Reports that the Americans have agreed to send emergency military aid to the Somali government are confirmation that the military situation there is deteriorating fast. In fact, without the world paying much attention, Somalia is in danger of being effectively taken over by Islamists supported by foreign jihadists. It would then look rather like Afghanistan in the years before 9/11.
The FT reported a few days ago that “several hundred foreign jihadists linked to al-Qaeda are reported to have joined al-Shabaab’s efforts to topple the government”. According to our report, the national government now controls just a few blocks of the capital, Mogadishu.
The only real foreign military assistance the Somali government is getting comes from just 4,300 African Union troops. The Ethiopians have made it clear that they are not going back in. The Americans have their own bad memories of Somalia. Perhaps the new US military aid will do the trick – or perhaps it won’t.
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