RESOURCE EXTRACTION AND VIOLENT EXTREMISM IN AFRICA

This policy brief examines the relationship between natural resource extraction and the funding of four violent extremist groups in Africa: al-Shabaab, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), the Janjaweed militia, and Boko Haram. It finds that while some groups rely heavily on illicit trade in charcoal, ivory, or gold, others have little to no connection to resource extraction.

• Al-Shabaab generates significant revenue through the taxation of charcoal rather than direct extraction. In 2013/14, the taxation of charcoal products and exports was estimated to be the group's largest source of wealth in the region, producing approximately $250 million in profits. This represents nearly one-third of the total revenue for charcoal exports from Somalia, a trade that reached $779 million in 2013.
• The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) depends heavily on the illicit ivory trade for its funding, primarily poaching from national parks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), such as Garamba National Park. The LRA allegedly trades this ivory with the Sudanese military for arms, salt, and sugar, with some ivory moving through the Kafia Kingi enclave in Sudan.
• The Janjaweed militia has funded its operations through the appropriation of gold reserves and timber in the Darfur region. Specifically, leader Musa Hilal is reported to have earned $54 million annually from the artisanal gold trade, contributing to a total of $123 million gained by armed groups in Darfur. Additionally, the Janjaweed and other networks are increasingly engaging in resource extraction from the DRC.
• There is no evidence that Boko Haram engages in natural resource extraction. This lack of involvement is attributed to the scarcity of natural resources in north-eastern Nigeria, where the group is based, as the majority of the country's wealth is located in the southern Delta region.
• Claims that al-Shabaab derives 40% of its funds from widespread ivory poaching are described as being based on spurious evidence and a single unnamed source. The document suggests that any engagement in the ivory trade by al-Shabaab is likely sporadic and opportunistic rather than systematic, as many of its strongholds in Kenya are in areas with few or no elephants.

APA

van der Merwe, T. (2017). RESOURCE EXTRACTION AND VIOLENT EXTREMISM IN AFRICA. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Policy-Insights-44.pdf

Chicago

van der Merwe, Theo. RESOURCE EXTRACTION AND VIOLENT EXTREMISM IN AFRICA. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2017. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Policy-Insights-44.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=van der Merwe |first1=Theo |title=RESOURCE EXTRACTION AND VIOLENT EXTREMISM IN AFRICA |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=May 2017 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Policy-Insights-44.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{vandermerwe2017resource, author = {van der Merwe, Theo}, title = {{RESOURCE EXTRACTION AND VIOLENT EXTREMISM IN AFRICA}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2017}, month = may, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Policy-Insights-44.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }