Executive Order to Freeze al-Shabab Linked Assets

On Tuesday, President Obama issued an executive orderwhich allows for freezing the assets of individuals suspected of aiding al-Shabab. The executive order explicitly focuses on individuals directly or indirectly engaging in or aiding those engaged in piracy and threatening the peace of Somalia. The directive was issued in light of what the president termed an “unusual and extraordinary threat to national security and foreign policy of the United States.” The order is targeting prominent figures in opposition to the Somali Government. Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys is one of those prominent figures. A leader of an Islamic Party in Somalia, Aweys was working on uniting his party with al-Shabab.

Read more at Al Jazeera and whitehouse.gov.