AL-Shabaab and Houthis deepen arms cooperation — WSJ

Somalia : AL- Shabaab and Houthis deepen arms cooperation — WSJ

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Al-Shabaab and Yemen’s Houthi movement have developed a growing partnership involving arms transfers, militant training and drone technology, according to an investigative report published by The Wall Street Journal.

The report identified Jibril Yahya Ali, a Somali man known as “Gacaamey,” as a longtime liaison between the two groups who purchased military-grade weapons from the Houthis and smuggled them to Al-Shabaab.

Jibril was killed on Feb. 12 in a missile strike near Al-Ghaydah in eastern Yemen while driving along the coast with his new wife.

Two American sources told the WSJ that the United States carried out the strike. However, U.S. Central Command said it was not a military operation, while the CIA declined to confirm whether it was responsible.

Jibril, 38, had studied veterinary medicine in Yemen and operated a charity, a foreign-exchange outlet and an import-export company in Mogadishu.

According to the report, the Houthis provided him with a furnished apartment in Sanaa and a Yemeni passport issued under an assumed name. He also attended official Houthi functions.

An internal assessment by Yemen’s Counter-Terrorism Service described Jibril as a key figure in strengthening relations between the Houthis and Al-Shabaab, particularly in transferring weapons, military equipment and technical expertise.

Al-Shabaab and the Houthis belong to movements rooted in historically opposing religious traditions, but Somali, American and Yemeni officials told the WSJ that hostility toward the United States and Israel has brought them together.

The partnership benefits both sides. Al-Shabaab has considerable financial resources but is seeking more sophisticated weapons and training. The Houthis possess missiles, drones and technical expertise but want cash and an expanded operational presence on the southern side of the Gulf of Aden.

In 2024, Al-Shabaab sent Sheikh Ahmed Elmi Samatar to Yemen with a weapons wish list that reportedly included shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles, Katyusha rockets, sniper rifles, attack drones, antitank missiles and night-vision equipment.

Yemeni authorities arrested Samatar in January 2025, but he was later released in a prisoner exchange with the Houthis. He returned to Somalia, leaving Jibril to continue representing Al-Shabaab’s interests in Yemen.

After Jibril’s death, Al-Shabaab appointed a replacement, suggesting that cooperation between the two groups remains active, according to Matt Bryden, a former United Nations expert who monitored arms flows into Somalia.

The weapons are reportedly concealed by front companies and shipped through Yemeni ports before being transported across the Gulf of Aden aboard speedboats or fishing vessels. They are unloaded along poorly monitored sections of Somalia’s northern coastline and moved overland to Al-Shabaab units in the south.

In April 2025, U.S. forces destroyed two unflagged vessels travelling from Yemen toward Somali waters. U.S. Africa Command said the boats were carrying advanced conventional weapons.

It remains unclear which weapons sought by Al-Shabaab have reached Somalia. Somali and American officials are particularly concerned that the group could acquire attack drones or missiles capable of striking military bases.

The WSJ also reported that at least 100 Al-Shabaab fighters had travelled to Yemen for training in bomb-making, antiaircraft operations and drone assembly.

One group reportedly spent three months this year in Yemen’s Sa’dah region, while Houthi instructors have also travelled to Somalia to train Al-Shabaab militants.

In June, a four-member Houthi delegation crossed from Yemen by boat and travelled to Jilib, Al-Shabaab’s main stronghold in southern Somalia. The delegation reportedly discussed cooperation aimed at countering Israeli activities in Berbera and promised the group more advanced weapons and training.

The Houthis fear that Israel could use Berbera as a base from which to monitor or attack Yemen. Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi recently threatened to strike any Israeli presence established in Somaliland.

Al-Shabaab collects at least $100 million annually through extortion, compulsory taxation and roadside checkpoints, according to a U.S. intelligence assessment. That revenue allows the group to purchase weapons and training from the Houthis.

The Houthis, meanwhile, are seeking a foothold in Somalia from which they could monitor commercial shipping through the Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Gen. Dagvin Anderson, commander of U.S. forces in Africa, told the WSJ that the relationship poses a threat extending beyond Somalia and Yemen because it could affect one of the world’s most important trade and energy corridors.

The Houthis did not respond to the newspaper’s questions about their relationship with Al-Shabaab. The precise weapons transferred to the Somali group and the full extent of the operations being planned have not been independently verified.

GAROWE ONLINE