Day: October 17, 2022

The United States is expanding its fight against al-Qaida’s affiliate in Somalia, adding a new, expansive round of sanctions to drone strikes and military advice from U.S. forces on the ground.
The Treasury Department Monday unveiled sanctions targeting four senior al-Shabab leaders as well as five operatives, all said to be key players in a network charged with raising money, recruiting fighters and procuring weapons.
According to the U.S., the smuggling network took in money from a variety of sources, including non-governmental organizations, helping al-Shabab generate an estimated $100 million per year, helping to grow the terror group’s size and capabilities.
A report earlier this year by the Mogadishu-based security think tank, the Hiraal Institute — subsequently affirmed by intelligence estimates shared by United Nations member states — indicates about a quarter of that money, or some $24 million, is spent on weapons alone.
Treasury named one of the key leaders as Abdullahi Jeeri, al-Shabab’s chief of weapons procurement.
Treasury said Jeeri has been active as recent as late last year, often getting weapons from local sellers and international suppliers based out of Yemen. U.S. officials also said Jeeri is responsible for collecting payments levied against various Somali businesses. The U.S. says Jeeri is a member of al-Shabab’s Shura (Consultative) Council, the group’s second highest administrative body after the Tanfid (Executive) Council.
A former Al-Shabab official who defected from the group but could not be named for security reasons described Jeeri as the group’s commander of logistics.
“He controls all the weapons, sending them to the frontlines, storing them,” he said, adding Jeeri is connected to weapons smugglers in the Horn of Africa.
Another sanctioned al-Shabab official, Khalif Adale, reportedly answers directly to the terror group’s emir, Ahmed Diriye, and served as the point of contact for organizations forced to pay off the group.
Adale is one of the first Somali businessmen who openly joined the group early on. People who know him say that by using his business connections, he used to import uniforms, communications equipment and GPS devices for the group.
The U.S. Treasury also sanctioned Abdikarim Hussein Gagaale, a deputy finance official, and Hassan Afgoye, a key negotiator responsible for overseeing various racketeering efforts. Gagaale previously served as the group’s military commander in the Hiran and Galgudud regions of central Somalia. He was also a top operational militant officer.
Afgoye previously served as head of the group’s financial department, which resulted the United States putting a $5 million bounty on his head.
He is currently said to be head of financial investigation for al-Shabab, an office that accounts for how al-Shabab spends. The U.S. State Department calls him “critical to the group’s continuing operations.”
“Treasury is focused on identifying and disrupting al-Shabab’s illicit networks operating in Eastern Africa,” Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement.
“We will continue to take action against the weapons smuggling and fundraising activities of al-Shabab and other al-Qaida affiliates,” he added.
Horn of Africa regional analyst Matt Bryden says targeting al-Shabab’s finances is a significant strategy.
“The most important thing about it is that it demonstrates that the United States government and presumably the Somali federal government are demonstrating a commitment to a whole-of-government approach to fighting al-Shabab,” he said.
“This is a clear sign that the battle against al-Shabab is no longer simply going to be fought militarily on the ground, but that it’s going to involve attacks on al-Shabab financial networks.”
Bryden said although the impact of the sanctions may not necessarily hurt al-Shabab members, it’s still a warning to those who are dealing with the group.
“Obviously sanctioning people, members of al-Shabab who are in Somalia [who] don’t have foreign bank accounts, don’t travel, is not going to have an impact, but it’s a very important international signal, and it’s also a signal to Somali businesspeople and political people who actually do business with them,” he said.
The U.S. sanctions follow recent moves by the Somali government to curtail al-Shabab’s fundraising and militant operations, part of what Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has described as an “all-out war” on the terror group.
This past Saturday, Somalia’s government warned businesses to stop paying off al-Shabab, saying there would be stiff penalties for anyone succumbing to the group’s extortion efforts.
“Any merchant who obeys instructions issued by the terrorists, and pays them income, will never be allowed to do business in Somalia again,” the ministry of commerce and industry said in a letter to traders.
Last week, the government in Mogadishu won support from neighboring Ethiopia to end a partial arms embargo on Somalia to allow its forces to better take on al-Shabab.
And the Somali government has also announced a crackdown against media outlets that publish information considered to be favorable to the terror group.
Somalia’s recent counteroffensive against al-Shabab has been making some gains, according to government officials who say that as of earlier this month they have retaken more than 40 localities from the group.
Those gains follow a U.S. decision this past May to deploy a few hundred troops to Somalia to help advise Somali forces in their fight against the terror group.

In addition, the U.S. has carried out a handful of airstrikes in support of Somali government forces over the past several months, with estimates suggesting dozens of al-Shabab fighters have been killed.
But despite the recent airstrikes, al-Shabab has since claimed some of those areas are back under its control. And recent intelligence estimates suggest al-Shabab is still a force to be reckoned with.
One assessment, shared in July by the United Nations terrorism monitoring team, said al-Shabab commands between 7,000 and 12,000 fighters, up considerably from earlier estimates.
Other assessments suggest al-Shabab has also become more influential within al-Qaida, due in part to its help funding core al-Qaida activities.
This past July, the outgoing commander of U.S. forces in Africa warned of an increasingly aggressive al-Shabab, saying in response to a question from VOA that a series of incursions by al-Shabab in Ethiopia were not a “one-off.”
“It’s only been less than a year ago that al-Shabab emir [Ahmed] Diriye called for an increased emphasis on external attacks and increased emphasis on attacking Western targets in the Horn of Africa,” General Stephen Townsend said at the time. “This is a response.”

