UK Defense Secretary visits Somalia as war on Al-Shabaab enters new phase

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The United Kingdom's Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace arrived in Mogadishu on Wednesday held a closed-door meeting with President Farmajo in Villa Somalia, just days after the withdrawal of the US Africa Command from the Horn of Africa nation.

Reports from Villa Somalia indicate that the two leaders discussed ways of strengthening the cooperation between Britain and Somalia over a range of issues including security and counter-terrorism, which is one of the major concerns in the country.

Sources privy to the meeting said that the visiting minister shared with Farmajo the UK's concerns about the tribalism that is undermining the cohesion of the Somali National Army [SNA] set to take over security responsibility of the country from the African Union troops [AMISOM].

Wallace, who also doubles as MP for Wyre and Preston North, has been visiting East Africa where he spent several hours visiting the British army base in Laikipia in Kenya, which is a major training enhancement base for London within the region.

Before jetting to Somalia to meet President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, Wallace held meetings with the Kenya security team led by Defense Secretary Monica Juma. Kenya is a major security stakeholder in Somalia by the virtue of contributing troops to AMISOM.

The UK has been supporting ongoing operations against Al-Shabaab in Somalia by training security forces in their main station at Baidoa, the regional administrative capital of the Southwest state. Several troops serving in the Somali National Army are beneficiaries.

"We’ve trained over 1,750 officers and soldiers on military courses in Baidoa, as well as providing the Somali National Army with military vehicles to support operations," said UK's embassy in Mogadishu. 

His trip comes days after the US withdrew close to 700 soldiers who have been serving in Somalia to carry out counter-terrorism operations aimed at protecting American interests in the region.

The soldiers, the Department of Defense had said, would be repositioned elsewhere in East Africa preferably Kenya and Djibouti where they will continue with logistical support in the Al-Shabaab war.

Somalia has struggled to eliminate the Al-Shabaab threat for over a decade now leading to massive support from foreign countries. The group, despite being significantly degraded, controls large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia.

GAROWE ONLINE