The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) slapped three senior Al-Shabaab terrorists with sanctions in a renewed effort aimed at degrading the Somalia-based Islamist insurgent group that has wreaked havoc in that country for close to two decades.
In the latest coordinated efforts aimed at ending Al-Shabaabs’ dominance in sections of Somalia, the Chair of UNSC noted that the sanctions will significantly help Federal Government of Somalia in combating the Al-Qaeda aligned terrorists still controlling large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia.
Geraldine Byrne Nason, the permanent representative of Ireland to the United Nations and chair of the Security Council Committee in noted that, while it is too early to see the impact of these terrorists’ listings, updated sanctions list can be a significant tool in supporting the Federal Government of Somalia in its fight against Al-Shabaab.
Those slapped with sanctions hold senior positions with the ranks of the armed terrorist group. The decision was made on June 14. and the sanctions took effect immediately across all United Nations member countries worldwide on the three individuals.
This is not the first time the UNSC is targeting terrorists with such sanctions. In the past, given that most of these militants are fugitives, have been issued sanctions but at times, they keep changing their identity or nationalities, making it difficult to trace them.
During the meeting the Chair highlighted threat posed by Al-Shabaab, including the use of improvised explosive devices; violations of international humanitarian law and noted if the ongoing investigations into the group’s finances; the management of weapons and ammunition by the federal government; and the ban on the export of charcoal from the war-torn country.
But their names have not been made public yet until such a time full protocols are implemented. Some of the top leaders who have been slapped with sanctions include Bashir Qorgab, who was killed in a US Africa Command airstrike last year, Mahad Karate, the financial controller, and Al-Shabaab emir (leader) Ahmed Omar Ubaidah.
