On Wednesday, Al-Shabab militants intercepted and burned 10 commercial vehicles transporting charcoal along the critical supply corridor between Wanlaweyn and Afgoye districts in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle Province. Reports indicate that the vehicles were on their way to Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. Photos circulated widely in the social media showed the vehicles burning after Al-Shabab militants set them ablaze. One of the transport operators told Kaab TV that members of the militant group, Al-Shabab ambushed the vehicles which were traveling on the Wanlaweyn-Afgoye corridor.
Transport operator who requested anonymity reaffirmed that the militant group of Al-Shabab that is in control of these areas set the vehicles on ablaze, specifically those that are stationed in the checkpoints. According to well-informed sources who spoke to Kaab TV said that Al-Shabab had long been collecting tax payments from charcoal transport vehicles, with funds being channeled through a committee representing the transporters.
However, the situation changed last week after U.S. backed Danab Forces detained two members from the committee, identified as Ahmed Somali and Osman Jawjawley. According to the sources Kaab TV contacted, the two men were the Chairman of the charcoal transporters’ committee and the committee’s head of finance, they used to collect the vehicle taxes on behalf of Al-Shabab.
Following that incident, Al-Shabab’s finance office contacted the remaining committee members and ordered them to continue the work. Fearing for their safety, the committee members fled Mogadishu and switched off their phones. According to well-informed sources, Al-Shabab subsequently contacted some of the drivers, ordering them to reconstitute the committee. The drivers reportedly responded that while each individual was willing to pay their own required share, they could not assume responsibility for payments or obligations of others.
This marked the beginning of a dispute between Al-Shabab and the drivers, according to the sources. A security official in Afgoye told Kaab TV that Al-Shabab attacked charcoal trucks this morning while they were travelling on the road between Afgoye and Wanlaweyn, burning 10 vehicles in the process.
Al-Shabab and the ban on Charcoal
Al-Shabab has long prohibited cutting down trees and charcoal production; however, since 2023-after the group lost control of areas-it reportedly relaxed the enforcement of the ban on charcoal trade. Earlier this week, the group once again issued strict directives halting tree felling and charcoal production. According to these directives, those who had cut down were given a 20-day window to remove the timber they had already felled, while being warned against cutting down any further trees. The Afgoye police have not commented on this incident, while members of Al-Shabab remain fully active in the area where the attack took place.
