Author Archives

• Sunday Reading: #Kenya #SouthAfrica #Tanzania #Somalia

  By Tres Thomas on July 20, 2014 • ( 0 )

  

  1. CRIMES OF THE FATHER… (Kenya) As the world ponders whether terrorists or “local political networks” are the catalysts for atrocities on Kenya’s coast, the core issue is that upcountry settlers have dubiously acquired land from indigenous people for decades. This… Read More ›

• Shulman Rogers, Somalia, and the Great Corruption Carousel

  By Tres Thomas on July 18, 2014 • ( 0 )

  

  A newly leaked United Nations monitoring group report on Somalia came to the same conclusion as ex-Central Bank chief Yusra Abrar in alleging the president, several advisors, the ex-Foreign Minister, and American law firm Shulman Rogers conspired to divert government… Read More ›

• Threat of Al-Shabaab and Extremist Attacks Grows in Tanzania

  By Tres Thomas on July 11, 2014 • ( 3 )

  

  In just the span of four days, attackers in separate incidents in Arusha, Tanzania threw IEDs at the house of a local Muslim leader and at a popular Indian restaurant. Police in Arusha first claimed that the restaurant bombing was… Read More ›

• Truth and Fiction: Who’s Really Behind Terrorist Attacks in Kenya?

  By Tres Thomas on July 8, 2014 • ( 1 )

  

  Terrorist operations in Nairobi, Mombasa, Mpeketoni and other sites in Kenya’s urban and coastal towns have driven a polemic debate about who exactly is responsible. Before and after al-Shabaab’s September 2013 attack at the Westgate Mall, dozens of unclaimed grenade… Read More ›

• Al-Shabaab Opens Center for Disadvantaged Youth

  By Tres Thomas on July 2, 2014 • ( 0 )

  

  This week, al-Shabaab held a ceremony to celebrate the opening of al-Amal Center–a new facility allegedly for neglected children in the group’s stronghold of Barawe, Lower Shabelle. The group’s Lower Shabelle governor Sheikh Mohamed Abu Abdalla stated that the objective… Read More ›

• Analysis: Flawed Baidoa Deal Will Have Worrying Ripple Effect in Somalia

  By Tres Thomas on June 30, 2014 • ( 0 )

  

  On 22 June 2014, rival Baidoa camps fighting over the structure and leadership of a prospective Southwest State signed an agreement to form an interim administration in the presence of the Somali government, Ethiopia, and other international officials. AMISOM, EU,… Read More ›

• Why Al-Shabaab Ally “Atom” Surrendered to the Somali Government

  By Tres Thomas on June 9, 2014 • ( 1 )

  

  Ex-Puntland militia leader and al-Shabaab ally Sheikh Mohamed Said “Atom” surrendered to the Somali government in a Mogadishu press conference on 7 June 2014. In his short pre-written statement (possibly crafted with the help of the Somali government), Atom condemned… Read More ›

• Al-Shabaab Displays Loot From Kenya, Alleged Airstrike Victims

  By Tres Thomas on May 27, 2014 • ( 1 )

  

  Al-Shabaab released photos from a recent cross-border attack it staged in Mandera, Kenya where it reportedly attacked police stations and the home of a local county official. The group commonly uses these public events–like the group did after a raid in… Read More ›

• Al-Shabaab Expresses Support for Boko Haram Abduction of Schoolgirls in Nigeria

  By Tres Thomas on May 13, 2014 • ( 1 )

  

  On its Facebook page, al-Shabaab’s official media outlet Radio al-Andalus expressed support for Boko Haram’s abduction of over 200 schoolgirls from Chibok in Nigeria’s Borno state. Mimicking a ceremony al-Shabaab held with Kenyan hostages, Boko Haram claimed in a recent video that over 100 of… Read More ›

• Can Somalia’s MPs Actually Impeach The President?

  By Tres Thomas on May 9, 2014 • ( 3 )

  

  While aid agencies warn of another catastrophic hunger crisis amid low Gu rains, Somalia’s political cycle is in full swing. Over 100 MPs have signed and presented a petition to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud asking him to resign, citing 14 points of failure. And by… Read More ›

• Clan Tensions in Kismayo Simmer a Year after Violent Battles

  By Tres Thomas on April 25, 2014 • ( 0 )

  

  Kismayo continues to be the site of contentious clan dynamics almost a year after violent battles among clan militias supporting or contesting Ras Kamboni leader Ahmed Madobe and the formation of his “Jubaland” administration. It has also been more than six… Read More ›

• Kidnapped Kenyans “Converted” and “Freed” by al-Shabaab Now in KDF Custody

  By Tres Thomas on April 11, 2014 • ( 2 )

  

  On 11 April 2014, the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) under AMISOM and the Interim Jubba Administration (IJA) based in Kismayo claimed to rescue two Kenyan aid workers who were kidnapped by al-Shabaab in 2011. Before their capture, Daniel Njuguna Wanyoike worked for a… Read More ›

• Social Media Reactions to Kenya’s Security Crackdown in Nairobi

  By Tres Thomas on April 9, 2014 • ( 3 )

  

  The Kenyan government has been carrying out a controversial crackdown concentrated in the Nairobi neighborhood of Eastleigh in response to a string of attacks in Nairobi and Mombasa attributed to al-Shabaab and its sympathizers. The security sweeps are also part of Kenya’s ongoing… Read More ›