UK to ban Islamist group al-Shabaab
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The UK government has said that it will ban the Islamist al-Shabaab group in the country, and designate it as being a terrorist organisation. The move was announced by UK Home Secretary Alan Johnson.
The ban needs to be approved by parliament before it can be implemented; however, the Associated Press reports that parliamentary approval is regarded as a formality, and the proposal will likely pass. The move would make membership in al-Shabaab illegal, and prohibit British residents from raising money for the group. Anyone found to be a member of the group could face up to a decade in prison.
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Johnson described the move as being "tough but necessary", and was "not a course of action we take lightly."
Al-Shabaab is a group that controls most of southern Somalia. A statement released by the group last month said that the "jihad of Horn of Africa must be combined with the international jihad led by the al-Qaeda network". According to the BBC, that was the first time the group linked itself to al-Qaeda.
Alan Johnson also recently banned another Islamic group, Islam4UK.
Related news
- "UK to ban Islamist group" — Wikinews, January 13, 2010
Sources
- "Britain to Ban Somali Islamic Militant Group" — VOA News, March 1, 2010
- "Britain to ban Somali terrorist group al-Shabab" — Associated Press, March 1, 2010
- "Alan Johnson bans Somali 'terrorist' group Al-Shabaab" — BBC News Online, March 1, 2010