- Somalia’s radical Islamic insurgent group, al Shabaab, has finally confirmed its affiliation to al-Qaeda's global militant campaign.
Al Shabaab made its announcement a day after Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed marked his first year in office.
The group said in a statement that the "jihad of Horn of Africa must be combined with the international jihad led by the al-Qaeda network led by Osama Bin Laden ".
Islamist insurgents control much of southern and central Somalia.
The militant group al Shabaab said it would ally with al Qaeda in a drive to establish an Islamic state in Somalia and fight for Muslims across East Africa, vowing to continue a fight against US-backed African peacekeepers struggling to defend a weak Somali government.
The statement is believed to be the first explicit confirmation of what the US and Somali government have long suspected, according to local reports.
The past year has offered little respite from the violence that has rocked Somalia for nearly two decades. In the short term, a combined threat is likely to increase pressure on Mr Sharif's tenuous government and those trying to stave off its collapse.
The US supports Mr Sharif and is the biggest backer of an African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia, for which it has provided training and equipment. That support reflects concerns that al Qaeda is attempting to establish a base in Somalia to attack Western targets.
Last year, the group had distanced itself from the al Qaeda, saying it will resolve its own political crisis in Somalia.
Al Shabaab has struggled to hold the support of a population wearied by war in part by claiming not to kill civilians. After a suicide bombing in December killed at least 19 people, most of them civilians, Somalis took to the streets in protest.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
front page
| news
| countries
| archive
| currencies
| news alerts login
| about afrol News
| contact
| advertise
| español