Summary
During the first reporting period of the Panel of Experts on Somalia, the use by
Al-Shabaab of improvised explosive devices reached its greatest extent in Somali
history, with a year-on-year increase of approximately one third. Post-blast chemical
analyses obtained by the Panel provided definitive evidence for the first time that
Al-Shabaab had been manufacturing its own home-made explosives since at least July
2017, and likely before then. Al-Shabaab previously relied on military grade
explosives, obtained principally from explosive remnants of war and munitions
captured from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), to construct
improvised explosive devices; the manufacture of home-made explosives means that
the group may now have access to far more readily available inputs for the construction
of such devices.
COMMENTS