Amid Al-Shabaab crackdown, EU approves $116 million for Somalia

As part of a long-term strategy to help Somalia overcome violent extremism, the European Union [EU] has approved €110 million [about US$116.6 million], to help Somalia effectively stabilize from decades of insecurity which has made governance difficult in the Horn of Africa nation.

For three decades, Somalia has been immersed in the civil war and later, violent extremism, with Al-Shabaab killing thousands of innocent civilians and members of the security forces. About 6,000 people have died from Al-Shabaab frequent attacks in East Africa, with thousands also injured in the process.

Somalia activated a campaign to eliminate the militants from the limelight across the country, with the Somali National Army [SNA] getting assistance from the US Africa Command, the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS], and thousands of local militia.

The European Union, which is the major financier of ATMIS troops whose mandate is set to expire in two years, noted that it will give $90 million to the African Union troops this year and an additional $26.6 million to the Somali National Army, who are instrumental in the ongoing crackdown.

Senior Somali security forces hinted that several strategic towns have been liberated from the Al-Shabaab militants following the six-month crackdown, noting that a number of senior commanders have also been killed in the process. The Al-Shabaab is dominant in central and southern regions.

“Both actions aim at contributing to the handover of security responsibilities from ATMIS to the SNA, by allowing the former to fulfill its mandate while strengthening the capacities of the latter,“ the EU said in a statement issued recently on the progress in Somalia's war against Al-Shabaab.

It also said the agreed support will mostly contribute to the troop allowances of the African soldiers deployed for stabilization efforts in Somalia, stressing that the funds for the SNA will focus on the provision of non-lethal equipment and on infrastructure works, in close coordination with the European Training Mission in Somalia [EUTM-S].

The support to Somalia in countering the militants has been immense with the US, Turkey, and the United Kingdom also training and equipping the Somalia National Army directly. The US Africa Command has been giving aerial surveillance to the ATMIS and local forces, besides assisting them with ammunition.

On her part, the Somali government under President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has invested in ideological tactics in fighting Al-Shabaab by involving clerics in countering violent extremism and recruitment by militants across the country. The clerics have been urging citizens to snub the militants.

Importantly, the government of Somalia has also been targeting financial institutions which are believed to be aiding Al-Shabaab besides blocking many Al-Shabaab revenue collection outlets. The government closed down 250 bank accounts for the militants and 70 mobile money transfer firms linked to Al-Shabaab.

GAROWE ONLINE