A month has passed since the US Government killed Ahmed Abdi Godane, former emir of Al-Shabaab, with a targeted air strike. Godane's replacement, Ahmed Diriye 'Abu Ubaidah', has yet to issue a statement about his intentions and vision for the militant group. His jihadi credentials, however, were recently enhanced when the United Nations placed him on its list of international terrorists subject to sanctions. Not to be outdone, the Somali government put a $2M bounty on his head. Al-Shabaab vowed to retaliate for Godane's killing and the group bombed Mogadishu two days after the new emir's coronation - an incident that led to the deaths of 16 civilians. It is however, likely that planning for the attack was underway long before Godane was killed. It is a challenging time for the new emir to come into power. Operation Indian Ocean; a joint military venture by the Somali National Army and the forces of the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), has slowly been pushing Al-Shabaab from territories previously under its control. The next major target is the strategic port city of Barawe, which was formerly the headquarters of the group and remains the locus of the highly profitable charcoal trade. The [...]
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