Day: July 23, 2021

ABOARD US MILITARY AIRCRAFT – The United States is again targeting fighters with the al-Qaida-affiliated al-Shabab terror group in Somalia, launching its second airstrike in the past four days following a nearly six-month hiatus that began when President Joe Biden took office.

The strike, by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), appears to be part of an effort to lend U.S. airpower to what has been described as a fierce struggle on the ground between the Somali military and al-Shabab in Galmudug state, the same region targeted in Tuesday’s airstrike.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told VOA and other reporters traveling aboard a U.S. military aircraft with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that Friday’s strike was carried out in support of Somali forces near the village of Qeycad. He said the strike was permitted by the powers granted by the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force.

Kirby added that just as with the earlier airstrike, U.S. troops were not on the ground with Somali forces but were conducting a remote advise-and-assist mission. Further information was not provided because of “operational security.”

Al-Shabab is ‘no match’

A statement issued earlier Friday by the Somali government said the precision airstrike “destroyed al-Shabab fighters and weapons with zero civilian casualties.”

“Al-Shabab’s tactics are no match for the Danab [Somali special forces] and its partners,” the statement added, further describing the strike as having a “crippling” impact on the al-Shabab fighters.

The resumption of U.S. airstrikes against al-Shabab comes as military and intelligence officials in the U.S. and around the world warn of a growing threat from the al-Qaida-linked group.

Late last month, AFRICOM Commander General Stephen Townsend told a virtual defense forum that the spread of terrorism “has continued relatively unabated” across Africa, and he singled out al-Shabab as a major concern.

“We see threats in Somalia to regional stability,” he said. “We even see threats there to the U.S. homeland.”

Security vacuum?

Those concerns are being echoed by intelligence agencies from other countries and U.N. monitors, who warned in a report released Friday that al-Shabab has been successfully exploiting a security vacuum created by the departure of U.S. troops and a partial drawdown of the African Union Mission in Somalia.

In central and southern parts of the country, al-Shabab has “encountered little resistance in capturing several towns … in areas that had previously been hostile,” the report said.

The intelligence from U.N. member states also warned that al-Shabab, already able to boast having 10,000 fighters under its command, is gaining more advanced military capabilities.

The group “has significantly increased its use of drones to conduct reconnaissance flyovers and record the activities of security forces,” the report said, warning that al-Shabab may soon start weaponizing the drones as well.

Some intelligence agencies voiced fears that the drones could be used to supplement al-Shabab’s portable air defense systems in potential attacks on low-flying aircraft and aviation infrastructure along the border with Kenya. The area has served as a critical corridor for humanitarian flights and commercial aircraft.

Earlier this year, some Somalis voiced concerns that the pause in U.S. airstrikes was serving to embolden al-Shabab, allowing key leaders to come out of hiding and their fighters to mass in larger numbers without fear.

US airstrikes

The U.S. carried out 63 airstrikes against al-Shabab in 2019 and 53 airstrikes in 2020.

Another seven airstrikes were launched in the first 2½ weeks of 2021, before former U.S. President Donald Trump left office.

Not everyone, however, is convinced that the previous pace of U.S. airstrikes has made much of a difference.

Stephen Schwartz, the U.S. ambassador to Somalia from 2016 to 2017, told VOA that airstrikes against al-Shabab and the Islamic State group have “limited or modest value” in the overall fight against extremists, but they are extremely useful “in keeping al-Shabab on its back foot.”

“With no airstrikes for months and months, I would imagine al-Shabab is more relaxed, but also more able to do the things they couldn’t, whether it’s mobility, training more in the open, just lots of things that could make them more effective,” Schwartz said.

Some Somali military officers have also expressed concerns, telling VOA that while airstrikes can be helpful, they need additional support, including better weaponry and supplies to fight al-Shabab on the ground.

Statistics compiled by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a U.S.-based nonprofit research group, suggested that the danger to civilians in Somalia from al-Shabab actually decreased in the absence of airstrikes.

ACLED said it found 155 incidents in which al-Shabab targeted civilians in the six months before Biden took office, and just 90 in the six months after he became president.

Source: Voice of America

KHARTOUM – Health authorities in Sudan’s Red Sea state town of Port Sudan say they have seen a significant increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in recent days and suspect the rise is due to the highly contagious delta variant.

Health officials say over the past week they have recorded nearly 140 new cases of the virus.

Doctor Zafaran Ahmed Azzaki, director general at the Red Sea state health ministry, told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus that symptoms in the new cases appear slightly different from those identified in the previous wave of COVID-19 cases, prompting health officials to believe the new wave could be linked to the delta variant.

“The infection rate has been very high in recent days, and we still believe that there are a lot of positive cases that are not reaching the hospital. Suspected cases have increased and 90 percent of them are found positive and automatically, cases of death also have increased,” Dr. Azzaki said.

Health workers in Red Sea state recorded at least 60 COVID-19-related deaths in the past two months, about the same amount recorded during the entire six-month period of the first wave, according to Dr. Azzaki, adding that, “Death cases within this third wave have increased drastically but when you look at the timeframe of two months, it has reached 60, and this is our worry.”

Last week, state medical workers collected 170 suspected cases out of which 137 tested positive, said the state health ministry official.

The World Health Organization’s regional office for Africa reported on July 15 the continent recorded a 43% week-on-week rise in COVID-19 deaths.

Deaths increase across Africa

Continent-wide, fatalities increased to 6,273 in the week ending July 11 from 4,384 deaths in the previous week. Africa is now less than 1% shy of the weekly peak reached in January when 6,294 deaths were recorded, according to the WHO.

Africa recorded one million additional cases over the past month.

The WHO says the surge is driven by public fatigue with key health measures and an increased spread of variants. To date, the delta variant, which is currently the most transmissible of all variants, has been detected in 21 African countries.

Red Sea state health ministry officials have been unable to determine how many new cases are caused by the delta variant and say they will need assistance from a recognized outside laboratory institution.

Samples sent to South Africa

Dr. Azzaki said her team has sent some samples for testing to South Africa and expects results within a few days.

“We have already agreed to send all positive cases to South Africa so that the National Ministry of Health can confirm if the new infection is from the Indian strain or not but according to the symptoms, this strain spreads faster and its transition period is also quick,” Azzaki told VOA.

Red Sea state authorities ordered a partial lockdown in Port Sudan for a two-week period, which ended Friday, but due to the recent surge in cases, health officials have recommended the lockdown be extended for another two weeks, said Azzaki.

She called on citizens celebrating the Eid-al-Adha holiday to follow all health directives and protocols, including mask wearing, social distancing, avoiding all public gatherings, and frequent hand washing.

Source: Voice of America