A city within a city has grown in the last four years inside Mogadishu’s protected Oceanside airport compound. Civilian U.S. contractor Bancroft, which was the first to set up base here, is now flanked by compounds for the United Nations, British embassy and European Union advisers.
The Central Intelligence Agency also has a quiet presence here. For the last few years, they have trained and equipped the Alpha Group, the intelligence unit commandos who live in their own fortified compound near the airport.
Mohamud Abdulle, the chief of staff for Somalia’s former prime minister, said in an interview last year that the Alpha Group had become a “fundamental part of Somalia’s security and intelligence architecture” and report to the country’s intelligence force, known as the National Intelligence and Security Agency.
“Its responsibilities include special operations, securing areas and protecting VIPs,” Abdulle said. “In the short time since it was created, Alpha Group has been strikingly successful.”
One intelligence official in Mogadishu with knowledge of the team said there are no more than 150 members, but estimates vary. Some of the members reportedly defected from the Shabab, but the team’s membership is a closely-guarded secret — fighters only appear in public with their faces covered by tan-coloured balaclavas and often with sunglasses and gloves.