AP
Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. File photo
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
The failed U.S. navy Seals raid along the coastal town
of Barawe in Somalia was part of a broader US-Somali military and
intelligence engagement to fight insurgents in the conflict-prone east
African state, Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud said in a rare
interview.President Mahmoud said no firm evidence
had yet emerged that that Somali nationals were involved in last month’s
insurgent attack on a mall in Nairobi, Kenya, or that the attack was
planned on Somali soil.
In a joint report last week,
the United Nations and African Union warned that Al Shabab, the Al Qaeda
affiliated militant group that took responsibility for the Nairobi
attack, was rearming, regrouping and refinancing even as the
17,709-strong continent of African troops in Somalia (AMISOM) was
geographically stretched and unable to make fresh inroads into insurgent
territory.
On the US raid, President Mahmoud
described cooperation with the Americans as proceeding on a case-by-case
basis, rather than “blanket operational endorsement.”
“In
the case of Barawe, we were informed. The way it happened, and the way
it was planned was okay with us,” President Mahmoud said, describing
Barawe as a target for further military action as the port had emerged
as a safe haven and financial centre for Al-Shabab, the al-Qaeda
affiliated militia that took responsibility for last month’s attack on
the Westgate mall in Nairobi.
The US authorities said
the Seals were after Al-Shabab commander Abdulkadir Mohammed
Albdulkadir, but withdrew after a prolonged fire fight with Al-Shabab
fighters drew large crowds. President Mahmoud said the withdrawal was
consistent with a tacit pact that such raids minimize civilian
casualties.
“We agreed such operations would have zero collateral effect. That is the reason why they immediately withdrew,” he said.
Western
diplomats said they expected Barawe would be a major military target
once AMISOM boosts its numbers by an additional 6,235 troops of which,
three battalions would be used for a temporary surge lasting 18 to 24
months.
“The core issue is funding for these
additional troops,” the diplomat said. Last week, the UN and AU called
for new donors to support the Somalia mission. The European Union has
provided more than 400 million euros, or 85 percent of AMISOM’s total
cost, since 2007 but may not continue to provide funding at the same
rate.
President Mahmoud said he disagreed with the
assessment that Al-Shabab was regrouping in Somalia, but welcomed the
possibility of an international troop surge. “Al-Shabab is very
damaged,” he said, “These suicide bombings are a way to show their
supporters they are not dead.”
The troops surge was
important but the eventual goal, he said, was to strength the Somali
army to fight Al-Shabab and enforce the writ of the Somali government
across its fractured territory.
“The international
community [wants to] contain Al-Shabab inside Somalia, but that is not
practically possible, the only thing that is possible is to uproot them
from Somalia” he said, “These kind of groups don’t have borders.”