Mareeg.com-The overall magnitude of illegal exports of charcoal from Somalia remains similar to the previous mandate, but there have been some new trends worth noting. Al-Shabaab, in contrast to much of 2015 and 2016, when it had intermittently banned the charcoal trade in areas under its control (see S/2016/919, para. 129), has resumed the systematic taxation of charcoal at checkpoints en route to the stockpiles near the ports at Buur Gaabo and Kismayo. A conservative estimate would be that Al-Shabaab currently earns at least $10 million a year from the illicit charcoal trade.
201. Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and particularly Port Al Hamriya, continues to be the primary export destination, although there have been some attempts by charcoal traffickers to diversify to other ports in the region, including Bahrain, Kuwait and possibly Oman. The most prevalent type of false paperwork used to conceal the Somali origin of charcoal cargoes during the current mandate has been Djibouti certificates of origin. Meanwhile, transnational criminal networks, based primarily in Dubai and Kismayo, seem to be working towards a more formal structure for collaboration.
202. With the notable exceptions of the efforts made by the Combined Maritime Forces and Kuwait, implementation of the charcoal ban has been poor, particularly by the Interim Jubba Administration and the Kenyan Defence Forces contingent of AMISOM in Somalia, and the United Arab Emirates among the importing countries. A lack of commitment to consistent sanctions implementation, and in some cases a conspicuously deliberate failure to comply with the charcoal ban, enables Al Shabaab financing and undermines counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency efforts in Somalia. source monitoring group Read more somali charcoal production-transport and-stockpiles
