Mogadishu (KAAB TV) – The United States, in partnership with six Gulf nations, has announced sweeping sanctions on 15 senior members and financial facilitators of the militant group Al-Shabaab. The sanctions, targeting the group’s financial network in southern Somalia, are aimed at undermining its ability to fund terrorist operations and destabilize the region.
The U.S. Treasury Department, in coordination with the Riyadh-based Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC), unveiled the designations on Monday. This marks the eighth joint action by the TFTC, a coalition made up of the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain.
The sanctions freeze all assets of the listed individuals within TFTC member states and block them from accessing the international financial system.
Most of the designated individuals are senior Al-Shabaab commanders operating in the informal economy in the regions of Lower Shabelle, Lower Jubba, and Middle Jubba. They are accused of funding the group through illegal taxation, kidnapping, livestock theft, and facilitating explosive attacks targeting Somali and African Union forces under the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).
“Al-Shabaab continues to terrorize and extort the Somali people, forcing farmers to hand over livestock as so-called ‘donations’ and kidnapping civilians while carrying out a violent campaign to destabilize the region,” said Anna Morris, Acting Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing at the U.S. Treasury. “The TFTC is working to cut off Al-Shabaab’s access to financial networks that enable their violent operations.”
Among those sanctioned:
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Hasan Abshir Hurow, identified as a senior intelligence and financial officer in Kismayo, led extortion operations involving forced animal donations and illicit sales for personal profit.
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Adan Yusuf Saeed Ibrahim allegedly extracted large sums of money from traders in Lower Shabelle, where residents report paying taxes both to the official government and to Al-Shabaab.
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Muumin Dheere, appointed deputy to the Grand Emir of Lower Juba, was reportedly involved in coordinating vehicle-borne explosive attacks and plotting an attack on Kismayo Airport. He worked closely with Macalin Burhan, the Hisbah police commander in the region, known for arresting dozens of civilians.
Other individuals include:
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Ali Ahmed Hussein, Emir of Lower Shabelle, accused of involvement in weapons procurement and kidnappings;
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Mohamed Abdullahi Hirey, leader in the Jubba region;
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Ahmed Kabadhe, former Emir of Jubaland, who allegedly ordered repeated attacks on Somali security forces.
Additional figures named in the sanctions include Mohamed Ali, Siyat Ayuto, Said Abdullahi Adan, and Omar Guhad, all linked to Al-Shabaab’s taxation systems, prison network operations, and bomb-making logistics.
This latest round of designations builds on prior U.S. actions from May 2023, when many of these individuals were first identified as financial and operational enablers of Al-Shabaab. The announcement represents an expanded international effort to dismantle the group’s financial lifelines.
The Treasury Department stated that further measures may be taken to increase pressure on the group’s network.
Al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda affiliate that emerged in the mid-2000s, has carried out some of the deadliest terror attacks in East Africa. Despite ongoing military campaigns by Somali forces and international allies, the group maintains control over significant rural territories and continues to conduct bombings, ambushes, and assassinations.
The TFTC, established in 2017 to enhance collaboration on counterterrorist financing between the U.S. and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members, continues to coordinate sanctions, share intelligence, and provide training to bolster domestic enforcement capabilities.
The Somali government has not yet issued a formal statement on the new sanctions, but it has previously expressed support for international efforts to cut off Al-Shabaab’s sources of funding.