For new Somalia government, al-Shabab a threat to authority
By RODNEY MUHUMUZA
Associated Press
The al-Qaida-linked rebel group al-Shabab is projecting authority and asserting a wider role in public life in Somalia, underlining the extent of the challenge Africa’s deadliest Islamic extremist group presents to the newly elected government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The threats range beyond attacks on high-profile targets in Mogadishu and include militant control of vast territory where federal officials don’t dare go and can’t even collect taxes. The group, which seeks to create an Islamic caliphate, is also undermining authorities by offering a parallel justice system. “The public would rally behind al-Shabab if they stopped killing people,” one farmer says.
