Tuesday February 27, 2018
After years of civil war and upheaval, Somalia is struggling to its
feet, and the U.S. is back in with boots on the ground and drones in the
skies. Special correspondent Jane Ferguson and videographer Alessandro
Pavone report on the ways the U.S. and other African partner nations are
helping Somali forces fight al-Shabab militants on a very complex
battlefield.
The last time most Americans thought of the East
African nation of Somalia was a quarter-century ago, when U.S. troops
died fighting in the capital, Mogadishu.
Now, after years of civil war and upheaval, the country is
struggling to its feet. And the U.S. is back in Somalia, with boots on
the ground and drones in the skies. Just last week, the U.S. launched
more airstrikes against the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab. The
group struck Mogadishu Friday night with suicide bombers and gunmen.
More than 40 people died in that attack.
As special correspondent Jane Ferguson and videographer Alessandro Pavone found, the U.S. and African partner nations are helping Somali forces fight that insurgency on a very complex battlefield.
The soldiers patrolling this dangerous road are a long way from home. They are Ugandans, stationed here in Malia as part of an African Union peacekeeping force.
They search for bombs planted by fighters from Al-Shabaab, Somalia’s powerful Islamist militant group. Allied with al-Qaida, Al-Shabaab gunmen have enjoyed a freedom here few armed groups have had anywhere in the world, ruling over swathes of this country for years, attacking the central government’s security forces, and even making videos to celebrate their attacks.
The African Union troops have been here for 12 years, and aren’t alone in this fight. They work alongside the Somali national army, local militias, and, increasingly, Americans. The U.S. military began conducting drone strikes and Special Forces raids here under the Obama administration.
Since President Trump entered the White House, the drone strikes have more than doubled from 14 in 2016 to at least 34 in 2017. Last November, U.S. boots on the ground officially increased from 50 to 500. American commanders say they want to prevent Somalia from becoming a hub for other groups like ISIS.
In May 2017, U.S. Navy SEAL Kyle Milliken was killed during an operation against Al-Shabaab. His was the first U.S. military death in Somalia since the Black Hawk Down incident in 1993, where 18 U.S. soldiers were killed in clashes with local fighters.
It is believed that at least hundreds of Somalis died also that day.