1.
Somalia
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Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, Somalia has the longest coastline on Africas mainland, and its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. Climatically, hot conditions prevail year-round, with monsoon winds. Somalia has an population of around 12.3 million. Around 85% of its residents are ethnic Somalis, who have inhabited the northern part of the country. Ethnic minorities are largely concentrated in the southern regions, the official languages of Somalia are Somali and Arabic, both of which belong to the Afroasiatic family. Most people in the country are Muslim, with the majority being Sunni, in antiquity, Somalia was an important commercial centre. It is among the most probable locations of the fabled ancient Land of Punt, during the Middle Ages, several powerful Somali empires dominated the regional trade, including the Ajuran Empire, the Adal Sultanate, the Warsangali Sultanate, and the Geledi Sultanate. The toponym Somalia was coined by the Italian explorer Luigi Robecchi Bricchetti, Italian occupation lasted until 1941, yielding to British military administration. British Somaliland would remain a protectorate, while Italian Somaliland in 1949 became a United Nations Trusteeship under Italian administration, in 1960, the two regions united to form the independent Somali Republic under a civilian government. The Supreme Revolutionary Council seized power in 1969 and established the Somali Democratic Republic, led by Mohamed Siad Barre, this government later collapsed in 1991 as the Somali Civil War broke out. Various armed factions began competing for influence in the power vacuum, during this period, due to the absence of a central government, Somalia was a failed state, and residents returned to customary and religious law in most regions. A few autonomous regions, including the Somaliland and Puntland administrations emerged in the north, the early 2000s saw the creation of fledgling interim federal administrations. The Transitional National Government was established in 2000, followed by the formation of the Transitional Federal Government in 2004, in 2006, the TFG, assisted by Ethiopian troops, assumed control of most of the nations southern conflict zones from the newly formed Islamic Courts Union. The ICU subsequently splintered into more radical groups such as Al-Shabaab, by mid-2012, the insurgents had lost most of the territory that they had seized. In 2011–2012, a political process providing benchmarks for the establishment of permanent democratic institutions was launched, within this administrative framework a new provisional constitution was passed in August 2012, which reformed Somalia as a federation. Somalia has maintained an informal economy, mainly based on livestock, remittances from Somalis working abroad, Somalia has been inhabited since at least the Paleolithic. During the Stone Age, the Doian and Hargeisan cultures flourished here, the oldest evidence of burial customs in the Horn of Africa comes from cemeteries in Somalia dating back to the 4th millennium BCE
2.
Ajuran Sultanate
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The Ajuran Sultanate, also spelled Ajuuraan Sultanate, and often simply as Ajuran, was a Somali Muslim sultanate that ruled over large parts of the Horn of Africa in the Middle Ages. The sultanate left an architectural legacy, being one of the major medieval Somali powers engaged in castle. During the Ajuran period, many regions and people in the part of the Horn of Africa converted to Islam because of the theocratic nature of the government. The royal family, the House of Garen, expanded its territories and established its rule through a skillful combination of warfare. As an hydraulic empire, the Ajuran monopolized the water resources of the Shebelle, through hydraulic engineering, it also constructed many of the limestone wells and cisterns of the state that are still operative and in use today. The rulers developed new systems for agriculture and taxation, which continued to be used in parts of the Horn of Africa as late as the 19th century, the Ajuran Sultanates sphere of influence in the Horn of Africa was one of the largest in the region. The sultanate covered much of southern Somalia, with its domain extending from Mareeg in the north, to Qelafo in the west, the House of Garen was the ruling hereditary dynasty of the Ajuran Sultanate. Its origin