Fighting al Shabaab

Western powers have been backing efforts to crush al Shabaab as they worry Somalia has become a safe haven for Islamist militants seeking to wreak havoc in the region and further afield.

U.S. steps up training for African force in Somalia
By Jocelyn Edwards, Reuters

At a training camp in Uganda, a dozen soldiers crouch, weapons raised as they make their way down a dirt road between shipping containers set up to look like buildings in the Somali capital.

“Here is where we are going to teach urban warfare, how to fight building to building,” Haley said as the Ugandans moved between containers scrawled with graffiti reading “City of Death” and “Hell Zone”.

The model of the Somali capital, or “Little Mogadishu” as it is known, was built by American military trainers to prepare the Ugandan soldiers to take part in the African Union mission propping up the Western-backed government in Mogadishu.

After al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab rebels pulled out of the capital last year, the United States has stepped up efforts to……..[access full article]