Al Shabab terrorists pose greatest threat to peace in Somalia and the region: UN experts

The Al Shabab terrorist group remains the greatest immediate threat to peace and stability in Somalia and the region, especially Kenya, UN experts said in a report released on Wednesday.

They said the threat comes not only from Al Shabab’s ability to strike — including within the capital, Mogadishu, where it attempted to assassinate the president on March 18 — but from its sophisticated extortion operations, forced recruitment and propaganda machine.

The UN Security Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to extend authorisation for the African Union’s “support and stabilisation” force in Somalia until December 31, 2026. The force includes 11,826 uniformed personnel, including 680 police.

The terrorist group poses a significant threat to neighbouring Kenya “by conducting attacks that vary from attacks with improvised explosive devices, which predominantly target security personnel, to attacks on infrastructure, kidnappings, home raids and stealing of livestock,” the experts said.

Six attacks a month in Kenya

This year, Al Shabab averaged around six attacks a month in Kenya, mostly in Mandera and Lamu counties, which border Somalia in the northeast, the panel said.

In recent years, the Somali government has ramped up its fight against the terrorist group, with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud vowing to win the battle against Al Shabab.