lies in the Garen Kingdom that during the 13th century ruled parts of the Ogaden, through their genealogical Baraka, which came from the saint Balad, the Garen rulers claimed supremacy and religious legitimacy over other groups in the Horn of Africa. Balads ancestors are said to have come from the northern region of Barbara. The Ajuran nobility used many of the typical Somali aristocratic and court titles and these leaders were the sultanates highest authority, and counted multiple Sultans, Emirs, and Kings as clients or vassals. The Garen rulers also had seasonal palaces in Mareeg, Qelafo and Merca, other important cities in the Sultanate were Mogadishu and Barawa. The state religion was Islam, and thus law was based on Sharia, large wells made out of limestone were constructed throughout the state, which attracted Somali and Oromo nomads with their livestock. The centralized regulations of the wells made it easier for the nomads to settle disputes by taking their queries to government officials who would act as mediators, long distance caravan trade, a long-time practice in the Horn of Africa, continued unchanged in Ajuran times. Today, numerous ruined and abandoned towns throughout the interior of Somalia, with the centralized supervision of the Ajuran, farms in Afgooye, Kismayo and other areas in the Jubba and Shabelle valleys increased their productivity. This irrigation system was supported by numerous dikes and dams, to determine the average size of a farm, a land measurement system was also invented with moos, taraab and guldeed being the terms used. The State collected tribute from the farmers in the form of harvested products like durra, sorghum and bun, the collecting of tribute was done by a wazir. Luxury goods imported from foreign lands were presented as gifts to the Garen rulers by the coastal sultans of the state. The rulers would also claim a portion of the brides wealth
3.
Somali aristocratic and court titles
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This is a list of Somali aristocratic and court titles that were historically used by the Somali peoples various sultanates, kingdoms and empires. Below is a list of the court titles historically retained by the Somali monarchies and aristocracies. Suldaan, From the Arabic for Sultan or English Chief, very common title for rulers in the pre-colonial and colonial periods, used throughout the Somali territories. The title was employed by the leaders of the influential Ajuran Sultanate. Ughaz, Authentic Somali term for Sultan, the Gadabuursi in particular is the only clan with a longstanding tradition of Sultan. The Gadabursi gave their sultan the title of Ughaz, however, in practice, it is the primus inter pares or King of Kings. The title is derived from one of the Afro-Asiatic Somali language terms for belt. According to Kobishchanow, Boqor is also related to the style Paqar, various Somali honorifics and designations have Boqor as their root. The latter include Boqortooyo, signifying monarchy, kingdom or empire, Boqornimo, meaning royalty, nobility or dignitaries, Historically, the title was mainly used by rulers in the northeastern Puntland region of Somalia. The most prominent Boqor in recent times was Osman Mahamuud, who governed the Majeerteen Sultanate during its 19th-century heyday, also used among the Gadabuursi as the law of the King and the 100 men. Gerad/Garad, Often employed interchangeably with Suldaan to denote a Sultan, etymologically signifies wisdom, mind or understanding. According to Basset, the title corresponds with the honorific Al-Jaraad, Gerad was historically employed throughout northern Somalia. Notable Gerads include Gerad Dhidhin, the founder of the Warsangali Sultanate, and Gerad Lado, imam, Denotes the Head of State. Style was used especially by rulers in the Sultanate of Adal, notable Imams include Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, also known as Ahmed Gurey or Gran, who led a military campaign during the Middle Ages known as the Conquest of Abyssinia. Emir, Used by leaders in the Adal Sultanate, also employed by commanders in the Ajuran Sultanates armed forces and navy. Prominent Emirs include Nur ibn Mujahid, the Emir of Harar who built the wall around the city. Honorific set aside for the son of the King or Sultan. Notable Princes include Ali Yusuf Kenadid, the son and heir of Sultan Yusuf Ali Kenadid of the Sultanate of Hobyo, ina Boqor, Alternate court style for the Prince
4.
