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Vol. 71/No. 10      March 12, 2007

 
U.S. Special Forces operate from bases in Ethiopia
 
BY BRIAN WILLIAMS  
Washington launched bombing attacks from an air base in Ethiopia against southern Somalia in January, the New York Times reported February 23. The unnamed government officials from several U.S. agencies cited in this report also said that the U.S. Special Operations unit Task Force 88 was deployed on the ground in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, as part of operations aimed at routing combatants of the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC). The SICC had controlled Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia since last June, until being ousted by an invasion of Ethiopian troops in late December.

“The Pentagon for several years has been training Ethiopian troops for counterterrorism operations in camps near the Somalia border,” the Times article stated, “including Ethiopian special forces called the Agazi Commandos, which were part of the Ethiopian offensive in Somalia.”

As part of this operation, two U.S. Air Force AC-130 gunships “arrived at a small airport in eastern Ethiopia” on January 6, the Times stated. “American Special Operations troops operating in Kenya, working with the Kenyan military, also set up positions along the southern border [of Somalia] to capture militants trying to flee the country.” The following day the AC-130s bombed Ras Kamboni, a small fishing village in Somalia near the Kenyan border.

A second U.S. airstrike by AC-130 gunships was conducted January 23 in southern Somalia.

In addition to using Ethiopian airfields in these attacks, “support planes were deployed in Djibouti,” where the Pentagon maintains a base, and “F-15Es from Al Udeid air base in Qatar also flew missions,” the Times said.

John Negroponte, then director of national intelligence, also authorized U.S. spy satellites to be diverted to provide battlefield intelligence directly to Ethiopian troops in Somalia, government officials told the Times.
 
 
Related articles:
U.S. troops kill 100s of Iraqi militiamen
Iraqis protest U.S. arrest of Shiite official
Washington presses for more sanctions against Iran
U.S.-led offensive deals blows to ‘terror’ group in Philippines
London to beef up force in Afghanistan
And pull 1,600 troops from Iraq  
 
 
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