Who are Somalia’s al-Shabab? – BBC News

It was forced out of the capital, Mogadishu, in August 2011 following an offensive spearheaded by about 22,000 African Union (AU) troops, and left the vital port of Kismayo in September 2012.

The loss of Kismayo has hit al-Shabab’s finances, as it used to earn money by taking a cut of the city’s lucrative charcoal trade.

The US has also carried out a wave of air strikes, which led to the killing of the group’s leader, Aden Hashi Ayro, in 2008 and his successor, Ahmed Abdi Godane.

In March 2017, US President Donald Trump approved a Pentagon plan to escalate operations against al-Shabab.

The US has more than 500 troops in Somalia and conducted 30 airstrikes in 2017, more than four times the average number carried out in the previous seven years, according to The Washington Post, external.

Although the military operations are weakening al-Shabab, the group is still able to carry out suicide attacks and has regained control of some towns.

The AU is reducing its troop presence – about 1,000 have left and a further 1,000 are due to leave in 2018.

This follows a cut in funding by the European Union (EU), amid allegations of corruption within the AU force, made up of troops from Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti.