Monday, December 22, 2008

Al-Shabaab's threat to seize power in Somalia

On Friday, I spoke with Al-Jazeera English newshour in London about the al-Shabaab militia organization that is threatening to seize power in Somalia. I commented that al-Shabaab has the most military power of any single organization in Somalia today. At the same time, it is not united and is structured according to clan and regional factions. It might be able to seize power if Somalis believe that it will establish security in the country but will face strong opposition from Somalis, who tend to be moderate in their Islam, if it tries to institute extremist practices.