The spread of the military conflict between Israel and Hamas to the Horn of Africa is a cause for concern, especially after al-Shabab in Somalia called for alliance with Hamas, a senior EU official told The National on Sunday.
Annette Weber, the EU’s envoy to the Horn of Africa, told The National that the possibility of radicalised groups linking up across the region could be “a huge challenge for all of us”. Ms Weber noted:
“I think what is of concern as a fallout is more in the case of Somalia, where Al Shabab has reacted immediately to call by Hamas to the call to arms. On Gaza, we would need an Arab fleet.”
On 7 October, Israel launched Operation Iron Swords, under which dozens of airstrikes are regularly carried out on the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military operation has already killed more than 12,000 people, including 5,000 children. This comes after Hamas launched a border attack that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 240 hostages, about half of them foreign passport holders.
In response, al-Shabab, al-Qaida’s affiliate in Somalia, said the conflict in the Middle East is not only “the struggle of Islamic groups on the land of Palestine in particular, but the struggle of the entire Muslim Ummah.” The group stated:
“Muslims must gather and offer everything they can to support the mujahideen against the Jews and their hypocritical infidel allies. Yhe strength of this nation lies in the strength of its fronts.”
Other al-Qaeda affiliates in the Indian subcontinent, Yemen and Syria have made similar statements.
In Yemen, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels launched more than six drone and missile strikes into southern Israel, causing little or no damage. Israeli air defences intercepted most of them more than 1,600 kilometres away.
