Somalia’s Al-Shabab Weakened - UNJanuary 25, 2018 - The United Nation (UN) announced that the continued deployment of African Union troops in Somalia has weakened Al-Shabab. "Al-Shabab remains a potent threat, despite — or perhaps precisely because — it is on the back foot as a result of financial pressures, counterterrorism operations and airstrikes," U.N. envoy Michael Keating told Security Council members. According to the UN, defeating Al-Shabab requires both a military and political strategy and serious efforts to address issues that terrorists exploit, such as corruption and the lack of jobs and education opportunities for youth. The more than 22,000-strong African Union force, known as AMISOM, receives a logistical support package from the United Nations, and gets additional funding from the European Union. "Premature drawdown of AMISOM forces will be a gift to al-Shabab and risks undermining the gains that have been made, at great human and financial cost, over the last decade."

Source: Ethiopian News January 26, 2018 03:00 UTC