Ethiopia
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Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north and northeast, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With nearly 100 million inhabitants, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world and it occupies a total area of 1,100,000 square kilometres, and its capital and largest city is Addis Ababa. Some of the oldest evidence for modern humans has been found in Ethiopia. It is widely considered as the region from modern humans first set out for the Middle East. According to linguists, the first Afroasiatic-speaking populations settled in the Horn region during the ensuing Neolithic era, tracing its roots to the 2nd millennium BC, Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history. During the first centuries AD, the Kingdom of Aksum maintained a unified civilization in the region, subsequently, many African nations adopted the colors of Ethiopias flag following their independence. It was the first independent African member of the 20th-century League of Nations, Ethiopias ancient Geez script, also known as Ethiopic, is one of the oldest alphabets still in use in the world. The Ethiopian calendar, which is seven years and three months behind the Gregorian calendar, co-exists alongside the Borana calendar. A slight majority of the population adheres to Christianity, while around a third follows Islam, the country is the site of the Migration to Abyssinia and the oldest Muslim settlement in Africa at Negash. A substantial population of Ethiopian Jews, known as Bete Israel, resided in Ethiopia until the 1980s, Ethiopia is a multilingual nation with around 80 ethnolinguistic groups, the four largest of which are the Oromiffa, Amhara, Somali, and Tigrayans. Most people in the country speak Afroasiatic languages of the Cushitic or Semitic branches, additionally, Omotic languages are spoken by ethnic minority groups inhabiting the southern regions. Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken by the nations Nilotic ethnic minorities. Ethiopia is the place of origin for the coffee bean which originated from the place called Kefa and it is a land of natural contrasts, with its vast fertile West, jungles, and numerous rivers, and the worlds hottest settlement of Dallol in its north. The Ethiopian Highlands are Africas largest continuous mountain ranges, and Sof Omar Caves contain Africas largest cave, Ethiopia has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa. Ethiopia is one of the members of the UN, the Group of 24, the Non-Aligned Movement, G-77. In the 1970s and 1980s, Ethiopia suffered from civil wars, the country has begun to recover recently however, and now has the largest economy in East Africa and Central Africa. According to Global Fire Power, Ethiopia has the 42nd most powerful military in the world, the origin of the word Ethiopia is uncertain
5.
Kismayo
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Kismayo is a port city in the southern Lower Juba province of Somalia. It is the capital of the autonomous Jubaland region. The town is situated 528 kilometres southwest of Mogadishu, near the mouth of the Jubba River, according to the UNDP the city of Kismayo has a population of around 166,667 in 2005. From 1836 until 1861, Kismayo and other parts of Jubaland were claimed by the Sultanate of Muscat and the Geledi Sultanate, in 1925, Jubaland was ceded to Italy, forming a part of Italian Somaliland. On 1 July 1960, the region, along with the rest of Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland, Kismayo was later the site of numerous battles during the civil war. In late 2006, Islamist militants gained control of most of the city, to reclaim possession of the territory, a new autonomous regional administration dubbed Azania was announced in 2010 and formalized in 2011. In September 2012, the Somali National Army and AMISOM troops re-captured the city from the Al-Shabaab insurgents, the Juba Interim Administration was subsequently officially established and recognized in 2013. The Kismayo area was originally a fishing settlement. During the Middle Ages, the region came under the rule of the influential Ajuran Sultanate, in the latter half of the 19th century, Somali pastoralists from the Marehan Ethiopia Marehan Darod clan settled in Kismayos interior. The city subsequently evolved into a hub of the livestock trade. The main ogaden representatives to establish themselves in Kismayo were Ise, in the first two decades of the 20th century, during Mohammed Abdullah Hassans Dervish resistance, members of the Dhulbahante Harti sub-clan followed suit. On 7 November 1890, Zanzibar became a British protectorate, and on 1 July 1895, together with the Zanzibar Sultanates other former possessions in the area, Jubaland became part of the British East Africa colony. The ascendancy of the Marehan merchant community crystallized under the British administration and they became the first Somali employees of the state, establishing themselves as an educated, urban professional class. In 1925 local authorities from the Marehan Marehan Somali clans reached an agreement, the signatories each had different accounts of the agreed to partition. According to the Marehan, the pact gave their Ugas Hirse control of Jubaland at large, the pact also allowed the Isse access to the port. The territory was ceded to Italy, purportedly as a reward for the Italians having joined the Allies in World War I. The Italians subsequently referred to the city as Chisimaio, Kismayo and the northern half of the Jubaland region were then incorporated into neighboring Italian Somaliland on 30 June 1926. The colony had an area of 87,000 km²
6.
