The Growing Appeal Of al Shabaab In Eastern Africa

Special Report: In Africa, A Militant Group's Growing Appeal -- Reuters

(Reuters) - When Abdullahi slipped across the Kenya-Somali border to join the fighters of Islamist militant group al Shabaab in 2009, the livestock herder from northern Kenya found himself among recruits from around the globe.

There were ethnic Somalis who had grown up in Australia, Britain, France and the United States. But there was also a large number of fellow Kenyans in the group's ranks. They included, unexpectedly, dozens of young men who did not share his Somali ancestry or language but came instead from the green, tropical heartland of Kenya where Christianity is the dominant religion.

Abdullahi, then aged about 20, initially dismissed those men as opportunists who had pretended to convert to Islam to win work as guns for hire.

Then he saw them in battle.

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My Comment: Like the Taliban in Afghanistan .... Islamic extremism in Somalia has the loyal support of a good section of the population .... and it is from this base that al Shabaab gets their support. In short .... Somalia is Afghanistan .... minus 100,000+ NATO coalition soldiers.

Update: Kenya is now being impacted by the conflict that is occurring in Somalia (see here). Like Pakistan .... Kenya has the unfortunate position of being beside a failed state that also has an active Islamic insurgency.