on 6 Feb 2008, a campaign of bombings and targeted killings in Somaliland intended to disrupt the 2006 parliamentary elections and the murders of several foreign aid workers in 2003 and 2004.

According to reporting, Al-Shabaab raided United Nations compounds in Somalia on 20 Jul 2009, and issued a decree banning three agencies of the United Nations from the Al-Shabaab controlled areas of Somalia. Additionally, Somali Transitional Federal Government forces fought Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam insurgents from 11-12 Jul 2009 resulting in the deaths of over 60 people. In the fighting on 11 Jul 2009, Al-Shabaab landed four mortars inside Villa Somalia that resulted in the deaths of three African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) soldiers and injuries to eight others.

Al-Shabaab has engaged in acts that directly or indirectly threaten the peace, security, or stability of Somalia, including but not limited to acts that threaten the Djibouti Agreement of Aug 18, 2008, or the political process and acts that threaten the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs), the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), or other international peacekeeping operations related to Somalia. Al-Shabaab has also obstructed the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Somalia, or access to, or distribution of humanitarian assistance in Somalia.

Location: Somalia.

Les Chabab (Al-Shabaab) se livrent à des actes qui menacent directement ou indirectement la paix, la sécurité ou la stabilité de la Somalie, notamment mais sans s'y limiter : des actes qui mettent en péril l'accord de Djibouti du 18 août 2008 ou le processus politique - Des actes qui menacent les Institutions fédérales de transition, la Mission de l'Union africaine en Somalie (AMISOM) ou d'autres opérations internationales de maintien de la paix liées à la Somalie. Les Chabab font également obstacle à l'acheminement de l'aide humanitaire destinée à la Somalie, à l'accès à cette aide ou à sa distribution en Somalie

INTERPOL-UN Security Council Special Notice web link: https://www.interpol.int/en/notice/search/une/5775567

アル・シャバーブは、2008年8月18日のジブチ合意又は政治的プロセスを脅かす行動、及び、ソマリア暫定連邦機構（TFIs）、アフリカ連合ソマリア・ミッション（AMISOM）、又はソマリアに関連する他の国際的な平和維持活動を脅かす行動にとどまらず、直接的又は間接的にソマリアの平和、安全、安定を脅かす行動に関与してきた。