Treasure voyages
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In Chinese history, the treasure voyages were the seven Ming-era maritime voyages of the treasure fleet between 1405 and 1433. The Yongle Emperor initiated the construction of the fleet in 1403. The grand project resulted in seven far-reaching ocean voyages to the territories and islands in and around the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean. Admiral Zheng He was commissioned to command the fleet for the expeditions. Six of the voyages occurred during the Yongle reign, while the seventh voyage occurred under the Xuande reign, the first three voyages reached up to Calicut on Indias southwestern coast, while the fourth voyage went as far as Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. Afterwards, the fleet made voyages farther away to the Arabian Peninsula, the Chinese expeditionary fleet was heavily militarized and carried great amounts of treasure, which served to project Chinese power and wealth to the known world. They brought back many foreign ambassadors whose kings and rulers were willing to declare themselves tributaries of China, the treasure voyages were commanded and overseen by the eunuch establishment whose political influence was heavily dependent on imperial favor. However, within Ming Chinas imperial state system, the government were the primary political opponents of the eunuchs. Around the end of the voyages, the civil government gained the upper hand within the state bureaucracy. Over the course of the voyages of the early 15th century, Ming China became the pre-eminent naval power by projecting its sea-power further to the south. Under the reign of the Yongle Emperor, Ming China underwent a military expansionism that also included the treasure voyages, in 1403, the Yongle Emperor issued an imperial order to start the immense construction project of the treasure fleet. Zheng He was ordered to initiate the construction of the fleet, the treasure fleet was known as the Xiafan Guanjun in Chinese sources. It would come to many trading ships, warships. Many of the ships were built at the Longjiang shipyard. All of the ships were built there too. The shipyard was located on the Qinhuai River near Nanjing, where it flows into the Yangtze River, many trees were cut along the Min River and upper reaches of the Yangtze to supply the necessary resources for the construction of the fleet. The Yongle Emperor appointed Admiral Zheng He to command the treasure fleet and he placed great trust in Admiral Zheng He, even giving him blank scrolls with the imperial seal so the admiral could issue imperial orders at sea. In the third month of 1405, a preliminary order was issued for Zheng He
7.
Portuguese Empire
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The Portuguese Empire, also known as the Portuguese Overseas, was one of the largest and longest-lived empires in world history and the first colonial empire. It existed for almost six centuries from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the grant of sovereignty to East Timor in 2002, the first era of the Portuguese empire originated at the beginning of the Age of Discovery. Initiated by the Kingdom of Portugal, it would eventually expand across the globe, in 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and in 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India. In 1500, either by an accidental landfall or by the secret design. Over the following decades, Portuguese sailors continued to explore the coasts and islands of East Asia, establishing forts, by 1571, a string of naval outposts connected Lisbon to Nagasaki along the coasts of Africa, the Middle East, India and South Asia. This commercial network and the trade had a substantial positive impact on Portuguese economic growth. Though the realms continued to be administered separately, the Council of Portugal ruled the country and its empire from Madrid. As the King of Spain was also King of Portugal, Portuguese colonies became the subject of attacks by three rival European powers hostile to Spain, the Dutch Republic, England, and France. With its smaller population, Portugal was unable to defend its overstretched network of trading posts. Eventually, Brazil became the most valuable colony of the era until, as part of the wave of independence movements that swept the Americas during the early 19th century. The third era represents the stage of Portuguese colonialism after the decolonization of the Americas of the 1820s. The colonial possessions had been reduced to the African coastline, Portuguese Timor, the disastrous 1890 British Ultimatum led to the contraction of Portuguese ambitions in Africa. Macau was returned to China in 1999, the origin of the Kingdom of Portugal lay in the reconquista, the gradual reconquest of the Iberian peninsula from the Moors. There were several motives for their first attack, on the Marinid Sultanate. In 1415 an attack was made on Ceuta, a strategically located North African Muslim enclave along the Mediterranean Sea, although Ceuta proved to be a disappointment for the Portuguese, the decision was taken to hold it while exploring along the Atlantic African coast. At the time, Europeans did not know what lay beyond Cape Bojador on the African coast, under his sponsorship, soon the Atlantic islands of Madeira and Azores were reached and started to be settled producing wheat to export to Portugal. Fears of what lay beyond Cape Bojador, and whether it was possible to return once it was passed, were assuaged in 1434 when it was rounded by one of Infante Henrys captains, Gil Eanes. Once this psychological barrier had been crossed, it became easier to further along the coast
8.
