Somalia: Line in the Sand -- Identification of MYM Vulnerabilities

Eloy E. Cuevas and Madeleine Wells | U.S. Army War College | 2010-09-16

This report commissioned by the U.S. Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute examines the internal conflict in Somalia, with particular focus on the activities of the al-Shabaab Organization, also known as the Mujahidin Youth Movement (MYM). The movement and its allies "have been active opponents in undermining the U.N.-supported African Union peacekeeping forces, the fledging Somali Transitional Federal Government, and all the UN efforts to support the Somali people," the report states. "Al-Shabaab’s use of the internet and control of the local news media has resulted in its ability to disseminate its story to the Somali public, to sympathizers throughout the world, and to the greater Islamic community."