Inside Al Shabaab: The extremist group trying to seize Somalia

[Music] a graduation ceremony for around 200 al-shabab fighters the latest recruits for the militants that rule over a third of somalia their face is covered so they can operate anonymously they are fighting to overthrow the internationally recognized government of somalia democratic these soldiers will be sent on missions to carry out attacks against the somali government as well as african indian troops stationed here and in neighboring countries they have undergone several months of intense training to become battle ready they might not want to reveal their identities but they do want to show their force uniforms guns vehicles all spoils of war stolen from the enemies and of course the essential mug for sweet tea notoriously suspicious they rarely give access to outsiders i'm the first journalist allowed to film them in years it his nickname and not to his extensive martial arts training he was once a somali government intelligence officer who is now one of al-shabab's most senior leaders justified was formed in 2002 and came to prominence in 2006 when ethiopia invaded somalia a few years later they pledged allegiance to al-qaeda the militants have carried out wave after wave of attacks over the years targeting the african union forces who are here to protect the somali state but civilians are often the victims this explosion in 2017 killed over 500 people in mogadishu the u.s and europe have spent billions of dollars to try to defeat them president biden recently announced that u.s soldiers would once again be stationed here western nations regard al-shabab as a terrorist organization that's causing havoc and instability in the east africa region that's why they have been targeting their leaders with drone strikes funding the african union mission and supporting the somali government but after 16 years of fighting to eliminate the militants al-shabab still remain strong i have come to the group's heartland to find out why this is the de facto capital of al-shabab the city of chilep in southern somalia i am being given a tour by the governor and one of the group's most senior leaders he takes me to a checkpoint where all vehicles coming into the region are searched [Music] you each vehicle has to pay between 200 and 1500 us dollars to pass through depending on the size and the goods they are carrying they collect millions of dollars of taxes a month to fund their military campaign and the efforts to build a state there is also some more unusual contraband plastic bags are banned in al-shabab territory their environmental policies might be the same but the uk government considers them one of the most dangerous terrorist organizations in africa the governor himself has a bounty on his head and has survived multiple assassination attempts as he shows me around he argues the perception of al-shabab is not accurate he takes me to the main hospital where they have invested two million dollars to build new departments hannah i have come across this billboard you might not believe this message is from al-shabab but it reads your opinion is important your complaints will be listened with al-shabaab's reputation are people really brave enough to complain the suggestion box is just a few hundred yards from where they carry out regular public executions under the governor's supervision next abu abdullah takes me to a food distribution center he tells me they are trying to establish a welfare state i asked him if this was a strategy to win public support and this region is the most fertile land in somalia but elsewhere in the country there is severe drought humanitarian agencies warned that millions are at risk of starvation foreign it's hard to know whether people are only supporting the group in exchange for food i wanted to find out what residents in gilip who aren't reliant on handouts think so i head into town on my own that evening i stopped at abdulrahman's barbershop he is originally from hargeys in northern somalia but moved here six years ago [Music] but there's another reason too in al-shabab areas drugs are strictly forbidden abdulrahman was once an addict but the restrictions have helped him kick his habit there is little crime here in gilipe due to a heavy al-shabab security presence and brutal punishment thieves have their hands and feet cut off but they are not just here to prevent crime their role is also to implement strict islamic rules foreign in the past people who were caught would be punished but they are now taking a softer approach as part of their strategy to win public support [Music] al-shabab's goal is to govern the whole of somalia and restrict sharia law and that means educating future generations to create a loyal following children were what are considered to be al-shabab symbols on their foreheads the group have opened dozens of schools [Music] teaching subjects like computer science maths and english alongside al-shabab ideology you have to be able to describe peer-to-peer versus server-based networks muhammad has six children al-shabab are often compared to the taliban but they encourage women like her to work and girls to go to school they also don't force women to cover their faces although some do the women they walk i'll show up they are just work they don't force you to stay at home but they encourage us to come out and work and they give us suitable conditions to work and learn also back at the graduation ceremony the new fighters are sharing a feast with ahmed karate a popular man here the u.s has placed a 5 million dollar bounty on his head he is seen as playing a key role in the planning and execution of attacks in somalia and beyond he's never given an interview but while u.s drones fly around us he sits down with me under the canopy of the trees foreign these graduates will soon be sent into action al-shabab leaders know that the west is running out of patience with the somali government funding for the african union mission here has been cut year after year and many of their soldiers have been killed they also have their own issues to deal with at home and are scheduled to leave somalia in 2024 al-shabab are playing a waiting game

Channel: Channel 4 News

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Keywords: Channel 4 News, somalia, somalia terrorism, al shabaab, Al Shabab, Al Shabaab, al qaeda, islam, africa terrorism, extremism in africa, extremisim in somalia, al shabab news, al shabaab news, inside al shabaab, terrorism news, al shabaab terrorists, al shabaab extremists, channel 4 news, channel 4, c4 news, Al-Shabaab, Al-Qaeda, Al Qaeda, Qaeda, training, Al-Qaeda training, training camps, jihadist training, jihad, jihadi, Somalia Al-Shabaab, terrorism, terrorist, militants, muslim

Id: KVSw0E9Y1RI

Length: 13min 56sec (836 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 15 2022