You have commented 375 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Africa Horn
African Union troops risk al-Shabab engagement
2010-08-11
[Maghrebia] Somalia is heading toward another confrontation on its soil following the African Union's decision to send an additional 4,000 troops to bolster the force of 6,000 already stationed there.
Makes me wonder if the smarter thing to do is to build a fence around lower Somalia, between it, Puntland to the north, Kenya to the south and Ethiopia to the west. Moats, crocodiles, sharks with frikin' lasers on their heads, etc., and let al-Shabab have their playpen.
The latest decision is likely to spark a confrontation with Harakat al-Shabab al-Mujahidin, a militant group that declared loyalty to al-Qaeda and seeks to topple President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed's transitional government.

The Somali government carries limited authority over a country that has been divided by competing political factions since 1991.

But what are the possible consequences of a confrontation between the African Union forces known as AMISOM and al-Shabab?

The more realistic possibility is that AU troops will enter as a direct party in the battle against the al-Shabab fighters, who control the majority of southern and central Somalia, in addition to areas in the capital city of Mogadishu.

Until now, the AU troops, deployed in Mogadishu since spring 2007, could only respond to attacks. Their mission consisted of providing support to the Somali transitional government forces in fighting off attacks against their positions in the capital.

Although the Kampala summit did not significantly alter the AMISOM mandate, it gave troops more freedom to launch pre-emptive strikes against the rebels before they launch their attacks.
Posted by:Fred

#2  comments); ?>werwer
Posted by: Shieldwolf   2010-08-11 20:02  

#1  comments); ?>werwer
Posted by: Old Patriot   2010-08-11 13:19  

00:00