Sharia Massacre

On January 15, 2016, a Kenyan-run African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) military base was the target of a massive attack that killed a 180 Kenyan soldiers according to Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Though the precise number of casualties is disputed, the Kenyan army claiming the number is inaccurate but refuses to disclose its own figures, this massacre of Kenyan troops is considered the deadliest attack perpetrated by the al-Qaeda allied militant group Al Shabaab. This Somalia based organization is a powerful threat to peace and stability in the Horn of Africa as it battles the UN-backed government in Somalia for territory in order to establish a society based on its rigid interpretation of Sharia Law. The group
In March 2007 the group took responsibility for its first attack, a suicide bombing in Mogadishu that killed 73 people. The group remains active today with its most recent attack on a popular hotel in Mogadishu with 28 confirmed dead and 43 injured after a car bomb went off in January 2017. In addition, in its ten years of activity it has taken responsibility for numerous atrocious attacks killing soldiers and civilians in Somalia and neighboring Kenya. It is currently a banned terrorist organization by both the United States of America and the United Kingdom and various reports of foreign jihadist from both neighboring nations and the United States and Europe traveling to Somalia to join Al Shabaab’s fight. This organization has proven to be ruthless and Al Qaeda’s largest link in Africa, therefore posing a serious threat to safety and strength of the region and potentially the rest of Africa, requiring the attention and an organized response from all
One of the methods that Al Shabaab finances its terror through the selling of ivory and poaching of animal, and trading commodities such as sugar. In addition, the organization receives a substantial amount of its funds through donations by foreigners. Donations are commonly made through the Hawala system which allows individuals to make transactions with very little risk of being detected. In order to cut off these sources members of the African Union must move to crack down on trading and donating to Al Shabaab by promoting the reporting, investigation and prosecution of individuals responsible for financing or trading with Al Shabab. In addition, a large aid to Al Shabaab’s growth has been the help of foreign jihadist joining the organization. African nations must take measures to enhance border and transportation security to prevent foreigners from traveling to join Al Shabaab. The AU must strive to partner and work closely with the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) to implement the efforts of is Integrated Border Management Task Force in East Africa to facilitate information sharing, and the tracking of stolen and forged identity papers and travel documents. The United Republic of Tanzania proposes a security and