MOGADISHU (Halbeeg News) – Al-Shabaab fighters make over seven million USD annually by smuggling charcoal out of Somalia, UK said.
At a conference for the multinational maritime security coalition Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), Royal Navy Commodore Steve Dainton said the estimated wholesale value of smuggled Somalia charcoal is in the range of $150 million a year.
Captain Saleh Alfodary KCG, Commander of Combined Task Force 152 said “This conference is a starting point for further discussion and relationship building in our effort to counter this source of terrorist financing; it is our shared interest to achieve . . . a safe and prosperous Gulf.”
A second conference called Shared Awareness and De-confliction (SHADE) was also held looking at anti-piracy and the illegal smuggling of narcotics and weapons.
“SHADE provides the perfect opportunity for the maritime community to meet and discuss the on-going and combined efforts of our counter-piracy operations,” said Commodore Dainton. “Information sharing and collaboration are key to ensuring maritime security.”
Export of charcoal from Somalia has been banned by a 2012 United Nations Security Council resolution but not yet fully implemented by the government.
According to the UN, 8.2 million trees were cut down for charcoal in Somalia between 2011 and 2017, increasing land degradation and food insecurity, and illegal trade in charcoal acts as a major source of funding for militias and terrorist groups such as Al-Shabab.
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