Mogadishu--Somalia's Shebab, who attacked a Kenyan university on Thursday, seizing hostages and killing several, have stepped up attacks in Kenya since its army crossed into southern Somalia in 2011.
The Islamist Shebab, meaning "youth" in Arabic, are thought to be several thousand strong. But they are only one of a string of militia groups in the Horn of Africa nation, which has been at war since the collapse of Siad Barre's hardline regime in 1991.
The Shebab emerged out of a bitter insurgency against Ethiopia, whose troops crossed into Somalia in a 2006 US-backed invasion to topple the Islamic Courts Union that was then controlling the capital Mogadishu, and of which the Shebab were a part.
- Al-Qaeda-links -
In 2010 the Shebab declared their allegiance to Al-Qaeda, to which they were officially integrated in 2012.
In August 2011, the Shebab fled the capital Mogadishu, and continue to battle an African Union force, AMISOM, that includes troops from Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.
Led by Ahmad Umar Abu Ubaidah since the death in September 2014 of Ahmed Abdi Godane in an American air strike, the Shebab control large parts of rural southern Somalia.
Despite having been driven from a string of towns in the south and centre of the country by AMISOM, guerrilla units stage regular deadly attacks in Mogadishu in their bid to overthrow the government.
The most deadly attack over the past several years was on October 4, 2011, against a ministerial complex in Mogadishu in which at least 82 died.
- Deadly regional attacks -
The group has carried out a string of revenge attacks in neighbouring countries, notably Kenya and Uganda, in response to their participation in the AU force.
Since Kenya sent troops into southern Somalia in late 2011, the Shebab have stepped up attacks, including massacres and grenade attacks in the northeast border regions with Somalia, as well as on the coast and the capital Nairobi.
In September 2013 they launched a spectacular attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, which left at least 67 dead in a four-day seige.
AFP
