Al-Shabab’s Tax Racket in Somalia

Sourcew: The Washington Post published on 30 August 2019
The Washington Post published on 30 August 2019 an article titled “‘If I Don’t Pay, They Kill Me’: Al-Shabaab Tightens Grip on Somalia with Growing Tax Racket” by Omar Faruk and Max Bearak.
The al-Shabaab terrorist organization in Somalia finances much of its activity by extorting money from Somali business persons. The authors state that the growth of al-Shabaab’s tax revenue stands at odds with the federal government’s claims that the insurgency is on it back foot–and in sharp contrast to the U.S. military’s claims that its operations in Somalia are weakening the insurgency.