On Tuesday and Wednesday this week, armed militants carried cloth sacks through the streets of Mogadishu, Kismayo and Baidoa towns. They demanded money from traders. They insisted women hand over jewelry. They asked fuel dealers to donate gasoline. And in case anyone missed the message of mandatory donations, militants drove through the streets with electronic megaphones mounted on vehicles."We shall intensify the jihad against the apostates and the unbelievers," vowed an al Shabaab official in Baidoa, according to residents there who were reached by phone.
"They (rebels) came to us with sacks and told us to put in some money," said a man who gave his name only as Sabriye, who runs a grocery store in Mogadishu's Bakara market, the largest open-air trading center in the country. "They tax us, shake us down, and are still ordering us to pay money for fighting," said the shop owner, who handed over $50.
Nurto Abdi, who sells costume jewelry in Baidoa, an al Shabaab-controlled town west of Mogadishu that once housed the federal parliament before it was overrun by militants, said he was ordered to donate 20 grams of gold. "I have contributed for my security, because if I refuse, it will cause problems," said Mr. Abdi.
Once these towns have paid up, al Shabaab is expected to move on. Already, traders and residents in smaller towns have been told to prepare their donations by Saturday.