By Majid Ahmed in Mogadishu
December 07, 2012
The al-Kataib Foundation, al-Shabaab's media centre, recently
released a series of videos on the internet urging foreign jihadists all
over the world to come and join the fight in Somalia.
Al-Shabaab's focus on recruiting foreign fighters and its increasing
use of the English language on social media outlets shows the militant
group's receding power and its shrinking influence within Somalia,
security officials and analysts say.
"The media war on the internet waged by al-Shabaab to recruit foreign fighters is a sign of the level of its desperation and failure to recruit Somalis from inside the country," said Abdullahi Abdirahman, vice president of the Somali Media Centre in Mogadishu.
In September 2011, al-Shabaab opened a Twitter account and has almost exclusively used English in all postings and press releases since then. "The fact that al-Shabaab has resorted to using English in its modern promotional activities is an indication that its target audience is not Somali people inside [the country], but rather foreigners outside of Somalia," Abdirahman said.
"After the extremist al-Shabaab failed to recruit Somalis living inside Somalia, it is trying to recruit foreigners from abroad," he said.
Hashim Ahmed, a Mogadishu-based political analyst who monitors al-Shabaab, said the group is particularly targeting foreign terrorists with Western passports who "might help expand the range of [al-Shabaab's] operations beyond Somalia".
"Through this step, al-Shabaab is trying to encourage these foreign fighters to execute terrorist operations in the countries they came from after they go back," he said.
"There are currently several foreign fighters within the ranks of al-Shabaab with Western, African and Asian citizenship," Ahmed told Sabahi, adding that it is difficult to come up with an exact number.
Last month, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said al-Shabaab has been effectively defeated in Somalia. "We have no relationship [with al-Shabaab] and we do not intend to have one with the foreign fighters in Somalia," he said on November 28th during a state visit to Ethiopia. "The only option for them is to leave the country."
Al-Shabaab faces a huge challenge in finding Somali recruits, which explains why it is trying recruit from foreign countries, said retired Colonel Omar Mohamed, an adviser to the Somali National Army.
"Somalis reject terrorism in all its shapes and forms, which is why al-Shabaab cannot, from now on, [easily] convince any Somali citizen to fight in the name of religion," Mohamed told Sabahi. "Al-Shabaab currently constitutes a foreign body that any Somali will not get close to. This is because people are aware that the group's claims of jihad and defending religion are false."
Abdikadir Yusuf, a political activist who ran for parliament in 2012 and lost, said al-Shabaab's media war stems from increasing military pressure from the Somali National Army and the African Union Mission in Somalia.
"Al-Shabaab takes its propaganda on the internet very seriously in an attempt to distract attention from its successive losses on the ground," Yusuf told Sabahi.
Since the beginning of this year, al-Shabaab has lost many of its main strongholds in southern and central Somalia, including Beledweyne, Baidoa, Hudur, Marka and Kismayo.
"As al-Shabaab has failed in convincing Somalis to bear arms and fight for its cause, so too will it fail in recruiting more foreign volunteers, particularly at a time when the group is splintering," he said.
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![Al-Shabaab fighters guard a crowd in Mogadishu in June 2009. After losing many of its strongholds in southern and central Somalia this year, al-Shabaab has appealed to foreign fighters to assist in its fight against the government and allied forces. [Mustafa Abdi/AFP]](http://sabahionline.com/shared/images/2012/12/07/shabaab-recruitment-somalia-340_227.jpg)
Al-Shabaab fighters guard a crowd in Mogadishu in June 2009. After
losing many of its strongholds in southern and central Somalia this
year, al-Shabaab has appealed to foreign fighters to assist in its fight
against the government and allied forces. [Mustafa Abdi/AFP]
![Al-Shabaab fighters guard a crowd in Mogadishu in June 2009. After losing many of its strongholds in southern and central Somalia this year, al-Shabaab has appealed to foreign fighters to assist in its fight against the government and allied forces. [Mustafa Abdi/AFP]](http://sabahionline.com/shared/images/2012/12/07/shabaab-recruitment-somalia.jpg)
"The media war on the internet waged by al-Shabaab to recruit foreign fighters is a sign of the level of its desperation and failure to recruit Somalis from inside the country," said Abdullahi Abdirahman, vice president of the Somali Media Centre in Mogadishu.
In September 2011, al-Shabaab opened a Twitter account and has almost exclusively used English in all postings and press releases since then. "The fact that al-Shabaab has resorted to using English in its modern promotional activities is an indication that its target audience is not Somali people inside [the country], but rather foreigners outside of Somalia," Abdirahman said.
"After the extremist al-Shabaab failed to recruit Somalis living inside Somalia, it is trying to recruit foreigners from abroad," he said.
Hashim Ahmed, a Mogadishu-based political analyst who monitors al-Shabaab, said the group is particularly targeting foreign terrorists with Western passports who "might help expand the range of [al-Shabaab's] operations beyond Somalia".
"Through this step, al-Shabaab is trying to encourage these foreign fighters to execute terrorist operations in the countries they came from after they go back," he said.
"There are currently several foreign fighters within the ranks of al-Shabaab with Western, African and Asian citizenship," Ahmed told Sabahi, adding that it is difficult to come up with an exact number.
Last month, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said al-Shabaab has been effectively defeated in Somalia. "We have no relationship [with al-Shabaab] and we do not intend to have one with the foreign fighters in Somalia," he said on November 28th during a state visit to Ethiopia. "The only option for them is to leave the country."
Al-Shabaab faces a huge challenge in finding Somali recruits, which explains why it is trying recruit from foreign countries, said retired Colonel Omar Mohamed, an adviser to the Somali National Army.
"Somalis reject terrorism in all its shapes and forms, which is why al-Shabaab cannot, from now on, [easily] convince any Somali citizen to fight in the name of religion," Mohamed told Sabahi. "Al-Shabaab currently constitutes a foreign body that any Somali will not get close to. This is because people are aware that the group's claims of jihad and defending religion are false."
Abdikadir Yusuf, a political activist who ran for parliament in 2012 and lost, said al-Shabaab's media war stems from increasing military pressure from the Somali National Army and the African Union Mission in Somalia.
"Al-Shabaab takes its propaganda on the internet very seriously in an attempt to distract attention from its successive losses on the ground," Yusuf told Sabahi.
Since the beginning of this year, al-Shabaab has lost many of its main strongholds in southern and central Somalia, including Beledweyne, Baidoa, Hudur, Marka and Kismayo.
"As al-Shabaab has failed in convincing Somalis to bear arms and fight for its cause, so too will it fail in recruiting more foreign volunteers, particularly at a time when the group is splintering," he said.
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