Socotra
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Socotra, also spelled Soqotra, is an island and a small archipelago of four islands in the Arabian Sea. The territory is part of Yemen, and had long been a subdivision of the Aden Governorate, in 2004, it became attached to the Hadhramaut Governorate, which is much closer to the island than Aden. In 2013, the archipelago became its own governorate, the Soqatra Governorate, the island of Socotra constitutes around 95% of the landmass of the archipelago. It lies some 240 kilometres east of the Horn of Africa and 380 kilometres south of the Arabian Peninsula, the island is very isolated and a third of its plant life is found nowhere else on the planet. It has been described as the most alien-looking place on Earth, the island measures 132 kilometres in length and 49.7 kilometres in width. In the notes to his translation of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, huntingford remarks that the name Suqotra is not Greek in origin, but from the Sanskrit dvīpa sukhadhara. Another posited origin of the name is the Arabic suq meaning market, there was initially an Oldowan culture in Socotra. Oldowan stone tools were found in the area around Hadibo by V. A, zhukov, a member of the Russian Complex Expedition in 2008. Socotra appears as Dioskouridou in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, in 2001 a group of Belgian speleologists of the Socotra Karst Project investigated a cave on the island Socotra. There, they came across a number of inscriptions, drawings. Further investigation showed that these had left by sailors who visited the island between the 1st century BC and the 6th century AD. Most of the texts are written in the Indian Brāhmī script and this corpus of nearly 250 texts and drawings thus constitutes one of the main sources for the investigation of Indian Ocean trade networks in that time period. A local tradition holds that the inhabitants were converted to Christianity by Thomas the Apostle in AD52, in the 10th century, the Arab geographer Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdani stated that in his time most of the inhabitants were Christians. They were Nestorians but also practised ancient magic rituals despite the warnings of their archbishop and he reported in a letter home that the tribesmen, due to lack of missionaries, had only retained a faint knowledge of Christianity. In 1507, a Portuguese fleet commanded by Tristão da Cunha with Afonso de Albuquerque landed at the capital of Suq. Their objective was to set a base in a place on the route to India. Tomás Fernandes started to build a fortress at Suq, the Forte de São Miguel de Socotorá, however, the infertility of the land led to famine and sickness in the garrison. Thus the Portuguese abandoned the island four years later, as it was not advantageous as a base, the islands passed under the control of the Mahra sultans in 1511, and its inhabitants were completely Islamized during their rule
9.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
10.
