In 2012, the United Nations banned wood charcoal imports from Somalia. Almost no-one took notice of the United Nations’ stand against terrorism in the horn of Africa: al-Shabab, the militant organization responsible for the horrifying attack on Garissa University in Kenya this April among other atrocities, funds the majority of its activities through the sale of wood charcoal.
Al-Shabab receives an estimated $50 million per year from charcoal exported through Somalia’s major ports.