Somali coastguards caught an Indian boat carrying an illegal cargo of charcoal and government security arrested its 10-man crew, officials said Wednesday. The small boat was intercepted by the fledgling Mogadishu coastguard earlier this week and brought back to the harbour. The Indian sailors were detained by government authorities on Tuesday.
"There were 10 Indian crew members arrested late yesterday," Abdi Mohamed, a security official with the transitional federal government (TFG), told AFP. "We don't know the reason they were detained but their boat was carrying charcoal and was sailing from Kismayo when the coastguard intercepted it near Mogadishu port several days ago," he added.
Somali traders complained that the government forces stormed the port area and argued there was nothing illegal with the boat's activities. Charcoal exports are illegal however and a major source of revenue for the Shebab, an insurgent group which claims allegiance to al Qaeda and controls Kismayo, Somalia's main southern port.
According to Andrew Mwangura, who heads the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme and closely monitors illegal maritime activity in the region, charcoal is one of the main commodities transiting through Kismayo. He estimated that the Shebab derive monthly revenue of approximately half a million dollars from berth, import and export taxes in Kismayo alone.
Several other ships carrying charcoal are also believed to leave Somalia from the port of Barawe, further north. Most of the charcoal smugglers use Indian dhows to take their cargo to Gulf states, notably the United Arab Emirates where the import of charcoal is not banned.
While charcoal exports have become a significant source of income for the Western-backed TFG's insurgent enemies, charcoal burning has also caused huge damage to the environment. The resulting deforestation has complicated livestock herding in some regions and further exposed the population to the impact of droughts.