Leading the News -

Somalia -

On March 5th, the U.S. military, in self-defense and in defense of African Union (AU) Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) partners, conducted an airstrike against Raso Camp, a training facility of Al Shabaab. The strike was conducted using manned and unmanned aircraft. According to the Pentagon, the fighters who were scheduled to depart the camp posed an immediate threat to U.S. and AMISOM forces in the country. The Pentagon argued the removal of these approximately 150 fighters degrades Al Shabaab’s ability to meet its objectives in Somalia, including recruiting new members, establishing bases, and planning attacks.

On March 7th, the Australian Navy reported the seizure of a cache of weapons worth an estimated $2 million, including nearly 2,000 AK-47 rifles, 100 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and 49 PKM machine guns, near Oman’s coast from a fishing vessel bound for Somalia. The United Nations (U.N.) has a decades-long arms embargo in place against Somalia, with some waivers that allow the Somali Government to purchase light weapons for fighting Al Shabaab. It was not clear who was the intended recipient of the confiscated weapons.