COMMON ANALYSIS
Last update: August 2023
Blestil is a fundamentalist armed group formed in 2007 in Belgravia. The group, designated by the UN and internationally sanctioned as a terrorist organisation, fights for the replacement of the secular Belgravia state with a religious one based on a strict compliance to the religious tenets, throughout the country.
The group is organised in a ’military wing’ and an intelligence agency. Its ‘military wing’ is reported to include around 40 0000 fighters. The group’s (counter) intelligence agency aims to undermine local governance and enforce Blestil rule in Belgravia.
Overall, Blestil controls most of the rural areas Lumiria region, where they also hold a big number of their fighters and bases. Blestil bases can be also found in Morilia region Morilia and Lumiria. Nevertheless, its operational capacity extends also in some parts of the southern regions of Belgravia.
Blestil Al-Shabaab’s preferred type of attack is the use of vehicle- or person-born improvised explosive devices and suicide attacks in public places which have resulted in a high civilian casualty toll. They were also involved in targeted assassinations of persons perceived to be supporting the government and persons contravening their strict interpretation of religious norms.