The Threat of Al-Shabaab to Somalia | The Security Landscape of Somalia 2019

"The militant group also leverages Somalia’s large diaspora community to help fund its operations by capitalizing on the country’s vast hawala network, an informal system of money transfers based on trust. However, Al-Shabaab largely funds its operations through the taxes it collects on the sale and transportation of charcoal. In Somalia, charcoal made from the local acacia tree is incredibly valuable due to its popularity abroad. However, the UN has banned all charcoal exports from Somalia in 2012 in an effort to curb terrorist funding in the region. While the group still makes an estimated $7.5 million a year from its taxes on charcoal, the financial stability of the group appears to be threatened (Peltz, 2018). Since the start of 2019, the militant group has seized and set fire to at least nine vehicles transporting charcoal near Afgoye in an effort to regain control over the market. "