Kenya at War with Al-Shabaab

African Affairs published in January 2015 an article titled "Kenya at War: Al-Shabaab and Its Enemies in Eastern Africa" by David M. Anderson, professor at the University of Warwick, and Jacob McKnight, post-doctoral researcher at the University of Oxford African Health Systems Collaboration.

The article reviews the background to Kenya's invasion of southern Somalia, Operation Linda Nchi, and the prosecution of the war by Kenya's Defense Forces up to the capture of the city of Kismayo and the contest to control its lucrative port and the charcoal trade.  The authors then discuss al-Shabaab's response, showing how the  movement has reinvented itself to take the struggle into Kenya.  They conclude that while the military defeat of al-Shabaab in southern Somalia seems inevitable, such a victory may become irrelevant to Kenya's ability to negotiate a political settlement with its Somali and wider Muslim communities at home. 

Kenya and the Challenge of Al-Shabaab

The International Crisis Group (ICG) published on 25 September 2014 a briefing titled "Kenya: Al-Shabaab--Closer to Home."  It reports that al-Shabaab has become more entrenched and active in Kenya following the attack on Westgate Mall a year ago.  The country's immediate post-Westgate  unity has broken down in the face of increasing attacks.  The political elites, security services, and ethnic and faith communities are beset by mutual suspicion and recriminations. 

The War against Al-Shabaab

International Affairs published in July 2014 an article titled "After Westgate: Opportunities and Challenges in the War against Al-Shabaab" by Paul D. Williams, George Washington University.

Williams concludes that the Somali government must now deliver on its promises to provide the residents of settlements recovered from al-Shabaab with basic services, administration, and protection.  For its part, al-Shabaab is entering the beginning of its political end game.  With power now consolidated in its extremist fringe, its continued terror tactics are unlikely to win it more supporters within Somalia. 

Al-Hijra: Al-Shabaab's Affiliate in Kenya

The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point publishes the CTC Sentinel, which ran a brief analysis on 29 May 2014 titled "Al-Hijra: Al-Shabab's Affiliate in Kenya" by Nairobi-based journalist Frederick Nzes. 

The article profiles al-Hijra, formerly known as the Muslim Youth Center.  Al-Hijra is a covert group of primarily Kenyan Somali and non-Somali Muslim followers of al-Shabaab in East Africa.  The group may have been strengthened recently by fighters returning from Somalia and local recruits from East Africa.