ogadishu is the largest city in Somalia, as well as the nation’s capital. It is located in the Banaadir region of the Indian Ocean, serving as an important port for centuries. As of 2009, the population of Mogadishu was 1.35 million people. In more recent times, the city has been majorly affected by the Civil War, also having many militias fight for the city’s control; the biggest being Al-Shabaab, who fought the Traditional Federal Government and its AMISOM allies. Subsequently, Mogadishu has experienced much reconstruction over time.
Being the capital of Somalia, many important institutions rely on the city of Mogadishu. On August 20th, 2012, the Federal Government was established, and the Federal Parliament serves as Mogadishu’s legislative branch. Their municipal government currently is being led by Mayor Hassan Mohamed Hussein Mungab.
Mogadishu - the largest city in Somalia, have recently been warned (2/27) to stay away from government centers due to a planned attack by a group called al Shabaab. Not only is the militia planning to follow through with national attacks, but the United States and the West have recently been threatened to be attacked as well. With this information, the U.S. sent a missile to southern Somalia, killing a senior al Shabaab leader who has arranged suicide attacks. A U.S. Official confirms that the missile struck in an open area near a coastal rebel enclave called Barawe, successfully killing the man named Ahmed Mohamed Ahey. (Somalia: Al-Shabaab Warns Mogadishu Residents of More Attacks, 2014)
Al Shabaab was defeated by Somali and Ethiopian forces in 2007, but it still continued its violence in southern and central Somalia. The group maintained control over strategic locations by recruiting and even sometimes forcing citizens into the militia, using terror attacks and guerrilla warfare against the Somali federal government (SFG), African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) peacekeepers, and nongovernmental aid organizations. Since 2013, though, al-Shabaab's control has greatly decreased due to pressure from AMISOM mostly in Mogadishu, as well as other important regions in the country. Knowing the structure of al Shabaab makes it easier to understand how the group operates. Their leaders are apart of the Shura council. The council sets the policy for al Shabaab, who are to follow their rules and expectations. (Al Shabaab Leadership Profiles)
The al Shabaab senior leader, Ahed Mohamed Amey threatened the U.S. and the West that he was going to attack these two areas. With this information, the U.S. military took action and striked Amey and his driver with a missile, killing them both as safety for our country. Security sourcers stated that Amey was close with the al Shabaab leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, who was the one who restyled their group as a global style in al Qaeda. A former Islamist militant said that Amey told Godane to his ‘secret service’ - a unit blamed for suicide attacks in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. Supposedly, Amey and Godane were good friends and were always on good terms with one another.
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The 23 Year War
By: Michelle Orgel