Banned Somali charcoal still finds ways into Gulf

Banned Somali charcoal still finds ways into Gulf

KHASAB, Oman (AP) — Charcoal from Somalia is prized in Gulf nations: Made from acacia trees, it’s slow burning and gives a sweet aroma to the region’s beloved grilled meats and to tobacco burned in waterpipes. It is also banned by the United Nations, because its shipments rake in millions of dollars a year for al-Qaida-linked militants. Yet on a recent day, thousands of bags of charcoal believed to be from Somalia were videotaped by an Associated Press journalist being loaded off a cargo ship in this isolated Omani port and piled into trucks to be shipped through the mountains into the neighboring United Arab Emirates.