Davidson College professor Ken Menkhaus and visiting scholar Claire Metelits will lead a discussion of the terrorist group Al Shabaab and US response to the their actions in East Africa on Tuesday, Oct. 21, from 7:00-8:30pm in Hance Auditorium of Davidson’s Chambers Building. The forum is free and open to the public.

One year ago, the jihadi group Al Shabaab launched a major terrorist attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, followed by a series of major suicide bombings in Somalia and Djibouti. Professors Menkhaus and Metelits will examine the status of the group today and how the United States has responded to the threat they pose.

The event, “Violent Extremism and US Response: Al Shabaab in East Africa,” is sponsored by the departments of Political Science and Africana Studies at Davidson College. It’s the third in a series of informal, discussion-based forums moderated by a faculty member from the Political Science department and a visiting scholar.

Menkhaus, recently returned from fieldwork in Mogadishu, Somalia, will provide a fresh assessment of the group’s leadership, tactics, goals and capacity. Metelits, who was based at the US Combined Joint Task Froce in Djibouti as a Socio-Cultural Researcher and Adviser, will discuss how the US has sought to counter the threat posed by Al Shabaab. After a brief introduction, the two will open the discussion up to the audience.

WANT TO GO?

Al Shabaab in East Africa – Tuesday, Oct. 21, 7pm-8:30pm, Hance Auditorium, Chambers Building – Join Political Science and Africana Studies at Davidson College in a conversation about the jihadi group Al Shabaab and the US response to the threat they pose. Free and open to the public.