Somalia (land & sea) 2018 onwards

[davidbfpo]

A CTC report which in summary says:

al-Shabaab has deployed at least 216 suicide attackers who carried out a total of 155 suicide bombing attacks, killing at least 595 and as many as 2,218 people. Their data indicates that al-Shabaab’s suicide attacks are highly targeted, aimed at degrading the Somali state and members of the international community (United Nations, African Union, or African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)) that are combating it. Unlike certain other terrorist groups, al-Shabaab’s suicide attacks tend to attempt to avoid targeting non-combatant civilians, and thus do not seem to be undertaken simply to engender shock and awe.

Link:https://ctc.usma.edu/targeted-terror...rs-al-shabaab/

[davidbfpo]

The UAE has fallen out with Somalia:

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has stopped supporting Somalia's army, including training its soldiers and paying their salaries, after a diplomatic fall-out between the two nations.The government in Mogadishu has been angered by Emirati plans to train security forces in the breakaway region of Somaliland and four days ago told the UAE that they no longer needed its help. Since 2014, the Gulf state has been involved in training hundreds of troops from Somalia's army. The UAE says it has been paying the salaries of 2,407 soldiers and has built three training centres and a hospital.

Link (rolling news item and entry timed 9.04:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-africa-43781532?

[davidbfpo]

Beyond the title this article by a reporter based in country is a glimpse into the Somali insurgency:

U.S. Africa Command now has more than 500 U.S. military personnel in Somalia, according to a spokeswoman, a dramatic increase from 2016, when AFRICOM only acknowledged 50 American troops on the ground.....And since January 2017, U.S. forces have conducted at least 48 airstrikes in Somalia, compared to 14 in 2016 and 11 in 2015
Today, U.S. operators are training the Somali National Army’s special forces known as Danab and the Somali National Intelligence Security (NISA) known as Gaashaan and Waran... Waran has grown to over 300 agents, while Gaashaan now counts roughly 400...The U.S. has similarly expanded the ranks of Danab into several battalions operating across the country. Somali officials told VICE News that Danab is now composed of several battalions..

Link:https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/...-blown-us-war?

[davidbfpo]

Once more charcoal is a cash source for Al-Shabaab and others I would add. Plus that much vaunted weapon, an international conference in Mogadishu. The main export port ebing Kismayo, which reportedly has an ANISOM garrison, who IIRC were accused of having a role in the trade.
Link:https://epukaugaidi.com/2018/05/08/u...b-cash-points/

[davidbfpo]

A short backgrounder from a Somali think tank. It ends with:

AS has successfully managed to manipulate the clan system to its advantage. By relying on a combination of appeasement and brute force, it has bent clans to its will. Clan elders who are against it are discarded and replaced at will. Its harsh policies have created a culture of fear and resentment that has resulted in mass defections by oppressed communities. On the other hand, it is seen as a keeper of peace by some clans; clan conflicts are managed and rarely become violent in areas under AS control.

Link:https://hiraalinstitute.org/wp-conte...n-Politics.pdf

[AdamG]

A member of U.S. Special Operations forces was killed in Somalia on Friday and four other U.S. service members were wounded, marking the first time an American has died in action in Africa since four U.S. soldiers were killed in an ambush in Niger late last year.
The Americans were conducting an operation against the al-Qaeda-linked extremist group al-Shabab alongside partner forces from Somalia and Kenya when they came under enemy mortar and small-arms fire, U.S. Africa Command said in a statement. The incident occurred Friday afternoon .
The Pentagon did not identify the U.S. commando who was killed, pending notification of next of kin.
The U.S. service members were assisting approximately 800 local troops as the group conducted a multiday operation to liberate villages from al-Shabab control in the Jubaland region and clear the extremists from contested areas, according to the U.S. military.
The forces were also setting up “a permanent combat outpost” to help expand the Somali government’s control over the region, where the Islamist militant insurgency for years has destabilized the East African nation, particularly in rural areas.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world...a0a_story.html

[davidbfpo]

Recommended by a Forum member and on a very quick read some good points I can see from my armchair:

In an interview with the Africa Center, Simon Mulongo, deputy to the AU Commission in Mogadishu, says that AMISOM’s gains could never have been realized if it had continued to rely on the traditional peacekeeping template.

Link:https://africacenter.org/spotlight/a...ssons-somalia/