Boko Haram
By James Wallunya
Al-Shabaab
Boko Haram which translates to ‘Western Education is forbidden’ is a Sunni Islamist terrorist organization based in Northern Nigeria with the aim of establishing an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria by overthrowing the government. It was founded in 2002 by Muslim cleric Mohamed Yusuf and is also known as “Jama'atu Ahl as-Sunnah li-Da'awati wal-Jihad” (People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad). Boko Haram is opposed to any ideology that is not the Islamic Sharia law. The organization has conducted several attacks in Nigeria, with the worst being the Baga killings that claimed as much as 2000 lives and destroyed about 3700 homes and businesses in January 3, 2015.
Boko Haram receives funding through several avenues including abductions, robberies, donations, extortion and financing through its network of alliances with other terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda
Boko Haram receives funding through several avenues including abductions, robberies, donations, extortion and financing through its network of alliances with other terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda
Al-Shabaab (The Youth) is a Sunni Islamist terrorist group based in Somalia, allied to Al-Qaeda with the aim of destabilizing the Somali government, conducting retaliatory attacks against any country that intervenes to help the Somali government and developing an Islamic caliphate governed by the group’s interpretation of sharia law in Somalia. It is also known as Harakat al-Shabab al-Mujahedeen and is responsible for several abductions, killings and bombing in Somalia, Uganda and Kenya. One of the most highly profiled attacks by the group is the September 24, 2013 Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi that claimed over 60 lives.
The militant group gets funding from several sources including monetary support from other terrorist groups, state sponsors, poaching, the Somali diaspora, charities, piracy, kidnapping, and the extortion of local businesses. Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, Iran, Qatar, and Eritrea have been named as possible state funders thought these countries have officially denied this claims.
African forces (AMISOM) have intervened the situation in Somalia, helping the Somali government to fight the insurgents. The forces have managed to carry several attacks against the group, killing some of its leaders together with several militias and blocking their some of their means of getting funding and other necessities. This together with infighting and division within the militia group has led to a slow weakening of the group.
The militant group gets funding from several sources including monetary support from other terrorist groups, state sponsors, poaching, the Somali diaspora, charities, piracy, kidnapping, and the extortion of local businesses. Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, Iran, Qatar, and Eritrea have been named as possible state funders thought these countries have officially denied this claims.
African forces (AMISOM) have intervened the situation in Somalia, helping the Somali government to fight the insurgents. The forces have managed to carry several attacks against the group, killing some of its leaders together with several militias and blocking their some of their means of getting funding and other necessities. This together with infighting and division within the militia group has led to a slow weakening of the group.
Al Qaeda In the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)
AQIM is a Salafi-jihadist terrorist group and ally of Al-Qaeda based in the Sahara and Sahel that aims to establish an Islamic caliphate in the region governed by Sharia law. They plan to do these by destabilizing apostate governments and getting rid of western influence. The group was formed in 1998 as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) and has declared its intention to attack European, Spanish, French, and American targets but has been more successful in striking North African targets. AQIM gets most of its funding from kidnapping and ransom, extortion and donations. It conducts attacks through guerilla warfare, suicide, mortar, rocket, and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks.
Lord’s Resistance army (LRA)
Lord’s Resistance army is Fundamentalist Christian terrorist group based in Uganda and formed in 1988 by Joseph Kony. LRA operates in the border region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic (CAR), and South Sudan. It objectives are to restore the honor of the ethnic Acholi people and to install a government based on Kony’s personal interpretation of the Ten Commandments. LRA militants are known for murder, torture, rape, and mutilations aimed primarily at Acholi communities, as well as abducting tens of thousands of children over the years to use as sex slaves and child soldiers. The insurgency is also responsible for over 100,000 deaths.
Sources
Al Qaeda In the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Lord’s Resistance army (LRA)Retrieved Janaury 27, 2014, from The National Counterorism Center: http://www.nctc.gov/site/index.html
Corina Simonelli, Michael Jensen, Alejandro Castro-Reina, Amy Pate, Scott Menner and Erin Miller. (2014). Boko Haram Recent Attacks . United States of America: National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START).
Jonathan Masters. (2015, September 5). Al-Shabaab. Retrieved January 27, 2015, from Backgrounders: http://www.cfr.org/somalia/al-shabab/p18650
Al Qaeda In the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Lord’s Resistance army (LRA)Retrieved Janaury 27, 2014, from The National Counterorism Center: http://www.nctc.gov/site/index.html
Corina Simonelli, Michael Jensen, Alejandro Castro-Reina, Amy Pate, Scott Menner and Erin Miller. (2014). Boko Haram Recent Attacks . United States of America: National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START).
Jonathan Masters. (2015, September 5). Al-Shabaab. Retrieved January 27, 2015, from Backgrounders: http://www.cfr.org/somalia/al-shabab/p18650