Shabaab still benefitting from Kismayu charcoal exports – UN
Traders sell charcoal in Kismayu in May 2013. The Kenya Defence Forces has been accused of colluding with Al-Shabaab terrorists in Somalia’s illegal multi-billion-shilling charcoal trade. FILE
Shabaab makes as much as $56 million (Sh4.8 billion) a year by shipping charcoal from Kismayu and Baraawe, another port in southern Somalia, Unep estimates.
The African Union Mission in Somalia is contesting Shabaab's control of Baraawe, while Kismayu has been occupied by Kenyan troops since October 2012.
The UN Security Council banned charcoal exports from Somalia in February 2012.
The amount of charcoal shipped from Kismayu and Baraawe has actually increased in the two-and-a-half years since the ban was imposed, Unep says.
Al-Shabaab is continuing to finance its operations through charcoal exports from the port of Kismayu, the United Nations Environmental Programme says in a new report.
Shabaab makes as much as $56 million (Sh4.8 billion) a year by shipping charcoal from Kismayu and Baraawe, another port in southern Somalia, Unep estimates.
