13 January 2014

U.S. deploys military advisers to Somalia to assist in the fight against Shabab

The United States deployed a small team of military advisers to Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, last month to assist Somali and African forces in combating the Shabab, an Islamic militant group. Col. Tom Davis, a spokesman for the military’s Africa Command, stated ‘[t]he U.S. has established a military coordination cell in Somalia to provide planning and advisory support to the African Union Mission in Somalia and Somali security forces to increase their capabilities and promote peace and security throughout Somalia and the region.’

While the U.S. has been cautious in deploying its forces to Somalia, as seen by the small deployment of three advisers, the Obama administration has come closer to reversing the decades old policy that bars American ‘boots on the ground.’ The U.S. has officially recognised the new federal government in Somalia and although the U.S. embassy has not yet reopened, officials from the U.S. embassy in Nairobi visit Mogadishu frequently.

Source: The New York Times | U.S. Advisers Sent to Help Somalia Fight the Shabab