Somali Militants Try Piracy to Fund Attacks

[Amistad]

By SARAH CHILDRESS

10 Sept 2010

The Wall Street Journal

 

A Somali militant group that has pledged allegiance to al Qaeda has turned to piracy to finance its effort to topple Somalia's government, posing new risks for shipping companies and the international naval forces patrolling the waters off the horn of Africa.

 

Al Shabaab, which has been designated by the U.S. as a terrorist group, has proceeded from taxing Somali pirates' ransom revenue to dispatching its own fighters to attack ships—American vessels in particular—according to pirates, al Shabaab officials, residents of seaside towns and the Somali government.

 

In a recent sermon in the southern port city of Kismayo, Sheikh Mahad, a senior al Shabaab official, branded the group's piracy as "sea jihad" and called on young militants about to head to sea to target American ships. "America is our enemy," he said, according to a person who was present and recorded the sermon. "We have to retaliate against them by sea or by land."

 

The U.S. views the Somali government as a bulwark against al Shabaab and a rare chance for stability in Somalia—though it controls only a few blocks of the capital, Mogadishu, under the protection of African Union troops.

 

Much of southern and central Somalia is controlled by al Shabaab. The rest is dominated by other militant groups, clans and along the northern coast, pirates.

 

Al Shabaab has been waging an offensive against the government since the beginning of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, that has left 230 people dead and about 20,000 people displaced, according to the United Nations. On Thursday, the day before Somalis were to celebrate the end of Ramadan, al Shabaab suicide bombers struck Mogadishu's airport, leaving two African Union troops, two civilians and five militants dead.

 

In July, al Shabaab claimed responsibility for its first known attack outside the country: three coordinated bombings in the Ugandan capital of Kampala that killed at least 76 people. The suspected mastermind of the attack said Americans were among its targets.

 

Al Shabaab largely funds itself by taxing businesses that operate in the territory it controls—much of southern and central Somalia—as well as with contributions from supporters outside the country.

 

In recent months, the group has sought more funds to support its fight. "We know they are directly using the pirates" to raise money, said Abdirisaq Qaylow, spokesman of Somalia's information ministry.

 

Al Shabaab officials and pirates say the group has begun to send out militants in pirate skiffs from two southern cities it controls, Kismayo and Barawe. Residents of the cities, which previously weren't believed to be involved in piracy, say they have seen militants heading out to sea with rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47 rifles.

 

There was no immediate evidence that the pirates who on Wednesday hijacked a German-owned ship in the Gulf of Aden, only to have U.S. Marines retake it the following day, were members of al Shabaab.

 

Since January, there have been 119 attempted or successful hijackings by Somali pirates, according to the International Maritime Bureau. Analysts say the average ransom payment to Somali pirates is about $2 million, twice last year's average. Shipping companies have become increasingly willing to pay as quickly as possible to secure a ship's release, according to Roger Middleton, a researcher at Chatham House who studies piracy.

 

In January, hijackers aboard a Greek supertanker reported receiving $7 million to release it—the highest ransom that has been reliably reported, according to analysts.

 

The piracy boom has prompted foreign governments to dispatch multinational naval patrols, including the European Union Naval Force Somalia's Operation Atalanta. Russia, Japan and China have also sent warships to patrol these waters, and the U.S. Navy has established a multinational antipiracy task force.

 

An al Shabaab associate and businessman said the group has attempted to attack American ships, but hasn't succeeded.

 

Spokesmen for the U.S. Fifth Fleet, which oversees the U.S. task force, and the EU Naval Force declined to comment on al Shabaab's threat to attack U.S. ships.

 

While most of the traffic in Indian Ocean shipping lanes isn't American, some U.S.-flagged ships do pass through—notably the Maersk Alabama container ship, which was hijacked off Somalia in April 2009. The U.S. Navy ended the five-day hostage standoff.

 

The development complicates the problem of how U.S. companies can get their ships and hostages back. Shippers and insurers could inadvertently pay otherwise legal ransoms that end up in the pockets of suspected terrorists—a violation of U.S. law that could entail penalties of up to $1 million.

 

Because it is often difficult to know where ransom money ends up, said a representative of the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces U.S. sanctions, only blatant or willful violations of the regulations are likely to be prosecuted. So far, the representative said, no companies had been prosecuted by OFAC for paying a ransom.

 

The Islamist militants-turned-pirates have been instructed to avoid ships from Muslim countries, in contrast to established Somali pirates, who are known for an impious lifestyle and chiefly seek targets that are easier to board from their small skiffs.

 

Pirates new to the trade apparently endure a steep learning curve. Some recently arrested pirates were caught without food, water or fuel, and appeared to lask basic knowledge of the sea, according to Alan Cole, the coordinator of the United Nations' counterpiracy program in Nairobi.

 

"The proficiency level is going down sharply," Mr. Cole said. "There are fewer fishermen and more fighters."

 

Al Shabaab's piracy activities began with a militant leader who hails from the pirate haven Harardheere, and whose clan is involved in the piracy business, according to an al Shabaab official.

 

About five months ago, when al Shabaab commanders called a meeting to discuss the group's need for funds, the leader, who had been collecting taxes from pirates, proposed launching the group's own pirate skiffs, according to an al Shabaab member based at Kismayo port.

 

Veteran pirates complain that al Shabaab's involvement carries risks for them. "This could cause the antipiracy ships to shoot us since (al Shabaab) is an enemy to them," said Nur Abdi, a Somali pirate in Kismayo. "If the Americans find out, every seized ship will be rescued by force, and that's troublesome!"