Subject Matter AreasCounterterrorism
Clashes Break Out in Somalia, Slowing Fight Against al-Qaeda-Linked Insurgents
U.S. Army Soldiers, assigned to Task Force Guardian, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT), 1-186th Infantry Battalion, Oregon National Guard, discuss security patrol operations during a security patrol stop in Somalia, on December 3, 2019. The 41st IBCT provides base security and force protection for Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa personnel and partner U.S. forces deployed in Somalia. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Nick Kibbey)
Somali troops clashed with a regional militia on Friday in one of the most serious outbreaks of fighting yet over political rivalries that Washington says are slowing the war against al Qaeda-linked insurgents.
Eleven people were killed in the violence, witnesses said.
Tension spilled over on Thursday evening between the Somali National Army and the Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama'a (ASWJ) militia, a group of moderate Sufi Muslims which has played a key role in the fight against the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab insurgency.
Read more at Reuters
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