General

U.S. hiring security firms to train AU troops in Somalia

Companies helping the fight against Islamists

The United States government is indirectly financing private contractors to help train African troops to fight against Islamic radicals in Somalia, The New York Times reports. The newspaper reports that this is part of a growing number of private security firms operating in the drought-ravaged, war-torn country in the Horn of Africa. Among the firms being paid by the U.S. is Bancroft Global Development, which has been indirectly financed to train African Union troops to fight against al-Shabaab in the country’s capital, Mogadishu. Just this past weekend, troops pushed the radical militants out of the city for the first time in years. A Western consultant with the African Union told The New York Times that Bancroft is responsible for turning “a bush army into an urban fighting force.” The Pentagon also plans to send nearly US$45 million to Ugandan and Burundian troops operating in the country.

The New York Times

 

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