A clan-based insurgent group that uses guerrilla and terrorist tactics to challenge the FGS in southern Somalia. Conducts kidnappings for ransom and assaults energy infrastructure. Annually carries out hundreds of attacks. Linked to al-Qa’ida.
An insurgency is a type of warfare in which an organized force struggles to win popular support and assert control over a region from within its own borders. Its emergence requires the mobilization of a disaffected population, often with support from foreign extremists. The definition of insurgency is contested, and a number of factors distinguish insurgencies from terrorism: Unlike pure terrorist groups, insurgencies usually provide some social services and have an overt, even legal political wing. They also normally field fighting forces orders of magnitude larger than those of terrorist groups.
The organizational structure of a new insurgency is determined by its prewar political base, which might be a political party, religious association, student networks, or tribal ties. Twenty-first century insurgencies, however, will be much more heavily networked and virtual than they were in the past. A key factor will be the ability of commanders to mobilize ties of information, obligation, and trust that transcend their own parochial structures. The ability to do so will be crucial for a next-gen insurgency’s survival. A fractious organization is more easily defeated, as the Colombian Marxist ELN learned when its centralized leadership was decapitated by the state and revolts from below by disloyal local units undermined the group.
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