Radio War Nerd EP #158 — Inside Al-Shabaab (Patreon)

Recorded: November 27, 2018

The War Nerd talks to the authors of "Inside Al-Shabaab: The Secret History of Al Qaeda's Most Powerful Ally", an excellent and well-reported book on Somalia's wars with the deadly and remarkably innovative jihadi insurgents. Maruf and Joseph take us back through Somali history, explaining how clan structure works in an otherwise homogenous society, how Somalia had traditionally been one of the most stable regions in Africa, who the Islamic Courts were, and how the key figures who founded the radical Al Qaeda offshoot, Al-Shabaab, played a very long game that started during the Afghanistan mujahideen war against the Soviet Union in the late 1980s . . . 

Buy their book "Inside Al-Shabaab: The Secret History of Al Qaeda's Most Powerful Ally." 

Harun Maruf is senior editor of VOA's Somalia service; Dan Joseph is editor of VOA's Africa desk. Follow Harun Maruf on Twitter. Follow Dan Joseph on Twitter. 

MAPS

* Horn of Africa

* Somalia political map

* Ethnic Somali distribution map

* Photo of Ethiopian troops marching towards Somali troops in Ogaden border war, 1978

Total time: 2:02:35

Direct link to this episode's mp3 here