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Houthis Reportedly Train Al-Shabaab Members in Yemen, Raising Threat to Red Sea Shipping
[Garowe] Growing evidence suggests a strengthening alliance between Somalia-based al-Shabaab... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... snuffies and Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... ’s Iran's Houthi sock puppets  ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the JewsThey like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... rebels, significantly escalating threats to maritime traffic and regional stability in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and western Indian Ocean. A detailed report published by the Africa Center stated that the collaboration has enhanced both groups' capacity to disrupt international shipping and challenge security across critical waterways. The United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... has confirmed that al-Shabaab received advanced weapons and technical training from the Houthis between June and September 2024. The arms were reportedly used in attacks on African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... forces in Somalia during September and November last year. According to U.N. intelligence, more than a dozen al-Shabaab operatives were also sent to Yemen for drone warfare training by members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ...the latest incarnation of various Qaeda and Qaeda-allied groups, including the now-defunct Aden-Abyan Islamic Army that boomed the USS Cole in 2000...> (AQAP), further expanding the group’s tactical capabilities. "This growing collaboration in weapons, technology, and training poses a serious concern for the security of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait," the report stated. Analysts also warned that the alliance complicates surveillance along a vulnerable 1,800-mile stretch of coastline spanning the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and western Indian Ocean. A former U.S. State Department official cautioned that continued American disengagement from Somalia could create opportunities for al-Shabaab to expand its operations into neighboring Kenya and Æthiopia, while further solidifying its ties with the Houthis. "This isn’t just a regional threat—it could eventually impact global trade and maritime security if left unchecked," the official said. According to a report cited by The Washington Post, the Houthis have dispatched bomb-making experts to Jilib, a stronghold of Al-Shabaab in Somalia’s Middle Juba region, signaling a new and dangerous phase in regional militancy. The report suggests that the two groups have strengthened their ties, coordinating the movement of weapons and fighters via the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean—routes increasingly monitored by U.S. naval forces deployed to counter Houthi expansionism. “This kind of cooperation opens the door to the exchange of highly lethal technologies,” a former senior U.S. State Department official told The Washington Post, adding that Washington’s reduced presence in Somalia may have created a security vacuum that the militants are now exploiting. There are growing fears that Al-Shabaab, emboldened by this new support, could stage attacks beyond Somalia’s borders, particularly in Kenya and Ethiopia, using weapons and explosives supplied by the Houthis. Intelligence sources have warned that a potential withdrawal of U.S. troops from Somalia could seriously undermine years of progress in stabilizing the country and combating Al-Shabaab, which has waged an insurgency for more than 16 years. Posted by: trailing wife 2025-05-31 |
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