Al-Shabaab's Kenyan Gateway: The Role Of Eldoret Airport

Al-Shabaab, or the Youth, is a Somali-based transnational Salafi jihadist military and political organization that has been active since the mid-2000s. The group has been designated as a terrorist organization by several countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Al-Shabaab has a history of carrying out attacks and insurgencies in Somalia and other East African countries, such as Kenya and Ethiopia, with a particular focus on targeting government forces, foreign peacekeepers, and civilians. With a strong presence in southern and central Somalia, the group aims to establish an Islamic state under strict Sharia law.

Eldoret Airport is an international airport located in the city of Eldoret, Kenya, which is approximately 17 kilometres south of the central business district. It is a large airport with a single asphalt runway and handles several cargo flights each week.

Given Al-Shabaab's presence and activities in Kenya, it is possible that they may have some interest in or connection to Eldoret Airport. However, there is no specific information available in the sources to confirm whether Al-Shabaab uses Eldoret Airport or not.

Al-Shabaab's presence in Eldoret

Al-Shabaab is a Somalia-based transnational Salafi jihadist military and political organization that is also active in other parts of East Africa. It is an insurgent group that seeks to establish an Islamic state in Somalia and exerts control over large parts of the country's south and centre.

Al-Shabaab has been known to operate in Kenya's border regions with its Jaysh Ayman wing, but I found no specific evidence of its presence in the city of Eldoret, where the airport is located. However, there have been instances of conflict between Al-Shabaab and Kenyan forces. For example, in 2013, Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for an attack on a Nairobi shopping mall that killed 67 people, and in 2015, the group killed 148 people in an attack on a university in Garissa, Kenya.

The Eldoret International Airport is a large airport located in the city of Eldoret, in Uasin Gishu County, in midwestern Kenya. The airport serves the city of Eldoret and the surrounding communities and is open from Monday to Sunday from 03:30 to 17:30 GMT. It is administered by the Kenya Airports Authority.

Al-Shabaab's history and formation

Al-Shabaab, or Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, is a transnational Salafi jihadist military and political organization based in Somalia. The group is also known as Ash-Shabaab, Hizb al-Shabaab ("Party of the Youth"), Al Osra Army in Somalia, and the Islamic Emirate of Somalia. The name Al-Shabaab means "the youth" in Arabic.

Al-Shabaab was formed in the mid-2000s as a youth militia within the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), an umbrella group that provided de facto governance in much of Somalia. The group's first leader, Aden Hashi Ayro, served in Al Ittihad Al Islamiya (AIAI) from 1991-1997 before joining the ICU. Al-Shabaab emerged as an independent organization in December 2006 after the dissolution of the ICU, for which it had served as the military wing.

In 2006, Al-Shabaab rose to prominence during the Ethiopian invasion and occupation of Somalia, positioning itself as a vehicle for armed resistance against the Ethiopian army. During this period, the group gained popular support from Somalis and became a dominant force in southern and central Somalia.

In 2007, Al-Shabaab was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States. The same year, Ayro was killed in a U.S. missile strike, and Ahmed Abdi Godane became the group's new leader. Under Godane, Al-Shabaab aligned itself more closely with Al-Qaeda, adopting a more global jihadist agenda.

In 2008, Al-Shabaab launched a violent campaign of revenge for Ayro's death, targeting government targets in Somalia. The group also began to include Al-Qaeda militants in its leadership and adopted tactics such as suicide bombings.

Between 2009 and 2010, Al-Shabaab controlled most of central and southern Somalia and established administrative structures to govern territories under its control. The group gained control of important cities like Baido and the port city of Kismayo.

In 2011, Al-Shabaab suffered territorial and strategic setbacks due to a military offensive against the group and internal struggles over its leadership and ideological direction. Despite these setbacks, Al-Shabaab remained influential in many rural areas, prioritizing guerrilla and terror attacks over territorial acquisitions.

In 2012, Al-Shabaab formally pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda, becoming an official affiliate of the group. This alliance drew internal opposition within Al-Shabaab, reflecting ongoing ideological differences within the group.

In 2013, Al-Shabaab carried out high-profile attacks in neighboring countries, including the Westgate mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya, which killed 67 people.

Since its formation, Al-Shabaab has continued its violent insurgency in southern and central Somalia, exerting control over strategic locations through recruitment and the use of guerrilla warfare and terrorist tactics. The group has targeted Somali government officials, religious minorities, civilians, foreign troops, diplomats, and aid workers.

Al-Shabaab's goals and objectives

Al-Shabaab, a jihadist organisation with roots in Ethiopia's 2006 invasion of Somalia, carries out regular deadly attacks. It is a transnational Salafi Jihadist military and political organisation based in Somalia and is active elsewhere in East Africa. It is the militant wing of the Somali Council of Islamic Courts that took over most of southern Somalia in the second half of 2006. Despite the group's defeat by Somali and Ethiopian forces in 2007, Al-Shabaab has continued its violent insurgency in southern and central Somalia.

Al-Shabaab has exerted temporary and, at times, sustained control over strategic locations in southern and central Somalia by recruiting, sometimes forcibly, regional sub-clans and their militias, using guerrilla warfare and terrorist tactics against the FGS, African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) peacekeepers, and nongovernmental aid organizations. Since 2011, pressure from AMISOM and Ethiopian forces has largely degraded Al-Shabaab's control, especially in Mogadishu and other key regions of the country.

Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for many bombings, including various types of suicide attacks, in Mogadishu and in central and northern Somalia, typically targeting Somali government officials, AMISOM, and perceived allies of the FGS. Since 2013, Al-Shabaab has launched high-profile operations in neighbouring countries, including the September 2013 Westgate mall attack in Nairobi, the May 2014 attack against a restaurant in Djibouti, and the April 2015 massacre of university students in Garissa, Kenya.

A major component of Al-Shabaab's ideology is Somali religious nationalism, which is incorporated into its pan-Islamist cause. Patriotic themes warning Somalis of the plots from international NGOs, "Christian Crusaders" (United States, Ethiopia, AMISOM), and their collaborators are a regular feature of the movement's propaganda. Al-Shabaab regards Somalia's Federal Government as an illegitimate "apostate" entity backed by foreign invaders. The group has also persecuted those individuals belonging to Somalia's small Christian minority, accusing them of aiding the agenda of foreign "Crusaders" to "convert Somalis to Christianity".

Al-Shabaab has disseminated its propaganda through various media, but its engagement with Somalis in rural areas is mostly face-to-face or through radio broadcasts. The group operates its own radio station, Radio Andalus, and has also conducted military parades in its territories as a show of force. Al-Shabaab has also been known to create propaganda films, with direct support from al-Qaeda's as-Sahab Media Foundation, which are used as tools for recruitment, particularly among foreign jihadists.

In territories it holds, Al-Shabaab typically maintains "limited but effective" administrative control over resident populations, providing services such as dispute resolution through Sharia-based courts. The group has also established a sophisticated taxation system, framed as a form of zakat, in line with Sharia law, but often resembling extortion. Al-Shabaab has access to substantial funding through various revenue streams, including illicit markets, taxation, and external support from the Somali diaspora and international jihadists.

Al-Shabaab's ultimate goal is to establish a stable Islamic state inside Somalia, or, more ambitiously, inside a so-called Greater Somalia, uniting the ethnic Somali populations of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti. The group's transnational aims link Somali nationalist and local grievances to the plight of Muslims worldwide.

Al-Shabaab's funding and income sources

Al-Shabaab, the militant wing of the Somali Council of Islamic Courts, generates around $100 million per year through multiple funding streams. The group engages in traditional terrorist funding methods, including bribery, extortion, money transfers, kidnappings for ransom, money laundering, and personal couriers. They have also developed their own sources of funding and become increasingly independent from external sponsorship.

Al-Shabaab's newest sources of funding include extortion of elders, businesspeople, and farmers; exploitation of the used automobile trade; mobile money transfers; and theft of pastoralists' livestock. Through territorial expansion, they also engage in illicit activities such as illegal mining and trade/smuggling of commodities such as charcoal, heroin, ivory, livestock, and sugar. The group imposes taxes on individuals, businesses, pirates, etc., and collects tolls, fees, and taxes on agricultural produce and land. They have also been involved in criminal schemes such as kidnapping-for-ransom operations and theft of livestock.

In addition, Al-Shabaab has received funding from external sources such as al-Qa'ida, with whom they pledged allegiance in 2009 and officially became an affiliate in 2012. They have also received funding from local companies in Somalia and individuals within those companies who act as key interlocutors. Al-Shabaab has also taken advantage of foreign aid money sent to Somalia by western nations, extorting thousands of dollars per day through roadblocks and taxes on merchants transporting food and supplies to displaced people.

Al-Shabaab's attacks in Kenya

Al-Shabaab, the militant wing of the Somali Council of Islamic Courts, has carried out numerous attacks in Kenya as part of its insurgency in southern and central Somalia. The group has exploited clan politics and divisions to recruit members and exert control over strategic locations in Somalia, targeting the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) peacekeepers, and nongovernmental aid organizations.

Westgate Mall Attack, Nairobi (2013):

Al-Shabaab militants launched a high-profile attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi in September 2013. The siege lasted several days, resulting in the deaths of 67 Kenyan and non-Kenyan nationals.

Garissa University Attack (2015):

In April 2015, Al-Shabaab militants massacred approximately 150 mainly Christian students at Garissa University in Kenya. This attack shocked the nation and highlighted the group's willingness to target civilians, particularly those of the Christian faith.

Mandera and Gedo Region Attacks:

Al-Shabaab has a significant presence in the Mandera and Gedo regions, which border Kenya and Somalia. They have carried out attacks on Kenyan security forces and AMISOM troops in these areas. One notable incident mentioned in the sources occurred in 2019, when Al-Shabaab militants attacked a Kenyan camp in El Adde, Gedo region, using a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED). The attack resulted in significant casualties, with reports of over 60 soldiers killed.

Al-Shabaab's ability to launch attacks in Kenya has been hampered by the pressure exerted by AMISOM and Ethiopian forces, which have degraded their control over strategic areas in Somalia. Additionally, the group has faced internal divisions and leadership struggles, which may have impacted their operational capabilities. Nonetheless, Al-Shabaab continues to pose a threat to Kenya and the East African region, exploiting porous borders and local support networks to carry out attacks and further their insurgency.

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