"Defending the land of Muslims in Somalia": al-Shabaab leadership against Turkish-Somali agreement with Ethiopia.
Two days ago, al-Kataib Media, official media of Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahidin, issued a lengthy statement titled “Defending religion and homeland is a legitimate duty.”
The statement comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's announcement of a reconciliation between the Somali government and Ethiopia to settle the dispute over the Somaliland region, which would allow Addis Ababa to gain an outlet to the sea in exchange for recognition of the separatist region's sovereignty.
The press office statement, published in English and Somali and translated into Arabic by the Shahada News agency, states the following:
“The Mujahideen Youth Movement announces its categorical rejection of the invalid agreement signed last night by the apostate administration led by Hassan Mahmoud and the Ethiopian government in Ankara, as expected by the Turkish government.”
The statement added, “According to the terms of the agreement, the apostate administration led by Hassan Mahmoud has allowed Ethiopia to seize parts of the Somali coastline and has acquiesced to the continued presence of Ethiopian forces occupying Somalia and committing continuous massacres against the Somali people, in addition to bringing in more forces to occupy new areas.”
The statement then goes on to argue that: “We assure the Somali people that the agreement signed by the enemies in Ankara is no different from the one signed in Addis Ababa between Abiy Ahmed and Musa Bihi, and that the goal Hassan Mahmoud has sought to achieve through this agreement is only to justify the contract he seeks to approve in order to seize the Somali Sea.”
The statement goes on to criticize Ethiopia again, “The al-Shabaab al-Mujahidin movement reiterates its claim that it will never accept invalid agreements signed by apostate administrations with hostile governments, particularly Ethiopia, which occupied and continues to occupy Somali lands, and is now preparing to annex Somali territory, including our marine waters.”
Al-Shabaab then turning to Somalis indirectly calls on them to join its ranks, “We call on the Somali Muslim people to rise up and act against the conspiracies hatched by their enemies. We also call on the Somali Muslim youth, in particular, to assume their responsibilities and fulfill their legitimate duty to defend their religion, homeland and people.”
The statement concludes with threats of attacks, “The Mujahideen Al-Shabaab Movement pledges to continue the jihad against the international coalition of crusaders and their apostate agents until the invading enemy is expelled from Somali lands and until all religious issues are pure before God alone.”
Al-Shabaab’s statement comes shortly after the U.N. Security Council's decision to maintain lesanctions to Al-Shabaab and its call for the international community to discuss the best response to the jihadist group, and while the Somali government has called for the formation of a new mission that should be deployed to the Horn of Africa country after Jan. 1 to prevent some areas from falling back into the hands of Al-Shabaab. The new mission will be known as the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), to take the place of the African Union Transitional Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).
It is important to remember that Al-Shabaab fighters have carried out qualitative operations inside Somalia and Kenya in the past 48 hours, targeting the Somali government, the Somali army, the Kenyan army, and international coalition forces.
Daniele Garofalo is a researcher and analyst on Jihadist Terrorism, Islamist Insurgents and Armed Groups. He is an expert in Monitoring Jihadist Media Channels and Islamist rebels and Armed Groups.
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