Al Shabab’s head of taxation arrested in central Somalia

Somali security forces have captured a man named as Idris Mohamed Sheikh Ali, whom security officials said, was in charge of Al Shabab’s taxation for Galgadud region.

Sheikh Ali was arrested on July 30 in Marergur area, some 28 km northeast of Dhusamareb, the provincial capital of Galgadud region.

Security officials said Sheikh Ali had been in charge of collecting and managing taxes that the militant group extorts from local residents in the region.

The Sheikh had once worked with al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Diriye when the current emir was the militant group’s shadow governor of Bay and Bakool regions.

The suspect was handed over to National Intelligence and Security Agency [NISA] headquarters in the capital Mogadishu where he is reported to be undergoing an intensive interrogation.

For years, Al-Shabaab taxation system has been active in areas under its control, and it has also been spreading into other government-controlled cities like the capital Mogadishu.

The militant group enforces its taxation system through the disciplined collection of intelligence and the threat of extreme violence against those who do not pay the amounts they demanded.

Upon his re-election in 2022, Somalia’s president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud vowed to shut down revenue streams for the al Qaeda-inspired group, saying the group uses the extorted taxes to help finance terrorism across Africa and the world.

To cut off the terrorist funding President Mohamud launched all-out-war on the group as Somali army forces backed by local militias known as Ma’awisley managed to re-captured dozens of key areas in south and central Somalia.

The al Qaeda-linked group is believed to make millions of dollars per year from taxes they impose in areas of Somalia under their control.

Hiraal Institute, a Mogadishu-based think tank, estimates the militant group makes enough to spend $24 million per year on weapons. In Somalia, security analysts also say cutting off the terrorist funding won’t be easy.

Earlier in 2022, the U.N. Panel of Experts report on Somalia revealed al-Shabab had about 100 checkpoints throughout the country where they impose taxes on trucks transporting goods.

Despite losing large swathes of territory to Somali army last year, the group still carries out suicide and gun attacks in south and central towns.

Last week, Al Shabab killed 40 people and wounded 125 more, with some of them are in a critical condition after a suicide bomber blew himself up at Lido beach before four gunmen stormed into a beachfront hotel in the capital Mogadishu.

Source » mareeg.com