Traders’ dilemma as Shabaab targets businesses with CCTV cameras
Somali security officer holds position on their open truck near the Syl Hotel, the scene of an attack by the al-Shabab group in Mogadishu, Somalia on March 15, 2024.
When the Somalia government earlier in the year ordered businesses to install closed circuit television cameras in and outside their premises, the idea was to tame the routine extortion by al-Shabaab agents targeting traders with illegal levies.
Financial flows, just as much as access to weapons, had been identified as important to al-Shabaab’s resilience. But the government created a new problem: Those collaborating with security agencies are becoming a target for deadly attacks, forcing authorities to devise personalised protection for the very businesses.
