very insightful somalia read -> Somalia, the Perfect Failed State

[blu]

Somalia, the Perfect Failed State

one can only hope some order shows up there

 

[waltky]

Is where Black Hawk Down happened...

Pentagon: 'A Few Dozen' US Troops Deployed to Somalia
16 Apr 2017 - Somalia's government is still propped up by the international community and a 22,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force.

The United States is deploying "a few dozen" troops to Somalia to assist the national army and conduct unspecified security operations, a U.S. military spokeswoman said Saturday. The soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division, a light infantry unit trained for air assaults, will mainly train and equip Somalia's army "to better fight Al-Shabab," an Al-Qaida-linked extremist group, the spokeswoman for the U.S. Africa Command based in Germany, Samantha Reho, told AFP.

They will also conduct "security force assistance," she said, confirming a report by Voice of America. "For operational security issues, we will not discuss specifics of military efforts, nor speculate on potential future activities or operations," she said, declining to say precisely how many troops were being sent. Somalia's fragile central government is still propped up by the international community and a 22,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force, after nearly three decades of civil war and anarchy.

Somali soldiers march along under the watchful gaze of their NCO. A light infantry unit from the 101st Airborne Division is being sent to help train and equip Somalian troops in their fight against al-Shabab.​

While Shabab militants have lost large swaths of territory and were forced out of Mogadishu by African Union troops in 2011, they continue to strike in the capital and countryside. They have threatened a "merciless" war against the new administration of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, a dual U.S.-Somali citizen who goes by the nickname Farmajo. He took office in February. The 101st Airborne Division has been extensively used in U.S.-led military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The United States' most notorious military operation in Somalia was in 1993, when an ill-fated attempt to snatch militia leaders led to two Black Hawk helicopters being shot down in Mogadishu. A chaotic rescue was mounted, resulting in hundreds of deaths, including those of 18 U.S. soldiers. The incident was made famous in the book and the movie "Black Hawk Down." The U.S. military spokeswoman noted that U.S. forces have been in Somalia since 1993, helping the Somali government on security concerns.

Pentagon: 'A Few Dozen' US Troops Deployed to Somalia | Military.com

 

[waltky]

Makin' shishkabob outta al-Shabaab...

US Carries Out Airstrike Against Al-Shabab in Somalia
4 Jul 2017 | The U.S. military says it has carried out an airstrike against al-Shabab in Somalia.

The U.S. military says it has carried out an airstrike against al-Shabab in Somalia as the Trump administration quietly steps up efforts against the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa. Pentagon spokeswoman Maj. Audricia M. Harris said the strike occurred Sunday afternoon Somalia time and the U.S. was assessing the results. She did not call it a drone strike. Somali officials have said the U.S. has carried out several drone strikes in recent years against the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab.

The airstrike follows one in June that the U.S. said killed eight Islamic extremists at a rebel command and logistics camp in the country's south. Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed said Somali and partner forces destroyed the training camp near Sakow, in the Middle Juba region. President Donald Trump has approved expanded military operations against al-Shabab, including more aggressive airstrikes and considering parts of southern Somalia areas of active hostilities. The U.S. in April announced it was sending dozens of regular troops to Somalia in the largest such deployment there in roughly two decades, saying it was for logistics training of Somalia's army.

Hundreds of newly trained al-Shabab fighters perform military exercises in the Lafofe area some 18 km south of Mogadishu​

The Horn of Africa nation is trying to rebuild after more than two decades as a failed state, and its chaos helped in the rise of al-Shabab. Now a new threat has emerged in the country's north with fighters claiming alliance to the Islamic State group. Al-Shabab last year became the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, with more than 4,200 people killed in 2016, according to the Washington-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies. The extremist group has vowed to step up attacks after the recently elected government launched a new military offensive against it.

Pressure is growing on Somalia's military to assume full responsibility for the country's security. The 22,000-strong African Union multinational force, AMISOM, which has been supporting the fragile central government, plans to start withdrawing in 2018 and leave by the end of 2020. The U.S. military has been among those expressing concern that Somalia's forces are not yet ready.

US Carries Out Airstrike Against Al-Shabab in Somalia | Military.com

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - dey kickin' al-Shabaab butt...

Hundreds More US Troops Now in Somalia, But Pentagon Denies 'Build Up'
17 Nov 2017 | The Pentagon announced in a statement Thursday there are now "more than" 500 US troops on the ground in Somalia.
[/quote]
The Pentagon announced in a statement Thursday there are now "more than" 500 US troops on the ground in Somalia. A significant increase from early 2014 when roughly two dozen troops arrived for the first time since 1993 and the Black Hawk Down incident. US Africa Command says there have been 28 airstrikes this year, mostly from drones against al-Shabaab, long considered the greatest terror threat in Africa. At a press conference Thursday at the Pentagon, a top defense official denied any "ramp-up." "I do not believe necessarily there's a ramp-up," said Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr., director of the Pentagon's Joint Staff when asked about the spike in airstrikes in Somalia. "It's the density of targets is such that now there's some of opportunities to do those strikes."

al-Shabab fighters sit on a truck as they patrol in Mogadishu, Somalia​

The US military recently conducted six straight days of airstrikes in Somalia from last Thursday to Tuesday. Last month, al-Shabaab was blamed for a truck bombing in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu which killed over 300 people. The head of the Pentagon's joint staff said there's no link between the fall of the ISIS capital Raqqa last month, and the first airstrikes against ISIS in Yemen and Somalia.

Earlier this month, the US conducted the first airstrikes against ISIS in Somalia. McKenzie also denied the increase of hundreds of additional troops in Somalia as a "build up," but just a "flow of forces in and out" of the country. In May, a Navy SEAL was killed fighting al-Shabaab, the first combat death in Somalia since 1993. In addition to Somalia, the US military has conducted over 100 airstrikes against Al Qaeda in Yemen, including the first strikes against ISIS in Yemen last month.

404 Error, Page Not Found | Military.com]

 

[harmonica]

a lot of a African countries are shitholes
highest poverty/illiteracy/disease/etc
these are just facts