Terrorism threat in Somalia

2005-07-11 09:02

Nairobi - A new group of al-Qaeda-linked extremists has got a foothold in Somalia, a Horn of Africa nation wracked by anarchy since 1991, the International Crisis Group (ICG) said on Saturday.

The New Jihad that is run from the bullet-charred capital Mogadishu and consists of a militia leader trained in Afghanistan, is blamed for the kidnapping of foreign aid workers and threatens to push the country deeper into anarchy, the ICG said in a report.

"The threat of jihadi terrorism in and from Somalia is real," the report said. "Since 2003, Somalia has witnessed the rise of a new, ruthless independent jihadi network with links to al-Qaeda,".

"The threat of jihadi terrorism from Somalia can only be addressed through the restoration of stable, legitimate and functional government," the report added.

A breeding ground for terrorists

The United States and several Western governments have suggested Somalia is a breeding ground for terrorists.

"But attempts by the new Somali leadership and its regional allies to exploit this threat for short-term political gain risk plunging the country into even greater crisis," the report said.

In 2003, the United Nations said Somalia's arms free-for-all made it a convenient springboard for groups such as al-Qaeda which used a cell based there to stage a deadly bombing in the Kenyan post city of Mombasa that killed 18 people.

Trying to end terrorism

"A successful counter-terrorism strategy requires helping Somalia with the twin tasks of reconciliation and state building," the ICG said.

President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed's government, which came into power last October, has failed to exert control over the vast country of 10 million people. He is based in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, which he controlled before he came to power.

Under pressure, Yusuf and his powerless prime minister Ali Mohammed Gedi maintain their administration, which was created last year in neighboring Kenya and remained holed up in exile in Nairobi until mid-June, cannot move to bullet-scarred Mogadishu for security reasons.

Instead, they have proposed setting up shop in Jowhar, where Gedi has been since June 18, and the town of Baidoa 250km southwest of Mogadishu.

But they are fiercely opposed by parliament Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden and Mogadishu warlords, and Baidoa is no longer a feasible option for relocation since anti-Yusuf militias took control of the town in March.

If the Somali government fails to exert control, the "jihadis will gradually find growing purchase among Somalia's despairing and disaffected citizenry, and it will only be a matter of time before another group of militants succeeds in mounting a spectacular terrorist attack against foreign interests in Somalia or one of its neighbours", the ICG report said. - The International Crisis Group, based in Burssels, is an independent, non-profit organisation committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict.

- AFP