Al- Shabaab's apprear to be in trouble!

[caydarus]

A prominent American fighter for Al Shabaab has claimed his life is under threat from fellow guerrillas due to internal disputes within the group. Omar Hammami, an American citizen from Alabama, and the only foreigner who holds a public position in Al Shabaab, joined in 2006, under the nom de guerre Abu Mansour al-Amriki.

Last week he posted a video saying he felt his life might be endangered by other members of the Harakat Shabaab al-Mujahideen "due to some differences that occurred between us regarding matters of Sharia and matters of strategy". There were reports that Hammami had been arrested near Merca following the posting of his comments on YouTube but Al-Shabaab quickly denied the allegation and promised an investigation to verify the authenticity of the video and motivations behind it. It said that it could assure "our Muslim brothers that al-Amriki is not endangered by the Mujahideen" and "still enjoys all the privileges of brotherhood."

There have been frequent reports of long-standing divisions between Al-Shabaab Somali commanders more interested in Somali affairs and those who concentrate on a more global jihad and the links to Al Qaeda. There have been claims that the former were implicated in the deaths of at least two figures closely linked to Al-Qaeda, Fazul Mohamed and Bilal al-Barjawi. The factions have accused each other of giving information to the Americans. Hammami’s video suggests that disputes over ideology and strategy are having a serious effect on the organization, and it has been described as a significant public relations setback.

The indication of more divisions near the top of the organization is likely to have a further demoralizing effect on Al-Shabaab's foreign fighters. There are believed to be several hundred of these though there were unconfirmed reports a few weeks ago that 300 of them had left Kismayo and retreated to Yemen so it seems that these terrorist group are facing serious issues.