Coordinated Sanctions Target ISIS Financing Across Africa

Mogadishu (AX) — In a significant show of international cooperation, the United States, alongside six Gulf nations, has implemented coordinated sanctions against three individuals believed to be deeply entrenched in financing and facilitating ISIS operations across Africa. These individuals include Abdiweli Mohamed Yusuf, who has been identified as the longstanding leader of ISIS’s Somali affiliate.

The announcement, made on Monday by the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC), marks the eighth collaborative effort by this coalition, which has been active since 2017, striving to dismantle the complex financial networks that sustain terrorist organizations. Such coordinated actions invite us to ponder: How can a collective front effectively thwart the shadows that finance terror?

According to the U.S. Treasury, Yusuf has served as the chief financial officer for ISIS in Somalia since 2019. His role has involved the intricate processes of collecting and distributing funds. In the year 2021 alone, ISIS-Somalia reportedly extorted around $2.5 million. During the first half of 2022, nearly $2 million was similarly siphoned from various sectors such as businesses, livestock markets, imported goods, and agricultural activities in regions like Northeastern State and Mogadishu. These funds have not solely financed local operations; they have extended the group’s reach to insurgencies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, and Mozambique.

As Bradley T. Smith, the acting Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the U.S. Treasury, articulated, “Today’s joint action underscores our shared commitment to disrupting the ability of ISIS and other terrorist groups to access the international financial system wherever they seek to operate.” This commitment to thwarting terrorism raises a poignant question: Can financial sanctions alone dismantle an ideology that thrives in the darkness?

Beyond Yusuf, the sanctions also target Hamidah Nabagala, a financier based in the DRC, and Zayd Gangat, a facilitator and trainer in South Africa. Nabagala is notably accused of financing the devastating bombing in Kampala that occurred in October 2021, which tragically claimed one life and injured at least three others. What’s even more chilling is her alleged attempt to send her children to ISIS-linked camps in eastern Congo, reflecting a disturbing reality of how this extremist ideology can permeate families and communities.

Meanwhile, Gangat has been identified as a recruiter and trainer for ISIS, actively facilitating fundraising efforts through robbery, extortion, and the heinous crime of kidnapping for ransom in South Africa. These tales, often cloaked in detachment from our lives, remind us how the threads of extremism can weave into the fabric of everyday human existence.

Despite being overshadowed by larger groups like al-Shabab, ISIS-Somalia operates primarily in the mountainous Bari region of Northeastern State. Its modus operandi has long involved extortion and targeted assassinations, making it a crucial financial conduit for ISIS networks spread across Africa—from Mozambique to the Sahel. This raises yet another question: How do we confront the financial symbiosis that supports such violent entities?

Since late 2024, Northeastern State’s security forces have initiated Operation Hilaac, an extensive military campaign aimed at dismantling ISIS’s foothold in the Cal Miskaad mountains. Currently in its fourth phase, this operation has led to significant successes, including the death of dozens of militants and the destruction of logistical hubs. Notably, major strongholds like Buqa Caleed and Togga Miraale have been recaptured.

In a particularly impactful operation conducted in June, Northeastern State’s Dervish forces managed to eliminate over 35 fighters, including foreign operatives, while also seizing substantial caches of weapons. President Said Abdullahi Deni has publicly accused ISIS of draining millions from local communities through extensive criminal networks, emphasizing that the group’s financial activities pose a severe threat to regional stability.

The TFTC encompasses the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman, working in a coordinated manner to share intelligence, enforce sanctions, and enhance capacity-building initiatives to block extremist financing throughout the region. The question remains: Can such collaborative efforts create a ripple effect that brings long-term stability to communities affected by terror?

As we reflect on these events, let’s consider the powerful interplay between politics, finance, and the tragic human stories that arise from the shadows of these movements. Each sanction serves not merely as a bureaucratic response, but rather as a reclaiming of safety, stability, and humanity in places that are all too often stricken by fear.

In conclusion, while the coordinated sanctions represent a step forward in the global fight against terrorism, the struggle to uproot the financial foundations that sustain such ideologies is far from over. The questions we raise today might well shape the future of our collective response to extremism.

Edited By Ali Musa
Axadle Times International – Monitoring