The Al-Qaeda aligned militant group Al-Shabaab allegedly ordered a construction company reconstructing the National Stadium in Mogadishu to stop reconstructions works, local media reports.
Corresponding local reports from Somalia indicate that Al-Shabaab ordered the company to stop working at the site and withdraw its equipment besides making threats to casual workers at the stadium not to report to work.
According to the media reports, the contractor is negotiating a ‘tax deal’ with the militant group to allow it continue with the reconstruction.
The stadium which had since 2011 been a strategic base for AMISOM forces was handed over to the government in August 2018. Soon thereafter, reconstruction efforts which involved bush clearing under a government led citizen volunteer programme started.
Al-Shabaab is known for such arm-twisting tactics to force payments from businesses in Mogadishu as well as other regions of Somalia in order to amass finances to facilitate its operations.
The latest move to indirectly solicit money from the stadium contractors comes amid widespread reports that the group taxes imports in the port of Mogadishu. The Government of Somalia lately confirmed of Al-Shabaab’s tax extortion while admitting that its unable to stop it.
However, the Federal Government of Somali government has dismissed the reports as ‘falsehoods’ and that reconstruction of the National Stadium will continue as planned.
