Al-Shabaab deadliest militant group in Africa-report

The Al-Qaeda affiliated militant group Al-Shabaab is the most deadly group in the continent, a US based think tank has said noting the group which is largely based in Somalia killed upwards of 4,000 people in 2016.

The group, which refused to claim responsibility for the October truck bombing that killed over 500 people in Mogadishu has now surpassed the Boko Haram which has its roots in Nigeria, African Centre for Strategic Studies has said in its review of militant Islamist group activity in Africa.

According to the review, Al-Shabaab grew more lethal in 2016, with fatalities increasing by a third-from 3,046 in 2015 to 4,281 in 2016

“Al Shabaab has now surpassed Boko Haram as Africa’s most deadly militant Islamist group (in terms of fatalities on all sides associated with each group),” the think tank said.

Fatalities linked to Boko Haram dropped by 70 percent between 2015 and 2016 (from 11,519 to 3,499), the review notes adding this has led to a decline in the total number of fatalities related to militant Islamist groups in Africa, reversing 4 years of accelerating violence.

Al-Shabaab killed more than 600 civilians last year with the truck bombing in Mogadishu’s Zope area claiming at least 512 lives. The attack was described the deadliest terror attack in the continent. The attack left over 2000 children orphaned according to a report released by a government supported group overseeing the recovery process after the truck bombing.