Somali Islamists suspend Khat flights

  1. Posted on Thursday 14 October 2010 - 10:09
    Muhyadin
    Muhyadin Ahmed Roble, AfricaNews reporter in Nairobi, Kenya
    Somali Islamist rebel had suspended operations at a local airport outside Mogadishu used for Khat flights from neighbouring Kenya. Officials said Al-Shabaab fighters who stormed the KM 50 airport in south of Mogadishu on Tuesday disarmed all of its guards and took control of the facility.
    Khat plant
    Khat is a flowering plant native to tropical East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

    The group informed the traders that all airport services had been suspended temporarily. An official from Al-Shabaab said the airport may be operational later.

    The Al-Qaeda linked group of Al-Shabaab has already banned selling Khat in public places in region under their control.

    The KM 50 airport is the largest Khat depot in Somalia. The airport received an average of seven planes loaded with Khat daily from Kenya. It is estimated that Kenya receives $1,500,000 a day from exporting Khat to Somalia.

    The trade of khat which is grown in Kenya and Ethiopia is one of the most lucrative businesses in Horn of Africa nation.

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