Al-Shabaab is now officially the most deadly militant group in Africa – that’s according to data from Africa Center for Strategic Studies.
The militant group based in Somalia have ousted Boko Haram from the title which they held for the period 2012 – 2015.
CGTN’s Abdulaziz Billow now explains what authorities are trying to do to end the group’s might.
Figures from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) and the Africa Center for Strategic Studies indicate that Al-Shabaab was responsible for 4,281 deaths as against Boko Haram’s 3,499.
Islamic State Militant Group (ISIS) also made the list. They were responsible for 2,350 deaths in 2016.
The al-Qaeda linked al-Shabaab are largely operational in Somalia with incursions into neighbouring Kenya and were responsible for the West Gate Mall and Garissa University attacks in Kenya.
Somalia’s new President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has invited the group to come to the negotiation table or risk being wiped out in two years.
The al-Shabaab are led by the elusive Abu Ubaidah – who has a $6 million US bounty on his head and the group controls portions of Somalia.
The al-Shabaab militants were in a report by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) labeled a transnational security threat in the East Africa region.
