US to Double Arms, Ammunition Aid to Somalia: Official

[tekisui]

Source: AFP

WASHINGTON — The United States plans to double the amount of arms and ammunition it is providing Somalia's transitional government to help it fend off an Al-Qaeda inspired insurgency, a US State Department official said Thursday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the plan was to double supplies of arms and ammunition 40 to 80 tonnes. "That's the idea," the official said.

The official also said Somalis were receiving military training in Djibouti, where the US military has a base covering the Horn of Africa.

Earlier in Nairobi, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with the president of Somalia's embattled transitional federal government, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, and pledged "very strong support."

Clinton said the United States was prepared to meet his request for unspecified assistance.

Since late June the United States has been shipping the Somali government urgent supplies of arms and ammunitions to defend it against an insurgency by Al-Shabab, an Al-Qaeda inspired Islamist group backed by Eritrea.

An initial 40 tonnes of weapons and ammunition was directed to Somalia in late June.

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