From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Sun Aug 02 2009 - 09:20:43 EDT
Secretary of State Clinton to pledge new aid to Somalia during
seven-nation African tour
LOLITA C. BALDOR, MATTHEW LEE Associated Press Writers
8:42 AM EDT, August 2, 2009
WASHINGTON (AP) - On a seven-nation tour of Africa this week, Secretary
of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will pledge more U.S. assistance,
including military aid, to Somalia's shaky government as it fights for
survival against Islamist extremists.
U.S. officials say the Obama administration plans to go ahead with
additional weapons supplies to double an initial provision of 40 tons of
arms. The U.S. also has begun a low-profile mission to help train Somali
security forces in neighboring Djibouti, said the officials, who spoke
on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivities surrounding U.S.
involvement in the program.
Clinton will see Somalia's beleaguered interim president, Sheik Sharif
Sheik Ahmed, on Thursday in Kenya, the first stop on her trip. She
intends to reaffirm American backing of Ahmed's Transitional Federal
Government.
Clinton's meeting with Sheik Ahmed comes at critical juncture for
Somalia, which has not had a functioning government since 1991 and is
home to a growing radical Islamist movement known as al-Shabab. The
group, which U.S. officials say has links to al-Qaida, was designated a
terrorist organization by Washington last year.
It's not clear if Clinton will make a specific contribution at the
meeting. The administration's top diplomat for Africa, Johnnie Carson,
said last week that "we are prepared to provide additional assistance to
the (Somali) government." Carson added that the U.S. would also continue
to support a small African Union peacekeeping force manned by soldiers
from Uganda and Burundi.
Carson did not elaborate on the assistance. Other officials said a
second batch of up to 40 tons of new weaponry, added to 40 tons that
arrived over the past several months, will come from stockpiles held by
African militaries. The United States would pay for it, officials said.
One senior official said the Pentagon, which has a base at Camp Lemonier
in Djibouti, is providing facilities such as tents for the training and
is assisting with logistics.
Officials say the U.S. military is not conducting the training and will
not put any forces in Somalia. The administration is making a concerted
effort to avoid putting any American footprint in Somalia, which would
risk alienating allies and add to charges by Islamic extremists of a
Western takeover.
Djibouti is one of several nations mentioned as willing to help train
Somalia's rudimentary police and military.
Last week, the European Union agreed in principle to send military
advisers to Djibouti to train Somali forces in counterinsugency and
anti-piracy tactics. In mid-July, two French security advisers in the
country to train Somali security forces were abducted from and a hotel
in Mogadishu, the Somali capital.
Al-Shabab has claimed responsibility and said they would be tried under
Islamic law for alleged spying and "conspiracy against Islam."
Violence in Somalia has surged in recent years, catapulting the nation
into the top 10 most violent countries in the world for the past two
years, according to the National Counterterrorism Center. NCTC data,
which covers attacks against civilians or noncombatants, shows that
there were 767 terrorism-related deaths in 2007 and nearly 2,000 in
2008.
Only three countries saw more killings in 2008 - Iraq, Afghanistan and
Pakistan.
The Somali government holds only a few blocks in Mogadishu, with support
from the peacekeepers, although it still controls the port, the airport
and key government buildings. The top U.N. envoy for Somalia said last
week that the country is at a "turning point" and in desperate need of
international support, especially military equipment, training and
money.
At the same time, the Somali coast has seen a surge in piracy. Hijackers
have carried out hundreds of attacks this year, including one in April
involving an American cargo ship that ended with U.S. naval
intervention. Somali pirates are currently holding for ransom about a
dozen vessels.
In addition to voicing support for the Somali government, officials said
Clinton will also take aim at Eritrea, a small Red Sea state that the
United States and United Nations accuse of supporting the Islamists with
money and weapons. Eritrea denies the charges but questions the
legitimacy of Sheik Ahmed's government.
"Somalia is a place where they have been spoilers," Carson said of the
Eritrean government. The U.S. and U.N. Security Council have threatened
to punish Eritrea.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, warned last week
that Eritrea has only a "small window" of time to change policy or face
penalties.
http://www.fox17online.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-us-clinton-somalia,0,
7993582.story
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