EXCLUSIVE-U.S. discloses secret Somalia military presence, up to 120 troops
Wed Jul 2, 2014 7:40pm GMT
WASHINGTON, July 2(Reuters) - U.S. military advisors have secretly operated
in Somalia since around 2007 and Washington plans to deepen its security
assistance to help the country fend off threats by Islamist militant group
al Shabaab, U.S. officials said.
The comments are the first detailed public acknowledgement of a U.S.
military presence in Somalia dating back since the U.S. administration of
George W. Bush and add to other signs of a deepening U.S. commitment to
Somalia's government, which the Obama administration recognized last year.
The deployments, consisting of up to 120 troops on the ground, go beyond the
Pentagon's January announcement that it had sent a handful of advisors in
October. That was seen at the time as the first assignment of U.S. troops to
Somalia since 1993 when two U.S. helicopters were shot down and 18 American
troops killed in the "Black Hawk Down" disaster.
The plans to further expand U.S. military assistance coincide with
increasing efforts by the Somali government and African Union peacekeepers
to counter a bloody seven-year insurgent campaign by the al Qaeda-linked al
Shabaab to impose strict Islamic law inside Somalia.
Those U.S. plans include greater military engagement and new funds for
training and assistance for the Somali National Army (SNA), after years of
working with the African Union Mission in Somalia, or AMISOM, which has
about 22,000 troops in the country from Uganda, Kenya, Sierra Leone,
Burundi, Djibouti and Ethiopia.
"What you'll see with this upcoming fiscal year is the beginning of
engagement with the SNA proper," said a U.S. defense official, who declined
to be identified. The next fiscal year starts in October.
An Obama administration official told Reuters there were currently up to 120
U.S. military personnel on the ground throughout Somalia and described them
as trainers and advisors.
"They're not involved in combat," the official told Reuters, speaking on
condition of anonymity, adding that until last year, U.S. military advisors
had been working with AMISOM troop contributors, as opposed to Somali
forces.
President Barack Obama last year determined that Somalia could receive U.S.
military assistance.
Another official said American forces over the years had provided advice and
assistance in areas related to mission planning, small unit tactics, medical
care, human rights and communications. The official said U.S. forces in
Somalia have also facilitated coordination, planning and communication
between AMISOM troop contributors and Somali security forces.
SPECIAL OPS
The comments expand upon a little noticed section of a speech given early in
June by Wendy Sherman, under secretary of state for political affairs. She
publicly acknowledged that a "small contingent of U.S. military personnel"
including special operations forces had been present in parts of Somalia for
several years.
Still, it was not immediately clear from her remarks the extent to which
U.S. personnel had been operating.
U.S. special operations forces have staged high-profile raids in the past in
Somalia, including an aborted attempt in October to capture an al Shabaab
operative in the militant group's stronghold of Barawe. U.S. officials have
acknowledged Washington's support for AMISOM and Somalia's struggle against
al Shabaab.
U.S. Central Intelligence Agency officials have been known to operate in the
country.
U.S. troop numbers on the ground in Somalia vary over time, the officials
told Reuters. Deployments are "staggered" and "short-term," one official
said. But the Obama administration official added that there was overlap in
the deployments to allow for a persistent presence on the ground.
Asked about where U.S. forces were deployed, the administration official
said they were "in locations throughout Somalia" but declined to elaborate
further for security reasons.
The official declined to say precisely when the first U.S. military forces
went back into Somalia, saying: "It was around 2007" and in support of
AMISOM.
Asked about why Sherman chose to disclose the information, a State
Department official told Reuters: "In the past, our assessment of the
security situation in Somalia informed our decision to err on the side of
force protection concerns and not divulge their presence."
That's changed, the official said. "We do not currently believe that
acknowledging the U.S. presence will increase the already high threat to our
personnel and citizens operating in Somalia."
The announcement also reflects a deepening of the U.S.-Somali relationship
and comes as the United States prepares to name its first ambassador for
Somalia since 1993, who would initially be based out of the country due to
security concerns.
"Absolutely there's been a shift" in the relationship, an Obama
administration official said.
Military trainers from the European Union are already on the ground in
Somalia training soldiers after shifting their operations at the end of last
year to Mogadishu from Uganda, where troops were previously drilled.
(Additional reporting by Edmund Blair in Nairobi. Editing by Jason Szep and
Peter Henderson)