Al-Shabab Now Trains Boko Haram, Says Somali President

Source: THE LEADERSHIP, Nigeria

Boko Haram is not only backed by the middle east’s ISIL, as it was discovered recently, it is also being trained by the east Africa’s Mujahideen Youth Movement, popularly known as Alshabab, Somalian President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said.
Mohamud, who made this revelation to an international security conference in Germany, expressed worry that global terrorism is fast gaining grounds in most part of African because notable terror groups – with roots in the Middle East are spreading their networks in a very disturbing manner.
The Somali President, whose country has been beleaguered by political strife and corruption, said increasing attacks by the al-Shabab terrorists has made it difficult for the country to solve its domestic challenges.

He mentioned that al-Shabab has become so grounded in Somalia that it has began to offer  training to low-level insurgents like Boko Haram in West Africa.
According to reports monitored on Reuters, President Mohamud said Somalia has not been able to make appreciable progress towards creating a functioning political system, due to the activities of al-Shabab.
“Without a stable Somalia, the whole region of the Horn of Africa will remain unstable and by and large, the African continent. There are proofs and evidence that (for) some time Boko Haram has been trained in Somalia and they went back to Nigeria,” he said.
“The terrorists are so linked together, they are associated and so organized, (that) we the world we need to be so organized.’’
Boko Haram had mid last year pledged allegiance to ISIL. It has not been independently verified whether both ISIL and al-Shabab are jointly training the Nigerian insurgents group.
LEADERSHIP recalls that Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) officials were August last year queried by President Muhammadu Buhari for granting Nigerian Visa, in Lebanon, to a terrorist linked to ISIS, Ahmed Al Assir, who was arrested at the Lebanese airport while trying to board a Nigeria-bound Egypt Air plane. Al Assir was on the wanted terrorist list of many governments.