MOGADISHU, Somalia — The United States is increasing its military assistance to Somalia as the country sees success in battling what the U.S. calls “the largest and most deadly al-Qaida network in the world.”
Sixty-one tons of weapons and ammunition arrived Tuesday in Mogadishu, the U.S. said in a statement of support for a historic Somalia-led military offensive against al-Shabab extremists that has recaptured dozens of communities since August.
In a separate joint statement with other leading security partners Qatar, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Britain, the U.S. said they will support Somalia's efforts to manage weapons and ammunition that could allow the United Nations Security Council to lift its arms embargo on the country.
“A very productive meeting,” Somalia's national security adviser, Hussein Sheikh-Ali, tweeted after the Washington gathering.
The government of Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud declared “total war” last year on the thousands of al-Shabab extremists who for more than a decade have controlled parts of the country and carried out devastating attacks while exploiting clan divisions and extorting millions of dollars a year in their quest to impose an Islamic state.
The current offensive was sparked in part by local communities and militias driven to the brink by al-Shabab's harsh taxation policies amid the country's worst drought on record. Somalia's…
