US sends weapons to Somali government

The aid is aimed at helping the weak government combat the militant Islamist groups battling for control of Somalia.

By Arthur Bright

posted June 26, 2009 at 8:14 am EST

• A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

The US State Department is sending arms to Somalia to aid the beleaguered Somali government in its struggle with Islamic rebels. The weapons shipment could mark an increase in US involvement in the region, which officials worry could become a haven for Islamic terrorists.

The Los Angeles Times reports that State Department officials confirmed Thursday that the US is shipping arms to Somalia. The officials said that the government was also increasing humanitarian aid to Somalia, though they declined to say how much money was being spent in that regard.

"We are concerned," said Ian Kelly, the State Department spokesman, referring to the Somali government's stability.

The money will help "repel the onslaught of extremist forces which are intent on . . . spoiling efforts to bring peace and stability to Somalia," Kelly said.

The move is a signal that the administration wants to broaden its commitment to sub-Saharan Africa, going beyond the counter-terrorism programs that were the Bush administration's primary focus, officials said.

US officials underscored that the US support for Somalia would not involve US troops, the Times adds. They also said that they hoped the US aid would encourage other nations to offer their own support to the Somalian transitional government.

The US aid comes as the Somali transitional government is struggling just to function. BBC reports that since the latest round of fighting began in May, many members of the Somali parliament have fled the country for fear of assassination. Now as few as 280 members of parliament out of 550 total remain within the country; 250 are needed to make a quorum.

But despite the struggles of the Somali government, "Kenya and Ethiopia are loath to step in" to the Somali conflict, The Economist writes, as to do so would carry great risks for either nation.

Neither can afford a big military offensive. Both have large Somali minorities. The Shabab says it downed a Kenyan military helicopter flying along the border last month, though Kenya denies it. In any event, the Shabab says it "will destroy the tall glass buildings in Nairobi" unless Kenya pulls its troops back from the border. Any terrorist attack would badly hurt Kenya's already shaky tourist industry and may well deter foreign investors. In any case, Kenya is unlikely to send its forces into Somalia unless it is attacked first.

Ethiopia withdrew most of its troops from Somalia earlier this year, after losing perhaps 800 of its men. A few Ethiopian soldiers are thought to remain discreetly inside Somalia, rallying armed opposition to the Shabab. But Ethiopia's government has no appetite for sending in troops all over again.

Nonetheless, both Kenya and Ethiopia have shown indications that they may get involved. The Christian Science Monitor reported Thursday that Kenyan forces were massing at the Somali border, and "while Interior Minister George Saitoti assured Kenyans that Kenya would not intervene in Somalia, it was clear that other ministers and defense officials were preparing for such a step."

The Sudan Tribune reports that Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said that while there is no immediate need for Ethiopia to intervene in Somalia, "We want to wait and see how the international community as a whole responds and then see if there is any need to revisit our position on the matter."

The US aid comes amid reports that Al Shabab, one of the Islamic rebel groups fighting the Western-supported Somali government, has been more forcefully asserting its presence in Mogadishu, the Somali capital. The New York Times reports that in Mogadishu Thursday, Al Shabab publicly amputated the right hands and left legs of four young men that it accused of theft.

The Times writes that the punishment, carried out in accordance with the rebels' strict interpretation of sharia, or Islamic law, was the first of its kind in Mogadishu in 15 years. The Times adds that analysts think that the public punishments may be an effort by Al Shabab "to win popular support in the capital by showing that it could achieve stability in the chaotic nation through a firm enactment of Shariah, or Islamic law."