From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Mon Aug 03 2009 - 05:59:55 EDT
Off to Africa, Clinton to pledge new Somali aid and plans to take aim at
Eritrea - AP
Aug 3rd, 2009 . <http://www.EastAFRO.com/Post/category/news> News
By MATTHEW LEE and LOLITA C. BALDOR
WASHINGTON - 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.
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