Charcoal exporters (close to Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islaan ‘Madobe’ the Ras Kamboni leader and a key figure in Kismayo) want to restart their business but Kenya will try to ban it making Kenyan soldiers arbiters in the region’s bitter trade rivalries...
Vol 52 No 22 |
- KENYA
- SOMALIA
The first is led by Ahmed Mohamed Islaan ‘Madobe’ who took over most of the Ras Kamboni Islamist group from its historic leader Hasan Abdallah Hirsi ‘al Turki’ in October 2009 after a row over a deal with Al Shabaab on who would rule Kismayo...
Ahmed Madobe leads a group of trained fighters but his clan outlook is very limited and his own background could rule out collaboration with the TFG...
Last year Al Shabaab defeated its former ally Hizbul Islam under Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islaan ‘Madobe’ and retained control of Kismayo but Madobe’s fighters are still active there threatening Al Shabaab’s control of Lower Juba; towns such as Dhobley near the Kenyan border have changed hands several times...