Somalia: Hizbul Islam Eclipsed By Al-Shabab

By Ahmed Said

Since May 2009, there has been a huge political overlap between Hizbul Islam and Al-Shabab to fight together against the UN-recognized Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, led by moderate Islamist Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. However, this overlap of interest seems to be weakening as the two rebel groups clashed in late September over the control of the coastal city of Kismayo.

While Al-Shabab is considered as more violent and is listed by the US as a terrorist Organization and Al-Qaeda Proxy in East Africa, Hizbul Islam is like the bullied little brother of Al-Shabab; Hizbul Islam is an alliance formed by three small groups; Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (the Sheikh Aweys Wing), Raskanboni and Anole. Since he came back to Somalia in April from exile in Eritrea after the 2006 Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys has been Hizbul Islam´s leader.

After Al-Shabab´s take-over of Kismayo in October this year, cracks of division in Hizbul Islam were emerging implicitly from the background as to ways to reverse Al-Shabab´s expansion to Hizbul Islam-held territories; due to morale undermined by clan lines in its fighting forces and the generally rigid position of Al-Shabab, Hizbul Islam failed to hold together its allied coalition to effectively counterattack Al-Shabab. Instead, after the Al-Shabab´s capture of Kismayo, Hizbul Islam´s leader, Sheikh Aweys, gave simple interview to BBC Somali Service shunting aside the real questions as if he were a hostage; these days Sheikh Aweys seems to have stopped being prolific with his usual political propaganda against the West, the Somalia´s Transitional Federal Government and the African Union Peacekeepers in Somalia. He rarely talks to the media…

Unconfirmed reports published recently in some Somali language websites said the two rebel groups, Al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam, were being mediated by Libya.

Ahmed Said is a writer and frequent blogger based in Minnesota, USA. You can reach him shactiro@hotmail.com