US Building Army Bases In Somalia
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent
MOGADISHU (Worthy News) – The U.S. was preparing over the weekend to build five military bases for Somalia’s National Army after signing a security pact with the African nation’s government.
Besides building bases, the security pact also foresees the U.S. helping Somalia to create a functional Somali army to improve security while fighting against Islamic al-Shabab militants, Worthy News monitored Sunday.
In a ceremony presided over by Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in Mogadishu, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding last week for the U.S-built military bases for Somalia’s National Army.
The bases will be for the Danab Brigade, the U.S.-trained elite unit of the army, Somali media reported.
“Within several months, we are looking forward to reaching the 3,000 Danab personnel target set in 2017,” explained Molly Phee, U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs.
“The Danab also is being prepared to take over many of the essential functions required to sustain and grow the force, and it is already taking on a greater responsibility for recruiting and training,” Phee added.
Yet it won’t be easy. Created in 1960 from a former British protectorate and an Italian colony, Somalia collapsed into anarchy after the overthrow of the military regime of President Siad Barre in 1991.
As rival warlords tore the country apart into clan-based fiefdoms, an internationally-backed unity government formed in 2000 struggled to establish control, observers noticed.
After the capital Mogadishu and much of the country’s south were captured by a coalition of Islamist shariah courts in 2006, Ethiopian and, later, African Union forces intervened.
Since 2012, when a new internationally-backed government was installed, Somalia has been moving slowly towards stability. However, the new authorities still face challenges from Islamic Al-Shabab insurgents linked to terror group Al-Qaida.
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