Harun Maruf explains the story behind the attack in the Emirati military base where Al Shabaab managed to infiltrate

[Avalanche]

How and when did al-Shabaab recruit the attacker behind the Feb 10 shooting at the UAE camp in Mogadishu?

Here is an update from what I learned so far:

The gunmen behind the February 10 shooting at the UAE camp in Mogadishu was recruited into the army from Huddur town in late 2022. He was recruited into the soldiers trained by the government with the help of UAE.

After completing the training he became a member of a specially-selected guards at the UAE training camp in Mogadishu.

Days before the attack he fired his gun, apparently to test it. When asked about it, he said he bought the bullets that he fired, so no action was taken.

On the day of the killing, he walked into the mosque at the camp where the UAE officers were performing Maghrib prayers, closed the door behind him and started shooting. Three UAE officers - including the head of the Somalia training mission Mohamed Al Mansouri - and a Bahraini officer were killed.

Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility. But how did Mustafa Mukhtar Adan became a member of al-Shabaab?

It’s believed he was a street vendor in Bakara market before joining the army. He then got into a fight and was injured in the head. He tried to get compensation from the attacker but failed to settle the dispute. Security officers believe he complained to al-Shabaab who, as one security office believes, helped him get compensation.

Did al-Shabaab exploit this and recruited him at the time? Was he recruited while serving as a soldier at the UAE camp? Who was his guarantor when he was registered for the army?

Officials at the Ministry of Defense and the investigators are yet to answer these questions, for the interest of the public.

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[Avalanche]

So basically he was recruited by Al Shabaab because of the incompetence of the government and the lack of imposing security, laws and regulations. This could easily have been prevented if the government took state-building seriously.

I hardly care about the emirates that died but the country needs to look into these shortcomings that cost us security and progress.

 

[Pastoralist]

There have been high ranking soldiers that have died from their own soldiers. I’ve read 2 instances of this happening. As you said This UAE thing is hardly of concern as we all want them to leave except for the FMS that appreciate their presence. It’s just that there’s too many ambush type attacks that AS must have intelligence of beforehand. Spies within the government and SNA must be dealt with. Ridiculous that this can get past the FGS.

 

[Avalanche]

There have been high ranking soldiers that have died from their own soldiers. I’ve read 2 instances of this happening. This UAE thing is hardly of concern as we all want them to leave except for the FMS that appreciate their presence. It’s just that there’s too many ambush type attacks that AS must have intelligence of beforehand. Spies within the government and SNA must be dealt with. Ridiculous that this can get past the FGS.

For me the emiratis are irrelevant to the story, what worries me the most is that people who are victims of crime are looking to Al Shabaab for justice which is absolutely absurd and how easy it is to infiltrate our army.

 

[Pastoralist]

For me the emiratis are irrelevant to the story, what worries me the most is that people who are victims of crime are looking to Al Shabaab for justice which is absolutely absurd and how easy it is to infiltrate our army.

The part about him turning to AS. He faced injustice and turned to the terrorists when no one else was there for him. This is dangerous, people seeing AS as their saviours that is.

 

[Man with a garuun]

"The gunmen behind the February 10 shooting at the UAE camp in Mogadishu was recruited into the army from Huddur town in late 2022. He was recruited into the soldiers trained by the government with the help of UAE."

"It’s believed he was a street vendor in Bakara market before joining the army. "

Those 2 statements are not adding up. How can he be recruited from Huddur in Bakool into the army and be a street vendor in Bakaara market in Mogadishu at the same time? This is not revealing the true orchestrators of the attack. These claims seem to be designed to mislead anyone who wants to know what happened.

The first thing one needs to look at is, how the relationship between FGS leaders, especially MOD leaders, and the UAE was before the attack. If reports are true, UAE suspended all financial assistance to the MOD unless their concerns for corruption were addressed. The assassinated military leaders were leading the investigation, and the highest ranking officer was reported to have concluded UAE's financial assistance was diverted and was not reaching its intended targets: The UAE-supported SNA personnel. It is mostly likely that someone in the higher-ups in the MOD was hitting back at the UAE after he was no longer making his millions from UAE.

Keep in mind, immediately after the attack, the FGS signed its military pact with Turkey. So it is not coincidence the attack against UAE's personnel and the rush to sign the agreement with Turkey were not in isolation.