Source: Voice of America

Nigeria’s defense chief defended the destruction of a seized ship that was smuggling stolen oil, saying no investigation was needed. Critics say the military’s burning of the ship last week destroyed vital evidence and accused the military of a cover-up.
Nigeria’s chief of defense staff, General Lucky Irabor, spoke after last Friday’s national security meeting with the president.
Irabor said the swift response of security operatives followed the rules of engagement and that they didn’t need to carry out any investigation because the ship was caught in the act.
Security operatives last week seized and burned an 87-meter-long vessel allegedly carrying 650,000 liters of crude oil in southern Delta state. The vessel had seven crew members aboard.
The bust was one of the biggest in recent weeks led by a former Delta state militant, Government Ekpemupolo, widely known as Tompolo. Nigerian authorities in August awarded him a multi-billion-dollar surveillance contract in a desperate bid to address rampant oil theft.
On Sunday, popular human rights lawyer Femi Falana called for the removal of the defense chief. Human rights lawyer Marshall Abubakar said he agrees and said the burning of the ship is highly suspicious.
“Why the hurry in destroying this vessel?” Abubakar said. “There have been allegations that the menace of oil theft is being perpetrated by persons in authority. The hurried destruction lays credence to that particular allegation.”
Experts say Nigeria has been losing thousands of barrels and millions of dollars every day to crude oil theft.
The ex-militant’s company has so far uncovered 58 instances of oil being siphoned from pipelines, including one connected to Nigeria’s major export line where oil was tapped unnoticed for nine years.
Tompolo has also alleged that security operatives, oil companies and local residents usually collude to steal oil. Last week, lawmakers promised to investigate the matter and make public their findings.
Abuja-based lawyer and economist Eze Onyekpere said the burning of the ship will make any investigation more difficult.
“When you apprehend an offender, you’ll need evidence to be able to prove before a court of law that such a person committed the offense in question,” Onyekpere said. “The vessel on which the crude oil is being carried is one of those pieces of evidence that you’ll need to bring before a court of law.”
Abubakar also worries about environmental damage.
“The destruction of this vessel in open space without appropriate paraphernalia to protect the ozone layer is an injustice the struggles and environmental rights of the Niger Delta people,” Abubakar said.
Critics are waiting for answers and monitoring what authorities do next.

Source: Voice of America

A governor in central Somalia has announced rewards of up to $25,000 for anyone who kills an Islamist militant with the al-Shabab terrorist group.
The governor of Hiiraan region also directed military and clan militias to kill the wives and mothers of al-Shabab members. Rights groups and security experts expressed alarm at the call for extrajudicial killings.
Hiiraan regional governor Ali Jeyte announced at a news conference Sunday that his administration will reward those who kill al-Shabab militants in the ongoing war in the central Somalia region. The governor’s remarks came amid intense fighting in the Hiiraan and Galgaduud regions in central Somalia against al-Shabab. Unlike in the past, civilians have joined with the military to wage war against the militant group.
“Whoever kills an al-Shabab fighter will be given $5,000,” he said. “Those who kill senior al-Shabab commanders will be given $10,000 while anyone who kills top leaders like Ali Dhere (al-Shabab spokesperson) will get a reward of $25,000.”
Ongoing joint operations between the military and civilians have been hailed as decisive actions against al-Shabab which still controls large swathes of territory in south-central Somalia. The Somali government has said it will deploy all means necessary to finish off the militant group.
According to Jeyte, that includes going after al-Shabab family members.
“I want al-Shabaab wives and mother to be killed,” says Jeyte. “Also, I want you to kill your relative who is al-Shabab.”
The decision to go after relatives of al-Shabab members has human rights activists concerned.
Abdullahi Hassan, a researcher for Amnesty International, told VOA that targeting al-Shabab families is a violation of international human rights.
“Under international humanitarian law, parties to a conflict are required to at all times distinguish between combatants and civilians,” said Hassan. “Parties are also required to take all feasible precautions to spare civilian lives and objects. In the case of Somalia, both government and allied forces and others including regional and international actors, and the armed group al-Shabab, are required to respect international law and not to target civilians.”
Abdiaziz Hussein Issack is a security analyst with the Hamad Bin Khalifa Civilization Center, a cultural and research center based in Denmark. Issack echoed similar concerns adding that the move could be counterproductive.
“Targeting al-Shabab families and children is risky because al-Shabab are not aliens or Satans, they are part of [the] citizenship — though there might be some foreign individuals— but 90% are Somalis,” said Issack. “Therefore, so when their families, including innocent children, [are attacked] it could help al-Shabab get support from [the] clans of these families.”
Issack said the bounty is a positive step saying countries such as the United States have already placed bounties on several al-Shabab leaders. He adds that the bounty could motivate soldiers and clan militias to increase their efforts in hunting down the terror group’s figureheads.
“The bounty can be hailed by the international community,” said Issack. “Some al-Shabab figures and other international terror groups have millions of dollars in bounties on their heads. Therefore, [the] international community might encourage the bounties and support the government [to] fulfill its promises.”
In the past, the Somali government has announced bounties on al-Shabab but mainly focused on information sharing from the public. The federal government also declared in 2018 it would compensate traders whose premises were destroyed during terrorist attacks. There have been no public declarations on whether those promises were kept, it remains unclear if the new directive will be honored.

Source: Voice of America