Middle East: Hezbollah's penetration of Africa http://uk.equilibri.net/article/6725/Middle_East__Hezbollah_s_penetration_of _Africa_11052007 Over the past few years as a means of guaranteeing continuity, and in order to counter international attempts to weaken the organisation, the 'Party of God' has begun to consolidate its alternative sources of logistical and economic support. The African continent has become a valuable addition to the, by now, well known sources of financing based in the middle east. Elisa Fortunato <http://www.equilibri.net/> Equilibri.net (11 May 2007) Relations between Shia groups and Africa A November 2006 United Nations report revealed a series of connections between Islamic countries and the Horn of Africa region, in particular in regards to the situation in Somalia. Countries such as Iran, Syria, Libya, and Saudi Arabia have offered logistical support and supplies to the militias associated to the Union of Islamic Courts in their fight against the Transitional Federal Government of the Somali Republic. Upon questioning in regards to their ties to the various factions, all of the aforementioned States denied any involvement whatsoever. In reality both Iran and Syria in particular have supplied considerable quantities of armaments (ground-to-air missiles, grenades, machine guns) in violation of the 1992 United Nations embargo. It is believed that Syria organised the military training in guerrilla techniques (bomb making, kidnapping, targeted assassinations) of 200 Islamists thus contributing to transforming the militias from unorganised and improvised groups into organised military forces. These groups are capable of recruiting consistent numbers of volunteers and have an organisational model similar to that of Hezbollah. There would appear to be evidence suggesting links between the 'Party o God' and the Somali militias, indeed it has been reported during the July 2006 conflict somewhere in the region of 720 Somali militiamen were sent to fight alongside Hezbollah against the Israeli army. Due to demographic pressure and economic crisis immigrants, from the area that would later become the Republic of Lebanon, began to arrive in a number of African countries as of the beginning of the twentieth century. They were welcomed by the British, who were already present, and began commercial activities in the internal areas of the continent, gradually arriving at the control of a number of local activities. The transport and distribution of rice, petrol, and other important products became an activity conducted predominately by the Shia community; often through alliances between the more powerful families that managed the commerce of European goods towards western Africa. As of the discovery of diamonds in Sierra Leona in 1930, the 'Lebanese' rapidly conquered control of the sector; today Lebanese merchants play a crucial role in the region's economy and have developed strong ties to the dominating elite, this is particularly true in the Ivory Coast (home to approximately 100.000 Lebanese), Senegal (approx. 20.000), and Sierra Leone (approx. 6.000). Amongst these well established communities, and in particular that of the Ivory Coast, it is believed that shelter has been given to Hezbollah leaders on the run. One member of the organisation, Imad Fayez Mugniyah (considered by the FBI as being the head of Hezbollah's security section, but also alternatively described as a senior intelligence officer, special operations chief, and the organisation's military leader), is alleged to have found temporary refuge amongst the Lebanese community in the Ivory Coast. Hezbollah is believed to be conducting a recruiting campaign in certain parts of Africa: the objective appears to be that of training active militants and creating a network of radical Shia Imams in order to compete against the Saudi actions, based on Salafism, which are more diffused and visible. Hezbollah's sources of financing Hezbollah has always been supported by Iran, according to some sources financing has reached levels of 100 million dollars a year; other sources of financing have been identified in the tri-border-area between Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil, and from the proceeds of contraband in the United States. These sources have been reduced due to collaboration between the United States and south American Governments; however, over the last few years another source of financing has emerged from the commerce in diamonds in western Africa. It is a valuable trade and Hezbollah is operative in, at least, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Angola where commerce is principally in the hands of members and Shia families close to the organisation. Compared to the rival Shia organisation, Amal, the 'Party of God' has not been so successful in obtaining, legitimately and otherwise, funds from the local merchants: this difference is due to the fact that religious fundamentalism has never been strongly felt amongst the 'Lebanese Africans' and the fact that Amal has been present in the region longer. Nabih Berri, the Lebanese Speaker of the House and leader of Hezbollah's political ally Amal, was born in Sierra Leone. Notwithstanding this relative weakness, as of the 80's Hezbollah managed to create a series of strategic networks in western Africa. According to Israeli sources the greatest contributor is the Ivory Coast, followed by Senegal; the operative base is believed to be in Freetown, Sierra Leone. As of August 2006, while examining measures to avoid Hezbollah's rearming following the Israeli conflict, it was considered necessary to exercise a form of control in order to block activities that could be used to finance the organisation. In addition actions were deemed necessary to limit Hezbollah's freedom of action in setting-up logistic bases outside of those already known in the Lebanon, Iran, and Syria. The organisation, through the support of the Shia community in central Africa and from south America, could easily count upon a capacity to adapt in such a fashion as to contrast the difficulties provoked by the efforts of the international community. This capacity is due to the interest of Shia families in Africa in maintaining contact with, and a certain level of political participation in, their country of origin. Hezbollah supplies a series of social services, a percentage of the necessary funds come from abroad and can reach the order of several million dollars every year - funds that are transferred directly to the Lebanon via electronic banking or couriers. At least once a year an elderly representative of Hezbollah travels the region in order to collect 'donations' and forward them to Beirut: these are often in cash as it is preferred in order to avoid the use of official banking systems which are subject to scrutiny and control. Due to this means of transferring money in some cases the 'financial routes' have been discovered quite accidentally: for example the 2003 crash of an airliner on its way to Beirut from Cotonou in Benin revealed that, in addition to the passengers - amongst them a number of Hezbollah exponents, the aeroplane was transporting 2 million dollars - the contribution to the organisation of wealthy Lebanese in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Benin, and a number of other African States. One of the illegal mechanisms used by Hezbollah to assure a constant supply of funds is that of imposing a tax on business activities conducted by Shias, in some cases going as far as to attack the property of merchants who oppose resistance. Voluntary contributions are directed to the organisations social and political activities, thus differentiating their use from the violent activities of the militias. Hezbollah develops a yearly forecast of the funds expected from western Africa, the contributions of the single businesses are calculated giving an idea of just how much control the organisation exercises over the territory. The economic activities that have contributed to supporting the organisation have, over time, helped to disseminate radical Shia teachings and furthered diplomatic relations with States close, or supportive, to Hezbollah. In addition, given the strong relations between Lebanese and African families, it is difficult to gather intelligence on ties and links thus making certain areas of the organisations activities impenetrable. According to Israeli intelligence, Hezbollah has found in Africa a safe haven and an excellent operating base for all types of activities: these are guaranteed by the high level of support extremist Islamic groups enjoy in the area, and the absence of control by the local authorities which, in some cases, are also supportive to the group Conclusions Hezbollah's profits in Africa, and their use, are free from any restrictions in the area, thus the 'Party of God' and other extremist organisations can continue to obtain funds, even from illegal activities, completely unsupervised and free of any form of taxation. The scarce knowledge of, or the inadequate consideration of, these realities creates a situation where the strategies aimed at combating Islamic extremism, and the associated groups and organisations, in the middle east simply fail. 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