Ulama
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Ulama are those recognized as scholars or authorities in the religious hierarchy of the Islamic religious studies. They are the guardians of legal and religious tradition in Islam, often they are Imams of important mosques, judges, teachers in the religious faculties of universities. Most ulama specialize in fiqh, and are considered the arbiters of law by mainstream Muslims. Ulama may also include specialists in areas such as muhaddith. Ulama is the plural of the word ‘alīm, which is derived from the word ‘ilm, sources used in the development of Sharia such as hadith, Ijma, and Qias, or for Shia ulama aql, are all the province of the ulama. At times in Muslim history the ulama have even served as a branch of government. On the other hand, the term is no longer confined to the Arabic bounds and is now taken with a broader meaning, the word ‘alīm is used twice in the Quran, but not necessarily in the same manner as its application in the Muslim community today. Syed, ‘alīm in the Quran refers to scientists, indicating the high importance afforded by the Quran to the physical sciences, the formative period of Islamic jurisprudence stretches back to the time of the early Muslim communities. In this period, jurists were more concerned with issues of authority. Progress in theory began to develop with the coming of the early Muslim jurist Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafii, laws were decided based on the Ijma of the Ummah, which was most often represented by the legal scholars. In order to qualify as a scholar, it was necessary obtain a doctorate known as the ijazat attadris wa l-ifttd from a Madrasah. In many ways, classical Islamic law functioned like a constitutional law, during the Ottoman era, the term ulama was commonly applied to scholars who had completed their madrasa training and gained an icazet. They had to be an expert in all the religious sciences, in addition, the student had to have been tested and approved by higher ranking ulama. Such assessment by experts gave the ulama legitimacy in the eyes of the public, in 14th and 15th century Ottoman Empire, there were not many madrasahs, and so the ulama traveled to countries such as Persia and Egypt to further their education. Upon the conquering of Istanbul, the sultan converted eight churches into madrasahs, Ulama worked as priest-like authorities who had the role of interpreting and enforcing Islamic shariah law. These jobs were distributed between two types of ulama, the Muftis, who interpreted Shariah law, and the Qadi, the Ottomans had a strict hierarchy of ulama, with the Sheikh ul-Islam holding the highest rank. A Sheikh ul-Islam was chosen by a royal warrant amongst the qadis of important cities, the Sheikh ul-Islam had the power to confirm new sultans, but once the sultan was affirmed, the sultan retained a higher authority than the Sheik ul-Islam. The Sheikh ul-Islam issued fatwas, which were written interpretations of the Quran that had authority over the community, the Sheikh ul-Islam represented the law of shariah and in the 16th century its importance rose which led to increased power
11.
Al-Shabaab (militant group)
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Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, more commonly known as al-Shabaab, is a Salafist jihadist fundamentalist group based in East Africa. In 2012, it pledged allegiance to the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, in February of the year, some of the groups leaders quarreled with Al-Qaeda over the union, and quickly lost ground. Al-Shabaabs troop strength was estimated at 7,000 to 9,000 militants in 2014, as of 2015, the group has retreated from the major cities, controlling a few rural areas. The group describes itself as waging jihad against enemies of Islam, and is engaged in combat against the Federal Government of Somalia, Al-Shabaab has been designated as a terrorist organization by Australia, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. As of June 2012, the US State Department has open bounties on several of the senior commanders. In early August 2011, the Transitional Federal Governments troops and their AMISOM allies managed to capture all of Mogadishu from the Al-Shabaab militants, an ideological rift within the groups leadership also emerged, and several of the organizations senior commanders were assassinated. Due to its Wahhabi roots, Al Shabaab is hostile to Sufi traditions, the group has also been suspected of having links with Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb and Boko Haram. Additionally, it attracted members from western countries, notably Samantha Lewthwaite. In August 2014, the Somali government-led Operation Indian Ocean was launched to clean up the remaining insurgent-held pockets in the countryside, on 1 September 2014, a U. S. drone strike carried out as part of the broader mission killed Al-Shabaab leader Moktar Ali Zubeyr. U. S. authorities hailed the raid as a symbolic and operational loss for al-Shabaab. Al-Shabaab is also known as Ash-Shabaab, Hizbul Shabaab, and Popular Resistance Movement in the Land of the Two Migrations, for short, the organization is referred to as HSM, which stands for Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen. The term Shabaab means youth in Arabic, and the group should not be confused with similarly named groups, Al-Shabaabs composition is multiethnic, with its leadership positions mainly occupied by Afghanistan- and Iraq-trained ethnic Somalis and foreigners. According to the National Counterterrorism Center, the groups rank-and-file members hail from disparate local groups, unlike most of the organizations top leaders, its foot soldiers are primarily concerned with nationalist and clan-related affairs as opposed to the global jihad. They are also prone to infighting and shifting alliances, according to the Jamestown Foundation, Al-Shabaab seeks to exploit these vulnerabilities by manipulating clan networks in order to retain power. The group itself is not entirely immune to local politics. More recently, Muslim converts from neighbouring countries have been conscripted, Ahmed Abdi Godane was publicly named as emir of al-Shabaab in December 2007. In August 2011, Godane was heavily criticized by Al-Shabaab co-founder Hassan Dahir Aweys, although not formally announced, Shabaab was effectively split up into a foreign legion, led by Godane, and a coalition of factions forming a national legion under Aweys. The latter group often refused to take orders from Godane and the two groups hardly talked to each other, in February 2012, Godane made Bayah, or an oath of allegiance, to al-Qaeda
12.
