Somali and Kenyan troops celebrate al-Shabaab’s retreat from Kismayo Airport, 2012. (Wikipedia Commons)
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
WASHINGTON DC – The U.S. and the United Kingdom are leading efforts to increase military assistance for Horn of Africa nation Somalia to Battle al-Shabaab militants. More than 60 tons of weapons and ammunition to the Somali National Army arrived off two U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft at Mogadishu’s Aden Adde International Airport Wednesday. AK-47s, and heavy machine guns were among the U.S. military supply.
“We are very proud to stand as partners with the Somali National Army and the Somali people in this fight. This ammunition will be provided to the SNA Danab, which is one of the many courageous forces fighting al-Shabaab.”
-U.S. Embassy Mogadishu Chargé d’Affaires Tim Trinkle
The weapons are marked and registered pursuant to the Federal Government of Somalia’s Weapons and Ammunition Management policy, designed to account for and control weapons within the Somali security forces and weapons captured on the battlefield, U.S. Embassy Mogadishu said.
Meanwhile, representatives of the U.S., and the UK, along with officials from Qatar, Somalia, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, met in Washington, D.C. the same day as the American military supply arrived in Mogadishu to discuss Somalia’s security, state-building, development, and humanitarian priorities. The meeting followed the U.S. announcing in January it is providing $9 million in weapons, vehicles, medical supplies and other equipment to the Somali National Army to fight al-Shabaab. At the meeting in D.C., the partners expressed support for the Federal Government of Somalia’s focus on counterterrorism and capacity building, according to a joint statement following the gathering. “They discussed how to better support Somalia’s fight against al-Shabaab and prepare for the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia drawdown, and agreed to strengthen coordination of international security assistance,” the statement added. Aside from heavy weapons, the U.S. equipment includes support and construction vehicles, explosive ordinance disposal kits, medical supplies, and maintenance equipment for vehicles and weapons.
Somali Minister of Defense Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur Jama at ceremony Jan. 8, 2023 during which the U.S. presented the Somalia National Army with $9 million in military aid. (Credit: US Embassy in Somalia)
U.S. Troops Return to Somalia as Militant Islamist Violence Surges
U.S. AFRICOM Commander Gen. Michael E. Langley (left) meets with Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud with Amb. Larry André, U.S. Embassy in Somalia on Aug. 29, 2022 (Credit: africom.mil)
The $9 million is the first direct military aid to Somalia since U.S. forces returned to the Horn of Africa nation last year. Since the withdraw of military personnel from Somalia in 2020, U.S. forces have been conducting periodic engagements to train and advise Somali partners, but U.S. and partner efforts to disrupt and degrade al-Shabaab have not achieved the desired success. Militant Islamist violence in Africa has risen continuously over the past decade, doubling in just the past 3 years, according to a recent report by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Roughly 95 percent of the increase in militant Islamist violence on the continent since 2019 comes from two theaters—the western Sahel and Somalia, the ACSS reports. Fatalities linked to militant Islamist groups have also been on the rise, reaching 14,635 in the past year—a nearly 50-percent increase since 2019.
In 2021/2022, the UK provided £4.9 million of funding to the UNSOS Trust Fund, which supplied Somali soldiers and police officers with a year’s worth of support.
