Al-Shabab still controls many rural areas of the country
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Posted on 11/01/2020 2:36:04 AM PST by xomething
Using intimidation and violence, Somalia-based Islamist militant group al-Shabab raises as much revenue as the country's authorities, a report says.
The militants collect at least $15m (£11m) a month, with more than half the amount coming from the capital, Mogadishu, the Hiraal Institute said.
Some businesses pay both the jihadists and the internationally recognised government.
Al-Shabab has been fighting that government for more than a decade.
The group controls much of southern and central Somalia but has been able to extend its influence into areas controlled by the government based in Mogadishu.
The report describes as "brutal" the way the group extracts money from the rural population.
"Fear and a credible threat to their lives is the only motivation that drives al-Shabab taxpayers," the report says.
According to the Hiraal Institute, unlike the Somali government, al-Shabab is "running a major financial surplus" as the amount of money it collects increases yearly, whilst its operational costs remain fairly static.
All major companies in Somalia give the jihadists money, both in the form of monthly payments and a yearly "zakat" (obligatory alms) of 2.5% of annual profits, says the report, which is based on interviews with al-Shabab members, Somali businesspeople, government officials and others.
Businesspeople in government-controlled areas complain they have to pay both the militants and the government.
These include those in the Villa Somalia neighbourhood of Mogadishu, where the government is based, and those in the cities of Bossasso and Jowhar, and to a lesser extent Kismayo and Baidoa, all of which are officially outside militant control.
Al-Shabab still controls many rural areas of the country
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Those who refuse are either killed, forced to shut down their businesses or flee the country...
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
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Bump
If I was to wager a very unexperienced guess I'd say it's a strong possibility they're both in on the graft and cooperating with each other.
Can't say I'm all too positive that's not the same as we have here in the US. I can just picture the lot of'em gettin together in some super secret joint and guffawing at the way they jerk our chains while they run off with the money and live high-on-the-hog.
/tin foil hat.. d;^)
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