UNIPATH STAFF
The Kuwaiti commander of Combined Task Force (CTF) 152 met with his United Arab Emirates (UAE) naval counterparts to discuss ways to stop smuggling that is financing the al-Shabaab terrorist group.
“This was a great opportunity to meet with the director of the UAE Navy to discuss the challenges we face,” CTF 152 Col. Nayef Alasker said during the June 2016 meeting with the UAE Navy and Coast Guard. “CTF 152 has a good relationship with them, and they always welcome us warmly.”
According to a report by U.N. Dispatch, which covers United Nations issues, the illicit trade in charcoal is al-Shabaab’s single most important source of income and is comparable to the Taliban’s trade in Afghan opium poppies. Interrupting that trade has a beneficial effect on the security and prosperity of coalition nations waging war on terror.
The report noted that al-Shabaab used its control of ports, mainly in the Somali city of Kismayo, to exact taxes on the export of charcoal and to trade charcoal for sugar.
“Al-Shabaab generates millions of dollars of revenues each month through a coordinated trading cycle built upon the export of charcoal, which in turn finances the import of sugar, much of which is subsequently smuggled across as contraband into neighboring countries,” the report said. “Bank accounts in the Gulf States where the profits of this trade are deposited can be used to launder voluntary contributions to Al-Shabaab through fraudulent invoicing, overvaluing of import proceeds and undervaluing of exports.”
In addition to charcoal smuggling, CTF and UAE officials discussed mutual challenges faced during maritime security operations. Representing the UAE were Director of Naval Operations General Abdullah Al-Shahi and Commander Salem Al-Kendi of the Coast Guard.
CTF 152 is part of Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), created after 9/11 to help counter the threat from international terrorism and later expanded to include counterpiracy operations off the Horn of Africa.
Commanded from its headquarters in Bahrain, CMF operates three Combined Task Forces across the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Somali Basin, Northern Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, Indian Ocean and the Arabian Gulf, covering nearly 3.2 million square miles of ocean bordered by 21 countries. Sources: Combined Maritime Forces, undispatch.com