Al Shabaab Splits Over Foreign Terrorists

October 7, 2010: Despite the lack of reinforcements, AU (African Union) peacekeepers in Mogadishu have gone on the offensive. The 7,000 Ugandan and Burundian troops, and several thousand Transitional National Government (TNG) troops (trained by European instructors) have pushed al Qaeda out of many Mogadishu neighborhoods in the last week, leaving over a hundred people dead and several hundred more wounded. This has been aided by growing rifts inside al Shabaab. A major al Shabaab leader  in Mogadishu (deputy commander-in-chief, Mukhtar Robow) has split with the terrorist organization and withdrawn his forces from the city. The weakened and disorganized al Shabaab forces are thus having a difficult time resisting the TNG/peacekeeper offensive. Robow's complaint is that foreign terrorists are increasingly taking over al Shabaab, sometimes killing those who object. Currently, six al Qaeda foreigners are members of the ten man Sura Council (the al Shabaab supreme command), versus four Somalis. This situation has already led to constant friction with fellow Islamic radical group Hizbul Islam, which opposes the growing power of the al Qaeda foreigners. The defection of Robow means al Shabaab has lost about a quarter of its gunmen. Al Shabaab is recruiting more teenagers (who are easier to recruit, but aren't as effective in combat) to replace the older, more experienced men. Al Shabaab also has to contend with the fact that most Somalis hate the Islamic radicals, and flee areas ruled by al Shabaab or Hizbul Islam. Read More