ABSTRACT
The Horn of Africa (predominantly Mogadishu and South Central Somalia) has suffered from a series of brutal attacks since the establishment of Al-Shabaab in 2006. The Al-Qaeda-aligned group view having a regional aspect to their fight as a necessary part of their strategy (Maruf & Joseph, 2018). This was seen most recently by the 2019 attack on the Dusit Hotel in Nairobi. The regional nature of their violence is used by them to legitimise their claim to be an “international” terrorist organisation and helps attract financing and new recruits. Consequently, over the past years, the wider region and in particular Somalia and Kenya have been subjected to numerous initiatives to prevent violent extremism as well as to disengage fighters who have been members of Al-Shabaab.
