Al-Shabaab Faces Pushback in Ethiopia’s Somali Region

 

Al-Shabab fighters march during military exercises in the Lafofe area, some 18 kilometers (11 miles) south of Mogadishu, Somalia, Feb. 17, 2011.

Al-Shabaab extremists, Somalia-based Islamic insurgence group active in East Africa, are being repelled by Ethiopia's Somali region, which is mobilizing against them to stop any more assaults.

 

Since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018, the area has been praised as being the calmest in all of Ethiopia. But three weeks ago, when al-Shabab fighters broke into the area, starting a horrific conflict deep inside Ethiopia that was put to the test.

 

In preparation for potential military actions against al-Shabaab, Ethiopia has now gathered troops around the border. The Somali region, however, is also organizing community leaders, such as female elders, religious academics, and traditional leaders. Business leaders have committed finances, and pastoralists have given the security forces cattle in the form of donations.

 

The apparent objective is to thwart the spread of al-ideology Shabaab's in a region renowned for its religious tolerance and harmonious coexistence.

 

One of the religious leaders who spoke out against al-Shabaab at a recent government-sponsored event in Jigjiga, the region's capital, was Sheikh Mohamed Hassan Burawi.

 

“They want to manipulate people by saying they want to spread religion and jihad,” Burawi told VOA. “We have to give people awareness that what these men are preaching is not jihad, but it’s independent of the religion.”

 

Burawi said the Somali region does not need al-Shabaab’s intervention, and said the scholars are obliged to speak at mosques and inform the public about the militant organization.

 

“This is the right time to speak out,” he said. “We should not give these men a chance, the government should not give them a chance and the clerics should not give them a chance. We have to stop them here.”

 

According to executive director of the Hiraal Institute in Mogadishu and security analyst Samira Gaid, the neighborhood currently seems prepared to repel any al-Shabaab incursion.

 

She claimed that al-Shabaab has had difficulty establishing a base of support within the Somali Region.

 

Although Somalian extremist groups have so far been unable to establish long-term bases in Ethiopia, they have been successful in recruiting new members. Al-Ethiopian Shabaab's front commander Ali Diyaar and a number of other leaders who purportedly took part in the most recent raid are locals. Al-Shabaab has also hired people from other Ethiopian ethnic groups, such as the Oromo.