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U.S. Places Five Somali Al-Shabaab Commanders on Terror List

The U.S. State Department has named five mid-level commanders and multiple junior finance officers of the Somali militant group Al-Shabaab, global terrorists. The U.S. reported that Al-Shabaab generates an estimated U.S.$100 million annually that is collected through illicit taxations, mandatory donations and extortions.

Among the operatives newly sanctioned is Mohamed Siidow, who is described as a finance emir and a commander in the group's armed wing, the Jabha. He is accused of overseeing illicit taxation operations in Aliyow Barrow village in the Lower Shabelle region.

Also sanctioned are Ali Yare, Mohamed Dauud Gaabane, and Suleiman Abdi Daoud - all finance emirs in separate towns and villages in Lower Shabelle - possibly Al-Shabaab's most lucrative region, through which many vehicles carrying commercial goods from Mogadishu, pass.

The fifth commander sanctioned by the U.S. State Department is Mohamed Omar Mohamed - said to be the Al-Shabaab commissioner in the Dinsor district. The U.S. accuses him of being responsible for a series of attacks on civilians.

The most notable three among this group are Al-Shabaab's shadow Governor of the Juba region, Mohamed Abdullahi Hirey, also known as Abu Abdalla; the region's militant commander Ahmed Kabadhe; and Mohamed Ali, a company commander the U.S. says oversees 100 fighters.

In 2022, the Somalia's government launched a renewed effort to cripple the militant group financially and by breaking down its mlitary operations.

Earlier in 2023, the country's Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre said the government shut down 250 bank and mobile money accounts suspected of being used by the group. The government says Al-Shabaab's financial health has been hurt as result of the measures.

InFocus

UA-ONU/Stuart Price

A street in Mogadiscio (file photo).

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