The failed U.S. navy Seals raid along the coastal town of Barawe in Somalia was part of a broader US-
Somali military and intelligence engagement to fight insurgents in the conflict-prone east African state, Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud said in a rare interview.
President Mahmoud said no firm evidence had yet emerged that that Somali nationals were involved in last month’s insurgent attack on a mall in Nairobi, Kenya, or that the attack was planned on Somali soil.
In a joint report last week, the United Nations and African Union warned that Al Shabab, the Al Qaeda affiliated militant group that took responsibility for the Nairobi attack, was rearming, regrouping and refinancing even as the 17,709-strong continent of African troops in Somalia (AMISOM) was geographically stretched and unable to make fresh inroads into insurgent territory.
On the US raid, President Mahmoud described cooperation with the Americans as proceeding on a case-by-case basis, rather than “blanket operational endorsement.”
“In the case of Barawe, we were informed. The way it happened, and the way it was planned was okay with us,” President Mahmoud said, describing Barawe as a target for further military action as the port had emerged as a safe haven and financial centre for Al-Shabab, the al-Qaeda affiliated militia that took responsibility for last month’s attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi.
The US authorities said the Seals were after Al-Shabab commander Abdulkadir Mohammed Albdulkadir, but withdrew after a prolonged fire fight with Al-Shabab fighters drew large crowds. President Mahmoud said the withdrawal was consistent with a tacit pact that such raids minimize civilian casualties.
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