According to a report by
ABC News on 7 April 2020, a US airstrike has killed a top al-Shabaab leader, Yusuf Jiis, in an airstrike near Bush Madina in the Bay region. The airstrike was carried out despite the UN Secretary-General"s appeal for a
global ceasefire during the COVID-19 pandemic (UN, 23 March 2020). AFRICOM commander General Stephen Townsend said: "While we might like to pause our operations in Somalia because of the coronavirus, the leaders of al-Qaeda, al-Shabaab and ISIS have announced that they see this crisis as an opportunity to further their terrorist agenda so we will continue to stand with and support our African partners." According to a report by Military.Com on 9 March 2020, in early February another
al-Shabaab leader (Bashir Mohamed Mahamoud) was also killed by a US airstrike.
Yonas Dembele, Persecution analyst at World Watch Research Analyst, comments: "Al-Qaeda linked al-Shabaab has been creating tremendous challenges to the nations in the Horn of Africa and the international community and has caused the deaths of hundreds of Christians over the last years. According to a report on 21 March 2020 in the New York Times, there are signs that al-Shabaab "˜is seeking to expand its lethal mayhem well beyond its home base, and
attack Americans wherever it can". However, since al-Shabaab often considers attacks by American forces as attacks by Christians, it could be that the group will take revenge on Christians in the region."
