18 March 2008
Somali Extremists Added to U.S. Terrorist List, March 18, 2008
(Al-Shabaab designated foreign terrorist organization)
By David I. McKeeby
Staff Writer
Washington -- Al-Shabaab, a Somalia-based extremist group with known ties to the transnational terrorist group al-Qaida, has been named as the latest addition to the U.S. State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations.
“Al-Shabaab has used intimidation and violence to undermine the Somali government and threatened civil society activists working to bring about peace through political dialogue and reconciliation,” the State Department said in a statement released by the Office of the Spokesman March 18.
Founded in 2004 as the youth wing of the Islamic Courts Union, Al-Shabaab is described by counterterrorism experts as a radical splinter group that gained notoriety for staging several attacks against Somali civilians, government officials and African Union peacekeepers.
“Unchecked, terrorists will continue to undermine and threaten stability and the lives of civilians inside Somalia and throughout the region,” said Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer, America’s top Africa diplomat, in recent congressional testimony.
Several of Al-Shabaab’s senior leaders trained and fought beside al-Qaida in Afghanistan and have known links to operatives involved in both the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the 2002 attack on a tourist resort in Mombasa, Kenya. (See “Somalia: Ensuring Long-Term Peace and Stability.”)
Al-Shabaab members have kidnapped journalists, targeted foreign aid workers and threatened to stage attacks against Somalis participating in the 2007 conference aimed at helping the country put an end to years of conflict.
“Fighting terrorism in Somalia is not our sole priority,” says Frazer, “but rather is part of a comprehensive strategy to reverse radicalization, improve governance, rule of law, democracy and human rights, and improve economic growth and job creation.”
The United States views action to identify and list “foreign terrorist organizations” as an effective tool for denying them financial support, blocking their international travel and criminalizing support for them. (See “Terrorist Group List Highlights Why Terrorism Is Unacceptable.”)
Every year, the State Department issues its Country Reports on Terrorism, which includes the foreign terrorist organization list, designed to cut off funding to terrorist groups, block their immigration into the United States and authorize deportation of any members found in the United States.
Al-Shabaab is the 43rd organization to be added to the list.
“Given the threat that al-Shabaab poses, the designation will raise awareness of al-Shabaab’s activities and help undercut the group’s ability to threaten targets in and destabilize the Horn of Africa region,” the State Department statement said.
See the text of the statement.
