Somalia conflict: Al-Shabab ‘collects more revenue than government’
The militants collect at least $15m (£11m) a month, with more than half the amount coming from the capital, Mogadishu, the Hiraal Institute said.
Some businesses pay both the jihadists and the internationally recognised government.
Al-Shabab has been fighting that government for more than a decade.
The group controls much of southern and central Somalia but has been able to extend its influence into areas controlled by the government based in Mogadishu.
The report describes as “brutal” the way the group extracts money from the rural population.
“Fear and a credible threat to their lives is the only motivation that drives al-Shabab taxpayers,” the report says.
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