Country Reports on Terrorism 2012

There were frequent reports of al-Shabaab carrying out amputation of limbs for minor thievery
offenses, stoning for suspected adultery, killing converts to religions other than Islam, and forced
conscription of child soldiers. Al-Shabaab leaders frequently ordered beheaded corpses to be left
in streets as a lesson to local communities. Shabaab forces also engaged in widespread rape and
violence against women.
Location/Area of Operation: Al-Shabaab lost full control of significant areas of territory in
2011 and 2012. In September 2012, al-Shabaab lost control of Kismayo, a vital port it used to
obtain supplies and funding through taxes. Despite these losses, al-Shabaab continued to control
large sections of rural areas in the middle and lower Jubba regions, as well as Bay and Bakol
regions, and augmented its presence in northern Somalia along the Golis Mountains and within
Puntland’s larger urban areas.
Strength: Al-Shabaab is estimated to have several thousand members, including foreign
fighters, a force that is augmented by allied clan militias in some areas.
Funding and External Aid: Al-Shabaab saw its income diminish due to the loss of the strategic
port cities of Kismayo and Merka; furthermore, it lost a general ability to freely levy taxes in
certain urban areas in southern and central Somalia. Al-Shabaab continued to have sufficient
financing available, however, including funds from illegal charcoal production and exports from
smaller ports along the coast, taxation of local populations and areas under al-Shabaab control,
and foreign donations.
Because al-Shabaab is a multi-clan entity, it receives significant donations from the global
Somali diaspora; however, the donations are not all intended to support terrorism; but also to
support family members.
SHINING PATH
aka SL; Sendero Luminoso; Ejercito Guerrillero Popular (People’s Guerrilla Army); EGP;
Ejercito Popular de Liberacion (People’s Liberation Army); EPL; Partido Comunista del Peru
(Communist Party of Peru); PCP; Partido Comunista del Peru en el Sendero Luminoso de Jose
Carlos Mariategui (Communist Party of Peru on the Shining Path of Jose Carlos Mariategui);
Socorro Popular del Peru (People’s Aid of Peru); SPP
Description: Shining Path (SL) was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on October
8, 1997. Former university professor Abimael Guzman formed SL in Peru in the late 1960s, and
his teachings created the foundation of SL’s militant Maoist doctrine. SL’s stated goal is to
destroy existing Peruvian institutions and replace them with a communist peasant revolutionary
regime. It also opposes any influence by foreign governments. In the 1980s, SL was one of the
most ruthless terrorist groups in the Western Hemisphere. The Peruvian government made
dramatic gains against SL during the 1990s, capturing Guzman in 1992, and killing a large
number of militants. In 2011, the Upper Huallaga Valley (UHV) faction of SL was largely
reduced, and in December, the faction’s leader publicly acknowledged defeat. Separately, the
much larger and stronger rival SL faction in the Apurimac, Ene, and Montaro River Valley
(VRAEM) expanded in 2012.
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