Al Shabab: Break The Law and You Buy Shabab a Gun.

[Berke]

Obviously not a lot of people will be able to come up with the amount of money needed to purchase a machine gun in Somalia but this is still a great idea never the less and it will force people to support Al Shabab wether they like it or not. Their goal is simple and it is to gain a permanent foothold in the regions they currently control. They are making decisions today that will make them realize that goal in the future and no one in the south is making any efforts to counter their efforts.
http://gedoonline.com/?p=8586

[Monk-of-Mogadishu]

I think they're the only group in or around the country that wants to actually rule. Everyone else is in for a hotel presidency type gig that comes with UN paychecks and contracts to sell the country's resources; Riyaale became rich from selling Berbera to Ethiopia the same way Yusuf and Geedi became rich selling Mudug's oil and the same for Cadde, Faroole, Cali Mahdi, etc. No one cared to rule, it was all a profit incentive, from the 90s warlords to today's hotel presidents and maamul goboleed leaders. I don't think anyone until Shabaab believed Somalia was actually governable or wanted to be the one to do so. The only thing that's shocked me thus far is how the Shabaab implements so many progressive initiatives so easily yet the peaceful northern states did not care to build a self-dependent society or even clean up social problems, it just proves all the more that everything has been setup as a profit scheme, even the northern administrations.

[snoop12]

does Alshabab charge Rer Gedo for accepting or sending remittance payments ? in Kismaayo they have effectively subsidised 1 or 2 local xawaalads so to allow them to make larger cash orders and have more customers, the downside is alshabab and then put heavy tax on the business effectively targeting the population.

Alshabab is doing its best to starve the population so they can have a more desperate people willing to joing their forces.