SEAL Team Six
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The United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group, commonly known as DEVGRU or SEAL Team Six is a U. S. Navy component of Joint Special Operations Command. It is often referred to as SEAL Team Six or within JSOC as Task Force Blue and it is the U. S. Navy component of the Joint Special Operations Command. DEVGRU is administratively supported by Naval Special Warfare Command and operationally commanded by the Joint Special Operations Command, most information concerning DEVGRU is classified and details of its activities are not usually commented on by either the White House or the Department of Defense. Despite the official changes, SEAL Team Six remains the units widely recognized moniker. It is sometimes referred to in the U. S. media as a Special Mission Unit, DEVGRU and its Army counterpart, Delta Force, are the United States militarys premier counterterrorism units. The Central Intelligence Agencys highly secretive Special Activities Division and more specifically its elite Special Operations Group often works with—and recruits—operators from DEVGRU, the combination of these units led ultimately to the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Operation Neptune Spear. The origins of DEVGRU are in SEAL Team Six, a unit created in the aftermath of Operation Eagle Claw. During the Iran hostage crisis in 1979, Richard Marcinko was one of two U. S. Navy representatives for a Joint Chiefs of Staff task force known as the TAT, the purpose of the TAT was to develop a plan to free the American hostages held in Iran. In the wake of the disaster at the Desert One base in Iran, the Navy saw the need for a full-time counter-terrorist unit, Marcinko was the first commanding officer of this new unit. At the time there were two SEAL teams, Marcinko named the unit SEAL Team Six in order to confuse Soviet intelligence as to the number of actual SEAL teams in existence. The units plankowners were hand-picked by Marcinko from throughout the UDT/SEAL community, SEAL Team Six became the U. S. Navys premier counter-terrorist unit. It has been compared to the U. S. Armys Delta Force, Marcinko held the command of SEAL Team Six for three years, from 1980 to 1983, instead of the typical two-year command in the Navy at the time. SEAL Team Six was formally created in October 1980, and an intense, SEAL Team Six started with 75 shooters. According to Marcinko, the annual ammunition training allowance for the command was larger than that of the entire U. S. Marine Corps, the unit has virtually unlimited resources at its disposal. In 1987 SEAL Team Six was dissolved, a new unit named the Naval Special Warfare Development Group was formed, essentially as SEAL Team Sixs successor. Reasons for the disbanding are varied, but the name SEAL Team Six is often used in reference to DEVGRU. In the early stages of creating SEAL Team Six, Marcinko was given six months to get ST6 up and running and it has been said that Marcinko regretted not having enough time to set up a proper selection process and course. Originally applicants only came from the east and west coast SEAL teams, although much of the ST6/DEVGRU training pipeline is classified there are some requirements and training exercises that are public knowledge
Somalia
