Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the threat posed by al-Shabab to political stability in Somalia.

Al- Shabaab continues to pose a significant threat to political stability in Somalia. It still controls territory in south central Somalia and seeks to destabilise the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and Regional Administrations through asymmetric attacks on political targets and targeted assassinations. But it has suffered a significant loss of territory over the last two years as a result of the African Union Mission in Somalia’s (AMISOM’s) military operation, including the loss on 5 October of the last major seaport under its control. In parallel, the Federal Government of Somalia is increasing its effort to reconcile members of Al Shabaab and put in place functioning political administrations in areas previously controlled by Al Shabaab.