HIGHLIGHTS OF NIF ROLE IN THE GREATER HORN OF AFRICA

This study examines the rise and present state of militant Islamist groups in the Greater Horn of Africa with particular focus on the countries of Eritrea , Kenya , Somalia , Sudan and Tanzania . The National Islamic Front government of Sudan and Al Qaeda, which was based in Sudan from 1991 to 1996, fueled Islamist ambitions in the region and helped set into motion most, if not all, of the radical Islamic movements operating in the Greater Horn of Africa.
In Somalia , Al Itihaad Al Islamiya (AI AI) or Islamic Union emerged as the most militant Islamist group and a major military force, following the collapse of the Somali government in 1991. The United States has described AI AI, an Al Qaeda ally. AI AI became closely allied with Al Qaeda in opposing in 1993 the U.S. military presence in Somalia known as Operation Restore Hope, and likely provided logistic support to Al Qaeda in its 1998 bombing of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi and in its 2002 attacks near Mombasa , Kenya , on an Israeli-owned hotel and airliner. AI AI also acted in consort with Sudan to destabilize neighboring Ethiopia . AI AI has also been active in Kenya 's North Eastern Province in generating support for its vision of a pan-Somali Islamic Caliphate. Within Somalia , AI AI transformed itself into "Islamic Courts," and many of its cadres have been absorbed into the security and judicial apparatus of the so-called Transitional National government installed in Mogadishu.
In Kenya , the successful emergence of multi-party democracy appears to have undercut the development of local militant Islamic groups. However, an undercurrent of resentment by many Kenyan Muslims at their perceived second-class status remains strong, and may have helped fuel the very small-scale local support that Al Qaeda needed to carry out its 2002 attacks in Mombasa . In the past, Al Qaeda was able to exploit Kenya 's open political and economic systems to establish a regional operational center there. However, the increasing vigilance of the Kenyan government appears to be limiting the capacity of international terrorists to operate within its territory.
In Tanzania , the appeal of radical political Islam remains weak though groups of hard-core radicals seek to gain adherents by exploiting the growing suspicions between the Christian and Muslim communities, Muslim resentment of their real or perceived second class status, and frustration with the multiparty system's unfulfilled promise to deliver an alternating disposition of power in the country. A convergence of various political and ideological strands has contributed to the growth of this radical minority in Tanzania . The semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar has emerged as a hotbed of radical Islamic activism as Islamic nationalists seek the restoration of the Sultanate.
In Eritrea , the Eritrean Islamic Jihad (EIJ) has been the main focus of Islamic extremism. The EIJ advocates the establishment of an Islamic State in Eritrea and has engaged in an armed struggle to achieve it. Under the name of the Islamic Salvation Front, the EIJ is currently a member of the Eritrean National Alliance, an umbrella organization that opposes the Eritrean government led by President Isaias Afwerki. The umbrella Eritrean National Alliance, which is supported by Ethiopia and Sudan , espouses a strategy of armed action against strategic targets such as radio and TV stations inside Eritrea . However, the EIJ has been much more aggressive militarily than the Eritrean National Alliance and has engaged in an intermittent armed conflict with the Eritrean government since late 1992. At times, the EIJ has targeted civilians, especially foreign civilian targets. During the course of its history, the EIJ has received support from the National Islamic Front government in Sudan and from Al Qaeda.

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