Somali fighters from the A-Shabab movement are pushing toward a pirate hub in central Somalia, preparing for a possible takeover.
The Islamist A-Shabab is fighting both a pro-government movement and pirates for control over Harardhere, a strategic port town in central Somalia which has become a notorious piracy base.
The Islamists reached the town earlier this week but quickly retreated, reportedly repelled by the pro-government Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamma.
Fighting between Ahlu Sunna and A-Shabab has intensified over the last few months. A-Shabab is already in control of large areas of Somalia and the fight over Harardhere is seen as an indication of further expansion.
“I imagine the motivation of A-Shabab to take over any port is that these are major sources of income for Somalia,” Roger Middleton, a Horn of Africa researcher at Chatham House told The Media Line.
“These are places where you can exact money from ‘taxes,’ bribes or import duties, so they’re an important economic resource and the central ports are valuable in that way,” he said.
“Up until now A-Shabab haven’t been operating in areas where pirates were based,” Middleton added. “Their focus was predominantly Mogadishu, Kismayo and other areas; so moving towards the central coastal area is new territory for A-Shabab.”
Witnesses and town residents told reporters that the pirates have fled to a nearby pirate haven, with the ships that they captured.
If A-Shabab succeeds in taking over the town, it will not be significant in itself, but fits into a wider pattern, Middleton said.
“It’s part of a trend which is expansion and retraction of A-Shabab’s control,” he explained. “They haven’t had a strong foothold in this area up until now, so it could indicate a new phase of A-Shabab’s expansion, and that could be worrying.”
A-Shabab is short for Harakat A-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (the Warrior Youth Movement) and controls large parts of southern Somalia, and its capital Mogadishu. The group is an offshoot of the Islamic Courts Union, which was in control of the country for the second half of 2006 but was ousted by the Somalis and their Ethiopian allies at the beginning of 2007.
After that, Islamists began regrouping, launching daily attacks on the army, civilians, aid workers and peacekeepers; and seizing strategic areas.
A-Shabab wishes to topple the current Western-backed government and impose Islamic law.
In January, A-Shabab announced it was aligning with Al-Qa’ida, a move that appears to have given the movement a higher degree of deterrence and strength. However, some analysts believe this will, in fact, erode local support among their original followers, who do not necessarily support the international terror organization.
Until now, there has been little contact – either in conflict or cooperation — between A-Shabab and the pirates because the two groups were not operating in the same areas.
Nor does ideology unite the two entities: the pirates are motivated financially and A-Shabab has been openly opposed to piracy, calling it “un-Islamic.”
A-Shabab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage said last month that pirate activity would not be tolerated.
“They used to tell us that they were defending the Somali coast from illegal fishing that dumped toxic waste in our waters, but now they have started to hijack commercial Somali [fishing] boats,” the spokesman told reporters.
In recent years piracy has become one of the main problems facing Somalia, a country that has not had a stable government since 1991.
More than half of the recorded incidents of piracy worldwide since the beginning of the year can be attributed to Somali pirates, who were responsible for 35 incidents, including nine hijackings.
According to the International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) latest quarterly report on Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships, the number of attacks by Somali pirates has decreased since January 2010. However, the report said the diverse location of the attacks demonstrates the increased range and capabilities of Somali pirates.