US military support for Somalia to increase

The US is on track to provide more support to the Somalian government in its fight to stamp out al-Shabab. The US reported that 61 tons of weapons and ammunition arrived in Mogadishu. Somalia is leading this effort and has the assistance of the African Union. Support coming from deployed US military personnel involves drone strikes, intelligence, and training.

From the Military Times:

In a separate joint statement with other leading security partners Qatar, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Britain, the U.S. said they will support Somalia’s efforts to manage weapons and ammunition that could allow the United Nations Security Council to lift its arms embargo on the country.

“A very productive meeting,” Somalia’s national security adviser, Hussein Sheikh-Ali, tweeted after the Washington gathering.

The government of Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declared “total war” last year on the thousands of al-Shabab militants who for more than a decade have controlled parts of the country and carried out devastating attacks while exploiting clan divisions and extorting millions of dollars a year in their quest to impose an Islamic state.

The current offensive was sparked in part by local communities and militias driven to the brink by al-Shabab’s harsh taxation policies amid the country’s worst drought on record. Somalia’s government quickly lent support. Now neighbors Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti have agreed to a joint “search and destroy” military campaign.

The Military Times has additional information here.

Category: GWOT, International Affairs, Terror War