The United Nation (UN) Special Envoy to Somalia James Swan affirmed that Al-Shabaab has increased attacks in Somalia raising concerns about the stability and the future of the Horn of Africa nation.
Al-Shabaab operations in Somalia can be traced from 2007. The Islamist terrorist group aligned to Al-Qaeda has continued wreak havoc among security forces, government officials and also innocent civilians bearing brunt of the group’s menace in recent years.
In a statement before the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Monday 22nd February 2021 evening, the UN special envoy to Somalia James Swan highlighted that Al-Shabaab’s increased attacks from August 2020 to the beginning of 2021, targeting various strategic points including military forward operating bases and also popular joints especially hotels and hotels.
Al-Shabaab terrorist continues to pose the primary threat to the security in Somalia and sporadically in Kenya. Al-Shabaab has increased its operational tempo since August 2020, and the beginning of 2021 has seen a new peak in the number of attacks, including Suicide-Borne and Vehicle-Borne (SVBIEDs), targeting military as well as government officials and key figures in Somali society.
Notable counterterrorism operations in Somalia courtesy of African Union forces supporting the weak Somali army forces have seen a number of key town and localities liberated from the terrorist group. Notably, the military has managed to liberate several strategic towns across the region of Lower Shabelle, with the U.S. precision strikes also eliminating terrorists in Middle Jubba and Lower Jubba regions of southern Somalia.
However, Al-Shabaab’s threat in Somalia continue to be recorded every day. Its noteworthy of the resumption of low-scale as well as large-scale attacks in the country’s capital Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab is fronted to wage more attacks in the coming days citing the exploitation of the election crisis which remain unresolved.
